[PatBranch]

In a few years, I will get a cheap used silverado 1500 ex. cab and short bed. I'm not sure what year yet. I will do light off roading and a lot of shuttling and of course daily driving.

Where do you guys put your bikes? Racks? in the Bed, etc.?

I am thinking a camper shell would be good. I woudn't have use a bunch of locks and cables. Also, the bikes wouldn't be exposed to weather as w/o a shell. Is this how anyone does it. Is there a shell that will fit a few bikes w/o removing wheels? Please put pics, if you have any of your truck w/ your bikes.

Yes, I'm not getting a truck right now, but I'm just trying to get an idea of what I will be doing to it.

 

[chicodude]

I have a shell, But my truck is small.

See all those black marks on the inside?

That's from me heaving my bike in the back. I can fit 2 or 3 if I really try. Not a good way to do it if you care about your bikes getting scratched

 

[PatBranch]

You know those racks where you stick one wheel in (at bike shops and schools) What If I put something like that against the inner bed wall toward the cab and had a tall enough shell for the bars to clear? Would that be possible?

 

[ito]

Pick up some moto straps. Best way to carry bikes in the back of a pick up truck. As for exposing the bike to the elements...meh. Friend and I drove through plenty of thunderstorms and rain storms with our bikes out in the open. Never caused a problem, just make sure your **** is tightened down and that you let it dry off when you get to the place you are going to. Racks work, but they make for a PIA when you want to use your truck for anything other than hauling bikes.

For more than 3 or 4 bikes it is best to put a towel over the tailgate and leave the front wheel hanging out over the edge. Then strap them down across the top. Oh and get a good spray-in bed liner or your truck bed will look like chicodude's.

The Ito

 

[PatBranch]

Yeah, right away I would get it rhinoed.

 

[zod]

Sportworks/Thule InstaGator................best truckbed rack I have ever owned!

 

[TreeSaw]

You know those racks where you stick one wheel in (at bike shops and schools) What If I put something like that against the inner bed wall toward the cab and had a tall enough shell for the bars to clear? Would that be possible?

My husband made something similar and installed it into his truck. It has a spring loaded clamping system to keep your wheel & bike in place and we can easily fit 5 bikes (any size frames and any size tires) in the back of his Dodge Ram. I'll look for a pic and show you.

 

[douglas]

Yeah, right away I would get it rhinoed.

I just had the Line-x spray in done, pricey but it rocks!

I normally use 3 tie down straps (which cost $18), or I use my hitch rack

 

[lovebunny]

3 for one bike? we only use one on each bar for the first 2 bikes then bunjee the rest in there if we only have 4 bikes. if we have more we turn em upside down and sideways and you can fit a good 10 bikes in a normal truckbed that way

 

[Booker]

I use a Dakine Pick-up pad when hauling bikes in my Nissan Frontier. Its simple and relatively cheap.

http://www.dakine.com/base.cfm Just throw the front wheels over the tailgate and use a bungee strap to keep the bikes from banging together

I will be buying a topper in the next couple months just so i can keep gear from getting wet while on long road trips. My buddy has been using a topper from www.softtopper.com for a year or so now. Its seems to be very durable and will definitely be the route i go. I haul a lot of big stuff in the bed when i am not transporting bikes and the softtopper just folds up out of the way. Pretty cool.

 

[jugdish]

In a few years the internal combustion engine will be a thing of the past.

 

[Spunger]

I have a fullsize single cab pickup with a regular size bed. 91 chevy 1500. I have a tool box in there right now that will not allow a DH sized bike to fit without having the tail gate down. So I figured I'd take the tool box out and replace it with a smaller box so I can put a bike in all the way to the back wall of the bed so I can shut the tailgate. I can always use the tool box for just storage at home or what not as they aren't cheap if you get rid of it to buy a new one.

Instagators might be in my near future. I'd pickup atleast 2 of them (I have a single cab remember) and leave it at that. I think they hold DH bikes well enough for any length of trip etc.....

As far as camper shells go, they too aren't cheap, especially if you don't want it looking ugly on your truck. I've always liked the Canback (like the pic above) type tops because you can peel them away if you don't need them. Plus it keeps everything safe inside, but someone could easily cut it to get into it etc.... Same goes for a camper shell, they aren't that hard to break if you really wanted to.

Best advice, since it doesn't rain a whole lot in Santa Barbara and the area Is to get some instagators or moto straps (I use them, no issues) depending on your budget and ride. If you think you'll be taking huge road trips and need the weather protection then go the route of a soft top or shell. I think there's some "bike socks" that you can put on your bike that'll help it against the elements. Might be worth looking into as well.

 

[pixelninja]

I think my wife would be pissed if I brought my bike to bed.

Geez, I can't believe I was the first to post something like that...

 

[jebfour]

The attached is something that my friend came up with the initial design for, and then I "finished it". My Toyota Tundra holds 4 large bikes comfortably. If Slugman or Weird Terry see this post, perhaps they can comment on this......

I built this from 2x4's from the "free lumber" pile at Home Depot. Installs in 10 seconds, uninstalls in 10 seconds. My total investment is one 2 x 6 and a $10 set of ratchet tie downs from Harbor Freight. As you can see it, it holds Slugman's and my bike just fine (I think both have 2.5" tires) and I had Weird Terry's Big Hit in it this weekend and it has a 2.7" tire on the rear. I also put my wife's bike in here and it has a 2.2" tire on it. If you build one do it at your own risk.......I'm not responsible for someone not using the correct lumber or having zero carpentry skills. Like I said "at your own risk".

That being said, have a look. I use it to shuttle most every weekend. Cheap? Yes. Keeps the bikes out of the elements? No, but I figure that figure anything a rough ride could do to the bike is harder on it than some rain....

 

[Angus]

I will be buying a topper in the next couple months just so i can keep gear from getting wet while on long road trips. My buddy has been using a topper from www.softtopper.com for a year or so now. Its seems to be very durable and will definitely be the route i go. I haul a lot of big stuff in the bed when i am not transporting bikes and the softtopper just folds up out of the way. Pretty cool.

The soft Topper looks cool but at almost $600 bones its not a bargain

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Just use tie downs.

 

[PatBranch]

That wooden rack is what I was thinking of. If I put the bikes backwards, is thera hard top I could fit over the bars? DOes the soft one clear bars?

 

[jebfour]

That wooden rack is what I was thinking of. If I put the bikes backwards, is thera hard top I could fit over the bars? DOes the soft one clear bars?

Take this into consideration.....unless you are dealing with very different sized bikes, you will have to alternate them front/back/front/back to make the handlebars fit. It might be tough finding a shell that would fit.

 

[PatBranch]

Yeah, I will have to alternate them, so does anyone know a tall enough topper ( not too big so that will hit bridges and drive thru's).

 

[lovebunny]

Take this into consideration.....unless you are dealing with very different sized bikes, you will have to alternate them front/back/front/back to make the handlebars fit. It might be tough finding a shell that would fit.

hey jeb can you have wierd terry send me a pic of his hit? i sold it to him and wanna see how he built it up. hes still on the blue one right? you guys gonna be at mammoth this weekend?

 

[joelsman]

I like that wood rack idea, I made a wooden rack to hold the wheels strait when I strap them in. but it doesn't hold the bikes upright.

 

[buildyourown]

I've had several trucks and several setups over the years.
Yes you can get a hardshell that will allow bikes it fit upright. I had one for years. I'm sorry I sold it. It was a PITA to load bikes and gear but it was great in the rain and you could comfortably cook and sleep in the back on camping trips. We called it the cave on wheels.
Don't fool yourself about security though. They are really easy to break into and your bikes still need to be locked. This is one of the main reasons I got ride of it. I missed my locking tool box.

Right now I have the aformentioned locking tool box and the PVC bike rack. Search ridemonkey for the PVC rack. They really are awesome. 2 bikes load frontwards with tiedowns and 3 bikes can load facing the back. Much easier to load that trying to tie down all 5.

If you go short bed, you will probably want a sportworks too. Otherwise, there is never any room for gear bags in the bed.

 

[PatBranch]

Is there any advantage to a hard top? I like the soft top, that is cool.

 

[buildyourown]

Is there any advantage to a hard top? I like the soft top, that is cool.

I don't think anyone makes a soft canopy tall enough to fit bikes upright. I've been looking for a retractable soft canopy like this. Load bikes and gear, then cover and protect from rain. Ideal setup for my use.
If you find one, let us know.

 

[jebfour]

hey jeb can you have wierd terry send me a pic of his hit? i sold it to him and wanna see how he built it up. hes still on the blue one right? you guys gonna be at mammoth this weekend?

Hey man,

He has that thing built up real nice with a Fox DHX5 in the back, a Monster T up front, and a SRAM drive train. I rode it a little and it was sweet! I have a feeling that I was getting in his way last weekend!

I was at Mammoth last weekend before last (it was a blast by the way), but I'm not good enough to race yet. I believe Terry is heading up there Sunday for a week's worth of fun. I'll email him and ask him to PM you with a pic of your old frame.....you won't be disappointed

 

[JRB]

I somehow thought you found some pics of a dude named oldschooler and his Pinarello.

 

[PatBranch]

I'll keep looking? Do those soft tops use canvas with some plastic coating.
I'll continue my search. Does anyone know about how tall it should be to fit most bikes?

Oh, also, does anyone know the inside height of a silverado 1500's short bed?

 

[Booker]

The soft topper is made from the same material that you would find on a Jeep Wrangler or convertible car. Its really just a heavy duty canvas. My buddy has been using his for around a year and hasn't had a leak or tear yet. That said, if someone took a knife to it they could easily destroy the thing. I don't think you could stand bikes up in the bed while using a topper. A topper that tall would have to stick up above the roof line of the truck. You could take the front wheels off and stand them up like that but IMO that is to much of a hassle. I prefer to just lay them over the tailgate and go. I think the soft topper runs about $550-$600. That IS a bargain when compared to a $1200 fiberglass camper shell. A large camper shell sucks balls when you have to remove and store it so you can haul large items.

 

[PatBranch]

I think it would be cool, If I could easily take it on and off while still being a solid structure.

 

[TreeSaw]

I think it would be cool, If I could easily take it on and off while still being a solid structure.

That's what our rack is (I will try to remember to post a pic tonight), but I am not sure that it would fit under a cap or something?

 

[spookydave]

Just use tie downs.

bingo!