4biker

I have been pondering for quite some time how to carry my beloved bike from place to place. The problem is keeping it off the roof (garages, headwinds, drivethru's, etc.), and off the trail (sticking it in the ground off a large step). Here's what I use - it works very well when it's just my wife, my dog, and no additional gear. I need options! Thanks for any input and/or ideas you have.
Spencer

Godzilla

cool, i did the exact same thing only i put the mounts on the back of the rear seats by drilling into the seat crossmember so my rear tire would be on the cargo liner making it cleaner and also using a bungee to the rear tire from the stock tie downs to make things more secure

4biker

That's a good way to go - that would give you more clearance for the seat, especially if you're taller than me, so my friends could throw their bikes in without pulling the seatpost off. Regarding your method, I wonder if there would be some way to pull the fork mounts off the seatback quickly if you need to put a long box or something in there. Thanks for the idea

Godzilla

heres some pics of mine toward the bottom of the thread ( im DNAhilux )
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...6&topic=1233.0
also my plans for the future are there too. i plan on tackin on the nuts to a plate that i will slide under the cross member. then bolt that plate to the cross member. i will then be able to just bolt and unbolt the fork mount whenever needed.

4biker

Yeah, that looks like a great setup. I think my wife would kill me if I had bolts pushing out of the seatbacks. If I get a trail/biking rig (1st gen 4runner) I'll probably do this or something like it. If you work it out so it's not permanent, I'd love to see that too. I also like having the bikes face forward so my seat isn't rubbing the ceiling (it's like 2mm clearance) and the tire doesn't hop around. I used the 2x4 in my old stepside pickup, so I just converted it using my limited brainpower.

Four Runner

Room for two rides, throw the wheels in the back, and plenty of room for more stuff.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/semi-custom-tray-system-better-departure-angle-117219/

That being said, a buddy's trying to convince me to do the mod I did to mine for his Thule T-2 system. (*Has to be way stronger though, as he has the addt'l bike option to run 4 instead of just two.)

~I never really like to run 'em on the roof. Seen the aftermath of too many "forgot the bike was there's".

Godzilla

nice. the exterior trays are great for when you also need room for large amounts of gear. I like my internal one so its out of the elements while driving, and i can leave the vehicle with no worries as its in the back not even visible due to tint and the alarm is on.

4biker

Your thread was one of the reasons I started this one. I've hit my hitch on so many things down in moab it's scary to think I'll put something else on there to smash up. I like my interior options but I need something for the back of my rig. I actually saw a cool one a couple of weeks ago - similar to yours but mounted to the spare tire on a LR discovery.

Four Runner

I still have that other spare lower section sitting in the garage.

It's already spoken for, but here's what it looks like before I joined the two.
Fab one up yourself, or have the local hitch/weld do the tilt mod to it.

There's always the option to do like another person's asking, with the swing out spare tray and jerry can holder bumper option.

It all depends if you want to keep your factory bumper and receiver, or not.

I priced the custom bumper option out, but figuring it would just scream "Steal this modded truck", decided to go with the cheaper route, as the bumper system (front and rear) I really want will run roughly $700-$1000 or so.

*If you want to know the angle of the tilt, I can break out a protractor tomorrow.

Four Runner

I envy you!! No kids, or a very understanding mate??

There's no way I'd get away with that... "Unghhhh tire/dirt/chainlube smell again..."

4biker

Like Godzilla said, It's pretty nice when I can leave my bike in the 4runner and not worry about it. Also keeping it out of the dust and/or mud is priceless. My rig doesn't usually smell bad unless I get a new tire or something - besides, that's what Febreeze is for. As far as an understanding wife, at least for me, she just rolls her eyes and ignores it.

Godzilla

well i dont have to worry about a wife. But the only thing my gf said was to make sure i put in two so she could get her bike in there as well. The smell of mud and chain lube is great, except for that pooh smelling mud you sometimes trek through..but like 4biker said, febreeze away!

Four Runner

LMAO, it's not so much the dirt, as the ichy stuff that inevitably goes from the tires, to your hands, to the fabric, to the steering wheel, etc-etc.

Wife rides too, so I do have a certain level of tolerance, it's just she won't clean up "you and your friends mess".

So, let's see some of those ideas our O/T was about.

4biker

Thanks, That was a nice bump,
I know there's a bunch of people on here that bike, so what I was originally asking is if you have any type of bike rack (fork mount, roof mount, pickup bed, hitch mount, etc.), that is modified or personalized, throw it on here. It's all about getting ideas. After all, we're all family here!