Bike Rack for the Bed

[BlueRanger]

I just got a Specialized Hardrock XL Pro Disc and I love it! Myself and my roomates love to go on rides, but laying the bikes down in my bed is getting pretty old. I was looking on jensonusa.com, and the cheapest rack I could find was $89, and then you have to buy all the clamps for the front fork. Has anybody made some sort of suppot bar themselves and just bought the clamps to cut down on cost? Or any other ideas for securing ~5 bikes in the bed of my tundra?

[greener]

I've got the Thule bed bar, it extends to fit pretty much any truck. I beleive you can buy additional mounts too. Or you just simply mount the brackets alone to any surface you like. Yakima makes similar products as well. Check both those sites out.

http://www.yakima.com/home.html

http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/images/products/821.jpg

http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/images/products/822.jpg

[lewisb62]

Hey,

There's a mfg called hollywood which sells a bed bar, which extends across the bed and locks into place. Comes with two bike mounts. About $150. I bought it at a bike shop here in az. Good luck.

Originally Posted by BlueRanger

I just got a Specialized Hardrock XL Pro Disc and I love it! Myself and my roomates love to go on rides, but laying the bikes down in my bed is getting pretty old. I was looking on jensonusa.com, and the cheapest rack I could find was $89, and then you have to buy all the clamps for the front fork. Has anybody made some sort of suppot bar themselves and just bought the clamps to cut down on cost? Or any other ideas for securing ~5 bikes in the bed of my tundra?

[fly]

Check out my gallery for a pic of my Ghetto Bike Rack®.
I just threw it together to see if it would work. I could improve it with sanding, better paint and nicer C-clamps but WTH...it works!
No holes to drill, transfers from one truck bed to another, secure (kind of).


For 5 bikes you could do 3 bikes on one side and 2 on the other.

[stewairball]

Originally Posted by lewisb62

Hey,

There's a mfg called hollywood which sells a bed bar, which extends across the bed and locks into place. Comes with two bike mounts. About $150. I bought it at a bike shop here in az. Good luck.

I bought the same type of deal from Performance Bikes out here in San Diego. The bar came with one bike mount and I had to purchase an extra one to fit the second bike. The total came to about $120 dollars or so. The bar twists in the middle which causes it to telescope out and clamp itself in place. Then, a locking pin is placed in the middle to keep it from unspinning and loosening up during the drive.
I definitely love this thing 'cause it saved from having to drill holes in the bed!
Hope this helps...

[Joey]

I have been looking into a solution to fit 4-5 bikes into my bed too. I have searched around and people keep referring me to hitch mounts. They are OK for SUVs and Minivans. But I think it might look a little funny on a truck, especially without a topper. I have found a few cool racks for two bikes, but limiting myself to two bikes in the bed feels like a waste of space.

[BlueRanger]

I really like that thule bar, how much did it run you greener? Also, capacity to add more than 2 bikes? I was thinking of something like that, I might go ghetto and get a piece of 2x2 and mount the clamps on it..... . Doesnt seem fitting for a brand new truck though...

Edit: MSRP of 150 on thule's site, Ill shop around for a better price...

[pistolpete]

Originally Posted by BlueRanger

I just got a Specialized Hardrock XL Pro Disc and I love it! Myself and my roomates love to go on rides, but laying the bikes down in my bed is getting pretty old. I was looking on jensonusa.com, and the cheapest rack I could find was $89, and then you have to buy all the clamps for the front fork. Has anybody made some sort of suppot bar themselves and just bought the clamps to cut down on cost? Or any other ideas for securing ~5 bikes in the bed of my tundra?

Blueranger,

I have been looking for quite some time for a bike rack which will:

hold 2+ bikes
NOT REQUIRE FRONT WHEEL REMOVAL!
require no drilling (stake pocket secured or some other method)
work with my Retrax rolling bed cover
easy to set up and remove

the two that I have found that look like possibilities are

THE RACK by Frank Miller (this will not work for me because my Retrax takes up the back stake pockets....would have to mount in the rear stake pockets next to the tailgate and then have to climb over the bar to secure the bikes...not the best

SIW PICKUP BED BIKE RACK which would be a better option for me as it has a securing system whereby poles are tensioned underneath the side rails and I could put it right in front of the Retrax and avoid having to climb over a bar mounted in the back stake pockets

However I am holding off for one month as I have been in discussion with TRACRAC and they state they will have some kind of answer for me by the end of January about a redesign of thier ladder rack so as to fit Toyota Tundras with a RETRAX bedcover...if so then I'll get that instead and have an idea how to use that Rack to secure my bikes.....otherwise I'm probably going with the SIW RACK

Hope this helps

[Sumo99]

I went the "ghetto" route. 2x4 w/ 3 fork mounts and velcro on the bottom so it doesn't slide on the BedRug. It doesn't look as cool as the other racks but it works really well and only cost me $60.

One word of caution: Do not get the Yakima Bed Head. I had one and it sucked. It did not work well with the Tundra's bed rails.

[greener]

Originally Posted by BlueRanger

I really like that thule bar, how much did it run you greener? Also, capacity to add more than 2 bikes?

Edit: MSRP of 150 on thule's site, Ill shop around for a better price...

$150 sounds about right, I'm pretty sure you can buy additional mounts to add to the bar. You could easily fit 4 total bikes on the bar, probably no more than that. Yakima makes something very similar too.

[Speedbumps]

I did the 2x4 and bolted on fork mounts also. However, towards the front (and rear) of the bed there are "guides" which will fit a 2x4 (or 6 ...) on it's side. Then cut the 2x4 length so it's a snug fit. It won't budge at all. I have a long cable and lock so things don't disappear.
One of my biking buddies fits 6 mtn bikes in the bed with fork mounts bolted to a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Also put some short pieces af lathe (?) as guides where the rear wheels go. It took quite a while for him to figure it out.

[05xman]

This works great for me.

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/sportw...bike-rack.html

[fly]

Originally Posted by Speedbumps

I did the 2x4 and bolted on fork mounts also. However, towards the front (and rear) of the bed there are "guides" which will fit a 2x4 (or 6 ...) on it's side. Then cut the 2x4 length so it's a snug fit. It won't budge at all. I have a long cable and lock so things don't disappear.
One of my biking buddies fits 6 mtn bikes in the bed with fork mounts bolted to a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Also put some short pieces af lathe (?) as guides where the rear wheels go. It took quite a while for him to figure it out.

I had forgotten about the "guides" for the 2X6!
That is what I would use if it were not for the fact that bikes will not fit lengthwise in the bed with a truck box. So my setup would be for those mainly with a truck box.

[BlueRanger]

Guides! Genius! I think im going to do that and buy a whole mess of clamps. Will post results when I do it. Thanks so much for your help guys, much appreciated!