amfrtoi jollinah rozlea
Algernon Alcala
When we got our T@G, one of the first things I tried to figure out was how to haul our bikes. I found a lot of articles/blogposts saying don't carry them on the back of a trailer, which was my initial plan. I then thought about putting them on top of the T@G, but we don't have roof racks, so that wasn't going to be straight-forward. I really didn't want them up that high anyway because of the difficulty in getting them up/down. Then I found the "Jack-It" bike carrier, which mounts on the front along with the jack, so I bought one. When I first installed it and loaded the bikes, I wasn't too happy because it held the bikes way up above both our TV and the T@G.
Then I got the idea to install the middle piece - they call it the "stinger" - upside down. I verified it would work that way, and being an engineer, it seemed to me like the loads would all be equivalent and it should work just fine. My wife needed a little more verification, so I traded emails with the company and they confirmed it writing that it was completely fine to use it in that alternate configuration. I will admit it takes a little more "adjusting" to get the bikes loaded, but the result now is that they're no higher than our TV or T@G.
It's as simple as installing the "stinger" upside down. You'll notice I also took the labels off the stinger because they end up being upside down. I think they still have adequate product representation with the remaining labels.
It looks as if it doesn't interfere with opening the tool box either. I think we must have installed our Jack-it so the same way you did, but by accident! It is both not too high and just right for the box. We did have to purchase a front-cranking jack, however, our first one cranked from the top and wouldn't work with the Jack-It tower on either side. Good mod!
Ha! I just saw this post and I've made this exact same journey. Works great, and the bikes are nicely tucked between the TV and the T@G. In our case, if I properly position the pedals on the bike closest to the trailer, I can still open the tongue box.
We just returned from a 4,300 mile 3-week trip in which we carried our 2 -relatively light- street bikes on the rack. The last couple days of the trip I noticed the jack/bike rack were a little loose, and upon checking I found the front bolt was stripped and wouldn't tighten. Today I took it apart and found that the triangular sheet metal area of the trailer tongue was warped up and cracked, in addition to the front hole being stripped.
It's not too surprising the thread stripped because all they did was thread the sheet metal, with no actual nut on the bottom. That may be enough for the front jack as originally designed, but not really enough for the additional leverage applied by the bike rack. I don't think the trailer was really in jeopardy of failing, but a crack in the steel is obviously not desirable.
There are several ways you can go about fixing this. The simplest is to install a washer and nut on the bottom of that front bolt to provide better threads and distribute the load a bit more. Even better would be to replace the bolt with a grade 8 bolt/nut which is a lot stronger, and use a heavy-duty washer. This will fix the thread issue, but only somewhat alleviate the warping/cracking potential.
I haven't measured the tongue weight, but I'd guess that with just the bike rack installed, it's not much more than it was coming out of the factory, since I replaced the very heavy lead-acid battery with a LiFePo battery which only weighs 23 lbs. Add to that the weight of the bikes, which isn't too much as one is carbon fiber and the other aluminum framed. That little black box has an ice maker in it, which is also relatively light. I can still pick the tongue up by hand.
I think the real issue is the design of the bike rack puts a lot of upward force on the front bolt, due to the moment arm effect. Those forces are then amplified by driving on bumpy roads, which cause the bikes to want to bounce.
We almost lost bikes out in the Black Hills on Needles Highway about 6 years ago. Very scary and it was because I had a bike rack to the rear of the trailer as others were doing. Mounting bikes between the tow vehicle and trailer is the optimum spot, but consideration and thought should go into this process as things can happen. I know a lady that lost her bikes on the road out in Glacier National Park.
I know that bike racks can be expensive but Arvika makes a nice bike rack that attaches to the tubular part of the frame. Always check out these bike racks before and after you travel as they do crack from the constant bouncing and motion/movement encountered along the roadway.
At the end of the trial, if you choose not to upgrade to a paid plan, you'll be automatically downgraded to a Basic plan (you won't be charged). The Basic plan saves all of the guides you build in your trial and includes 1,000 guide views/mo, 5 published guides (in a single language), and 1 team member.
Biktrix recommends only qualified, trained professionals service eBikes who know heavy lifting, battery voltage, electricals, and specialized mechanical work. Inadequate training and tools can cause component failures, loss of control, and fatal injuries.
Consult the following guide for instructions on how to install this rack on your vehicle! For assembly instructions for the rack please consult the booklet contained in the box with the rack. This can also be found attached at the end of this guide.
Ensuring you have the correct hitch receiver installed on your vehicle is the first step. The first thing you need to do is ensure your vehicle has a hitch receiver. It will be a square-shaped mount as seen below attached at the rear of your vehicle.
Once you find the hitch receiver you need to ensure that it is the correct size. This rack offered by Biktrix only works with 2" Hitch receivers. Verify that your receiver is 2" across with a measuring device before placing your order!
Pick up the rack and insert it into the hitch receiver. Once the rack is inserted into the hitch receiver you will want to line up the holes on the receiver and the rack as illustrated in the image here.
With the holes lined up, insert the hitch bolt into the hole along with the washers. Tighten this bolt with a wrench. When tightened then you can insert the cotter pin into the other end of the bolt to fully secure the bolt into place.
Once you have the bikes loaded up onto the rack and properly tightened firmly push and pull on the rack and bikes to ensure everything is firmly attached and secured. If they are bouncing too much you may want to further secure the bikes or rack with some straps and cords.
From the Introduction to the Executive Summary:
Bicycle Parking Guidelines, 2nd Edition: A set of recommendations from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is a tool for sustainable transportation. Bicycle parking is a critical strategy for promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation. Convenient, easily used, and secure bicycle parking encourages people to replace some of their car trips with bicycle trips and helps legitimize cycling as a transportation mode by providing parking opportunities equal to motorized modes. APBP encourages communities and professionals to use this document to make informed decisions about planning excellent spaces and facilities for people to park bicycles.
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals published the original Bicycle Parking Guidelines, a basic guide to the selection and placement of bicycle racks specifically for short-term parking, in 2002. Since then, the rapid growth of bicycling, particularly in urban areas, has led to many innovations in the field of bicycle parking. The second edition of Bicycle Parking Guidelines updates the original guide and adds material on long-term and sheltered parking, as well as event parking, in-street bicycle parking, and bicycle transit centers. The 2nd Edition is a comprehensive resource for practitioners and includes:
Intended for both the experienced agency manager and those new to developing bicycle parking solutions, examples are drawn from across North America to show how a comprehensive approach to parking can help achieve both public and private goals while integrating with other land use, transit and sustainability efforts.
The first session reviews some of the basic principles of accommodating bicycles in both public and institutional environments. We review types of parking in current use for both short and long term parking, and describe the conditions and constraints which guide selection of parking strategies and equipment. The session looks globally at the organization of the APBP Bicycle Parking Guidelines and preview the following sessions. Topics include core concepts, rack design and desirable features, site planning and innovations.
Using information presented in the first webinar, this session focuses on the application of the basic principles to develop a municipal or regional bicycle parking program. A particular point of the presentation involves the development of an on-street parking program with both sidewalk and high capacity components. The APBP guide to development of codes and policies is discussed, as are funding and delivery methods for public bicycle parking programs.The session also covers requirements for residential, civic, commercial and industrial programs and the impact of bike share programs on bicycle parking.
The final session looks at how major employment centers and institutions such as hospitals, college campuses and office/industrial centers can meet employee transportation needs both independently and in conjunction with public and transit parking programs. Techniques such as bike rooms and sheds are examined, as well as the impact of proposed bike share facilities on existing bicycle parking capacity. The session includes examples from the University of Washington and Microsoft.
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