Bike rack

[Russell]

I'm considering getting the 1up-usa bike rack to mount on the storage box attached to my back door. Do any of you have this? do you like it? how is it mounted? I saw it at SMB West and I took a picture but it doesn't reveal how its mounted. I'm attaching a picture, any suggestions.

[tlg]

Russell,
Aluminess has made several variations of the box and swing arm in an effort to accommodate bikes. Would help to take a picture of your box/swing arm.

We had the 1ups attached to our Aluminess swing arm. That particular model swing arm was made for bikes (Ford E350 variant). There are pictures of the mount deep in our album.

A note on the 1ups. They're a great bike rack but loading them when installed on top of a box can be cumbersome. Its just not easy to do alone. The other cautionary tale is the corners of the rack are sharp and will sit around head level when elevated like they are in the picture. Difficult to see at night. I speak from experience when I say that can ruin your day.

[vandiesel]

Originally Posted by tlg

Russell,
Aluminess has made several variations of the box and swing arm in an effort to accommodate bikes. Would help to take a picture of your box/swing arm.

We had the 1ups attached to our Aluminess swing arm. That particular model swing arm was made for bikes (Ford E350 variant). There are pictures of the mount deep in our album.

A note on the 1ups. They're a great bike rack but loading them when installed on top of a box can be cumbersome. Its just not easy to do alone. The other cautionary tale is the corners of the rack are sharp and will sit around head level when elevated like they are in the picture. Difficult to see at night. I speak from experience when I say that can ruin your day.

+1 on banging your head!

[JoeH]

+2 on banging your head but for a rack that has to span a considerable distance unsupported the 1Up is the one to have. IMO. The tray is extruded aluminum and is bomber.

[shadetreevanman]

One of my buddies built his own bike rack mounts on the box and rest on the spare tire. 2 problems with it. In camp he likes to keep the box swung out as he uses the lid as a table and stores his cooking stuff in there. The bike rack is then a head knocker. I've hit it more than a few times myself. Secondly, the bikes are a major pain to get up on the rack as its so high off the ground.


But then my hitch mount rack has problems too, namely, I have to take it off to get in the back doors where all my camping stuff is stored.


All things considered, I would rather have his rack, except I don't want to lift the bikes that high, so I'm stuck with mine.

[Twoxentrix]

JoeH - I'm interested in the new Aluminess square tube swing arm for the Box & Bike rack, but also would like to keep my Scepter Runts, and it looks like you have the exact set-up I'm envisioning. Would you confirm for me there is enough clearance to pull the Runts out without issue?

[arctictraveller]

I have that exact same 1-Up setup as in your photo on my second van. I took them off for two reasons, first I don't ride bicycles, and second, it's a head knocker, but before I took it off, I installed some foam pipe insulation on the parts that hurt. Meanwhile, both are for sale, but I'm not interested in shipping.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

JoeH - I'm interested in the new Aluminess square tube swing arm for the Box & Bike rack, but also would like to keep my Scepter Runts, and it looks like you have the exact set-up I'm envisioning. Would you confirm for me there is enough clearance to pull the Runts out without issue?

If your running three, the first one you have to pull out to the side. The rest then can pull out the front. So, it's a sequence but you really only need one at a time anyway and I like that they are kinda nestled in there snug. I run a strap over them to keep them from bouncing.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by shadetreevanman

But then my hitch mount rack has problems too, namely, I have to take it off to get in the back doors where all my camping stuff is stored.
....
All things considered, I would rather have his rack, except I don't want to lift the bikes that high, so I'm stuck with mine.

STvanman, I hate not being able to get into the back so I installed the Wilco Offroad swing hitch. The bottom tube is for towing and the top is for my standard Yakima bike rack or my cargo basket.



Swings easily out of the way, is really heavy duty, and I can cook under the awning when set up for that. It’s not cheap, but it’s been worth every penny.



.

[Russell]

I'm interested in the swing arms if you still have them, send me your location and I'll see if I can come get them.