Rack 'Em Up (or, A Collective Bump to Bike Rack Threads)

[rltilley]

Has anyone found a rack to carry a tandem on their vans? I’m about to build up a tandem for my wife and I and am in the decision process on a rack to carry it with. There’s no way I’m going to carry it up to the roof so a hitch mounted rack will have to be the route I go with. The problem I have is that I have a lot of bikes and all are a bit unique so finding a rack that can handle all of them is a bit challenging.

I would really like to pick up a 1Up three bike hitch rack but it won’t handle the tandem. I could rig up something to mount the tandem to the 1Up racks I have mounted to my Aluminess box but don’t really want to be driving down the highway with a heavy bike on a jury rigged rack. The rack I am considering is the Draftmaster with one tandem slot and two single bike slots. This would mount to my Kuat swing away rack attachment.

Draftmaster for almost any cycle

Just wondering if there was another option out there I haven’t considered. I may just get the 1Up and buy a Yakima tandem rack for use on our other cars and leave the tandem at home when we take the van out.

[vandiesel]

I used a Yakima hitch rack on the front bumper hitch for mine. Old school rack with the little frame cradles and rubber straps.

[dhally]

I found a new option for rear swing out arms, Rigd UltraSwing MegaFit. It is receiver mounted but has a receiver for towing or a bike carrier. I have an inquiry in to them to see how it fits on the E Series.
https://www.rigdsupply.com/products/...rrier-mega-fit

[BrianW]

Our tandem rides fine on a Thule hitch rack (arm type, not tray). I take off the front wheel and the bike doesn’t extend beyond the van mirrors. If you need any tandem advice hit me up. We’ve been tandeming since 1994 and I’ve owned and worked on multiple tandems over the years. Currently have two Santana tandems and a Santana triplet.

[ibike]

Originally Posted by saline

I finished fabricating my rack setup and recently installed it. Works well so far. I used two 1UP trays and then used aluminum channel and angle to make the mount. Nice and clean. I did use an aluminum plate on the underside of the box to strengthen it as well.

I really like the up out of the way functionally this kind of setup offers. I’ve got the Aluminess drive side tire swing and was looking for a good way to adapt it to put two of the 1Up trays on top of the spare. Although I wonder with the weight of the spare, extra hardware and bikes plus a Trasharoo full of firewood would I be pushing it on the weight capacity of the tire carrier….

[jamesc]

Originally Posted by rltilley

Has anyone found a rack to carry a tandem on their vans? I’m about to build up a tandem for my wife and I and am in the decision process on a rack to carry it with. There’s no way I’m going to carry it up to the roof so a hitch mounted rack will have to be the route I go with. The problem I have is that I have a lot of bikes and all are a bit unique so finding a rack that can handle all of them is a bit challenging.

I would really like to pick up a 1Up three bike hitch rack but it won’t handle the tandem. I could rig up something to mount the tandem to the 1Up racks I have mounted to my Aluminess box but don’t really want to be driving down the highway with a heavy bike on a jury rigged rack. The rack I am considering is the Draftmaster with one tandem slot and two single bike slots. This would mount to my Kuat swing away rack attachment.

Draftmaster for almost any cycle

Just wondering if there was another option out there I haven’t considered. I may just get the 1Up and buy a Yakima tandem rack for use on our other cars and leave the tandem at home when we take the van out.

rltilley did you order a draftmaster? I was thinking about it, but really don't want to pull wheels to mount the bikes. Do you know if you can mount through axel bikes on the draftmaster?

Anyway, I went with a Lolo rack. I thought I might be able to use it with the tandem, but now I don't think so. Other than the tandem, I love the rack. It carries drop bar and mountain bikes. I can carry 4 or 5 bikes if there are drop bars in the mix and 6 if it's all mountain bikes.

[rltilley]

I actually went with a 1Up Super Duty rack. I still may get a Draftmaster just for the tandem but I have bikes with thru axles, 135 mm fork spacing, and other oddities so trying to get those bikes on a Draftmaster would be a pain.

I did order the optional extended plate for my 1Up that will allow a tandem to be carried on it. The plate basically moves the arms out wider so a tandem can be mounted. I haven’t tried it yet but the tandem wheels will be inside the width of the mirrors on my E350 so hopefully the CHP will leave me alone. The plate isn’t on their website but you can contact them and they’ll let you know how to order it. It was $75. There is a discussion of the extended plate here:

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/1up-usa...m-rack.860555/

[jamesc]

Very cool, I did not know about that option. My family often has 4 or 5 bikes and I didn't really want a 4 deep tray rack. Now you've got me second guessing myself.

Ah, the saga of bike racks!