Question:
I have a '93 Jayco Designer Cardinal. The big double axle pop-up. I already
have an air conditioner on the roof. Can the roof still hold a bike rack on
top? The camper has a flush rear bumber but are there any options to install a
bike rack on the rear bumper? The kids love to take their bikes on camping
trips but they take up too much room in the van so I need to find a different
way to haul them.
Answer:
You have a couple of options. There is a bike rack that fits between
your camper and tow vehicle. It simply slides over the box receiver
hitch and bolts in place. Very nice unit but expensive ($199). Unlike
many of their competitors, this brand still allows use of the hitch. If
you are interested visit
http://web-masters.com/action/rack.html Only the two bike model still
allows use of the hitch. I use this bike rack in conjunction with the
one on the back of the Pop-up when we take guests and 4 bikes.
The bike rack on the back of our Pop-up is a modified store bought
(~$30) model. I replaced the flimsy rear bumper on our Coleman with a
piece of angle aluminum (steel would work fine also). Then I added an
RV style bike rack that bolts to the face of the bumper. You must
remember to keep the weight balance on the heavy side at the hitch (10%+
at the hitch). Adding bikes to the back means you need to pack heavy
items forward of the Pop-up's axle. Both of these bike racks work very
well. We have traveled to Yellowstone from FL -n- back with a hitch
(pun intended!).
