RV Bike Rack Info
The Best RV Bike Rack
We’ve learned a lot about traveling with bikes over the past several years. In this post, we’ll share the best bike rack we’ve found—and it’s now RV-approved!
First, a disclaimer: some bike racks that claim to be “RV-approved” simply mean that they carry insurance in case of failure. You’ll go through a long warranty process to get the rack replaced. For us, that’s not good enough!
We’re more interested in an RV bike rack designed to handle the rigorous bouncing that the tail end of a towable RV will provide. We’re also not interested in bike racks that secure the bike with rubber straps such that we need to remove other bikes to get to the one we want. With many years and thousands of miles of travel under our belts, we’ve learned that if it’s not simple, we won’t use it.
We started with a Kuat Sherpa 2.0. It’s not RV-approved, but it is very well built and we had no issues traveling across the country and back several times. Then Kuat officially came out with the Transfer 2.0, which RV-approved.
I like the fact that these racks come with simple and stout parts. The critical components that will take the most abuse from RV travel are large and can handle the job. The rack also tilts so you can access the back of your RV and folds up 90 degrees when you’re not carrying your bike. These racks also have a piece that expands inside your hitch receiver to prevent swaying or jiggling.
The only downside to the Transfer 2.0 model is that the mechanism to tighten it is a Torx key (similar to an Allen wrench). It’s not as easy to use as the Sherpa model, which includes a knob you can turn by hand.
We think eTrailer is the best place to get Kuat bike racks or hitches. Follow the link below to see the two-bike version of the Transfer 2.0:
Advice on your towable RV hitch receiver
Do not trust your RV factory hitch receiver. The chances are high that you have a bolt-on hitch or that the welding points are insufficient. In many cases, bike rack failures have more to do with the hitch receiver than the rack. It’s a good idea to take your RV to a trailer shop and have your hitch receiver reinforced before adding your bike rack.
In case other Airstream owners are wondering, we had our hitch installed between the rear steel plates below our bumper. Cliff’s Welding (out of Mesa, AZ) completed the work. Some Airstream owners might say the additional weight in the back can create sway or change the weight and balance. We haven’t experienced this and have had no issues. After all, full propane tanks are nearly the same weight as the additional hitch, rack, and bikes.
The Kuat Pivot
This Kuat Pivot hitch accessory works great! It was sturdy enough for our 3-bike Kuat rack (not shown in the picture below) and was low enough to allow the rear doors of the van to open over it. Even with the bikes on the rack, it swung far enough way to stay clear of the doors. Here is the link for the Kuat Pivot 2 Swing Away Hitch on eTrailer.
Bike Covers
We haven’t had great luck with bike covers and I was skeptical that Bill’s bike cover would work, but it did! And in the case the Grech Strada Class B, the taillights were still visible from behind.
I’m not sure if the taillights of the Airstream will be visible or not, but I’ll be using this cover soon and will update the blog. Here is the link to the Comnova Bike Cover on Amazon.
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