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Old 12-16-2018, 11:14 AM   #1
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Where to carry bike

I’m planning a build on a very short shorty. I’m considering carrying my my mountain bike on a hitch mount rack, locked in place, with a waterproof cover.

Has anybody had people mess with bikes carried outside? It’s not the most expensive bike ever, but I don’t need people messing with my stuff.

Joe

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Old 12-16-2018, 11:46 AM   #2
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I have seen a number of folks that have the receiver mount bike racks. Some had a receiver installed in the front to accommodate the rack.

Get a good lock
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Old 12-16-2018, 01:06 PM   #3
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I have driven around the country for just over a year with my bike on a hitch mount behind the bus. I do have it chained to the bumper - but I have never had anyone try to steal it.

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Old 12-16-2018, 01:50 PM   #4
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I used to carry my bikes on the back of ,my Jeep wrangler on a hitch mounted rack... and people would try to steal them... one time someone tried to take the whole rack out of the receiver.. my cameras and alarm went off so they ran... I carry my bicycle inside my bus when i travel...
if you are goingto mainly wilderness areas i think you'll have better luck than if you end up in cities.. im a city dweller so my bies were likely more vulnerable..

-Christopher
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Old 12-16-2018, 05:35 PM   #5
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I have bikes (road, gravel, mountain) that are expensive enough that I don't want to lose or abuse them. Two ride in the Jeep (the garage), one rides in the bus. I often know which of them I will/will not be using and will leave one of them somewhere when traveling.

Several years ago, I researched a quality cover for a rack and couldn't find anything I liked - maybe better exist now.
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Old 03-07-2019, 11:19 PM   #6
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I was considering a similar situation. I have commuter and mountain bikes both look more expensive than they are, and one has emotional significance (I already recovered that one after it was stolen off the front of a trimet bus in Portland)

I am now leaning towards a full gear locker and a slightly longer bus to support it. I have a friend who has had the entire hitch, rack and two bikes stolen off a vehicle, and several who have had locks or racks cut and bikes stolen during daylight hours.

Things to consider: bike thieves are visual predators. If it looks expensive and vulnerable, they will take it. If they cant even see it under a cover, they may walk right on by. If you go with a rack, cover it for sure. If you live in your bus, you will likely park in a city at some point, you can move the bike inside if you leave it unattended, but the in/out can get tiresome. If you use it as a getaway vehicle, trailheads, parks, beach parking lots and campgrounds are common targets for thieves. If you hang out around the I-5 corridor, I’d say the rack is not recommended, we got pros out here
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Old 03-08-2019, 12:06 AM   #7
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I have my bed up high in the rear so that I can store the bikes underneath. They load through the wheelchair door. Out of sight-out of mind-out of dust. In my rebuild, I hope to mount the fork mount racks on a slide out tray.
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Old 03-20-2019, 09:52 AM   #8
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Like the others, I strongly prefer to keep my bikes inside. I started shopping cutaway shorties initially for that function. In the current quick 'n dirty build the bikes just roll up a ramp into the rear straight into their spots. Had to do it this way instead of trays because my parents are using it for a while with their ebikes and it's just less risky.
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Old 03-20-2019, 10:59 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by dazdconfsd View Post
Like the others, I strongly prefer to keep my bikes inside. I started shopping cutaway shorties initially for that function. In the current quick 'n dirty build the bikes just roll up a ramp into the rear straight into their spots. Had to do it this way instead of trays because my parents are using it for a while with their ebikes and it's just less risky.
What do you use to hold them in place?
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Old 03-21-2019, 10:49 AM   #10
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I like the idea of mounting bikes vertically against the rear of the bus, on either side of the rear door. Seems like you could extend some kind of metal rod or beam off the roof, or cantilever one out from under a roof rack, and hang a bunch of bikes up there.
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Old 03-23-2019, 05:40 PM   #11
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What do you use to hold them in place?
A very quick and dirty set of wooden wheel chocks I slapped together with some eye hooks to hold some friction tiedowns in place.
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Old 03-23-2019, 05:41 PM   #12
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I like the idea of mounting bikes vertically against the rear of the bus, on either side of the rear door. Seems like you could extend some kind of metal rod or beam off the roof, or cantilever one out from under a roof rack, and hang a bunch of bikes up there.
You'll still need to do something to keep the rear wheels in place too. Otherwise they'll move around over big bumps.
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Old 05-14-2019, 09:27 AM   #13
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Quote:
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I like the idea of mounting bikes vertically against the rear of the bus, on either side of the rear door. Seems like you could extend some kind of metal rod or beam off the roof, or cantilever one out from under a roof rack, and hang a bunch of bikes up there.
I was thinking the same thing about vertical mount. Thinking of bolting a fork mount at the top and a rear wheel track at the bottom. Then 2 eyelets for a strap to take hold it all in place.
Need access to my back door so hitch mounts don't really interest me...
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Old 05-14-2019, 07:11 PM   #14
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Skoolie life forced me from 4 bicyles to only the one mountain bike.
Don't want your bike stolen, easy peasey:
Take the saddle with you.
Leave it's stem, if you're particularly evil.
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Old 05-15-2019, 02:24 PM   #15
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Skoolie life forced me from 4 bicyles to only the one mountain bike.
Don't want your bike stolen, easy peasey:
Take the saddle with you.
Leave it's stem, if you're particularly evil.
That will only stop the uneducated thief. Some bikes are still valuable for their parts. Inside offers a level of protection not only from theft, but from other damage such as dust/grime wearing out the drive chain faster.
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Old 05-15-2019, 02:25 PM   #16
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I was thinking the same thing about vertical mount. Thinking of bolting a fork mount at the top and a rear wheel track at the bottom. Then 2 eyelets for a strap to take hold it all in place.
Need access to my back door so hitch mounts don't really interest me...
There are plenty of hitch mounts that swing out of the way to allow access while still mounted. But inside is still more secure/better protected.
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Old 05-15-2019, 04:27 PM   #17
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Yeah, I thought about the bike thief who already has a ride, but didn't want to go into a whole dissertation. [emoji41]
Quote:
Originally Posted by dazdconfsd View Post
That will only stop the uneducated thief. Some bikes are still valuable for their parts. Inside offers a level of protection not only from theft, but from other damage such as dust/grime wearing out the drive chain faster.
If I had sufficient surplus space, mine'd ride inside, too.
Not being the case, when in between camp sites, it's loving nestled onto my Road Gear collapsible 3-bike carrier on the road.
A Bell heavy duty cable lock, thru both frames, completes the scene.
Am I being paranoid?
And am I being paranoid enough..? [emoji848]
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Old 10-08-2019, 04:22 PM   #18
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I like under the bed storage, most mountain bikers with sprinter vans do that. Is there enough head room to do that and make sitting in the bed comfortable?
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Old 10-08-2019, 05:22 PM   #19
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Yeah, I thought about the bike thief who already has a ride, but didn't want to go into a whole dissertation. [emoji41]If I had sufficient surplus space, mine'd ride inside, too.
Not being the case, when in between camp sites, it's loving nestled onto my Road Gear collapsible 3-bike carrier on the road.
A Bell heavy duty cable lock, thru both frames, completes the scene.
Am I being paranoid?
And am I being paranoid enough..? [emoji848]
Check out the Lockpicking Lawyer on Youtube if you want to see how worthless most locks (especially bike locks) are. A lot of these open with a simple raking attack which takes just seconds and looks like you're just fiddling with a real key. My bike's going to be inside no matter what it takes.
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Old 10-08-2019, 10:08 PM   #20
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I like under the bed storage, most mountain bikers with sprinter vans do that. Is there enough head room to do that and make sitting in the bed comfortable?
My bed came out at 40" high on top to fit the tallest bike we have- with the front wheel off. That gives me between 30-36" over the mattress. As with most things in buslife, my 6'2" height is not an advantage.
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