Suggestions for bike rack?

I mountain bike a lot and am not sure if a hitch rack would work with my spare tire mount since it sticks out so far. Anyone have this same setup and best kind of bike rack to get? Should I get a modifier for my roof? Not sure what to do here....

 

Is that a Gobi rack you have? They make crossbars that sit on the top of the side rails I believe. You could mount a Yakima rack on there that accepts round bars?

 

Nice rig by the way!!!!

 

Thanks, I love it! Yes it is a Gobi...but no crossbars on the weld like the one in that picture-unless that's something they can do now. I bought truck as is so I wouldn't even know where to go, I tried calling the previous owner to ask him some questions but understandably he never called me back. I kinda want to know why one would put so much into then sell...I like that setup in the picture though.

 

I'm pretty sure they make removable/adjustable cross bars that just bolt on.

 

Here you go...http://www.gobiracks.com/product/toyota-4runner-adjustable-cross-bar/

 

Ouch! Is that price for one lol?? Thanks for the link though its a start

 

I guess technically I would only need one bar, I could use the front or rear bar as the 2nd one. Save me some $$ at least

 

Gobi is quite fond of their products.

If you are considering a hitch mount bike rack, look at the Thule Double Track 990XT. I bought this rack last week and installed/used today for the first time. I am impressed with it. Super easy to assemble and use. I like that it has built in locks on the hitch and for each arm bar that snugs down to hold the bike upright in the tire cradles. Plus, it folds up for storage if you want to keep it installed and it folds down out of the way if you need to open the rear door.

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Thule/TH990XT.html

 

Do you think a hitch mount would work with this tire?

 

I'd vote that if you go hitch route, you'd have to unmount the tire while on your biking adventures. That would be a tight fit however.
Any bike shops near you that may have like a Thule hitch options you could just test out?

 

My bikes are still in my rack. I just measured 16" from the license plate to the edge of the pedal on the bike closest to the truck. If I were to remove that pedal, that would give you another 4-5", so basically 20" from the license plate to the frame of the bike using the same rack I got. Maybe get a four bike rack and use on the outermost spots.

 

You could also just get a conventional 2 bike hitch rack, and a receiver extension - that should give you enough tire clearance. That would turn your rig into a bit of a limo, though, and it would rock around quite a bit. On my old 4Runner ('86) with a hitch mount, I had a ratchet strap I always used and hooked it from one corner of the bumper, around the rack, then to the other corner of the bumper.

Another possibility, would be a couple of bolt-on q/r mounts on your existing roof rack ($20 or $30 a piece). I don't know how thick/robust the bottom of your rack is, but you could take a piece 2" wide (or wider) x 1/8" aluminum (or steel) plate the width of your rack, and bolt that down to the bottom of the rack, and bolt the fork mounts to that. If your rack is expanded steel, you could sandwich the rack between 2 pieces of metal to make it bomb proof.

In my Taco, I have a 6" wide piece of aluminum (it was that wide to stagger the fork mounts so I could hold 5 bikes in the bed) bolted to the front of the bed, vertically. I used a piece of 1/2" x 1/2" aluminum angle bracket bolted to the back to reinforce it.

I would rather go with a hitch rack since getting bikes off a 4Runner is, well, hernia inducing, but since the only time I would be driving the 4runner with bikes is when I'm towing the trailer... so roof it is for me... If I'm just riding the local trails, I'd take my pickup.

 

The THULE DOUBLE TRACK 990 XT has a threaded bolt for the hitch receiver....super sturdy. Check it out. But...if it is extended, probably still bounce around a bit.

 

The rack I had was a pseudo off brand (i.e. not Yakima or Thule) but it still had essentially the same mechanism to tighten the hitch. I found it to work moderately well. The main problem wasn't really the slop in the hitch mechanism, but just overall flex of the rack as a whole. Put a couple DH bikes, or even moderately light weight MTBs and that thing would move around just under it's own weight. I never feared the thing would fall off or break, but I just find rattling and gear moving around annoying. I pretty much strap everything down.

 

Oh, I see. Yeah, even with a tight hitch you will get some bouncing and rattling. Maybe he can somehow secure the bikes on a bike rack but secure them also to the spare tire that will be nearby.

 

Maybe this would work?

https://www.yakima.com/spareride

 

Thanks for all the brainstorming! I feel the same way you do about putting one on the roof, I am 6'4 but that damn roof is pretty tall even for me I thought that ladder was just for looks until I actually had to use it, just to get to the rack much less put a bike that's three feet or more in height up there...but just as you do I have a pickup with a bike pad I can use for in town riding but if I go on a camping trip I would be taking the 4runner, it would be nice to have the bike in tow.

 

This does look like a good idea, only thing is the tire is not in the middle of the back it is off set basically passenger side, I would have to see up close (maybe I can find a used one on CL) to see if it would stick out too far. I do like that crossbar idea too. I'd probably have a 9 foot clearance with the bike on top!

 

Yeah I'm looking at close to 20 inches that tire sticks out at its utmost part. I live in Colorado so there are bike shops everywhere I just don't want to buy from them and pay that markup.

 

Yeah, I'm even considering putting some custom bike rails on my camper trailer roof (a pop up camper). I haven't pulled the trigger on that yet, either, as I don't like drilling holes in roofs!

Wish I had one of the Evolution popups with the cargo rack/toy-hauler rack in front, as even the samller one would easily fit a couple bikes on the front rack, but the ones that would hold a dirtbike or two were awfully close to the max weight for my truck. So if I go camping with the dirt bike, guaranteed I'm taking the pickup anyway.

 

I would recommend the hitch mounted carrier from ici-carriers from Australia. They really know their Overlanding equipment.

http://www.isi-carriers.com/customers/isi-bicycle-carrier-customers.html

 

There is your solution right there.

 

Those Aussie racks are pretty cool, but at $500 plus shipping from across the pond, there's gotta be a better option more locally.

Heck, I'll build you one for $500... ;-)

 

$500 Aussie dollars is like $46 U.S. dollars. Their economy is down under. Kidding.

 

$695 AUS, which is roughly $500...

 

twas a joke

 

I know

 

Yeah that is definitely what would probably work for me, but like other poster said gotta be a better local option. Hitch rack with an extender is what some have suggested. Gotta be secure though I don't like my stuff bouncing around!

 

If you're just driving around on the streets, you probably won't notice the movements with a nicer rack (I had a cheap one so even street driving I wanted to strap them down), but off-road I'd 100% lock those bikes in to the bumper with a ratchet strap or two...

Although, I just thought about the fact that the newer 4Runners have giant plastic "bumpers". My old best gen 4Runner had a custom steel bumper, but even a stock metal bumper is better, imo. If you've got a tow hook or two under the bumper, use that, or maybe strap to the tow hitch. Just play around with it. I dunno, you might mind that you don't need the straps at all (unless going off road).