Bike Racks... Tailgate Pad or Hitch Rack for frequent use.

[colinl]

I can definitely feel the wind resistance with my bike on the hitchrack. I haven't calculated the MPG's but I'm not too worried about it.

I scrolled back a few posts and realized you actually commented before on liking how high the bike sits. I wish I'd thought of it before the trip I'm on now, but I actually own a kuat hi/lo extender and could try it in the low position to see how much ground clearance I've got and if that helps aerodynamics enough to make a noticeable difference at 80+mph.

The hi/lo is for my Bronco, and I don't know for sure if the hitch will have reasonable ground clearance. Dragging the stinger on the bottom of the hitch is no fun, I've done it on previous SUV and wagons I've owned.

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[Daverick]

I went with a set of Yakima cross bars and a Yakima rack. Works brilliantly for me. I do have a hitch mount rack as well, but I am deathly afraid of being rear ended and the bike getting destroyed so I dont use it much.

I went a similar route, but without the tray. I just drilled the fork mount and a QuickFist directly into the crossbars. Front wheels secured in my cargo basket with a bungee cord.

 

[Noahma]

I went a similar route, but without the tray. I just drilled the fork mount and a QuickFist directly into the crossbars. Front wheels secured in my cargo basket with a bungee cord.

That looks nice!
I went with the Yakima solution because it can quickly be installed and pulled off, and I could keep the tri-fold tonneau cover installed. I did not want to have to spend a ton of time swapping them out. It takes me about 5 min. to reinstall the cross bars, and bike rack, and the tonneau cover just folds up. Works well enough I will probably get another of the racks for my wife's bike for next year. I really do not like my hitch rack being out there with soo many bad drivers behind me.

 

[Hillbilly]

Hitch rack

 

[Rehpa]

I have the NSR 4-Bike hitch mount. The problem is I can't use it when heading out the camp with the trailer. Picked up two Bomber straps this week when they went on sale on Amazon. With out easy they are to take on and off I'm not sure I'll use the NSR any more.

 

[colinl]

I have the NSR 4-Bike hitch mount. The problem is I can't use it when heading out the camp with the trailer. Picked up two Bomber straps this week when they went on sale on Amazon. With out easy they are to take on and off I'm not sure I'll use the NSR any more.

Lol that last pic looks crazy. Obviously yours is a 29er but what is your kid's MTB.. a 20"?

 

[Rehpa]

Lol that last pic looks crazy. Obviously yours is a 29er but what is your kid's MTB.. a 20"?

Yes, it is the Commencal Ramones 20. He is currently five and does well on that wheel size. My three year old daughter rides on the Kids Ride Shotgun seat that is mounted to my bike.

 

[Crowman]

Very old bike rack that I’m using on my Ford maverick.

 

[Phimosis]

Very old bike rack that I’m using on my Ford maverick.

Is that a 1970’s steel framed 10 speed? 🥸

 

[Crowman]

Yes it is steel baby It’s a Peugeot I bought in Germany 40 years ago when I was in the army still works and I still have the legs the pedal it.!

 

[Sled]

Great thread, still workin' through it all, here is where I ended up. After taking delivery of the Maverick my OG yakima rack was looking a little beat.
Looking at new racks, damn, the days of a rock solid $400-$500 dollar rack are LONG GONE apparently, everything i liked was $800- $1k+++
I looked at the pads but I have an ARE shell that wont allow a pad to work. I looked at the vertical mount type racks but the ones I liked were like $1500 ++ damn,... they are pretty nice tho!..
On a whim, I checked craigslist, and a guy had just posted a 3yo Kuat NV 2.0 for $400 that morning. I messaged him, I could be there that afternoon with cash, he called, accepted my offer...90 min and $325 later:

Works great. very clean and robust design. MUCH lighter, nicer, and easier to mount and lock into position solidly than the old yakima. I had to order keys for the cable locks for $15 and I got a new arm as one had some solid wear under the hook, with some pretty bad scratches and grindage I cant imagine how they happened. The replacement arms were $55... so just under $400 all in.

FWIW im riding a fully modded 2017 Devinci Troy Carbon (My Big Bear special for the most part anymore ;-) a similarly upgraded to the hilt 2020 SC Heckler as my daily.

...also on that 3-4 rides / 45 + miles a week plan these days... need to burn some ass away.....

Ride fast and safe my friends!

 

[colinl]

On a whim, I checked craigslist, and a guy had just posted a 3yo Kuat NV 2.0 for $400 that morning. I messaged him, I could be there that afternoon with cash, he called, accepted my offer...90 min and $325

nice bikes! you've got some big ol' brakes on that Heckler. my bike is a '17 Santa Cruz Bronson and it has pretty much the best of anything you can get, also.

I still use my hitch rack now and then, it's a Yakima Dr Tray with the +1 add-on. I have noticed as it's aged the trays can move with moderate force; that's a major feature of the rack to be able to move them around to prevent bike-to-bike contact, and then when you lock it down, they should stay. they mostly do, but I bet another 5-10 years they won't stay put at all.

since I last replied to this thread, I upgraded my tailgate pad to a new Fox Mission, which is the same as the RaceFace T3, except for graphics. It is about 1.5" wider than my old Fox Overland and if you have it centered perfectly the tailgate latches fine, but if it's skewed at all the pad is wide enough (probably Ranger/Tacoma sized) that it will prevent the tailgate from latching. I like that the lower section is adjustable so you can make it cover the entire Maverick tailgate so you won't have any tires or other parts rubbing on the truck, and if you put this same pad on a Ridgeline, which is a very short tailgate due to the swing-out function, it fits also.

edit: I can't upload pics from my work laptop lol. not sure when happened but editing on my phone seems to work.

 

[DDK]

I'm trying to get out on the MTB 3-4 times a week this summer. After works rides / weekend adventures. Trying to decide which kinda bike rack solution to go with. Any frequent Mountain Bikers happy with their rack choice for the Maverick? 99% of the time will be 1 bike. Full Squish 29er. I do like the tailgate pad idea, cheap and easy, but long term damage to the tailgate paint seems inevitable with that route. Guess I could have the tailgate wrapped with PPF. Living with a hitch rack on all summer could be a pain as well. Any thoughts / reviews?
Bike photo for attention

We are interested in the tailgate pad when we tow the Maverick behind the RV. Any one with experience with the pads and e-bikes?

 

[colinl]

Any one with experience with the pads and e-bikes?

yes, I've hauled 4 types:
- light(ish) emtb, specialized levo sl
fatter lower tube, but works pretty much the same as a regular mtb without issue since it's 40 pounds.

- heavy emtb, 1st gen trek powerfly fs
fatter lower tube and pretty heavy around 50-52 pounds. you can somewhat brace it against the wheel arches, which works for 2 bikes.

- heavy step-through bike with low center battery
not sure what brand/model but taller bikes can want to move around more when they're only secured via velcro on the lower tube.

- heavy step-through bike with rear motor
my mother in law has some kind of trek that has a rear hub motor and it is pretty unstable in a tailgate pad because of how much weight is in the back, unsupported. it moved on a short trip on good roads, I would not trust it on the interstate OR on a bumpy dirt road.

if you have a really heavy e bike, the ones that are basically eletric motorcycles, I would not recommend using a tailgate pad. you need a tray style hitch mounted rack that is rated for the weight of the bikes.

 

[DDK]

yes, I've hauled 4 types:
- light(ish) emtb, specialized levo sl
fatter lower tube, but works pretty much the same as a regular mtb without issue since it's 40 pounds.

- heavy emtb, 1st gen trek powerfly fs
fatter lower tube and pretty heavy around 50-52 pounds. you can somewhat brace it against the wheel arches, which works for 2 bikes.

- heavy step-through bike with low center battery
not sure what brand/model but taller bikes can want to move around more when they're only secured via velcro on the lower tube.

- heavy step-through bike with rear motor
my mother in law has some kind of trek that has a rear hub motor and it is pretty unstable in a tailgate pad because of how much weight is in the back, unsupported. it moved on a short trip on good roads, I would not trust it on the interstate OR on a bumpy dirt road.

if you have a really heavy e bike, the ones that are basically eletric motorcycles, I would not recommend using a tailgate pad. you need a tray style hitch mounted rack that is rated for the weight of the bikes.

Our e-bikes weigh 65 each.

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