Anyone tried to Use Roof Bike Rack in Bed?

[SeanBonham]

For chits and giggles I tossed a RockyMounts roof tray in the bed for approx sizing. Even with the tray slid against the cab; it still pokes out quite a bit and may leave you unable to hold the front. Slid forward enough to hold the bike moved you to far forward to utilize the threaded insert. This would need to add “Nut-serts” for the mounting.

Thanks for doing this!

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[dedMann]

you Betchya! Being a tinkerer type and owning a bike shop; it drives me to help alleviate questions for bike wonderments. If ANYONE has a question about making their truck bike friendly; just reach out. through the years I have helped solve problems the aftermarket has not had to address.... as the old men say: "there is more than one way to skin a potato"

 

[areed17]

I took two 1UP USA van trays, a pair of toggle clamps to latch to the stock D-ring tiedowns, and built a wood frame for bike trays. Oriented opposite of their hitch rack. it wedges the front wheel down against the rear of the cab/front of the bed. I'll run a bungee or strap through the rear wheels.

Originally tried using some rivet nuts, but the location I drilled near the cab had a bracket nearby that prevented install of rivet nut. The ribs on the bottom of the bed are also narrower than the base of the bike tray so it didn't support it well from side-to-side wobble.

 

[Terrenceyao]

I like your setup. I already have a 1up HD 2 pack. I’m thinking of taking it apart and make it so I can hold 4 bikes in back for the days we shuttle. Do you have any issue with the back end of the bikes moving around when cornering?

I took two 1UP USA van trays, a pair of toggle clamps to latch to the stock D-ring tiedowns, and built a wood frame for bike trays. Oriented opposite of their hitch rack. it wedges the front wheel down against the rear of the cab/front of the bed. I'll run a bungee or strap through the rear wheels.

Originally tried using some rivet nuts, but the location I drilled near the cab had a bracket nearby that prevented install of rivet nut. The ribs on the bottom of the bed are also narrower than the base of the bike tray so it didn't support it well from side-to-side wobble.

 

[WildHorse]

I like your setup. I already have a 1up HD 2 pack. I’m thinking of taking it apart and make it so I can hold 4 bikes in back for the days we shuttle. Do you have any issue with the back end of the bikes moving around when cornering?

I guess you can use the tailgate tiedown with a bungee cord?

 

[LeersMav]

You'll notice, I disassembled the hitch part and flipped it. I bought the smaller one so it would fit in any receiver I own. This gave me the option to to rearrange it so the "Filler" block lives above. It lowers the overall height enough to open tail gate with the leaves out. This helps swapping the shoes while sitting on the tail gate

Been looking for the tire holder type racks since I have a 56lb ebike. Thanks for sharing. I ordered the INNO 110 to see how that will look. Got the ebike into the bed diagonally changing the retaining cables to the 30' position to bring it home. Ebikes are too heavy to keep lifting them into the bed.

 

[Smack]

I put the TruXedo Elevate TS rails.
Yakima Landing Pad 1, Skyline Towers, and Round bars (had them).
Put the roof rack bike racks on and it might clear the garage door.

 

[LM42]

I don't have my Maverick yet. One of my main use case is to transport my road bike occasionally. I haven't been very satisfied with some discussed solutions:

1.) roof rack: not so convenient and I'm forgetful driving into garage with the bike on top is a highly possible incident waiting to happen;
2.) hitch rack: block the tollgate/camera/license plate, etc.
3.) tailgate pad: not so sure it's good idea for carbon frames
4.) bed rack as Ford DIY project: too lazy to take the wheel off

SO, I get another idea: take the roof rack and tie it on the bed floor. The only question is whether the tie-down is steady enough. Any one has tried the idea?

Tailgate pad is by far the easiest option. I have hauled $50K in bikes to Big Bear and back and all around AZ incident free this way. If your carbon frame gets damaged just from transport like this, that frame is highly questionable.

 

[WildHorse]

Tailgate pad is by far the easiest option. I have hauled $50K in bikes to Big Bear and back and all around AZ incident free this way. If your carbon frame gets damaged just from transport like this, that frame is highly questionable.

I guess my 1K bike is more expensive relative to my total worth than billionaire's million-dollar cars. Just joke.

But I think road bike is quite different from mounties geometrically, when we talking about putting on the pad.

By the way, I just got my hard tonneau cover (two months ahead of my expected truck). I thought suction rack might be a good one but then found that the cover's surface if textured so the suction cup wouldn't stay. Any easy solution? I have to admit I'm not hardware handy at all -- I only make software for living.

 

[LM42]

I guess my 1K bike is more expensive relative to my total worth than billionaire's million-dollar cars. Just joke.

But I think road bike is quite different from mounties geometrically, when we talking about putting on the pad.

By the way, I just got my hard tonneau cover (two months ahead of my expected truck). I thought suction rack might be a good one but then found that the cover's surface if textured so the suction cup wouldn't stay. Any easy solution? I have to admit I'm not hardware handy at all -- I only make software for living.

So are you carrying road bikes or mountain? I was referring to mountain bikes. But have carried road bikes the same. My road bike is a fraction of the cost of my enduro bike, but neither make me nervous to use a tailgate pad. I think my real preference would be to have a bed rack and carry the bikes mounted above the bed to still have full bed capacity for items. But I am not sure I want to put that much money into it, when a pad gets me by. Those Seasucker things work awesome. But I think you are correct in thinking you cannot use them on a textured surface.

 

[WildHorse]

So are you carrying road bikes or mountain? I was referring to mountain bikes. But have carried road bikes the same. My road bike is a fraction of the cost of my enduro bike, but neither make me nervous to use a tailgate pad. I think my real preference would be to have a bed rack and carry the bikes mounted above the bed to still have full bed capacity for items. But I am not sure I want to put that much money into it, when a pad gets me by. Those Seasucker things work awesome. But I think you are correct in thinking you cannot use them on a textured surface.

Yeah, I'm roadies only.

I'm exactly in your reasoning, too. I want to have the bed available. And I don't think I carry my bike very often and my cover will stay on most of the time. But when I need the open bed ( like dumping yard waste), I want to be able to take off the cover easily. Gee, am I whining?!

Suction racks, I find a Chinese brand, RockBro. It is a quite reliable brand. I have bought multiple items from it. And its suction rack cost much less than Seasucker. For a 2-bike version, $254 on Amaon, even cheaper on Ebay.

 

[Helloimnormal]

I don't have my Maverick yet. One of my main use case is to transport my road bike occasionally. I haven't been very satisfied with some discussed solutions:

1.) roof rack: not so convenient and I'm forgetful driving into garage with the bike on top is a highly possible incident waiting to happen;
2.) hitch rack: block the tollgate/camera/license plate, etc.
3.) tailgate pad: not so sure it's good idea for carbon frames
4.) bed rack as Ford DIY project: too lazy to take the wheel off

SO, I get another idea: take the roof rack and tie it on the bed floor. The only question is whether the tie-down is steady enough. Any one has tried the idea?

I know its not how you described but this is how I run around with my bike. Thule circuit rack attached to Thule Aero Bars attacked to the elevate rail system.

 

[TdotMav]

Can a tonneau cover fit under the bed rails?

 

[HybridArea51XLT]

I took two 1UP USA van trays, a pair of toggle clamps to latch to the stock D-ring tiedowns, and built a wood frame for bike trays. Oriented opposite of their hitch rack. it wedges the front wheel down against the rear of the cab/front of the bed. I'll run a bungee or strap through the rear wheels.

Originally tried using some rivet nuts, but the location I drilled near the cab had a bracket nearby that prevented install of rivet nut. The ribs on the bottom of the bed are also narrower than the base of the bike tray so it didn't support it well from side-to-side wobble.

Hi all,

I have found this thread very informative. I now plan on designing something for myself similar to areed17. I don't have my Maverick yet, so I can't really build/show it. I will use one or both of the wood "cross bars" and the toggle clamps to secure it down, like above. However, I will swap the oneup van trays for the front wheel retainer on my existing Thule Sidearm 594xt. I think this should work beautifully. The whole front wheel assembly slides off and has holes to run bolts or screws into the wood frame. This would hold the front wheel of a bike very securely and the rear wheel would be loose or strapped onto the tailgate. Essentially, this would be very similar to areed17's except that the front wheel does not need to use the back of the cab to brace against. You could opt to fasten the whole bike tray to the wood frame, but as shown earlier the tailgate could not close. By only using the front wheel assembly, when a bike is not in the rack, I could close the tailgate and my hard rolling tonneau cover.

Here is the link the bike rack. It is an old model so may need to be found used:
https://www.rei.com/product/799926/thule-sidearm-universal-upright-bike-mount

Here are photos of the front wheel assembly:

 

[MichaelScarn]

Taking my front wheels off isn't a simple thing, especially with disc brakes.

I bought some custom cut 80/20 to drop in the bed slots and hook up some Thule racks to. I don't have the truck yet but hopefully this works.

Wanted to revive this thread. Did you ever get your Maverick and, if so, did this setup work?

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