Are there any easy solutions to putting a bicycle on a tandem axle open car trailer? My towing setup looks like this:
My original idea was a front hitch on my truck. That messes with my active cruise control. Putting it on the roof of the truck requires a stepladder.
I have seen a few setups that put the bike in the V of the trailer. Does anyone have experience with the travel trailer high hitch mounts that do this?
Are there any better options? I sort of want to stick a 2" hitch into the trailers dovetail so I can put a bike in the back.
I've seen an ad for a hitch drawbar that had a provision for an additional mounting point as well as the trailer ball on the end. If that's something you could find, you might be able to mount a bike rack there.
In reply to ojannen :
I was gonna suggest a 2" receiver on the back of the trailer....
I'd flip that over and mount it to the deck, wherever it makes sense
Hitch on the car? Assuming that's the one you're always towing.
cyow5
HalfDork
6/16/25 9:08 a.m.
Lay it flat on the beavertail and strap it to the deck hooks?
Assigning your using the bike as pit transportation, can you take off the front wheel and just stuff the bike into the back of the car?
e-trailer has options to mount to spare tires (think Jeep) and to flat bumpers and roof baskets. I bet you could use something from there to fab up your own custom solution. Looks like you have room behind the BMW, so maybe something mounted to the floor? Or this thing?
Put a trailer hitch on the car and get one of those trailer hitch mounted bicycle carriers. These are removable by just pulling the pin in the hitch.
If the vehicle on the trailer has a hitch, I put my bike carrier in it. Another solid option would be a hitch receiver mounted on the trailer.
Could you park the car about 1' further back on the trailer and put the bike across the trailer right behind the tool box? Maybe bolt down a front wheel chock for the front wheel, a bit of U channel for the rear, and some straps to hold the tires in place. Way faster than having a bike rack you have to remove from the towed vehicle, doesn't depend on always towing the same car, doesn't neccesitate taking the wheel off, etc.
Take the wheels off and put it in the trunk of the car :)
Downsides to adding a hitch to the car are weight (if racecar) and count (if multiple or differing cars).
If there is or can be enough room between the toolbox and the nose of the car then I'd slip it sideways in there under a strap or two. A quick hit with a pedal wrench and some padding and you could get a nice snug fit, as long as the car doesn't move around too much.
Probably better than straps would be a truck bed mounting kit on the toolbox, like one of these:
ojannen
HalfDork
6/16/25 12:50 p.m.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
That bolt on bumper receiver is exactly what I was trying to describe. I didn't realize they existed.
To answer the other questions. The bike won't fit in the Z3 even without wheels. I previously had a setup using fork mounts in the truck bed but they no longer work due to the bed cap.
I own a trailer hitch for the Z3. I took it off when I switched from a tire trailer to a full trailer. Are there any concerns about metal fatigue or cracking with a bike on a trailer hitch on a car on a trailer?
I took a serious look at the 1up van tray to mount in front of the car. I decided against it for now because there isn't room for a bike in front of the car with the current trailer wieght distribution. I hadn't considered pulling off the pedals. I might give that a shot. My long term plans include a tire rack above the tool box. That should let me put the car wherever I want it on the trailer.
