Best RV Bike Rack for Trucks: Why We Switched from a Tri-Fold Cover
If you’re looking for the best RV bike rack for trucks or wondering how to carry bikes while towing an Airstream or other travel trailer, you aren’t alone. It’s the number one question we get asked at the campground. Finding a truck bed bike rack that works with a tonneau cover while keeping your gear secure and your trailer balanced is the ultimate puzzle for any RVer who is also a cyclist.
Comparing RV Bike Rack Options for Travel Trailers
When we decided to hit the road full-time, we looked at every possible way to transport our bikes. If you’re a fellow traveler who owns bikes, you know the struggle. We narrowed it down to five choices, and for us, four of them were non-starters:
- 🙅🏻♂️ The Front Hitch Mount: This puts your expensive bikes right in the “line of fire” for bugs, gravel, and road debris. Plus, it blocks the driver’s view and messes with the truck’s front sensors and cameras.
- 🙅🏻♂️ The Trailer Rear Mount (Fiamma or Hitch): This was a double-no for us. While the Fiamma rack (preferred by Airstreamers) doesn’t require a hitch, it somewhat blocks the rear bumper storage on the Airstream, which we use constantly. It also doesn’t seem like a good way to mount bikes with carbon frames. The alternative would be to install a hitch receiver on the trailer. That adds more weight to the rear of the trailer. Once you add a heavy rack and bikes, everything is cantilevered way out the back, which can decrease tongue weight and induce dangerous trailer sway.
- 🙅🏻♂️ Inside the Trailer: This is how we used to carry our bikes in our Airstream Basecamp 16x. It worked in the rough and ready Basecamp for weekend or week-long trips, but it would be a hassle for full-timers. Plus, it gets the interior dirty, and you’re constantly tripping over handlebars.
- 🙅🏻♂️ The Truck Cap (a.k.a. camper shell): We considered this, but it would require us to remove the front wheels from the bikes every time we load up. Plus, you have to stoop over inside the bed to reach anything. That’s just not an option when you’re managing back issues!
- 👍🏻 The Over-Bed Rack: We already had a tri-fold tonneau cover on our pickup, but learned that we would need to buy a new tonneau cover if we wanted to put bike racks over the bed. Still, this seemed like the overall best choice that would allow us to carry cargo securely and (mostly) dry inside the bed, while safely and securely carrying our bikes above the bed. After a lot of research and consideration, this felt like a “no-brainer.”
Our Winning Setup: The Best RV Bike Rack for Trucks
For those who don’t know, we named our Airstream, Al Denty, and we tow it with our GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate which we call Nate. (Nate n’ Al… IYKYK!). To make this work, we had to ditch our old tri-fold tonneau cover for a more versatile system.
We landed on the RetraxPRO XR paired with a Yakima rack system. The Retrax is a heavy-duty aluminum cover that retracts into a canister, but its “superpower” is its integrated T-slot rail system. These rails allow us to mount a full rack system above the bed, keeping our gear inside the bed dry and locked up. And while we went with Yakima, any of the big name rail-mounted rack systems (Thule, etc.) will certainly fit.
The “Nate n’ Al” Gear List: Specific Parts We Use
After nearly three years and thousands of miles on the road, here is the exact hardware we trust (make sure you double-check the specific part numbers that will fit your specific vehicle):
- RetraxPRO XR Tonneau Cover (Our GMC uses Part No. T-81484, but check your make and model): The foundation with those crucial T-slot rails.
- Yakima HD Bars (Extra Large): Heavy-duty crossbars built for the vibration of the open road.
- Yakima HighRoad Bike Racks: Our favorite part—no wheel removal required! Just roll them on and go.
- Yakima SkyLine Towers & Landing Pads: What connects the bars securely to the Retrax rails.
- Yakima SKS Lock Cores: A “Same Key System” so one key unlocks every part of the rack. We bought a six-pack (one for each SkyLine Tower and one for each bike rack).
Important: Why This Rack May Not Work for Heavy E-Bikes
Before you hit “add to cart,” there is one big caveat: Weight.
While this Yakima system is rock-solid for standard road, gravel, and/or mountain bikes, it may not be the best choice for heavy e-bikes. Most e-bikes weigh significantly more than traditional bikes, and lifting a 60-70 lb. e-bike up onto a truck-bed-height rack is a recipe for a back injury (trust us on this!).
If you’re traveling with e-bikes, you’ll want to double-check:
- Rack Weight Capacity: Ensure the specific rack is rated for the extra weight.
- Your Vertical Limit: If you aren’t comfortable lifting that much weight over your head, a bumper-mounted or hitch-mounted tray (with a ramp) might be a better (though more complex) trade-off for your specific needs.
Final Thoughts
Upgrading to a rail-based tonneau system was a game-changer for our workflow. It saves our backs, protects the bikes from road debris, and keeps the weight centered where it belongs.
If you see Nate n’ Al at a campground soon, feel free to come by for a closer look!
P.S. Our thanks to Jim & Cheryl for inspiring this post.
Note: The links above are Amazon affiliate links. If you use them, it doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it helps us keep our “Destinations, Dents, and Discoveries” coming your way. Happy trails!
