Mounting Bikes on Surco Ladder-Mount RV Bike Rack SP501BR

Updated 03/02/2016 | Published 03/01/2016

Question:

Most pictures I see about mounting bike shows the bikes being placed on the rack in a vertical position. Can the bike also mounted horizontally?

asked by: Alvin B

Expert Reply:

Since most RV ladders are mounted on one side or the other (rather than in the center) it is likely that parts of your bikes could extend out beyond the sides of the RV if they were installed horizontally on the Surco 2 Bike Carrier # SP501BR. It is possible that in some specific circumstances a small child's bike, for example, might be mounted horizontally on such a ladder-mounted bike rack but this is unlikely to be the case with any adult bike. You want to ensure that the loaded bikes do not reduce your clearance on the side of the coach. No part of the bike should extend beyond the RV itself.

If horizontal mounting of bikes is preferred you may instead care to use a hitch-mount rack since this will be installed at the RV's center line. We offer both bumper- and frame-mount 2-inch RV hitches that can be seen on the linked page. It is a good idea to check with your RV maker about their preferred method for hitch installation on your particular RV. I suggest you contact them with your VIN.

Once you have a 2-inch hitch on the RV you can use an RV-approved hitch-mount bike rack such as the Swagman Dispatch 2 Bike Platform Rack # S44FR.

expert reply by: Adam R