Swing-Away Hitch Extender and Bike Rack Recommendation for Extension on Truck Bed Camper Setup

Updated 10/10/2022 | Published 10/09/2022

Question:

I dont have the camper yet, but will be buying a Northern Lite truck camper, and on their website they have a video recommending a swing-away arm to move the bike rack away from the camper steps which are centered at the rear of the camper. They recommend a Yakima, but Ive reviewed your videos and you seem to like the Kuat, and one of your videos recommended the Kuat over the Thule. Which brand do you believe locks the bikes down best for bumpy roads, especially if the swing arm is hanging on the end of a SuperTruss extension? I am also not sure yet if I want the drivers side swing, or passenger - and one specification I didnt see on your website is the length of the arms so I know where the bikes will end up relative to the drivers side of the camper. With a camper, Im a lot wider than a car or pickup, so knowing how far the bikes would stick into traffic when extended might be good to know. One advantage to the drivers side swing is that it would make entry from the campsite easier without having to walk around the bikes to get to the camper rear door. I dont know if Yakima or Thule make a Drivers Side swing. I hope to get the camper in January, but wanted to educate myself now on what my options will be... Related question... My current bike rack is a Thule T2 Pro - works well for my 2 e-Bikes, but its pretty long, and making my bikes stick WAY out behind our current truck camper. Is there a more compact length bike rack suitable for 2 eBikes each weighing 60 lbs? Im guessing Im going to stick with what I have, but with the swing arm I wouldnt also need the tilt feature on the bike rack, so there might be a rack that is shorter that Id want to look at. Im going from a side-entry camper with a rear slide to a rear entry camper, so length of the overall system is important, and the new system will hopefully be shorter. Attached photo is our current camper and set-up - but for the shorter camper Ill either buy a shorter Supertruss or modify this one so its not so darn long and wont drag as often on backroads.

asked by: Steve O

Helpful Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the info!

Long story short I recommend using the Kuat Pivot 2 # PVD20B that swings to the driver's side of the vehicle. It accomplishes what you're needing done, is a solid piece of hardware, is the easiest to use, and it makes your life at the campsite much more pleasant!

As far as a different bike rack goes, I think you might be interested in the Yakima HoldUp EVO # Y02479 because it's about 7" shorter than the Thule T2 that you currently have and it can carry 50 lb bikes with 4.81" max width tires. This is pretty similar to your current bike rack so if you can double check your bike styles and make sure they are compatible with these specs you'll be good to go!

Attached are some review videos for you to check out. Please keep in mind that pretty much every bike rack manufacturer states not to use an extender like the SuperTruss so adding the swing away to the equation will only increase any amount of movement that's seen at the hitch receiver.

expert reply by: Jon G