Bump It Offroad Swing out custom bike rack.
I posted this in my build in the 80 section and thought I would share with everyone here in the bike section. I have always tried to travel with bikes, but on trips were we see rougher roads and more technical 4WD trails the bike become more of a problem. Most hitch racks hang too low and the ones that don't seem to allow the bike to swing more then I'm comfortable with. Then you have to deal with the bikes blocking access to rear of the truck, a swing out would be the best answer, I have seen a similar set up done by 4x4Labs but it just wasn't what I was looking for. So when I pulled the trigger on a new bumper from Bump It Offroad I figure now was the time. After a few sketches and emails make in forth with Mike at BOI we cam up with this design:
The arm was built with "cross bars" to mount my Yakima trays from my old set up on the canopy of my Tacoma. Being able to use the Yakima racks allows you to lock the bikes to the rack with the locking skewers. You can also adjust the mounting or take them off and use the arm for mounting some thing else.
Plenty of clearance for the spare.
Improved ground clearance over hitch mounted racks. This is also the lowest bike, the second sits up six inches higher to offset the handlebars on the two bikes.
So far I can't think of a better way to carry bikes on the back of a rig. Being able to swing the bikes out at the end of the day and not having to worry about the bikes hitting each other or hanging up on the trail is a dream. Mike was awesome to work with and would recommend him to any one looking for a custom swing out. :sombrero: