Hanging a 1up bike tray off the spare tire... any ideas? (Edit: SOLVED!!)

[paleh0rse]

Ok, I currently have a 1up roof tray that I'm not using and I'd like to hang it off the spare tire somehow. Why, you might ask? Well, I also have a 1up hitch rack, but I'd like to reclaim the hitch for actually towing a trailer - or, more importantly, reclaim my stock departure angles for off-road use.

The tray looks like this:

I've been studying various spare tire storage racks, reinforcement kits, etc, but still haven't found anything that would easily lend itself to hanging this tray off the spare. My guess is that I'll have to get something fabricated, but I figured I'd try to fish for ideas before doing that.

I basically just need to hang a pair of mounting bars off the rear, like so:

Anyone know of anything I could use for this purpose, or something I could modify/adapt to hang the bars?

All ideas welcome!

EDIT: Thanks to a lot of efforts by forum user @bb163 , there is now a prototype adapter that solves this problem! Check out the most recent posts in this thread for more photos, but here is what it looks like on my Bronco:

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[CptSamFalcon]

RucRak would work. That's the bike rack I use.

 

[the poacher]

How much is your bike worth?

 

[paleh0rse]

RucRak would work. That's the bike rack I use.

I did consider that option. Unfortunately, it also uses the hitch for a stability bar at the bottom, which defeats the purpose of moving away from the 1up hitch rack I'm currently using.

Still a pretty damn cool rack, though!

How much is your bike worth?

My bikes are all priceless to me.

Why?

 

[paleh0rse]

Thinking about fashioning a prototype using 8020 aluminum and straps, but haven't quite worked out how I'll accommodate the third brake light.

I think it would be better to hang something from an existing aftermarket rack/mount of some sort, but haven't found one yet that would work well for that purpose.

 

[BroncoA512021]

www.xrack.us

 

[paleh0rse]

www.xrack.us

Are you referring to a particular product from Xrack?

 

[the poacher]

I did consider that option. Unfortunately, it also uses the hitch for a stability bar at the bottom, which defeats the purpose of moving away from the 1up hitch rack I'm currently using.

Still a pretty damn cool rack, though!


My bikes are all priceless to me.

Why?

I ask as even purchased bike racks that hang off of the rear tire are not that secure. There is a lot of movement from these type of racks, allowing for potential damage to your bike. Particularly, if you go off of pavement to get to trail heads. If you bikes are priceless, I would suggest you go with a roof mounted rack system, allowing you to use your rear hitch for your towing, and keep your bike safe up on top.

 

[CptSamFalcon]

I did consider that option. Unfortunately, it also uses the hitch for a stability bar at the bottom, which defeats the purpose of moving away from the 1up hitch rack I'm currently using.

Still a pretty damn cool rack, though!


My bikes are all priceless to me.

Why?

you don’t *need* to install the hitch stabiliser/feet. It’s just recommended for weight distribution.

Before I had my rucrak I used this for my bikes.
You could probably rig your tray to it.

Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Spare Tire Rack , Black https://a.co/d/24qcpJi

honestly though slapping this tray on the tongue of whatever trailer you’re wanting to pull will be much more stable. Two bike carrying setups might be what you need.

 

[paleh0rse]

I ask as even purchased bike racks that hang off of the rear tire are not that secure. There is a lot of movement from these type of racks, allowing for potential damage to your bike. Particularly, if you go off of pavement to get to trail heads. If you bikes are priceless, I would suggest you go with a roof mounted rack system, allowing you to use your rear hitch for your towing, and keep your bike safe up on top.

The idea would be to make the tray extremely stable when hung from the tire. I have no idea if that's possible, but feel that I have to try.

With the roof rack and tent on top, I don't know if putting a bike at the very top will make me too tall for many locations - especially on trails with tree cover. It just seems awfully high? I really don't know, as I've never run a rack that high before. Maybe.

 

[paleh0rse]

you don’t *need* to install the hitch stabiliser/feet. It’s just recommended for weight distribution.

Before I had my rucrak I used this for my bikes.
You could probably rig your tray to it.

Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Spare Tire Rack , Black https://a.co/d/24qcpJi

honestly though slapping this tray on the tongue of whatever trailer you’re wanting to pull will be much more stable. Two bike carrying setups might be what you need.

Thank you for the ideas and feedback!

I will not be towing most of the time, so my main objective here is to reclaim my departure angles when I'm offroad on rough trails and carrying a bike.

The secondary objective is to just make it easier/faster to swap to my kayak trailer whenever I go fishing - something I only do from home, not when I'm out exploring the Western part of the country on extended solo trips.

I hope that makes sense...lol

 

[the poacher]

The idea would be to make the tray extremely stable when hung from the tire. I have no idea if that's possible, but feel that I have to try.

With the roof rack and tent on top, I don't know if putting a bike at the very top will make me too tall for many locations - especially on trails with tree cover. It just seems awfully high? I really don't know, as I've never run a rack that high before. Maybe.

It never hurts to try, and I wish you success, but as stated, I have yet to see one that is really stable.
If you do have room on your rack, know that I have transported bikes on top of my Bronco to many different trail heads throughout the western U.S. and B.C., and I have never run into a problem with tree cover, thankfully. You do have to be aware though of underground parking...

 

[paleh0rse]

It never hurts to try, and I wish you success, but as stated, I have yet to see one that is really stable.
If you do have room on your rack, know that I have transported bikes on top of my Bronco to many different trail heads throughout the western U.S. and B.C., and I have never run into a problem with tree cover, thankfully. You do have to be aware though of underground parking...

The tent I'm getting has bars on top that could hold the tray, but I'm definitely worried about height. Even getting the bike up/down while standing on the sliders might be a challenge. I'll definitely test it when the tent comes. Thanks again!

 

[JediMcMuffin]

The idea would be to make the tray extremely stable when hung from the tire. I have no idea if that's possible, but feel that I have to try.

With the roof rack and tent on top, I don't know if putting a bike at the very top will make me too tall for many locations - especially on trails with tree cover. It just seems awfully high? I really don't know, as I've never run a rack that high before. Maybe.

You could lay your bike on it's side on the roof. That or remove both your wheels and put the bike inside the Bronco? I guess if your Bronco is a 2D then your interior space is pretty pathetic.

Otherwise, a rather expensive way to go about this would be to do a spare delete, move the spare tire to the roof, and do a bumper mounted carrier on one of those swingout bumpers.

 

[paleh0rse]

You could lay your bike on it's side on the roof. That or remove both your wheels and put the bike inside the Bronco? I guess if your Bronco is a 2D then your interior space is pretty pathetic.

Otherwise, a rather expensive way to go about this would be to do a spare delete, move the spare tire to the roof, and do a bumper mounted carrier on one of those swingout bumpers.

All good ideas! Unfortunately, when I 'm packed for extended overlanding trips, the interior is already stuffed with supplies.

Putting the spare tire on top of the wedge RTT may be an option, but I'd be very worried about weight in that case. I might end up putting the bike up there, though. Just need to figure out how difficult it will be to get it up/down, and just how tall the bike will make my vehicle.

Again, all good ideas and I appreciate you helping me brainstorm!

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