5+ Bike Racks.... So expensive

In reply to jgrewe :

Boats are expensive here.  Any boat trailer is worth $400 on its own. Land of 10k lakes and all. And with the stimulus money coming. Everything will be $1400 dollars. Spending more money than a bike rack to spite the government is stupid. 

The trailer seems like a good idea on the surface.  My biggest concern there would be:  trailer-friendly parking at bike trail-heads is rare, isn't it?  

I'm leaning toward the velocirax.  Buy once cry once. 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

I'm leaning toward tge velocirax.  Buy once cry once. 

I just checked out their website.  Looks just like what you need.  Price seems almost reasonable.  Cheaper than a truck.

And ordered. Buy once cry once. 

Those look cool. There's a guy that lives near me that has a similar type, it definitely looks like the best solution. Frankly. I'm surprised it's not over a grand for that one. 

The garage mount kit is cool too, although storing bikes on the rack means unloading them before mounting the rack on the truck. 

Tom Suddard said:

My neighbor had one of those fancy $500 hitch racks, then switched to one of these after seeing mine in action.

But a 1up IS a fancy $500 hitch rack in anything other than a single.  I love mine but a basic double for a 1 1/4" hitch is $540.  4 bikes and you're at $980.  

I am super jealous of a whole mountain biking family.  My 11yo daughter rides her bike 3 or 4 times a year!

EDIT: The velocirax is pretty cool.

5 bikes is a challenge.  I only travel with 2 bikes (me and the kiddo) and they usually just go in the back of the wagen.

Start watching local FB & List of Craig for used sales?  Spending $1200 for a hitch rack seems crazy...but When you have a few thousand dollars worth of bikes hanging from that rack you definitely don't want to cheap-out.  Yakima racks are cheaper ($800).  

I think having an enclosed trailer would be great idea, but I can see that being a challenge parking at lots of trailheads.  

I bought a cheap aluminum fishing boat last year.  My son likes fishing 100x more than mountain biking and it's been a great experience so far. Having the fishing boat is great when we take trips.  You can fit a lot of gear in the jon boat (bikes, coolers, dog crates, etc).

EDIT: VelociRAX does look pretty slick...the garage mount is really smart.