Bed mounted vs hitch mounted bike rack?

[LoneStar]

Will be moving from hitch mount to bed mount for the first time w/Rivian. Stay tuned for ring camera footage of me pulling into the garage.

Right there with you... always used a hitch mount for my solo e-Mtb.
Got the rail set for the bed and have a Yakima Frontloader in the box
Awaiting R1T delivery next week...
Fearful of doing the idiot move ..

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[SeaGeo]

Glad there's a consensus on this..

It's interesting how many people are going with a 1-up rack. If I go over the bed I've been leaning to a wheel off solution, both to reduce the length requirement and get handlebars a bit lower relative to the roof.

With a hitch mount I'd likely get an Yakima's exo platform or the Kuat Pivot to get the bikes out of the way of the tailgate.

 

[SeaGeo]

One pro of a hitch mount that I forgot about is that it keep the cross bars free for a tent if you want to bring your bikes while using a RTT.

 

[Iwannarivian]

If you have an ebike in your future then I think that's going to dictate a (robust) hitch mount.

True that….my understanding is that the Rivian/Yakima racks only hold 48 lb bikes…

 

[Iwannarivian]

Alright avid bikers I'm stuck on the fence. What're you thoughts on each option and the pros cons? Any ideas on which will be a bigger hit on range?

Does anyone know the width of the tailgate for a bike pad???? It seems too hard a task for Rivian CS or Guide to figure out for me!!! TIA!

 

[KeithPleas]

True that….my understanding is that the Rivian/Yakima racks only hold 48 lb bikes…

More than that - I don't think you'd want to wrestle a 70-80 lb bike up there. My (Aventon Aventure - about $2k) also doesn't have a quick release skewer and a quick grovel of the web indicates QR skewers are rare on ebikes. They all have kickstands though

 

[kylealden]

Hitch rack (1up Equip D let's me still open the tailgate) for longer trips, tailgate pad for local.

Would you be able to grab photos of the equip-d setup with the tailgate open?

 

[abirozy]

i know this was mentioned earlier, but now that more people have got their R1T what tailgate pads are reccomended?

 

[zefram47]

I've always gone with a hitch rack and probably going to stick to that route. But I am concerned about the ease with which one could accidentally drop the tailgate right onto the bike/rack. Kinda hoping that Rivian makes an option to lock out the tailgate release or make it a double-press for confirmation or something.

 

[danielvdm]

Would you be able to grab photos of the equip-d setup with the tailgate open?

Obviously this wouldn't work with bikes loaded on the trays. If you wanted to solve for that you'd need to get the RakAttach.

 

[Sagalyn]

I’ve got a Kaut hitch rack on mine. Took it on a road trip from my home in Massachusetts to the Kingdom trails at the top of Vermont. No chargers up there, so I made a stop midway through with plans to round trip back to recharge. With two bikes loaded and a very undulating highway, I drove about 165 miles round trip from a charger midway through the journey. I left the charging station with 280 mile range showing on the Rivian and returned with 28 miles of range showing. Not sure how much of the range was impacted by the bikes versus the mountains, but range anxiety is real.

 

[Dman250]

For me a tailgate pad is the way to go for local rides. For road trips when I have a bunch of gear I use a hitch rack to free up bed space. I tried a bed mount rack and thought it was a hassle.

Thousands of miles carrying two bikes in a pickup and this is what we do. There’s a video out there somewhere showing a Dakine, I think, pad on an R1T. As for hitch rack, we use 1Up on our Tacoma and it does allow lowering the tailgate all the way even with 2 bikes loaded. Based on one of the pictures above the nice long R1T tailgate may prevent that … may be worth looking at a hitch extender If clearance can be achieved with only a little extra overhang. On our Tacoma I think I get slightly better mpg with the bikes on the pad than on the rack.

 

[SkyFall]

I'm using the 1Up Equip-D Double and can readily adjust the distance between the tailgate to my liking. First use with Driver+ on 10 miles of freeway was flawless.

I too have been using the 1up for years and been using the 2" Equip-D Single with 3 add on's when needed. I originally started with the Double Equip-D, but exchanged for the single since many riding days I'm just transporting my bikes and like the simplicity, Note, i'm still waiting for my R1T and currently using this rack on our Tesla Model 3 and Subaru Outback. When need trunk access we just lower the bikes down. It can get heaving depending on the bikes and how many loaded when lowering. We also use the 1up locks if we are quickly running into a store but only for a few minutes. Most times someone stays with our bikes!

 

[Bullitt]

I plan to use my hitch mounted Thule as I have it already and it works great… That said, I may give the 1UP over the bed a go. I ride an XL Bronson 27.5 and it tends to need the full tray length on the Thule, but if it can fit up there it saves me the time as Im usually not driving far for rides.

 

[SeaGeo]

Obviously this wouldn't work with bikes loaded on the trays. If you wanted to solve for that you'd need to get the RakAttach.

Thanks! Out of curiosity, what made you choose the Equip-D vs their other racks? It wasn't totally obvious to me when perusing 1-ups website.

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