Bed mounted vs hitch mounted bike rack?

[Rivian635]

I'm planning to use a tailgate pad for everything local and potentially for road trips as I really don't want to invest in a 4 bike rack just for that purpose.

Question for those with the truck in hand. When a 29" Mtb is loaded over a tailgate pad, how much room is left in the bed - between the rear wheel and the cab? I would consider adding some kind of upright divider to utilize whatever is left of the bed for gear on longer trips if there's decent space available. That space should be easily accessible from gear tunnel doors and could be closed with the tonneau at less than full extension.

This is a great question, the width of the tailgate does not look very tailgate pad / bike friendly when I checked it out on my first mile drive. Seems a lot of people going with a lot of complicated solutions vs a tailgate pad... maybe for good reason. I was hoping for a quick s" throw the bike in and go" solution vs attaching a 1up rack for nearby trail destinations. R1S actually seems to be a better bike transport vehicle - just throw the bike inside - plenty of room

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[Law]

I'm planning to use a tailgate pad for everything local and potentially for road trips as I really don't want to invest in a 4 bike rack just for that purpose.

Question for those with the truck in hand. When a 29" Mtb is loaded over a tailgate pad, how much room is left in the bed - between the rear wheel and the cab? I would consider adding some kind of upright divider to utilize whatever is left of the bed for gear on longer trips if there's decent space available. That space should be easily accessible from gear tunnel doors and could be closed with the tonneau at less than full extension.

This is a large size 29'er

 

[whyasky]

This is a large size 29'er

Thanks! Looks simple enough. Not much room left behind the bike though so probably not for road trips.

(Love that tire choice! Those Agarros fly.)

 

[Michaewh]

I use a 1-Up hitch rack. I prefer the lower height. Though, it does block the license plate area from view when bikes are loaded or the rack is folded up when not transporting a bike(s). Also, I have to fold it down if I want to open the tailgate.

 

[FourJo]

I reside near a major lake where kayaking and boating are popular activities. I too go there on a regular basis. For this, I got a kayak on a roof rack from here.
Aside from rental agencies, which usually have vans or trailers, I'm not aware of anyone who has more than kayaks on their roof rack.
Keeping in mind that the R1T features a bed with crossbar mounts... So you could easily transport two full-size kayaks on the roof, two shorter ones on the bed crossbars, and two more protruding from the bed itself.

 

[FL_EV]

I have both a 4 bike hitch mount and the Rivian/Yakima Highroad mounted on the Rivian/Yakima crossbars over the bed. I strongly prefer the Highroads. I leave them in the bed (one for me and one for my wife) all the time whereas I would remove/reinstall the tow hitch mount each time I use it. While my hitch mount has some slight move mount of the hitch and bikes there is no wiggle of the bikes on the Highroads as they are totally secure. Only drawback is I can’t go thru the garage door with bikes in mounts. Oh, and after no help from Rivian or Yakima, I found out on my own that the Yakima smarT-slot kit accessory works with the crossbars making for a more secure/quick install/uninstall setup.

 

[Sarespenc]

I'm running a single 1UP over the bed and liking that. I did use my hitch mount as well. It's dangerously close to the truck bed so I'd recommend an extender if using 1UP. Anyone use driver assist with hitchmount??? In my X5, driver+ would freak out and fantom brake hard on the interstate thinking the bikes were a vehicle. I'm hoping to avoid that with the R1T.

How does this rack impact the reverse camera? Can you add a phot? Any issues with sensors?

 

[Wefty]

Thanks! Looks simple enough. Not much room left behind the bike though so probably not for road trips.

There is still a decent amount of room to jam stuff in the bed but not enough for the divider you were talking about.

I am using a tailgate pad and it is so fast and easy. The bikes can stay in the bed when I back into the garage which is great too. I leave the gear cable lock in the bed all the time which makes it convenient to lock the bikes every time I put a bike in the bed. I'm using a half pad and it doesn't affect the camera that much but the proximity sensors go crazy.

If we put a tent over the bed I'll have to get a hitch rack and I'll just try to borrow one for as infrequently as I'll need it.

 

[Bigskyinminnie]

How does this rack impact the reverse camera? Can you add a phot? Any issues with sensors?

Hitch mount with bikes makes reverse camera useless. That's why I also have the bed mount for solo rides.

 

[alexpuw]

I use a 1-Up hitch rack. I prefer the lower height. Though, it does block the license plate area from view when bikes are loaded or the rack is folded up when not transporting a bike(s). Also, I have to fold it down if I want to open the tailgate.

Same here - I also use the 1Up but its super annoying that there is no option to disable the rear sensors - thus I continually get blocked rear sensor alerts. I may move to a over the bed or tailgate system. Granted I LOVE my 1Up. One of the best bike racks around.

 

[Bullitt]

Following up on this thread… I didn’t get my efficiency tracked properly to know the over all impact, but it was noticeable. Last weekend I took 2 adults, 3 teen girls, 5mtn bikes (4 on hitch rack, 1 in bed) and all our gear to Big Bear for the weekend.

 

[p3ck]

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.

Where did you end up charging? I'm going up to KT from Mass and have rented an RV campsite at Maplebrook campground. So I hope to be able to charge there...

 

[Sagalyn]

Where did you end up charging? I'm going up to KT from Mass and have rented an RV campsite at Maplebrook campground. So I hope to be able to charge there...

I went through White River Junction — high (350) speed electrify america charging at the Walmart there there. Looks like they’ve added a couple of chargers closer to KT, too.

 

[EMcritDoc]

Following up on this thread… I didn’t get my efficiency tracked properly to know the over all impact, but it was noticeable. Last weekend I took 2 adults, 3 teen girls, 5mtn bikes (4 on hitch rack, 1 in bed) and all our gear to Big Bear for the weekend.

We went with over bed mounted, have 2 bikes. The efficiency loss was negligible for us going from Sacramento CA to Sun River Oregon (4k elevation change) with average of 2 mi/kwh. My theory is in line isnt that big of a deal and the truck is already less efficient then something like a model Y.... Had to convert a thule big mouth to work on the T-track crossbars for my 29er and then wifes 27 works well with the yakima one sold by rivian.... We also had the bed filled with stollers and bike carriers plus cabin filled with all the fam.

 

[p3ck]

+1 for Yeti on over-the-bed 1Up.

Pros
- Least disruptive to tailgate and rear sensors
- Medium effort lift vs. roof
- Keeps bike in vehicle's "envelope" more than any option I've seen so far.
*wondering how an elevated bar (Yakima Overhaul, for example) with fork mount might do even better while lowering profile with rear of bike in bed

Cons
- A bit of playing and marking 1Up mounting position and bent arm position to assure least cantilever off back and avoid hitting spoiler with various bikes
- Opportunity to scrape bike off bed in low clearance scenarios
- Security of 1Up rack.
* Solutions offered in other threads, though) and gear guard should play here.
- Cantilevered off back.
* Its elevated so reduces many concerns and certainly less obtrusive than pad or hitch mount.
- Needs an allen wrench to remove, replace

We have a Yakima High Road (as available in Rivian Gear Shop) on my wife's Q5. I really wish (and have envisioned) ways to get the tray head to mount further aft to accommodate >70" bikes. It's a really nice rack in many ways. I can't believe Rivian didn't work through it not working over bed for most modern MTBs. Over roof is too high and too hard a lift, IMO.

Did you do the flush mount and use the T-Slot?

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