Keeping Bikes From Swaying on the Swagman 4 Bike Rack #64940 on the Back of a 24 Foot Trailer

Question:

This rack is recommended by your experts for carrying four bikes behind a trailer-mine is a 24 The picure shows the bikes being held by the frame only. How would I keep the wheels from moving and perhaps hitting the wheels of the bikes along side-??

asked by: Wes M

Expert Reply:

The Swagman Standard 4 Bike Rack, # S64400, has cushioning in the cradles that helps keep your bikes from swaying front to back. But even with this feature, it is still possible, especially on the back of an RV or trailer, for the bikes to make some contact with each other. With any hanging bike rack, this is always a possibility. But that is why they started making the anti-sway cradles.

In the instructions, linked below, it states: Take care to add padding on any area of the bikes that touches another bike or any part of the vehicle.

A possible solution is to use two bike adapter bars, like # 64005. Connect the first and third bikes, and the second and fourth bikes, near the bottom of each, so that they would move in tandem if they moved at all.

The alternative is one of the platform racks, like the Swagman XTC-2, # S64670. With this rack, the bike is supported at the wheels and the frame. The downside is that it can only hold two bikes as opposed to the four bike rack you referenced. I have included a video review and installation details for this rack below.

expert reply by: Michael H