Bike Rack Recommendation For 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 Towing R-Pod 190 Travel Trailer

Question:

We have a power hitch with a crank on top when battery has drained on our 2019 Rpod 190. Which front bike rack works with this type hitch?

asked by: Susan I

Expert Reply:

I have a solution for you, but the Jack-It 2 Bike Rack for A-Frame Trailers # LC429756 is intended to be used with trailer jacks that have a front mounted crank on the jack, so your top crank trailer jack would not be able to function with this bike rack attached. Granted, the instances where your trailer jack battery would die are limited, I'd still like to provide an alternative solution if you wanted to go that route.

Instead of the Jack-It, and because using a dual hitch receiver reduces the tongue weight capacity of your hitch, I would recommend using the Thule GateMate Pro # TH824PRO. The GateMate Pro allows you to secure your bikes to a heavy duty pad that drapes over your truck's tailgate and protects both the bikes and the tailgate.

You can still use the Jack-It on your R-Pod camper, and it's been shown to work very well for a few other R-Pod owners in our review section and photos. But if your battery ever dies, you'll either have to remove the rack in order to use the top crank or wait for the battery to charge up enough to use the electric jack. If you have access to an electrical outlet at your storage location, you may want to consider using a battery charger/maintainer like the CTEK # CTEK56674 to help keep your battery maintained.

expert reply by: Erik B