Inside Bike Camper: Carrying Bikes Inside a Travel Trailer
Depending on your travel trailer, you may not have a lot of space to put your bikes. This means you may have to get a little innovative and find unique spots for those bikes. Of course, the number of bikes you want inside will play a large role in where you put them.
One option would be to lower your dinette table and place a sheet of plywood over the area. Then lay your bikes on the plywood with protective plastic in between everything. You can put in eye hooks to secure the bikes in place.
To learn more about this task, just continue to read our article. It has the information you need and the best advice is to simply use some common sense when you do this storage option. Take a few minutes to see how this information helps you
Where do You Store Your Bike in a Travel Trailer?
The main concern is not where you can store them but how to secure those bikes while you are driving and towing the trailer. When you are looking for a storage spot there are two factors to consider.
One is how big is your travel trailer. Obviously, larger trailers will have more options available to them than smaller ones. Two, What is your floor plan? That plays a significant role in where you can place your bikes. A third factor would be how many bikes do you need to store inside.
When it comes to smaller trailers, some owners simply make a bike pile on their dinette area and place plastic sheets in between everything. The dinette is a nice spot and offers a lot of room to pile bikes.
However, not everyone does this as other owners lay a bike on their beds and use bungee cords to secure it. Then they use bungee cords to secure bikes to other furniture throughout the trailer.
Others simply take the front wheel off and a bungee cord secures them wherever they have room. That could be against doors, sofas, and so on. If your travel trailer is large enough, you may be able to store them in a bottom storage area if it has one large enough.
Since each trailer is different and has different floor plans you will have to figure out the best places would be for your situation.
How do You Haul a Bike Inside a Travel Trailer?
The answer to this would be to use common sense. Don’t make a bike pile too high, don’t leave the front wheels on, and don’t lay the bikes over an unprotected bedspread that happens to be your wife’s favorite.
There are safe places to put the bikes and if you have to use the bed, make sure you have good plastic sheets that cover the bed entirely. Bungee cords are usually the best item to use to secure the bikes.
You just have to make sure they are long enough to hold the bike and reach the security points. Then make sure those security points are strong and sturdy enough to hold those bikes.
The last thing you want is for the points to come loose because of vibration, bumps, or the weight of the bikes. What you have to watch out for when you are putting bikes inside your travel trailer is the grease from the chains.
Make sure they are wrapped well so the chains do not transfer any grease to your items inside the trailer. Some owners put the rear tires on the floor in the dinette area after lowering the table, and the front wheels on the seats.
After that, they use the pedestal to secure the bikes in place. You have a lot of freedom in how you haul your bikes when they are placed inside your trailer. The key is to find the right spots for those bikes so they do not break or break anything if they fall during transit.
Tips For Hauling Bikes Inside a Travel Trailer
There are different methods you can use to haul your bikes inside your travel trailer. The following are just a few of the many tips you can find elsewhere.
1. Use old blankets- these wrap around the bikes and keep them from being scratched or scratching something else. Plus, old blankets should keep the grease from the chain away from the seats and other pieces of furniture.
The blankets can be folded up and stored under the bed when not needed.
2. Use tarps- these work just as well as blankets and are thinner. Place a tarp over the bed or the seats of the dinette. Then lay the bikes on top of the tarp. You can put a sheet of plastic between the bikes so they do not scratch each other.
The weight of the bikes may keep them from shifting but use bungee cords to keep them in place.
3. Wedge them in you can wrap each bike in their own blanket or tarp and then stick them in between different pieces of furniture so that they will not move.
The drawback to this option is that if you stop along the way for a night of rest, the bikes are going to be in your way.
Some Final Words
When it comes to storing bikes in your travel trailer, you really do not have a lot of options, especially when you have a smaller version. You can only go with your floor plan and make the best of it.
Usually, the dinette area or your master bed are the two best locations to put your bikes. If you do not like that idea, you can wedge them into other areas. But that puts those bikes in your way.
If you go that route, carry a long enough chain to secure them to the hitch outside for the night. If your trailer is larger, you will have more options.
