I've thought of that, and I probably have most of the materials I'd need just lying around my garage and under my front deck. What worries me about it is that I feel like because there is uneven force coming through the bolts, there will be repeated flexing of the joint and eventually caulk will leak, no matter what. That's my worry anyway, and I don't really want this trailer to be an experiment.

I have seen a bunch of guys on youtube who have done just what you say, so my worries may be unfounded. Some are doing ratchet strap tiedowns for the whole thing, no drilling at all, but that seems like a pain in the ass to set up and take down every time you want to set up camp.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Amazingly we never had anything go missing (except for when the kids misplaced something) from our popup. That includes TV's, iPads, laptops, etc.

Forget #3 unless you are capable and willing to fabricate a new rear frame section and bumper. The flimsy rear bumpers typical of popups are not up to the vertical and twisting loads a bike rack would put on them, particularly a 3-bike rack. #4 might seem like the easy-button answer, but you have to be careful about exceeding the rated tongue weight, as well as clearance to camper corners when doing tight maneuvers. For 1 or 2 bikes, I would look at the horizontal upright mounts that attach to the trailer tongue like this.



For 3 or more bikes, I think a #2 type solution would be best.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Go look at the top of motor homes and see how many holes are drilled in there that never leak. If you want to really make sure there are a couple things you can do. Use a more plyant sealant so it doesn't crack, and also along with a long brace top and bottom, use an extra square piece right unde the two points where you are attaching it. Something like a square foot, that will dissipate any pulling against the roof. And if you use a plate steel, that will double the stiffness..

That looks ideal to me. know who makes it?

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Yeah, I'm just being overly cautious / paranoid I guess.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

There are various versions. This one is handy because you just slide whatever hitch-mounted rack you have into it. Then you move the rack to the van to once you've set up camp. Again, though, you have to be careful about clearance on tight corners. This particular one might put the bikes closer to the van than you'd want. Depends how long the A-frame tongue is on your camper. This one puts the bikes a little closer to the camper, giving you more clearance.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

In addition to the straps they have, I 'd bolt a couple 1/4" D-ring anchors on the sides of the camper frame and run a light cargo strap up the side of the camper, across the top and through the rear wheels, down to the anchor on the other side.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I don't think that style is going to work, because it will interfere with the slide-out bunk at the front of the trailer.

and doing a bit more checking, my hitch is rated at 4000lbs w 400lb tongue weight. putting an extended hitch on it cuts that rating in half, correct? So that makes it a 2000 / 200 rated hitch, which is very darned close to the size of the trailer. So that won't work I don't think??

I may end up with a camper roof mounted system or that fork mounted system that bolts to the A frame. which I'll reinforce the crap out of.

I also found this one, which bolts under the jack post. So this could be a good option too, maybe??

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

When I had my pop-up/tent camper, I used a roof rack which was mounted at the edges of the frame. Sturdy, no leaks. I modified it to include two locking Thule fork mounts & two down-tube clamp mounts. Worked fine.

Just remember to remove the bike(s) before running up the roof.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

One thing with trailer hitches, use the solid steel ones and they will hold a lot more weight, not the hollow square ones. I have gone over my hitch capacity I can't even count the times, it is like an expiration date on a can of tuna, not like they explode when you get a pound over. My guess is that they build in a very generous weight allotment when they put those maxes on there...

On second thought, jump ahead three years and just buy the hard-side travel trailer now. That way, you can mount the bikes inside, using fork mounts, completely sheltered from the elements.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

The Arvinka integrated unit folds forward when not being used, and has some adjustability in the original height set-up. If you can't get it low enough for the bunk to slide out, the whole thing, other than the base posts, can be removed by undoing two set screws with large handles.



[/quote]I also found this one, which bolts under the jack post. So this could be a good option too, maybe??[/quote]

That would work, but it looks really tall for a pop up. Bikes are hanging by the wheels, too, instead of resting on a tray. I prefer not to travel with them that way.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

The hitch may very well have an abundance of excess capacity, but overloading the vehicle's prescribed tongue weight can leave you with precious little rear suspension travel, potentially causing handling issues, excessive tire wear, and braking problems. I used to tow a pop up with a Subaru Forester. The weight of the camper was under the rated towing capacity, but the tongue weight with a full propane tank and battery on the a-frame was about 50 lbs over the 200 lb rating. Especially with a hatch area full of other camping gear, the back end was all squatted down. I drove it one time like that, and decided never again. Since we never boondocked it, always camping at places with power, we ditched the battery. And since we had electric heated mattresses, we only needed propane to run the stove so we ditched the 20 lb bottle and used the disposable 1lb bottles. Problem solved.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"