Cheap bike rack

[firemedic2714]

Because I'm a fairly avid mountain bike enthusiast and don't have the $300+ to pay for the Trail Rail crossbars right now, I came up with a cheap fork-mounted bike rack.
I used a 2x6 cut to fit between the fenders. It sits between the front of the bed and the loops that are right there on either side. The loops have to be rotated so the board is wedged between the bed and the flat part of each loop. It fits pretty much perfectly in that spot.
Initially I just screwed a Yakima Blockhead to one of the 1-1/2 in. sides and used it like that for about a week. I then figured out if I screwed a small piece of 2x4 to the back of the board and fastened the fork mount to that, it was much easier to attach and remove the bike forks because now the fork mount was moved another 1-1/2 in. away from the bed.
With the board sitting on the bed floor, my 26 in. bike is the same height as the hardtop, so I can pull in and out of my garage and not have to worry about the bike sitting too high and hitting the top of the garage opening. I haven't done it yet, but cutting a 1-2 in. hole in the board and using that to run a cable lock through would secure it pretty well.

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[primethios]

pretty good thinking there. I might give that a try. I didn't buy the rail system so this is a basic yet functional idea that can use spare stuff from around the house.

 

[firemedic2714]

The largest expense has to be the mount itself. There are other fork mounts available, but I already had a couple of Blockheads from the numerous trucks I've owned in the past. They're around $40 now, but Amazon has an off brand for $14 that does the same job.

 

[Bobzdar]

Why not install it on the trail rail with some t-bolts? Seems like that would be ideal. I think it's a good solution if you don't have the trail rails, but with them just install the fork mount on there.

edit: nm, I saw you have garage door height limitations. Makes sense in that case.

 

[firemedic2714]

Why not install it on the trail rail with some t-bolts? Seems like that would be ideal. I think it's a good solution if you don't have the trail rails, but with them just install the fork mount on there.

edit: nm, I saw you have garage door height limitations. Makes sense in that case.

I put all this together with parts and lumber I already had at home. Besides the garage door, the other limitation I have is the way the fork mount is designed, the screw can only be about 1-1/2 in. long. I don't know if anyone on here has found any that work, but I'm researching T-bolts now and track nuts now.

 

[msujedi]

I'm considering a tailgate pad. I'm not sure if the lower bed rail height on the JT will be a problem for this type of system though.

 

[firemedic2714]

I'm considering a tailgate pad. I'm not sure if the lower bed rail height on the JT will be a problem for this type of system though.

I think one would work, you're just going to have the front wheels closer to the ground and may not be able to carry more than four at a time. I would be a little more concerned about a bike with 29 in. wheels.

 

[Jake]

Several years ago I paid just $45.00 for this 3 bike rack. Walmart has it on close out. There was a hole in the box which is why they had it discounted so much. They said I could return it if some parts were missing. So it was a no brainer steal of a deal. Had all the parts. I also fabricated my own LED light kit to it. Has full night time lights, stop and turn signals. Don’t want to have someone rear end me and then try to say it was my fault since they could not see my brake lights through the bike tires.

 

[Buzzlb]

Did you same out of scrap decking and skewers.

 

[firemedic2714]

Did you same out of scrap decking and skewers.

I did something very similar the same day I brought it home. I then discovered that Toyota rails have similar dimensions to Jeep's Trail Rails and Tacoma/Tundra T-nuts fit just fine.

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