How To Keep Your Bike Safe While Traveling In Your RV

There’s nothing like a long and relaxing bike ride across a beautiful open trail. The wind on your face, the sun in your eyes, the smell of trees, soil, and nature as a whole. Who wouldn't want to get a piece of that?

Biking has become a widely appreciated form of outdoor activity worldwide. It's not a professional sport where you need to go through years of training; it's just a fun way of having an exciting and adrenaline-filled adventure over the weekend. That's probably why so many people have picked it up over the years.

Most of what we see about biking on the internet has to do with the actual activity itself. Meaning you’ll see lots of videos and pictures or blogs related to the actual action, but very few when it comes to the preparation part.

However, one topic which is almost nonexistent in biking forums is the question of transportation. We always talk about the thrill and glory that comes from the ride, but we rarely discuss the specifics of actually transporting our bike into the location.

How Do I Keep My Bike Safe While Traveling In My R.V?

Living a nomadic lifestyle can be super fun! The everlasting journey on the road, the possibilities of new places, and the many adventures experienced while cycling across the country. It's like a dream come true!

But although biking is the main focus here, we tend to forget that, for the most part, our bikes are going to be hanging off the back of the R.V. So naturally, we should do everything within our power to ensure that the bike doesn't end up getting damaged, or worse, take a fall somewhere down the road.

That's why, in this article, We’ll be taking you through the dos and don’ts of transporting your bike in an R.V. But if you don't have a motorhome yet, hurry up to buy this symbol of adventure. Here you will definitely find an option to your liking. 

Storing Your Bike Inside Your R.V

The easiest place to store your bike while on a cross-country trip is inside your R.V itself. You don't need a rack, and you certainly don’t need to spend any money installing anything on your vehicle.

However, it's important to note that there could be some light consequences to doing this. For example, your bike could get some grease on the floor of your R.V or practically on anything it's leaning against. But don't worry, you can fix this by simply covering the chain with a cloth so that the grease doesn't spill over.

Going on a road trip means driving your R.V across some pretty nasty and uneven terrain. There's no telling what awaits you out there, especially if you're driving off the road.

This means that your bike is going to bump and hit against anything and everything nearby, wreaking havoc on your perfectly set R.V. This could cause scratches and marks on the furniture and table, which could be challenging to fix. After all, your R.V is like a second home, so you naturally want to protect it from such occurrences.

Besides that, you're probably going to be storing a bunch of other things in your R.V along with the bike. This could include mugs, laptops, guitars, surfboards, etc. So you definitely want to prevent such personal items from being damaged beyond repair. Not to mention, all that tumbling around is going to leave some nasty scars on your bike as well.

Reading about all this might seem overwhelming, but don't worry; there are a bunch of things you can do to prevent all that.

Must Read:  How To Ride A Road Bike For The First Time

Place A Layer Of Padding On The Floor

Before you even think about storing your bike in your R.V, we suggest you put a layer of padding on the floor to prevent any marks or grease. You could use a blanket of cloth that you don't personally use anymore. Having the blanket will prevent any nasty grease from polluting your R.V floor.

Alternatively, you could also use a significantly big sheet of leather to serve as a form of padding for your bike. It's even better if the sheet is big enough to wrap around the whole bike.

The benefit to doing this is that both your bike and the inside of your R.V will be protected from any damages that result from hard bumps.

Remove The Tires While Storing

A lot of people try to fit their bike into a tight space without even removing the tires; don't make the same mistake. Remove both the tires of your bike to make the body smaller and more compact. It will allow the bike to fit into a tight space and prevent any unnecessary damage that might befall your set of tires.

What's more, keeping the tires attached will just make the bike extremely wobbly while traveling on uneven and rough terrain. So unless you want to deal with all the annoying clinks and clanks, just get rid of the tires and store them separate from the bike.

Don’t Store Your Bike In An Upright Position

This probably goes without saying; storing your bike in a standing position is the easiest way to invite trouble. Make sure to let your bike lie down on the floor and cover it with lots of padding.

The main thing you want to look out for are instances of sliding. Now, as we all know, there will be moments when you decide to go gung-ho and drive at high speed. Everything should be fine as long as you’re a good driver, so that isn’t the main concern here. But what you should be concerned about, are the sudden breaks.

If you're traveling at high speed, there WILL be instances where you have to break at a moment's notice. Of course, we're not talking about the kind of speed that you find in Hollywood car chase sequences, but still, there will be times when you drive comparatively faster.

This could cause all the objects in your R.v, including your bike, to slide around because of the inertia. And when that happens, let's just say you’ll be in a lot of trouble. So, the best thing to do here is to secure your bike with plenty of bungees or ropes to prevent it from sliding. As they say, prevention is better than cure.

Hanging Your Bike Behind Your R.V

Needless to say, you’ll need to invest in a good rack if you want to hang your bike behind your R.V. People assume that every kind of rack is compatible with an R.V, but in reality, most of them aren’t. So you definitely want to be more selective while choosing a rack.

Using Specialized Racks

If you want to hang multiple bikes behind your R.V, you could go for a bumper mount rack that connects to your R.V hitch.

A truck bed rack is also a great option that lets you set your bike in a perfectly upright position behind your R.V. What's more; they leave plenty of space which you can use to hang other items and belongings. Truck bed racks are simple and easy to install too, so you should be able to get them fixed up even if you’re a total beginner.

Lock Your Bike

The chances of getting your bike stolen by thieves are slim but never impossible! Although you might be traveling in off-road locations, there will be moments when you have to stop by a gas station. So why not do the needful and secure your bike with a lock.

On a side note, it's important to mention that your bike shouldn't be placed in a way that blocks your view while driving. Also, make sure that the brake lights are visible to any vehicle that might be driving behind you. This will avoid any on-road communication errors and could potentially prevent a major disaster.

Finally, make sure that your license plate numbers are visible to avoid any entanglements with the law. You don't want to get pulled over by a cop on the highway after all.

Storing Your Bike On Top Of Your R.V

If your R.V has a ladder at the back, you might want to consider storing your bike on top. For starters, this would definitely be less cumbersome for your R.V and will result in a smoother driving experience.

However, it's important to note that doing so will slightly increase the height of your R.V. It probably won’t cause any problems for the most part, but it might hit against something if you're going through a tunnel or passing by a tree with lots of extended branches.

It's also important to use the right kind of rack if you're going to do this, and that might mean having to delve into the expensive side of things.

Alternatively, you could use a rack that lets you store the R.V on an elevated spot rather than the roof. One great example of this is the Ladder mount rack which hooks onto the ladder of your R.V. This makes it easier for your to carry your R.V above the ground level and store it at a higher spot, allowing the lower levels of your R.V to be free.