New bike rack design puts the bikes up top for more hauling capacity in the trailer.

The main design goals with this bike rack were to:

1. Haul 4 bikes
2. Keep the trailer open for camping gear, etc.
3. Use the bike rack I have
4. Keep the tailgate operational
5. Be able to use a standard flat tarp over the trailer contents for security and dryness.

The bike rack started as a car-top version, and for awhile I had it narrowed to fit inside the trailer.  Once the bikes were in, though, the trailer was full so this approach lifts them up 6” over the trailer body. 

I ended up splitting the rack into two pieces, which allows 14” of clear space in the middle (I’m hoping to also carry a kayak or PortaBote in the future).  I can also pull off one side to just haul 2 bikes and something else.

The support for the rack is all 1.5” square tubing except for the feet which are 2” angle iron bolted through both the sides and bottom of the trailer frame. 

Some pics of the build:

First Use:
All setup to camp - for our first outing we kept it simple and went to the state park 5 miles from our house.

Overall I was happy with how the trailer handled.  I do plan to use a shorter drawbar so there’s a bit more weight on the hitch, and I also plan to add shocks to the trailer to minimize the amount of bounce and sway.  I don’t think the bikes add much, but it’s just more noticeable due to their position.