Roof top bike rack

We're preparing for another camping trip with our tent trailer and I've been wondering how to take bikes along. There are special adapters that allow hitch mount bike racks to be added to a standard hitch, but with 400 lbs of hitch weight already this is not an option. The trailer weighs about 2200 lbs.
Even using the roof racks on the trailer would add substantially to the hitch weight because the racks are at the very front of the roof. I've been thinking of moving them further to the rear but am concerned about the warranty.
That leaves the racks on the Santa Fe, which could be an option since they could be moved to the front of the vehicle.

So I looked up some prices and the special racks to hold the bikes are from 100 to 300 dollars for each bike. This is more than we paid for the bikes, so why not make them out of wood?
It shouldn't be difficult to fasten a bolt or threaded rod that can be used to fasten the front forks, but I'm not certain what kind of clamp to use for the rear wheel. The ones that I've seen are basically strong tie wraps with a button for releasing.

Would a simple notched wooden bar with bolts and wing nuts be sufficient to hold the rear wheel?

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

P.s. Even with the 400 lbs hitch weight there is no problem with the handling of the vehicle even though it is above the rated load. It probably helps that we keep the back area empty of heavy objects.
Sometimes there is wheel spin when starting on uneven roads. (Front wheel drive).
The only time that there was any instability was once when passing a tanker trailer truck. The vehicle started to wobble.

Can we assume you have done what you can to move weight around in the trailer to lessen the hitch load? (luggage, food, water tanks full/empty/partial, etc?) Have you considered a bumper or hitch mount rack attached to the back of the trailer? You could probably have a hitch receiver installed on the trailer and buy a much less expensive hitch mount rack for less that the cost of a roof mount.

Yes, the movable items have been stored as far back as possible even though the trailer manual states to not store items in the back.
I've thought of adding a bumper hitch, but that would probably void the warranty and require moving the spare tire.
I finally remembered a bike rack that I made for the rear bumper of a Ford Aerostar mini van. It's been hanging up in my garage for about 9 years. This will also mean moving the spare, but to keep the warranty, I'll place it inside the trailer while travelling.

The rack uses suction cups from a roof rack and hooks on adjustable straps. I should be able to add ropes to the existing roof rack on the trailer to hold the top part firm against the trailer. I might have to do a bit of shaping to account for the curve on the rear of the trailer box, but it should be OK.

I had tried to include a picture, but it didn't show. I'll try again.

That should solve both problems - where to put the bikes as well as reduce your hitch weight by adding a little more weight to the back of the trailer.

It really sounds like you've got too much trailer for the car you're trying to pull it with. Lack of drive wheel traction is a d indicator of that. Shifting weight to the back could make it even more unstable than it already is.

Bluntly, you're an accident waiting to happen.

Agree with Jim. Seriously, more weight back there will cause the tail to wag the dog. Even at low speeds, its enough to whip you off the road. At speed, it is catastrophic. All I takes to set it off is a twitch at the steering wheel. Nearly an impossible situation to recover from without serious damage and likely loss of life. You are not only endangering yourself and those with you, but you are also endangering other drivers on the road. Please regroup.

What is the optimum ratio of total trailer weight to hitch weight?
I was speaking with one camper who said that his trailer became unstable when he mounted the bikes at the rear, but I don't know what his original hitch weight was.

Paul Brubacher said:

...Even with the 400 lbs hitch weight there is no problem with the handling of the vehicle even though it is above the rated load. It probably helps that we keep the back area empty of heavy objects.
Sometimes there is wheel spin when starting on uneven roads. (Front wheel drive).
The only time that there was any instability was once when passing a tanker trailer truck. The vehicle started to wobble.

Click to expand...

If there's wheel spin on 'uneven' roads, there's a traction problem. If there's a traction problem, then there's a handling problem.

The 'wobble' you mention is a traction and instability problem. You're lucky you recovered from it. Next time...???

If you put too much weight behind the trailer's center of gravity, you'll be creating even further handling problems.

Your best solution would be either a bigger tow vehicle, or a smaller (lighter) trailer. A load-leveling hitch might help, but even so, your Kia will be at or near its limits.

I should insert a caveat to my earlier comment - Jim and Carol are quite correct on having too much weight behind the trailer axle. I was thinking all the weights and capacities (hitch, GVW, etc.) had already been established to be within safe parameters. My reading of this was that you had everything set within recommendations and you were just having trouble with a little too much weight on the hitch. If so, then adding the weight of a couple of bikes might not be a safety concern and would reduce the hitch load. However, the first order of business is to make sure your vehicle is up to the task and that a little shift in weight is safe.

The Hyundai Santa Fe is well within its GVWR. It is only the hitch weight that is beyond spec.
Actually the final hitch weight even empty is about double what was in the trailer specs. They have a rider saying that the weight is before options are installed. Unfortunately the furnace, fridge, dual propane tanks, battery and power lift are all at the front of the trailer.
The wheel spin has only occurred when starting from a stop.
It wasn't really a wobble felt in the steering more of a buffeting, so I think that the handling is OK. Even in passenger cars there can be wind buffeting.

Remove the pedals and turn the handlebars sideways. Put some padding on the roof of the trailer, then lay the bikes on it, directly over the axle. Put some padding between the bikes and tie them down securely with cargo straps in such a way that forward and sideways movement is impossible. Then go on vacation. Don't forget to bring wrenches to put the pedals back on and straighter the handle bars. About 60 lb. total weight, tops, unless you bought your bikes at Walmart, and no efffect on tongue weight.

You won't feel the wobble in the steering. You will feel the rear end of your tow vehicle being whipped around by the trailer. Then it is too late.

So, ok, confession time here. Once many, many years ago I loaded firewood on a small, light trailer and mindful of loading more weight in front of the axle (adding to tongue weight) I began braking for a stop sign down from maybe 40 MPH. Not a hard brake. Just normal. I nearly wound up in the ditch! Scared the dickens out of me. I reloaded the trailer with 60% of the weight in front of the axle and 40% aft, which is optimum. Drove safely home. Then maybe 10 years ago when moving back to Arizona, I thought I had the trailer (big cargo trailer loaded to the roof!) loaded right. Knew I didn't within 4 blocks. Wound up reloading in the Kmart parking lot.

There are lots of sites with towing information. There is even one with a towing calculator. Here: http://www.huskytow.com/towing-calculator/.

Little cars today do not have the weight or braking power to tow safely. It is one of those 'it can be done, but maybe it shouldn't be done' things. I own a diesel powered F250 just for towing. And sometimes I wonder it that is sufficient. Which brings up another question. Do you have trailer brakes you can operate from your tow vehicle? Sometimes that can help save a swinging trailer.

Towing capacity is not just a function of engine, tongue weight, and trailer weight. More important is stopping capacity. Had a full hay wagon on the farm when I was a kid nearly push me off the road, because I couldn't stop. Fortunately no one was coming as I sailed through that intersection with my heart hammering through my chest.

The point is, Paul, we like all the people on this forum and we don't want to see anyone injured or killed, so we give the best advise we can. Because you asked and because we care. Please be safe.

Another thing to consider braking safety if you don't have trailer brakes that meet state specifications you are illegal. Many electric break units do not hold well in reverse such as stopped for highway work on a hill you can get drug backwards.

Pretty sure I've told my story here about towing a travel trailer that tried to pass my Ford Bronco as we went down a hill, so I won't bore you with details, but it was the trailer brakes (and a mix of cat-like reflexes and blind luck) that kept the whole rig from going upside down.

On a semi-related topic, this is the best demonstration I've seen of trailer weight distribution dynamics at work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM

Thanks for all of your concern. The Santa Fe might not be quite a mid sized SUV, but it is larger than the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CRV. The only concern is the rating of the hitch weight because the trailer is way over its listed weight.

The trailer has a 3500 lb axle with ST235/75R15 tires. The electrically powered drum brakes are 10" in diameter. It is normal for drum brakes to have less stopping power in the reverse direction because the secoundary brake shoes which do most of the stopping in reverse are smaller than the primary shoes.

About the rear mounted load, yes this can be a problem if the load is unbalanced, but with 400 lbs of hitch weight, this is not likely to happen. Rear loads cannot be all bad because the manufacturer actually mounts the 60 lb spare tire on the rear of the trailer.

That scary looking video of an unbalanced trailer is completely unrealistic. The wheels of the model are in the middle of the trailer whereas in an actual trailer the axle is about 1/4 or 1/3 from the rear.
There are 3 weights, 2 green and one red. The trailer becomes unstable when the red load is moved to the rear. This would mean the the hitch weight is actually negative, so no wonder that it becomes unstable.

Yes I had also considered putting the bike flat on the roof with a piece of plywood for protection. But when I remembered the old rack from the Aerostar, I figured it was worthwhile to see if it would work.
First I took the spare off and placed it on the roof towards the rear. I then tied the rack on top of the spare tire mount bracket and loaded the bikes. The hitch weight went from 400 to 300 lb.
The only problem was that I could no longer install 3 bikes because my wife's new bike has a thicker frame. It weighs 40 lb, the same as my daughter's bike.
Since no one else can ride my bike, I decided to take the 2 smaller ones. So the hitch weight will be maybe 330 lbs.

To mount the rack on the bumper, I routed a 1/2" deep dado, and cut a notch to clear the bottom of the spare tire mount bracket. The bracket is 1/8" steel and is springy enough that when the bottom bolts are removed it is possible to pull it away from the bumper and slide the 2x6 bottom of the rack onto the bumper.
The dado fits the bumper snugly and the 2x6 is held firmly with one #10 screw through an extra hole in the bracket.

At the top, I used the gutter bracket from the old roof rack. It had the have the hook cut down from 1.5 to 1.375" and a slight bend just above the strap opening. The hook goes into the slot that was machined for the bed extension support brackets. The ropes that had been used originally are long enough to reach the existing roof rack, so there are 2 different fasteners at the top.

I was really pleased with how the bike rack fit the trailer. The only thing that I might change is to reduce the height by 1.5 to 2" so that the extension support brackets could be installed without removing the bike rack.

I've pushed the bikes as close to the rack as possible to limit the bending moment on the support hooks. I use sections of garden hose on the frame where the bikes come into contact with each other.
The hooks and angle iron of the rack were built by my father in law for one of his travel trailers.

Some pics

The bikes have seemed to become heavier since I last used the bike rack. I guess it has something to do with my last birthday being three score years and ten. Although I regularly go for walks I should probably start doing some strengthening exercises as well.

Carol, the http://www.huskytow.com/towing-calculator/ web site is very detailed about all the weights involved.
One time when I hitched up the trailer, the clearance from the bottom of the hitch to the ground decreased by 2".
This got me thinking about the weight of the gasoline, so I checked before and after filling the gas tank and found a drop of 1/2". This isn't that much.

Years ago when the kids were little I overloaded a car to go camping. On the way out of town I stopped to fill the gas tank. After this the body would hit the rubber axle bumpers whenever there was a slight bump in the road. That trip I only used the bottom half of the gas tank.