PVC Bike Rack

Taken from both sides of the pop-up. The red ratchet straps hook on to the bottom of the camper to a u-hook that was already there.  The straps are hooked to bolts running through the PVC end. I added a middle strap that connects to the bottom and runs over the bikes and connects to the other side.

Here you can see the bolt and the strap hook

To connect the two bike racks together I used a strap I found at Home Depot used to hang tools on a wall.

I bolted one end to one rack.. and added a bolt and a safety hook to the other - This was done on both front and back of the rack.

A front and back end of the bike rack.

I have used these for about two seasons now.  My only complain is it does add time to put the racks on the roof and connect all the bikes to it.  It is also the first thing you must take off to even start to pop-up

One modification i am going to make - The Coleman's roof slants towards the sides.  This makes the bike racks sit leaning to the side of the trailer.  I am going to add adjustable legs to one side of the racks to make them level.  As soon as this modification is complete I will add the pictures to the site.  You can contact me with any questions or comments.

I have received the following email with some tips and warnings:

Thought I could add another lesson learned to your bike rack story. 

We bought the six-in-all PVC rack and used it several times with great success.  But then we stored it once with the breathable cloth camper cover over the camper and the rack.  My heart sank when we removed the cover to pack for the next trip.  We had had only had mild weather that past week (mid 70's) but the rack had sagged and was laying flat on the top of the camper.  The round cross tubes were all oval, and only the wheel hoops could be salvaged.

When I rebuilt, I believe I improved it.  In place of the 4 inch PVC cross supports, I used a cedar 2x4.  It was much easier to fabricate, and actually works better than the PVC did.  I cut two short half pipes of PVC for the straps to nest in, so I no longer have to thread the straps through a 5 foot PVC tube with bolts to catch on inside.
 

Thanks Fred Camper for the advice