You love your bike. You love your truck. Have you tried hauling your bike in your truck but don’t love how it slides around, or have you been uncomfortable about trying it at all? We’ll show you how to bring your bike along in your truck the right way the next time you’re ready for a four-wheel-to-two-wheel expedition!
Bike Rack Shops offers the widest variety of
Pick-up Bike Racks with the best availability, so getting your bike there and back is faster and easier than ever. We’re here to help you determine which pick-up truck rack is best for both your truck and your bike(s).
Key considerations for all pick-up truck racks:
- Think about where and how you might wish to carry other gear along with your bike(s); for instance, if you will need your truck’s entire bed while carrying your bike, choose our Tail Gator 2-Bike Pick-Up Truck Bike Rack which holds your bike behind the tailgate, or of course, one of our many Hitch-Mounted Racks.
- If you have a tandem or recumbent bike, ensure that your truck bed is long enough to accommodate the extra length of these bikes before investing in a rack that fits inside the bed.
Truck Specs
In which part of your truck bed would you like to carry your bike?
- Back of bed—These racks use the tailgate hinge area as an anchor while the bike rides in the bed: BeddyJo (2-Bike) Insta-Gater (1-Bike)
- Across either end of bed—This rack consists of a telescoping bar that fits from one side of the bed to the other, with "fork blocks" mounted to it: Bed-Rider XT (2-Bike)
- Across front of bed—This rack holds wheel-on bikes against the back of the cab: Advantage BedRack (4-Bike)
- Against outside of tailgate—This one-of-a-kind rack fits over the tailgate, securing your bike much like a trunk-mounted rack: Tail Gator (2-Bike)
- Over the tailgate - This bike rack securely holds bikes with their front wheels situated on the outside of the tailgate: Shuttle Pad
- Any flat part of bed—You can bolt these "fork blocks" (singly or in multiples) to any flat area to achieve the ideal rack position: The Claw (1 Bike each) Low-Rider (1 Bike each)
Does your truck have a bed liner?
- Most of our racks mount to your truck bed without any drilling, requiring no bed liner modifications.
- What makes the Low-Rider and The Claw so versatile is that you can bolt them anywhere in your truck bed via drilled holes. If you have a bed liner and you prefer not to drill through it, either mount them to a 2x4 fitted to the bed’s width instead, or select a rack other than these two.
Consider your truck bed’s length and width (for compact and mid-size trucks).
- Bed Length:
- Ensure that the bed is long enough (with the tailgate closed) to accommodate your bike before ordering a rack that fits inside the bed.
- If the bed is not long enough with the tailgate closed: order the Tail Gator, which fits against the outside of a tailgate of any width, or consider one of our (link to new Hitch Rack category)Hitch-Mounted Racks.
- Bed Width:
- Our across-the-bed racks easily adjust to fit across every bed width from compact to full-size: Advantage BedRack (fits beds 54.5" to 72.5" wide) Bed-Rider XT Rack (fits beds 47.75" to 72" wide)
- These racks can be mounted either singly or in multiples to the maximum width the bed can accommodate: Insta-Gater The Claw Low-Rider
- The BeddyJo is designed to carry 2 bikes across a tailgate of any width.
- The Tail Gator fits the outside of a tailgate of any width.
- Softride's Shuttle Pad is available in 54" and 61" widths.
- NOTE: If in doubt about whether a rack will fit either your truck bed’s length or width, consult 'What Fits Your Vehicle?' to the left of this article, check individual rack listings, or contact us for assistance.
Rack Specs
Do you prefer a fork-mounted bike rack, or a wheel-on rack?
- Fork-Mount: Most of our pick-up bike racks are of this type (exceptions listed below). These require removal and storage of the front bike wheel during transport.
- Wheel-on: Insta-Gater Tail Gator Advantage BedRack
Bike Specs
How many bikes will you need to carry with the rack?
- One bike (when used singly or without optional expansion – see entries for multiple bikes, below):
- Low-Rider
- Two to three bikes:
- You can mount up to two of our Insta-Gater Racks along a tailgate 34" W or greater, and up to three across a tailgate 51" W or greater.
- The Bed-Rider XT Rack holds two bikes, and can be expanded with the Add-on Block to hold a total of three bikes.
- • Four bikes:
- Up to Five bikes (limited by width of bed):
- You can mount The Claw or the Low-Rider side-by-side—directly to your truck bed or to a 2x4—in multiples up to the maximum width the bed can accommodate.
- Six bikes:
- Both sizes of the Shuttle Pad can secure six bikes side-by-side with integrated frame straps.
We hope we’ve answered all of your questions about the best pick-up bike rack for your unique situation. Please give us a
call or
email if we can answer any questions we didn’t cover here, and always feel free to
contact us with any suggestions that will help make this a better resource for customers like yourself.