tandem car rack

[moonwalker]

I have been taking our tandem in the back of our truck. We purchased a Chevy Tahoe. I have been seriously looking at the Draftmaster rack for a tandem and 2 singles. Anyone out there have this rack and can give some feedback?

The roof racks that swing seem ok but the height of the Tahoe makes this seem like it would still be difficult.

[R900]

We use the Yakima roof rack on our minivan - works very well, and still allows the rear hatch to be open with the bike loaded. I guess the Tahoe would be a bit taller, but I just open the sliding door and loading is a piece of cake.

[twilkins9076]

We don't own it, but good friends do. The tandem loads easily with one person, and is stable on the rack. As we follow them down the road, the rack and tandem look huge on the back of their SUV. The one draw back we notice is that the rack and bike have a lot of sway as they drive...enough that at times they can feel it inside the vehicle. The top end is quite a bit higher than the roof, so you'll want to be careful about what you drive under.

I recently helped fabricate a 2nd tandem tray for it. It now has tandem trays on both sides, and a single tray in the middle. Haven't seen it going down the road with both our bikes on it, but it's gotta look pretty impressive.

[teamcompi]

The draftmaster is a good design it is easy to load, and easy on the gear, I really like the fact that you can get to the rear door or tailgate by dropping the rack. The system is modular, so you can pick up what you need as you need it. I bought mine on Ebay (sounds like a song title) retail they seem a little steep. I have never noticed the sway on our rig but we have a 3/4 ton.

[mchell]

We use a Draftmaster for our Rans Screamer. Along with the two straps which come with the rig and stabilize the rack to the car, I use two additional straps from the bike to the car to reduce (eliminate) sway. Have had no problems with the system for the past three seasons and use it 2 or 3 times a week. Have taken the bike to Prince Edward Island and back, 4 days away, on a Subaru Forester, and will be taking the rig to Bike Florida on our Roadtrek. I strongly endorse the Draftmaster; spending 10% of the cost of the bike on a rack that works as it should is not too much to pay for my peace of mind.

[teamcompi]

Just checking back and I think I will take back what I said about the price, I wish the rack was 10 % of the cost of the bikes it carries. I now agree with mchell its a bargain for such a sound design.

[t4mv]

Here's a link to a bike rack thread from a couple months or so ago:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=230945&page=2


I have a VW van with a Draftmaster using a single tandem adapter and two single mounts. They're a bit pricey, but as has already been mentioned, the design and security this system affords is worth it, IMO.
A couple friends and I drove ~1,800 miles RT to a ride last year with three bikes on the rack and there were no issues whatsoever, and the mileage on the van was what it would have been w/o a rack, which was the primary reason for getting it. Well, that and it's a real PITA to put and get bikes off a roof rack on a van, unless you're Yao Ming or somebody. :rolleyes: