EarthRoamer gets DIY folding eBike Garage - Part 1: Fab and Install
This video shows our new folding eBikes and some of the steps in the fabrication and installation of the "garage" we put in our rig to secure and conceal the bikes during our travels both on and off road. This is Part 1 of a 2 part video. The Part 2 video will be posted soon and will show the final version of the "garage" with the eBikes being loaded and unloaded from our rig. We hauled conventional mountain bikes for the past 16 years on various hitch mounted 4-bike racks. Our family of four has always explored in 4WD overlanding outfitted rigs. We broke a 4-bike Yakima rack and a 4-bike Thule rack, before finally finding a 1-UP USA 4-bike rack that was up to the task. IMO the 1-UP USA racks are really the only ones that can carry 4 mountain bikes over hundreds of miles of rough off road tracks without breaking welds. That said...the bikes still are still exposed and get trashed behind the vehicle in dust, rain, mud, snow and they are on display for those with bad intentions. The folding eBikes are a compromise for sure compared to the performance of a conventional mountain bike or even a non-folding eBike. We evaluated the various options for future extended domestic and foreign travel with our rig and decided this solution ticked the most boxes for us.