New Podder - advice on canopy/awning?

I assume you are talking to Pod People since we were the only pod in this thread that showed a bike mount.

I will start by saying that mounting a bike rack on the rear is generally a very bad idea.  The rack with bikes will have a lot more weight than a spare tire.  Plus, that weight has to be cantilevered further off of the back of the frame creating lots of bounce.  This constant bouncing and additional weight create frame stress and  axle stress.

There are many stories of broken welds and crashed bikes.

Having said that, we went to a lot of trouble and expense to mount our bikes on the back so that they are safe and rock solid. I paid a welder several hundred dollars plus material costs to add a 2x2 cross frame member welded at the rear to the original frame.  The cross member is triangulated with the hitch and has additional metal triangle gussets for stabilizers.  The frame cross member is welded with angle iron to the receiver. all of that is just for the under structure.

We use  the shortest 2" shank possible so that the bike handlebar will clear the back of the pod. We mount the shank into the receiver with a hitch tightener and a threaded hitch pin which stops all receiver/shank movement.

We use 2 ratchet straps- one on each side. They attach from the lower rear frame channel to an eyebolt at the top of the bike rack.  These straps form a triangle from the top of the rack to the bottom of each frame member. We tighten the ratchets as tight as possible and that stops any bike rack movement.

I have followed my wife when she was driving our rig and there is no motion in the bikes.

But we spent a lot of $$$ to get it that way.  I feel safe, but I would not feel safe with anything less.  I have tried a lot and this works.

Make your own decision-all pods, bikes and racks are different.

Travel Safe

Vann