Dialing in Van Bike Storage for Your Ultimate Adventure Camper Van

Transform Your Adventure Van into a Cycling Haven with a Flexible Van Bicycle Storage Solution

Fellow van life adventure seekers, let me tell you about one of the best modifications I’ve made to our camper van. As specialists in adventure van conversion parts, we've learned a thing or two about optimizing space for our favorite pastime: cycling. Whether you have a Mercedes Sprinter Van, Ford Transit Van, or a Promaster Camper Van - buckle up, because we're about to take a ride through the wonderful world of van bike storage.

Should You Store Your Bikes In Your Van? Exterior Bike Racks vs. Interior Bike Stow

If your van adventures are all about two-wheeled exploration, then storing your bikes inside is a no-brainer. Here are some reasons why:

• Protection from the Elements: External bike racks may expose your beloved bikes to road grit, grime, and weather, wearing down those precision components.
• Security/Theft Protection: Prevent the ever-looming risk of theft that exterior bike racks pose. Bikes stowed safely inside your van? A whole lotta peace of mind.
• Highway Regulations: some states/provinces have rules regarding bike rack usage and location/placement. Interior storage avoids any potential issues of this kind.
• Avoid Accidental Damage: avoid dents, scratches or any other type of accidental damage that may occur by having bikes exposed to other vehicles or exterior objects/traffic.
• Ease of Use: Accessing bikes stowed inside the van is often easier especially cases where the bikes are heavy or the weather conditions are challenging.
• Improved Aerodynamics: Reduce drag and wind resistance and improve highway fuel efficiency.
  
  

Creating Space for Your Trusty Steeds while Ditching the Bike Rack: Road/Gravel or Mountain Bike Van Storage

We all know that bikes are essential for a proper camper van adventure. They can turn a good trip into a great one. But how to transport them? One of the best modifications that I’ve made to our van was the addition of flexible bicycle storage under the bed. There’s room for four bikes, two road/gravel with drop handlebars, and two full size mountain bikes. You can easily offset or tilt the bike forks into whatever position you like to avoid handlebar interference.  Depending on the size, make, model and type of bikes you own, expect to be able to store anywhere from 3-5 bikes. Road bikes and children’s bikes will obviously take up much less storage space than mountain bikes.

Sprinter Bike Van Storage Magic Featuring Rockymounts

Rockymounts are the secret ingredient that makes this whole storage system work like a charm. Their fork mounts are incredibly versatile, with different plastic inserts to accommodate popular through-axle diameters. This means that regardless of if you have a road bike or a mountain bike, their bike storage solution for your van is going to work.

The tracks are essential for lateral movement, allowing you to snug everything together just right. It's like Tetris, but with bikes. I mounted the tracks to a slider to make access easy when it is fully extended, but you could also mount them directly to your van's floor.

 After playing with the layout, the ideal setup was to cut the track in half and install them in a staggered offset to accommodate the mix of drop and flat bar bikes.

All in all, both products that I've had my hands on are well designed. When I emailed Rocky mounts with a few questions, their support was responsive and clear. 

 Here's what you'll need to make this happen:

• 4x DropTop fork mounts.

• 2x Rockymounts 60” Bolt-On Tracks. Each track includes hardware kits for mounting two fork mounts.
  
  

Alternative Bike Storage Options for Van Life

• Flatline Van Co has a prefabricated slide bike trays for sale. 

• Radio Vans has prefabricated bike trays as well. Check them out here.
  
  

The New and Improved VanTrack (5/2023)

Since I first wrote this article, Rockymounts has released their “VanTrack” track system. With 24” and 60” length options, this beauty allows you to angle the fork mounts within one track to reduce handlebar interference. I made the single channel track work by installing two of them and only bolting in one eyelet whenever angling the bars was needed. However, the new VanTrack is the way to go if you're looking for a proper solution. If you need to offset handlebars for closer side-to-side storage, the Bolt-On Tracks might still be your best bet.

From the RockyMounts website:

Since I first wrote this article, Rockymounts has released their “VanTrack” track system. With 24” and 60” length options, this beauty allows you to angle the fork mounts within one track to reduce handlebar interference. I made the single channel track work by installing two of them and only bolting in one eyelet whenever angling the bars was needed. However, the new VanTrack is the way to go if you're looking for a proper and convenient storage solution. If you need to offset handlebars for closer side-to-side storage, the Bolt-On Tracks might still be your best bet.

Dimensions from Rockymounts website: