Rain Protection When Hauling Ebike on The Road?

[Redrock]

I am carrying two ebikes, with mid-drive Bafang motors, on a hitch-mounted rack. I’m carrying them on a car that is towed behind a Motorhome. I have a waterproof cover but it covers the taillights of the car. The water is thrown from the road and gets underneath the cover. Has anyone found a good way to keep the motor dry as well as protect the display and electronic connections on the handlebar?

 

[DaveMatthews]

Check this thread out...

RVing - How to keep eBike dry while on rack

Ready to order a RadRover or RadCity to take along as I tour the country in my RV. Since the bike will travel in a bike rack on the rear of my class B RV, is there anything I should do to protect it from weather while driving? I never seen to see bikes covered on bike racks and when I do, they...

electricbikereview.com

 

[Southsound]

We have two Rad Mini ebikes. One is a Step-thru. We carry them on the back of our RV on a Hollywood rack designed for heavy fat time ebikes. Because we are in the Pacific Northwet, we put a cover on them while traveling (or parked if it is going to rain). I picked up on Amazon a 'Pro Bike Cover for outdoor storage'. It has a bungee cord draw string cinch on the bottom of the cover to help keep the rain/road moisture from getting inside. I use two ratchet straps to to keep the cover from flapping in the wind as we drive. This is mainly to keep the cover in good shape over time.

Also, since the cover will block the tail lights on our motorhome, I fold down the handle bars so on our ebikes (Rad Mini's fold up). Photo is a few weeks ago. It rained that evening just after I put the bikes on the rack and covered them for traveling and on the way home from a State Park we were at that weekend. When we got home, the bikes were dry. There was only a few drops of water inside the cover at the bottom. We have used this cover for about 5 months now and it looks like new even with hundreds of miles of traveling with it on our ebikes.

 

[Redrock]

I realized that I didn’t thank those who responded. I ended up getting a Formosa cover online and paired it with a magnetic light kit from Harbor Freight.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I have the same cover as Southsound and it keeps our two ebikes dry. The only difference with my setup is our bikes sit up a bit higher and block our RV's tail lights.
I solved this problem by attaching two LED brake/turn signal lights to the bike rack.

 

[Bigal1463]

Don’t block your license plate.

 

[AHicks]

I put the batteries inside and cover the display. Have made several Florida to Michigan and back runs with no damage - including several times it rained the entire route. I do generally clean and lube the chain after these trips.

 

[Jimfastcar]

I realized that I didn’t thank those who responded. I ended up getting a Formosa cover online and paired it with a magnetic light kit from Harbor Freight.

I am thinking of getting one of these Formosa covers, are you still satisfied with it ?
Are the straps and attachments holding up, or have you found that you need additional bungee or other straps ?
Thanks

 

[Redrock]

I didn’t buy the Formosa cover. I bought the Pro Bike cover. For two bike on a hitch rack, I bought the XXL size.

Amazon.com

We drove in a hard rain storm and still got water and condensation under the cover. I would try the Formosa cover as it may work better.

 

[Jimfastcar]

Thanks, was under the impression you had per post above.

 

[luka82]

We have two Rad Mini ebikes. One is a Step-thru. We carry them on the back of our RV on a Hollywood rack designed for heavy fat time ebikes. Because we are in the Pacific Northwet, we put a cover on them while traveling (or parked if it is going to rain). I picked up on Amazon a 'Pro Bike Cover for outdoor storage'. It has a bungee cord draw string cinch on the bottom of the cover to help keep the rain/road moisture from getting inside. I use two ratchet straps to to keep the cover from flapping in the wind as we drive. This is mainly to keep the cover in good shape over time.

Also, since the cover will block the tail lights on our motorhome, I fold down the handle bars so on our ebikes (Rad Mini's fold up). Photo is a few weeks ago. It rained that evening just after I put the bikes on the rack and covered them for traveling and on the way home from a State Park we were at that weekend. When we got home, the bikes were dry. There was only a few drops of water inside the cover at the bottom. We have used this cover for about 5 months now and it looks like new even with hundreds of miles of traveling with it on our ebikes.

View attachment 39835

very good idea. i might steal it

 

[Jimfastcar]

Ordered the Formosa cover, one question that comes up in my mind is the risk of wind-stressing the hitch or rack (I have the Thule Easy Fold) and will be transporting two Trek EBikes

 

[Redrock]

Jimfastcar- I have a friend who has the Thule Easy Fold rack. She has traveled quite far without any issues with the rack. As far as the cover is concerned, we traveled from California to Arizona and back in wind and had no issues. I put an additional strap around the outside cover, wrapped around d. Other bikes to stop it from flapping on the highways.

 

[McCorby]

Jimfastcar- I have a friend who has the Thule Easy Fold rack. She has traveled quite far without any issues with the rack. As far as the cover is concerned, we traveled from California to Arizona and back in wind and had no issues. I put an additional strap around the outside cover, wrapped around d. Other bikes to stop it from flapping on the highways.

Are the vehicle‘s tail lights still visible to other vehicles?