Need help finding proper bike rack for little kid bikes!

[gilesdad]

We'll be down to the beach again in August and staying at a Topsail Hill cabin.
With Topsail we'll be situated a bit back from the beach so we're bringing the bikes this year. They also have a "tram" that runs the 1/2 mile from the campground to the beach every hour or so, but we'd still like to hit the 30-A trail too.
Our problem is this... We have a trunk mounted rack that nicely carries the two adult bikes. Our son is 9 and has a 20" bike that just isn't big enough to fit onto the rack. Our daughter is 6 and still has the training wheels on her little Walmart style Barbie bike. Does anyone know of a roof rack system like Yakima or Thule that will mount these small bikes? (the training wheels can be removed and thrown in the trunk)
Our option at this point is to bring the 2 adult bikes and just rent 2 kid bikes for the week. But even aside from Florida vacation we also like to camp in areas where bike rentals are not an option and we'd like to be able to take the small bikes.

 

[Mermaid]

We have a Thule for carrying our bikes to the beach and it takes up to four bikes whatever their size. Here's the website:


http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8000&crumb=Thule%5E%26query%3Dthule%26noalias%3D1%26brand%3DThule%26link%3D1%26cat%3D4500010%7EBike+Racks%5E%26cat%3D4500276%7ETrailer+Hitch+Bike+Racks%5E%26cat%3D4501509&link=1&noalias=1&cat=4501509&query=thule&brand=Thule&source=19553&vcat=searchrefine:N

We have a Dodge Durango, however, with a trailer hitch on it, so if you don't have an SUV or a mini-van you might not have the same option that we do.

 

[gilesdad]

Nope, it's a little Honda Civic. I've looked into a hitch for it and you can't even put one on the Civics. At least not according to Honda.
So with a trunk mount already holding the adult bikes we're left with needing a roof mount rack for the kids.

 

[gilesdad]

So with a trunk mount already holding the adult bikes we're left with needing a roof mount rack for the kids.

I should have said for the kids' bikes!

Although sometimes I'm tempted!

 

[Mermaid]

Wow. I'm impressed that you're driving down all the way from Illinois in a Honda Civic, and with kids, too. We've driven from Indiana enough years to know what a long haul it is, and for you to attempt it in a smaller car...wow!:clap_1:

Thule makes roof top carriers as well as the kind we have. We've been pretty satisfied with their overall quality. Having said that, though, I will say it's expensive to get carrying equipment and in your case, it might be more than the price of a kid's bike. We've more than made the money back on our carrier but then again, we never travel without it. Our bikes are part of our vacation 100%of the time. You might find that renting the two kiddie bikes is more practical and economical, rather than going through the hassle of rigging something up for your car (especially since you're already bringing 2 adult bikes). If you go to www.sowal.com I'm pretty sure there are some lists of places on the beach that rent bikes. Lots of people (including us) use Big Daddy's, and they're reliable.