Ebikes for RV Life

People all over the world are enjoying traveling and living in RVs, campers, and custom-built vans. The RV Industry Association predicts 72 million Americans will take an RV trip in 2022 in an RV they rent, own, or borrow. The Canadian Recreational Vehicle Assocation reported in Q3 of 2021 that shipments were up 103% versus the previous year.

There are a large number of valuable resources and media available for RVing, van life, and off-the-grid enthusiasts. We hear from customers that they are taking their ebikes with them on the road to get more out of their time while traveling or settling in at a secluded destination.

Check out our videos where Rad ebikes are featured on the Discovery Channel and PBS show, “The RVers” and read how one of our team members in the Netherlands rides Rad while traveling in a custom camper van.

Traveling with Ebikes

For taking along an ebike, nothing beats an electric folding bike like our RadExpand model. We also hear customers travel with our fat-tire RadRover off-road models or RadRunner moped-style utility ebikes. Almost any model would work for your traveling adventures, although our RadWagon ecargo bike may be a bit more than you need on the road.

Our folding ebikes can store compactly inside your vehicle or travel unfolded on a vehicle rack: Most of our ebikes work with one of our Hollywood rack accessories. The Sports Rack is designed to carry ebikes on the back of your vehicle; the RV Rack (coming soon to Canada) is for use with RV, motorhome, 5th wheel, or flat-towed vehicles. You may need a Bike Adapter Bar to use vehicle racks with some of our models.

The Hollywood Racks include a built-in key and lock system so the bikes can be locked into place when secured on the rack. It is best practice to remove your ebike’s battery before traveling, storing it inside the vehicle to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures. We offer a battery terminal cover to protect electronic connections, and a battery travel case to make it easier to move your battery for charging or while you’re off your bike for longer periods of time.

For added security, attach additional bike locks around the frames such as the ABUS Folding Lock. You can also use the additional locks for security on your ride adventures and errands.

Customers ask about driving through the rain with the ebikes on a vehicle rack; we recommend reviewing the “Know Before You Go” section of our “Do you offer a hitch rack for my car?” help article. 

If you would like to add bike covers, there are likely third-party options on the market that would work for protecting your Rad ebikes. We don’t currently sell bike covers or have tested third-party covers on Rad Power Bikes ebikes. 

We recommend checking with your local rack shop experts to make sure you get the best option. You’ll likely want to bring along the specs for your Rad bike, including weight, frame size, tire size, and top-tube length. You can easily find these details on your ebike’s page on this website.

Riding While Traveling

Whether you're in a campground or settled outside of town, you can ride for recreation, errands, all-terrain adventures, or even a quick workout. Our ebikes can be fully-customized to maximize your different riding experiences while traveling around. 

Many of our traveling customers like to add racks, baskets, bags, and on-bike coolers for groceries, errands or picnics. If you’re doing a lot of ebiking, you may want to consider adding comfort accessories such as comfort saddles, comfort grips, or a suspension seatpost. A phone mount helps keep GPS directions and maps easily accessible while you ride.

While you are in remote locations and on the move, we recommend considering having extra spare parts and repair tools on hand such as battery terminal covers, spare inner tubes, tires, roadside repair tool kit. We don’t currently sell one, but a tire pump is highly recommended for on-the-road adventures.

Charging Ebikes on The Road

We recommend reviewing your road electrical set-up to ensure ebike charging is within standards for our bikes and your setup. Be sure to know your max wattage and what your setup can handle. RVs are typically wired similar to houses with 110-120v outlets which is standard for our chargers. We always only recommend using the standard charger that comes with the ebike to charge your battery.

Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a solar charging option, but if you decide that you'd like to pursue a solar charging solution yourself, we continue to recommend that the standard charger that comes with the ebike is the only thing we recommend you use to charge your battery. 

We recommend you have at least a 350 watt inverter for charging one battery, outputting 100-240V power at 50-60Hz. It is important the inverter outputs pure sinewave AC power, (NOT square wave, and NOT modified sinewave) to prevent damaging the electronics. 

There are certainly some fantastic online resources for exploring solar charging while you are traveling. We recommend you do additional research and ensure our ebike and charging standards match with your setup.

Explore our full line of electric bikes to take along on your travels.