Patriot X1

This Patriot X1 bike rack crossed the Pacific to join a serious American overlanding rig: TKM Adventures’ Patriot X1 camper towed behind a Toyota Tacoma. The Extreme Duty Two Bicycle Carrier runs a Patriot Mount on the camper and a Compact High Profile car mount system on the Tacoma’s hitch, so the bikes ride whichever half of the rig is doing the trip.

The review that came back is the most thorough we have received, from a rider of twenty plus years. The details he singled out are the ones we obsess over: the internal tightening bolt that locks the hitch connection so nothing moves or makes noise, the high clearance geometry that survives offroad approach angles, and the tilt that drops the bikes down for full access to the truck bed or the X1’s storage. His conclusion, thought out thoroughly and engineered effectively, is the whole design brief in six words.

The X1 is Patriot Campers’ flagship compact off roader and the Tacoma is America’s Hilux, so this configuration works as hard as any we build. The 500mm beam Two Bike Carrier is rated to 64kg and carries up to 32kg per bike, and the truck bed stays free for the pooches, which was the design requirement that mattered most.

Every system is manufactured in Mitcham, Victoria, as they have been since 2007, from Australian mild steel and stainless steel, zinc primed and finished in textured Dulux powder coat, and covered by a lifetime warranty on both sides of the Pacific. Camper configurations live in our caravan bike racks, and the Tacoma in our pre-configured vehicle carriers.