Bike carrier (1 Viewer)

[Neil S]

There are many Motorhomes on the UK roads and abroad with Fiamma Bike racks fitted and carrying 2/3 bikes
with no problems .
While I accept there may have been a few isolated case's of motorhomes sustaining damage to there rear walls If it was a real problem manufacturers would advise not to fit them

 

[Jaws]

Well two out of three does indicate to our family they are not the perfect answer !
Though to be fair you are of course quite right F L.

Darrells one on the Bessacar is solid but then his van is Y2K one and very sturdily built.. Both Dez and myself had severe problems ( and both were dealer fitted :-( ) .. In his case I am willing to bet 90% of folk would not have noticed what had happened.. It was such a subtle thing it was hard to spot but the whole wall had moved and bowed ever so slightly.. Perhaps a lot more people have problems and simply do not notice

 

[Jaws]

After thought.. ( sorry ! )

While I accept there may have been a few isolated case's of motorhomes sustaining damage to there rear walls If it was a real problem manufacturers would advise not to fit them

MH manufacturers do NOT recommend the wall mounted bike racks unless specified at time of original order so that extra supports can be grafted in to the rear wall

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[Neil S]

MH manufacturers do NOT recommend the wall mounted bike racks unless specified at time of original order so that extra supports can be grafted in to the rear wall[/QUOTE]

Well hopefully mine should be ok as the new Bailey has fixing points for the Pro C already installed which should be ok , however I will email Bailey with my intentions and bike weights

 

[Neilfg]

Thanks for all the information I will contact the dealer to see if there is a difference between dealer and manufacturer fitted options, i.e. do they manufacture in extra supports? I'm liking the towbar option as it would allow us to tow something at some point as well, nothing to tow but you never know!

Which Thule unit have you got?

 

[Jaws]

Honest truth is I do not know the model, other than it carries two bikes.
I will see if I can find a picture for you.

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[Jaws]

Found one straight away ( and at a bargain price too !!! )

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/thule-rideo...XADnJghx_dc|pcrid||pkw||pmt||prd|5360358176uk

 

[Judge Mental]

Couple of vans recently had the rear wall damaged carrying electric bikes one panel van had the rear doors bent. Rack capacity has nothing to do with it its the flexing the weight causes that does the damage.
Anyway you pay your money and take your choice.
Personally for the sake of £30.00 and a couple of hours work I'm not prepared to take the risk.

indeed...... rear door damage pretty common with these bike racks + I would not hang anything expensive on there as thin alu rack a piece of piss to cut through..far from secure!

a friend bought this rack and its the dog's..when I saw it, had to have it,they are expensive but brilliant.with a ground anchor fitted chance of theft negligible....

 

[Brendan]

indeed...... rear door damage pretty common with these bike racks + I would not hang anything expensive on there as thin alu rack a piece of piss to cut through..far from secure!

a friend bought this rack and its the dog's..when I saw it, had to have it,they are expensive but brilliant.with a ground anchor fitted chance of theft negligible....

As you say that really is the dog's whatsit's.

For a much cheaper alternative have a look at Witter tow bar mounted bike racks.

They use a bracket mounted between the tow bracket and the tow hitch itself. This is permanently mounted, and so adding the bike rack takes seconds, unlike the Thule system.

One advantage of this system is that the tow bar can still be used, although there may be issues regarding nose weight limit.

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[Judge Mental]

Yes I've seen those and good value plus you can chain bikes to towbar frame. But fails the easily fully opening door test that's pretty essential to us with a panel van for access, and gas inspections on eurotunnel.

There are two models of busbiker available now, latest has a tow bar

 

[MitchandJenny]

Autotrail will NOT fit a bike rack to the rear wall,, even if you ask them prior to manufacture I asked and it was refused.. So I had a Fiamma one retrofitted.. Have had no problems.
Except putting the bikes on !! Its up high and we are not !!
But I will now regularly check for any "flexing" .
PS just 2 "normal" bikes..

 

[Forestboy]

Personally I reckon you're ok with ordinary bikes its the extra weight of electric bikes that cause the problem and the leverage caused by being a couple of feet from the back wall.
My Mountain bike weighs 13kgs
My Electric bikes weigh 23kgs without battery and that's if you believe the makers I will weigh them when I've got time what's the betting they're heavier.

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[Judge Mental]

Autotrail will NOT fit a bike rack to the rear wall,, even if you ask them prior to manufacture I asked and it was refused.. So I had a Fiamma one retrofitted.. Have had no problems.
Except putting the bikes on !! Its up high and we are not !!
But I will now regularly check for any "flexing" .
PS just 2 "normal" bikes..

I think you will be ok with the weight of normal bikes, e bikes may be a step to far...... but blimey autotrail dont have much faith in the structural integrity do they!

 

[Nigel67]

I've always fitted a couple of extra supports like forestboy as I never trusted the bike rack fixings alone. I've followed motorhomes and have seen how much it can flex around. Never had any problems especially when I hit a speed bump in the dark in France at 50kph !! I dread to think what would have happened to the rack without the supports. I know the rack says 60kg but with the force put on it when bouncing heavily it would be for a split second much more than 60kgs and I also remember seeing a complete fiamma rack with bikes still attached lying on the hard shoulder of the motorway, so for a couple of quid and a bit of diy its a no brainer for peace of mind