Fiat ducato bike rack

[Ermie571]

Firstly - sorry for asking abut bike racks. I have searched...and my head is now spinning! I have a ducato XLWB van conversion with barn doors. I currently have the fiamma bike rack.But I don't really like it because the door handle is obsured by the bikes, and the rack itself can hurt big time if you stand in the wrong place to shut the door. More alarmingly, on our recent trip the dashstarted throuwing door not shut errors and wouldn't lock unless we pushed the base of the door in hard when shutting....indicating to me that the rack is distorting the door slightly. I son't want it to get any worse.

So - we are looking at chassis or tow bar mounted racks. Seen the memo offering and they look great...until you realise that you need about 2m behind the van to swing out to get the doors open. We were tight in most of the campsites at 6m plus faimma rack to open the doors fully. So that isn't really option. Then I found the rear slide out option from LNB
https://www.lnbtowbars.co.uk/produc...liding-bicycle-carrier-75kg-capacity-a500pro/
which looks pretty good....the compromise being that you have two bars to climb over to load and unload the back. Unless it slides out easily. Its chassis mounted (tick) and will carry two electric bikes should I need it (tick). Presume the bikes would be less bouncy on this rack too.

The other option is the tow ball mouted rack. I would need a tilting rack. Has anyone got one that allows the rear doors to be opened to access the garage area . Do the doors open fully? Don't mind removing the rack to load and unload, but I would like to have some access to the garage area when the bikes are on and tilted.

Pictures speak a thousand words. What have you wonderful experienced types done and found works? Its not money no object, but I want to get the right thing now. I'm not happy with the fiamma.

Thanks for any pointers

Emma

 

[Howard B]

I have a Altera Strada DL3 which is towbar mounted & tilts allowing the doors to open.

 

[Lenny HB]

I don't understand the campsite problems at 6m you are very short even with a swing out bike rack you will be shorter than a lot of Motorhomes.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Very few of the tilt tow bar mounted carriers will offer enough clearance for the doors to open. Some have tried packer devices between the towbar bracket and mounting plate but that can affect the rating of the towbar.

I think Howard's Altera is about the only type and that only works because of the sliding tilt mechanism.

I too would be steering clear of the door mounted carriers. The door hinges were never designed for the heavy loads so inevitably there must be strain. Most of those carriers will have strict weight limits.

 

[Viennese]

I am happy with the Memo and haven't experienced problems with swinging it out. You need space behind to open the doors anyway. The main problem is the price!

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[Durham's dad]

We've got the Altera and it's great. Just had to swap the tow ball to one with a slightly longer reach. We had one on our car which was for an Alko chassied caravan.
If you're in the c and c club u can get a discount from the Roof box company that sells the Altera's.

 

[Ermie571]

Thankyou all for comments. useful information about the Alera, I will have a look at that. Interesting comment on the campsites. I did feel we were tight in alot of the places we parked. In the majority of places we were parked with MWB or LWB...getting the swing into some of the pitches was interesting to say the least. I think with the swing out, I would have been difficult. Maybe I'm wrong. Or we would have to look for different pitches.
Yes - the memo is expensive...but with a standard tow bar fitting of £750, and then a £400 the move upto the memo system is not horrendous. I have the ££ - I just want to buy right.

 

[Ermie571]

We've got the Altera and it's great. Just had to swap the tow ball to one with a slightly longer reach. We had one on our car which was for an Alko chassied caravan.
If you're in the c and c club u can get a discount from the Roof box company that sells the Altera's.

oooo I'm in the C&C club so that is useful information thankyou! Do you find the bikes bounce much on the rack, and do the doors open fully? Sorry for the questions.
Emma

 

[Ermie571]

I am happy with the Memo and haven't experienced problems with swinging it out. You need space behind to open the doors anyway. The main problem is the price!

Hi. Thanks for you comment. Which memo do you have - the chassis mounted one or the one that has the tow hitch to load a bike rack on? Thanks

 

[Ermie571]

Very few of the tilt tow bar mounted carriers will offer enough clearance for the doors to open. Some have tried packer devices between the towbar bracket and mounting plate but that can affect the rating of the towbar.

I think Howard's Altera is about the only type and that only works because of the sliding tilt mechanism.

I too would be steering clear of the door mounted carriers. The door hinges were never designed for the heavy loads so inevitably there must be strain. Most of those carriers will have strict weight limits.

Thank you for your comments. I have heard things about the door hinges for sure. The two bikes we have are well within the 65Kg limit of the carrier...I'm just not sure that the 30ish Kg that we have is good for the doors!

Happy Camping

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[Durham's dad]

oooo
Do you find the bikes bounce much on the rack, and do the doors open fully? Sorry for the questions.

There's a little bike movement but you're not aware of it when travelling and yes, the doors fully open. We got the three bike rack as it was advised it'd give more room for the doors to open but it's also useful for carrying a separate waste container and a doggy trailer, and two bikes. Payload is 45kg from memory.

 

[Viennese]

Hi. Thanks for you comment. Which memo do you have - the chassis mounted one or the one that has the tow hitch to load a bike rack on? Thanks

I have the chassis mounted one.

 

[Sapper520]

I’ve a detachable tow hook fitted. No tow bar fitted bike rack on the market (at the moment) allows me to open the back doors at all. I have checked with three manufacturers (measurements sent to them). There is not enough clearance between the bottom of the door and tow hook, so for now we have to completely lift off the Thule rack to get into the back of the van.

 

[Howard B]

This is the Altera Strada3

 

[SandraL]

Outdoor Bits - Motorhome Accessories and Caravan Accessories

www.outdoorbits.com

We dont have a panel van but have seem some similar to the above but full width of van hinged at one end. Think Skez might have had one fitted?

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[Sapper520]

Outdoor Bits - Motorhome Accessories and Caravan Accessories

www.outdoorbits.com

We dont have a panel van but have seem some similar to the above but full width of van hinged at one end. Think Skez might have had one fitted?

Unfortunately, this won’t fit with out detachable tow hook.

 

[SandraL]

An alternative that needs a flanged towball.

Swing Out Carry Systems For Vans - Mobile Fitting Service

We specialise in supplying & installing a range of swing out carry system for van conversions. Get tailored advice and fitting from UK Towbars.

www.uk-towbars.net

 

[Sapper520]

An alternative that needs a flanged towball.

Swing Out Carry Systems For Vans - Mobile Fitting Service

We specialise in supplying & installing a range of swing out carry system for van conversions. Get tailored advice and fitting from UK Towbars.

www.uk-towbars.net

Our detachable tow hook doesn’t have a flanged type fitting unfortunately. That’s the reason we are having problems finding a usable option for our van.