Carrying Bikes

[Jim_374361976]

Hi

Hope this is in the correct forum

Our current outfit is a VW Golf GTTDI towing a Bailey Bordeaux S6, we have had the outfit over the weighbridge when we first started out last year and with our usual kit on board we are running at about 83%. Car tows like a dream .

However me and the wife have recently got the cycling bug and would like to take our two bikes with us on our travels this year.

With the outfit being finely balanced at 83% would there be a way we could add the additional 35-40kg of the bikes.

Or would it be better to consider an upgrade of towcar? I would consider all options , roof mounted , towbar mounted etc.

Any tips or advice would be most welcome .

Cheers

Jim

 

[Lutz]

Roof mounted on the car is always to best alternative. It won't affect your weight ratio and won't give you any problems trying to balance out the noseweight.

 

[Lutz]

Roof mounted on the car is always to best alternative. It won't affect your weight ratio and won't give you any problems trying to balance out the noseweight.

.... always "the" best alternative, not "to".

 

[TrevorM]

Hi Jim. I agree with Lutz. I tow with a Golf Mk4 TDI estate and always put the bikes on the roof.

My reasons for doing this are: it does not adversely affect towing ratio, tow bar mounting is not an option with a 75Kg limit, hatch mount means can not open this while towing, and inside caravan risks damage and adversely affects towing ratio.

Disadvantages are: having to lift bikes on to carriers and (minor?) increase in fuel consumption - I still manage to average around 33mpg towing though.

Hope this helps.

Enjoy your holidays,

Trevor M

 

[Clive-Cardiff]

Hi Jim, I agree that weight distribution is much better with roof mounted bikes and they do not affect your tow bar limit.

I used to use a roof mounted carrier but I found that it added 20% to my fuel consumption.

I changed mine when I got a high 4X4, I'd need scaffolding to get the bikes up there :0)

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jim,

I am inclined to agree with Lutz and Trevor about car roof mounting, however, provided it does not exceed any weight limits you might consider carrying the bikes inside the caravan.

As you claim your outfit tows well and you are at 83% the addition of 40Kg (about 3 to 4%)should not cause any great problems.

You would probably save quite a lot in fuel compared to the roof mounting option.

 

[Lutz]

As the weight ratio is based on the caravan's MTPLM and this cannot be exceeded whether there are bikes inside or not, you would not affect the weight ratio in any way.

 

[jerry1]

i bought two lightweight bike bags from ebay mountain bikes fit in easly and nothing can damage the vans interior i also have the bike racks on the roof of the car as an option but with the bikes on top it does affect mpg but you get less dead flies on the van

 

[Guest]

Just a comment.

What exactly do you mean by 83%? Is this 83% of the caravans total maximum weight allowance, or is it 83% of the tow car weight. Normally when we look at outfits we look at the weight of the van as a precentage of the car tow weight for stability. That has nothing to do with the weight that can be put inside the van itself. That is fixed by the manufacturer.

No disprespect but if you are only 83% of the total weight allowed for the van, then you are being very parsimonious indeed with what you have in there. A S6 allows about 190 kg for all personal effects. Most people are usually fighting to stay under 100%.

 

[Lutz]

Parsimonious, eh? I'll have to remember that one.

 

[RichardS1]

We are keen cyclists and the mountain bikes go away with us on the majority of trips. We always carry them on the roof of the car, a small plastic ladder from B&Q is ideal for loading them on the roof of the Sorento, it also comes in handy when putting up the awning. The bikes on the roof also makes it easy to transport the bikes to traffic free routes or trail centres when you are away.

 

[xtrailman]

I have carried two bikes inside the caravan for the last 25 years, never had any damage to bikes or caravan interior.

Lean one bike onto the lhs bunk, and the other onto the rhs bunk, both tyres touch together and are secured with elastic wraps or whatever you prefer.

Onto each bunk cushion we place a blanket to prevent dirt from the bikes and any friction from wearing the cushion fabric.

 

[Guest]

Your welcome, Lutz. However, I am not totally correct as it primarily refers to money matters.

But to comment on the bike issue. We have 2 folding bikes which can easily sit on the fixed bed, however as they weigh about 13 kg each that adds another 26 kg to the payload, and the weighbridge told me, it was too much, so they now sit on the folded back seat of the car. I am not happy with roof mounted stuff, as, has been mentioned getting it up and down is a pain. Roof boxes are similar for me and I do not see that they actually hold that much. Basically, if it cannot go in the van safely, or in the car, then it does not go.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As the weight ratio is based on the caravan's MTPLM and this cannot be exceeded whether there are bikes inside or not, you would not affect the weight ratio in any way.

Hello Lutz,

Jim stated he had used weighbridge, so I read that to mean the 83% was the actual ratio, either way the 40Kg will only represent about 3 to 4% of the caravans actual weight.

 

[Lutz]

As the weight ratio is based on the caravan's MTPLM and this cannot be exceeded whether there are bikes inside or not, you would not affect the weight ratio in any way.

Unless he used the weighbdrige just to check the kerbweight of his car, his 83% weight ratio is a bit meaningless and certainly can't be compared with any 85% recommendation.

 

[anotherDavid]

I have no doubt I will get some stick over this but after carrying bikes in the Van, in the car,on the car (towball mounted) I now have them on a rear mounted rack and its just fine.

I know all the arguments against this but it doesnt seem to deter Dutch or Germans and when I had a tour of the Swift factory they told us that they wouldnt sell a van in Holland unless they provided points for rear mounted racks.My van is very stable and quite heavy which may help , and I rarely exceed 55mph. After around 30K miles towing like this without any sort of problem I am confident to carry on

Dave.

 

[Guest]

There is absolutley no problem in a rear bike rack. As you state many EU owners use them and get along fine. However, you must ensure your noseweight and gross van weight are correct. You may need to move stuff forward of the axle to ensure this.

The speed you tow at is not an issue except for your own peace of mind. It is whether the Law feels you are managing an unstable outfit that counts, and if yu are being excessively cautious, they may wonder why.

 

[xtrailman]

I have the factory fitted no cost option blocks fitted to my 2004 bailey, the wood blocks are fitted in the rear panel, to enable a bike carrier to be fitted.

Only two things put me off using it.

1/ The bikes would get dirty

2/ The cost of the carrier.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Unless he used the weighbdrige just to check the kerbweight of his car, his 83% weight ratio is a bit meaningless and certainly can't be compared with any 85% recommendation.

Fully agree.

 

[Jim_374361976]

Thanks for all the help and info will consider both the in van and on roof options , next task to price up the roof bars and see if i can find some bike covers on ebay.

Scotch lad fitting you should use such a word

As for our loading had all the gear out and weighed it we only have the essentials inside the van , cutlery , bedding,water carriers , battery etc

Porch awning ,clothes , TV etc on back seat of car

83% is arrived at by using van miro of 1103 + 145kg of kit / 1% of kerb weight of 1493 = 83.5%

 

[Lutz]

If you carry the bikes inside the caravan, they would be included in the 145kg of kit.

 

[Jim_374361976]

If bikes were inside that would push us up to 185kg still only 87% ish so should be ok , might have to persuade wife to leave the straighteners and several pairs of shoes at home to save weight

 

[Lutz]

The weight ratio is always based on the MTPLM of the caravan. I assumed that MIRO plus 145kg is the MTPLM. If you can put 185kg payload in the caravan without exceeding the MTPLM, then the 83% is meaningless because it cannot be compared with the 85% recommendation.

 

[Jim_374361976]

Thought my figure were correct but just to double check i have just ran it through whattowcar,s outfit matcher and with 150kg of kit its 84% and with 200kg its 87%

 

[Lutz]

In order to be able to compare with the 85% recommendation the weight ratio is always calculated with the maximum amount of kit that you can put in the caravan.