Cycle Rack

[Reg]

Does anyone have any experience of fitting a rear cycle rack to a 2006 Bailey Ranger 470/4 and make of rack.

I have contacted Bailey and they said it was possible but didn't (wouldn't) give any details just advised me to consult the dealer. The dealer just referred me to Fiamme.

Any help or advice appreciated.

 

[VIP640]

Unfortunately you may find that Bailey will not honour their warranty if you fit a rack to your van... in a way you cannot blame them if they have not done the installation. But worth checking if you do.

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi, didn't know that you could put cycle rack on the back of caravans. Can this be done on any caravan, we where thinking of getting bike rack for the car but if this was possible it sounds a better idea.

 

[Damian]

Hi Jennifer,

You would have to check with the maker of your caravan, although the information may, just may, be in the van handbook.

Not all caravans are built with the extra reinforcing and attachment points to take a rear rack, or anything else.

Another point to consider is that you will be putting quite a lot of extra weight on the very extremity of the van, reducing your payload and starting to set up what 'could' be a very adverse pendulum effect depending what else is loaded in the van and where.

 

[SimonB]

We have a bike rack fitted to the rear of our twin axle van but only use it for the two small kids bikes, this works fine as we have a very large tow car. I would not advise it for adult bikes or with small caravan and tow car, I think that the weight on the rear would be too much.

 

[ProfJohnL]

We have a bike rack fitted to the rear of our twin axle van but only use it for the two small kids bikes, this works fine as we have a very large tow car. I would not advise it for adult bikes or with small caravan and tow car, I think that the weight on the rear would be too much.

Hello Simon

In general I would not advocate having a bike rack on the rear of any caravan. As it adds to its length, and it can affect stability through the 'pendulum' effect.

But just as a point of order, The pendulum effect will be greater the bigger the van, so strictly speaking it would not be so bad on a smaller one - but I still wouldn't do it.

 

[Reg]

Hi, didn't know that you could put cycle rack on the back of caravans. Can this be done on any caravan, we where thinking of getting bike rack for the car but if this was possible it sounds a better idea.

In Spain last year I saw quite a few of caravans with cycle racks on the back and chatted to some owners. All advised only to use lightweight alloy framed bikes and to keep the weight factor in mind. If your tow car weight is well above the limits there are no problems. Most racks I saw were using the window gutter and extended down to the underside of the van being attached to the flooring so there was very little actual load taken on the back of the van. One I saw was just a platform mounted under the van with a bar going from rear handle to rear handle across the back to hold the bikes to the rear. I have not been able to find a source for anything similar in the UK.

 

[Reg]

Sorry I managed to put this in the wrong place so here it is again

n Spain last year I saw quite a few of caravans with cycle racks on the back and chatted to some owners. All advised only to use lightweight alloy framed bikes and to keep the weight factor in mind. If your tow car weight is well above the limits there are no problems. Most racks I saw were using the window gutter and extended down to the underside of the van being attached to the flooring so there was very little actual load taken on the back of the van. One I saw was just a platform mounted under the van with a bar going from rear handle to rear handle across the back to hold the bikes to the rear. I have not been able to find a source for anything similar in the UK.

 

[Lutz]

As far as stability is concerned, the back of the caravan is just about the worst place to have a bike rack, no matter how big or heavy the towcar.

 

[Malcolm_5040880]

I agree that, in theory, mounting bikes on the rear wall of a caravan is not a good idea but I transported two mountain bikes this way for about eight years with no problems. I only stopped doing so when the fitment for the rear window changed and the brackets for the bike rack could no longer be slid behind rail which held the window. The bottom of my rack was supported by the rear grab handles.

 

[anotherDavid]

I have a rack on the back of my hymer nova. It is not the most recent version of the van and has a rail not unlike a short awning rail above the window (this is missing from the latest versions).I have a Fiamma Unversal rack that fits as described in other posts, i.e hooks into the rail and the bottom projects under the van to be screwed up to the van floor hence no drilling through the vans wall. I carry two adult bikes without problem however I do recognise that it isnt the ideal place for extra weight even though its rare to see a Dutch caravan without.

Dave

 

[Reg]

Lutz said

As far as stability is concerned, the back of the caravan is just about the worst place to have a bike rack, no matter how big or heavy the towcar.

Have to disagree with that as its ALL about weight of the tow car and the weight of the van. If caravan weight including all luggage etc. is well under the recommended loading of the tow car then there will not be a problem. If your towcar is near the limits then weight distribution then does become a problem.

If you took the extreme case say a Hummer towing my Bailey with a bike rack on the back I cannot see the Bailey having any effect on the Hummer at all. My concern is more about the fixing points on the Bailey rather than the stability which I don't see as a problem. When I contacted Bailey they said that they could have included fixing bushes at the point of manufacture but didn't tell me where they are.

But I would stress however that I would not do it if my towcar was anywhere near the limits.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Reg,

I have to disagree with your statement that stability is all about the weights.

I can agree that weights play their part in the stability of the outfit, but it is not the only or necessarily the most significant factor.

How the weight is distributed in a caravan will have a substantial effect on stability, as will the condition of the suspension and tyres of both the car and caravan.

Given you example of a Hummer, yes the car is heavy and a lightweight trailer may not affect the car to any great extent, but the trailer may be dancing around all over the place behind the car. That in any policeman's book will be an unsafe outfit as the trailer is not under control, but the driver is barely aware of it. (I have seen it with a Transit van and small trailer)

Other factors are how the driver drives the outfit, the road conditions, the list is almost endless. All of them affect the stability of the outfit, some more than others.

 

[Reg]

Hi John L

I think your point about an extremely light trailer bouncing around at the back of a transit is not the same as a caravan going out of control due to the giratory effect (often referred to as the pendulum effect) of a caravan which has too much load at the extremes. A well matched outfit where the car is more than adequate regarding the caravan/car weight ratio will always be able to overcome the pendulum effect IF ITS DRIVEN PROPERLY.

So I think that we are both agreed about the way its driven and the road conditions etc. are probably the single most important factors.

 

[andy_374344730]

We have a rear mounted rack, not on a bailey, but on our soon-to-be-sold Sterling Espace. It was installed by the original dealer, with extra strengthening in the back wall of the van to take the load.

As far as stability goes - our outfit was quite well matched - just about 85% weight match, but I would say that putting bikes on the back rack did affect the stability, noticeably, but only a little. On a windy day I would definately feel more lateral movement of the van, and when being passed by heavy vans etc. More so if the van itself was heavily loaded. Taking things easy and keeping an eye on the weight of the bikes helped - in the end we only put our lightweight road bikes on there, and put the others on top of the car with roof bars. We've just changed caravans, and I'll not be putting a rear mounted carrier on - I just don't really like the idea of putting weight in the worst possible place, despite the convenience of it.

Quite often, like last summer in france, we carried the bikes on the car roof when on the road, but then used the caravan's rear rack as a place to stash the bikes when we're not using them while on site, or going out for the day or whatever - they can be locked to the carrier - worth it if you have expensive bikes.

Probably just confused things now, but I would say that if you can put the bikes somewhere else, do so. Probably on the car roof.

 

[Reg]

I'm now looking at the A Frame model which Fiamma sell. Just not sure about the clearance it will give when cornering though. It would be nice if I could see one in a showroom but the caravan shops I have tried only do them on special order (at the highest price!).

 

[Percy1]

I'm now looking at the A Frame model which Fiamma sell. Just not sure about the clearance it will give when cornering though. It would be nice if I could see one in a showroom but the caravan shops I have tried only do them on special order (at the highest price!).

Reg

I Have a Fiamma Carry Bike XL A fitted on the A Frame of my Burstner cornering is not a problem. However Access to your Gas Locker could be impeded if trying to open the locker when the bikes are fitted .My Locker door Pulls out 3 Inch then moves up covering the window. I can get full access to my locker If I have to get the Bottle out I can tilt the Rack forward. I think your frame has to be from ALKO try the following links.

http://www.fiammastore.com/Bikes_caravansP1.htm
http://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/erol.html#4079X0
Omnistor also do a range

http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/Caravan/caravan_accessories/Omnistor_bike_racks.aspx
Hope this Helps

Ian

 

[Reg]

Hi Percy

Do you have the swing forward version?

The bailey locker hinges/swings upward and also the A frame seems to be fairly short.

In your opinion would the locker still be accessible with bikes loaded and swung forward.

This is the claim made by fiamma but I cannot get hold of any dimensions from them.

 

[Robert_5095703]

Hi

I have a three bike carrier on my A frame Which tips foward if you want some sizes I could do that for you or some photos

Rob

 

[Reg]

Hi Robert

Are you able to open the locker when the bikes are in place? i.e. by tipping the bikes forward.

If so I would be very interested to see some photos

Regards

Reg