Rear Cycles Carriers

[GrahamF.]

Could anybody advise on their experience and fitting of rear cycle carriers.

I have been looking at both Fiammi and Omni Bike Plus, favour the Omni because of its lower mounts. But I have to say my dealing with Omni agents has not been a happy one due to Omni's reluctance to reply to queries or supply spare parts. The Fiammi seems to rely on the drip rail as its main attachment point

Front mounted is not really an option as I tow a Dethleffs DL540 and have great difficulty (even with van empty) to keep below a 90kgs nose weight.

Regards

Graham F

 

[mike_5041102]

Fiammi do a rear rack called the 'Burstner Model' it has the advantage of having the lower fitting mounted under the caravan floor

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Graham,

It looks like you are considering fitting a rear mounted cycle rack to your caravan.

Quite obviously this will make your outfit longer, Do ensure your rear lights and number plate are still fully visible. You have already considered the nose weight issue, but please also consider the added mass of the carrier and bikes to the caravan, and where the mass is located - about as far back as you can get. This will affect the handling of of your outfit, and is likely to make it potentially liable to snake.

The general consensus from similar threads was to opt for a roof mounted rack on the tow vehicle. Is this an option for you?

 

[Mac2]

Hi Graham,

I once fitted a cycle rack to the rear of a caravan and my advice is - forget it!! It caused so much instability I removed it.

 

[GrahamF.]

Thanks John and Mac, you have confirmed my suspicions. I was a bit concerned with it all hanging on the back. As the Dethleffs tows very well with good stability I am reluctant to fit anything which may upset this. Another alternative would be to move the spare wheel from the front locker to a central position underneath, and then fit a front mounted one.

No doubt in the end I'll go for the lazy option and use the car roof rack. Fuel econmomy is already shot by towing anyway.

Thanks for your advice.

Regards

Graham F.

 

[Pete4]

On tiop of the stability issue, I think there may be a problem towing in parts of the EU as some countries do not allow cycle racks on the back of towed vehicles.

 

[Lutz]

It is true that there is a stability issue involved but I am not aware of any country actually banning rear cycle carriers for this very reason. Maybe one could have problems if the rear lights and rear number plate are partially obstructed or not moved rearwards accordingly to be in line with the back end of the cycle carrier. If designed as a permanent fitment it could affect type approval of the caravan in some countries because the carrier would be considered a technical modification of a type approved vehicle requiring resubmission for approval, but this would only apply to locally registered caravans where such regulations exist.

 

[rob_jax]

Lutz and Clive

There is a possible legal issue with small caravans, rear cycle carriers, and some European countries - certainly France - which would affect UK people travelling on to the mainland.

Explicitly it is an offense for carried items, such as a bicycle on a bike rake, to extend outside the side walls of the van body.

This affects the smallest of the Eriba Touring vans, where to comply you need to remove the bike's front wheel, position the bike correctly and then you are legal again.

For this reason, dealers won't fit bike racks to the smaller vans - those less than 2m wide - and it is down to the owner to fit the rack and make sure they comply with the regulations.

But in any case, whatever van you have, you need to make sure that through incorrect loading or for whatever reason, that nothing carried on the van exterior extends outside the side walls.

Robert