TOW BALL MOUNTED CYCLE RACK

Sep 16, 2011
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Hi I have just bought my first Motorhome which has a fixed bed. To that end the dealer has advised that fitting the normal cycle carrier on the back is not recommended as the fixings will interfere with the headboard. I see that you can get a Thule tow ball mounted cycle rack (they onyl seem to show in the advrts these connected to a car). Can anyone tell me if it is feasible to have one of these on my motorhome or is it likely to damage the bodywork. Thanks
 

Hobbyt600

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Sep 20, 2011
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You might be better to investigate Fiamma's range of bike-carriers that will have been designed for leisure-vehicles.

Even a single bicycle can exert a significant leverage on a carrier, especially if the carrier is mounted at the rear of a motorhome that may be moving up and down considerably when being driven on bumpy roads.

I would have thought that, even if you mounted the base part of a carrier on a motorhome's tow-ball, you'd still need to drill holes in the vehicle's rear bodywork to secure the top of the carrier's framework. But it's difficult to comment effectively without knowing what motorhome you've purchased.

It's rare, but not unknown, for the rear wall of a motorhome to be so lightly built that the weight of a loaded bike-rack will over-stress the wall. As carrying bikes is high on many motorcaravanners' wish-list, it's a mite odd that a bike-carrier apparently isn't a commonplace option on the motorhome you've just bought. My own motorhome also has a rear fixed bed and, to fit a bike-rack, I'd anticipatre having to remove the bed's headboard (and very likely the structure that supports the bed slat-framework) to permit holes to be drilled through the rear wall. But that's probably par for the course.

You really need to ask your dealer what's the best way forward. If a 'normal' cycle carrier is impracticable to fit (rather than just irritatingly difficult!), then your dealer should (hopefully) have sufficient experience to advise you on what make/model of carrier could be fitted instead. As a motorcaravanning novice, you very definitely should not be putting yourself in a position where you are guessing that a carrier designed for cars will, or will not, be suitable for a motorhome.
 

Hobbyt600

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peter said:
Towbar mounting is perfectly o/k. We have one.

How about some identification details of the make and model of cycle-carrier you've got and the motorhome it is fitted to? There is a significant difference between a "tow-bar"-mounted cycle-carrier and a "tow-ball"-mounted one like the Thule product referred to by the original poster.

The current issue (October 2011) of Motorcaravan, Motorhome Monthly (MMM) magazine includes a useful "On the Right Rack" article on pages 229-230 that should be helpful.
 

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