I need some advice on a bike rack for a motorhome does anyone have any experience. Bear in mind neither my hubby or I are very strong but Wilma is only about 23kg before the battery is out (would be taking the battery out for transport) but still heavy if having to lift a fair distance!
Motorhome bike rack.....
- Thread starter Morag
- Start date
Just be sure to try to get it fitted as low as you can.
It of course depends on where the fitting points are on your particular van or where the manufacturer recommends fitting it.
Mine is a Fiamma and fitted quite high on my rapido and its a real problem for me.
My bike is 21kilos without battery and I manage to get it up by standing at the side and putting the rear wheel ( with hub motor ) up onto the rack then lifting the lighter front on, and sliding it along, with the fixing bits at the ready..... it gets easier with practice !
However I couldnt manage anything heavier without having to find a nice strong man....and they arent always around when you need one
....story of my life LOL
I have the Fiamma double rack but normally just have 1 bike on it.
There are some fantastic electronic racks which lift up from the ground but they are very expensive, so I just struggle on
Lynda
It of course depends on where the fitting points are on your particular van or where the manufacturer recommends fitting it.
Mine is a Fiamma and fitted quite high on my rapido and its a real problem for me.
My bike is 21kilos without battery and I manage to get it up by standing at the side and putting the rear wheel ( with hub motor ) up onto the rack then lifting the lighter front on, and sliding it along, with the fixing bits at the ready..... it gets easier with practice !
However I couldnt manage anything heavier without having to find a nice strong man....and they arent always around when you need one
....story of my life LOLI have the Fiamma double rack but normally just have 1 bike on it.
There are some fantastic electronic racks which lift up from the ground but they are very expensive, so I just struggle on
Lynda
Hi Morag
I have a 2-channel Fiamma Carry-Bike rack attached to the back of my truck. There is a label on the rack which warns that 60Kg is the limit. Unfortunately, there are two problems.
The first problem I encountered was that the wheelbase of my bike is longer than regular bicycles and a vertical line drawn through the hub centres actually coincides with the extreme edges of the channel, perhaps slightly outside the edges and the tie-down straps are therefore at the channel ends; not ideal!
Weight is the other problem as I'm sure, somewhere in the small print, I read that the single channel limit is 15Kg. The rack frame can take up to four channels, hence the 60Kg overall limit but I only have two.
A degree of physical strength is required to lift a 27Kg (in my case) bike to head height and while I'm a big, strong bloke and can manage, many people would find the lift required to locate the wheels in the channel simply impossible.
Fortunately, my truck has a large garage, (boot area for non-motorhomers) and I can accommodate my ebike in there where there are convenient lashing points. After considering that if I used only the channel closest to the truck body and lashed the bike really securely, thinking I might just get away with it, I then thought it would be reckless in the extreme. I am more than happy to carry two regular bikes, each about 15 Kg or so, and have driven across France and Spain without any problem.
You haven't indicated what type of motorhome you have but if you don't have a "garage" model and necessarily have to fit a rack to the rear body panel, you should seek specialist advice from a Fiamma dealer or the manufacturer of any other rack you may consider. Folding bikes or very lightweight ebikes with standard wheelbase are the best choice for motorhoming. To overload a rear-mounted rack, risking possible carnage behind your truck, would be criminally negligent and reckless so don't do it.
Regards,
Indalo
About the weight Indalo, when I checked direct with Fiamma, as long as the total weight is ok then its fine to carry say a 21kilo bike like mine on the rack, which I have done for the last 3 years all over france spain and portugal.
Although I certainly wouldnt be happy to carry anywhere near the total recommended weight. I only carry 1 bike on the channel nearest the van and all seems well, my brother carries 2 on his all over europe, but they are lighter models like mine......any heavier and like you I woulldnt risk it.
Also as said its very very important to have it attached properly.
Like you say lifting the bike up is difficult to say the least and a 27kilo bike like yours would be totally out of the question for me. Thankfully mine fits on the channels ok...you are lucky that you have a garage to put yours in.
Lynda
Although I certainly wouldnt be happy to carry anywhere near the total recommended weight. I only carry 1 bike on the channel nearest the van and all seems well, my brother carries 2 on his all over europe, but they are lighter models like mine......any heavier and like you I woulldnt risk it.
Also as said its very very important to have it attached properly.
Like you say lifting the bike up is difficult to say the least and a 27kilo bike like yours would be totally out of the question for me. Thankfully mine fits on the channels ok...you are lucky that you have a garage to put yours in.
Lynda
Yes Linda, I'd probably do the same as you if it weren't for the fact that my bike is the battery-behind-seatpost type on 28" wheels. In my case, it's the amount of unsupported weight beyond the channel mounting points and the fact that the rubber tie-down straps are right at the extreme channel ends which stops me.
I did consider fabricating a longer, stronger channel for the ebike but when I realised that I would always be taking a minimum of two and sometimes three or four bikes, (grandchildren's) I'd obviously need to use the garage so I might just as well put my Gazelle in there. Surprisingly, with the bike on the substantial stand and a couple of strong ratcheted lashings over the frame, I can still find space for all the usual accoutrements one needs for touring.
Unlike a full-size motorcycle which requires the use of the in-built ramp to board the machine, the Gazelle can be boarded simply by lifting the front wheel into the garage then rolling it in till the rear wheel can be lifted over the threshold. Two people makes that really easy.
Although you may be aware, it's worth mentioning that, while a bike or two may in themselves not add substantially to the overall vehicle weight, from time to time, the police and ministry inspectors pull over vehicles at random and direct them to the nearest weighbridge. On quite a few occasions, motorhomers have been found to be over the weight limit. That offence can lead to considerable expenditure and, to be fair, it's no different to a professional trucker driving an overloaded vehicle so it's worth knowing what one's vehicle actually weighs with all the tackle on board.
I'm lucky as mine runs on the Fiat Ducato Max chassis which can take a lot more than many others.
Going back to Morag's situation, the easy way to transport bikes or scooters is by fitting a towbar and using one of the dedicated ebike carriers available from the major bike rack and towbar suppliers. That removes any need to lift heavy bikes.
Regards,
Indalo
Indalos observations about length of e bikes is why I have sold both our wispers and going for normal wheelbase bikes (Either one or two DaaHub kits or one and a Bosch powered bike) I had a thread recently "our new van" and this has photos of rack I got "omnibike Sport 2 door" it is speciffically for 2 rear door vans and unlike fiamma (35kg) has a 50kg weight limit....there are pictures have a look. it is resonably low as well so lifting the wisper without battery on (20kg?) not to much trouble........
I absolutely agree indalo about the tow bar bike racks, we had one years ago on an autotrail and we had one of those scissor action fitments for bikes it was great I wish I had one on this van but its so expensive to add a tow bar.
As for weight my mercedes base is the 3.85 chassis so pretty good for weight, doing a lot of european travel I am always weight aware......thats the van not my body, well, actually, both
......Saying that, in 30 years motorhoming I have never been pulled over to be weighed.....oh how I hope I dont live to regret saying that !!
Lynda
was going to go for tow bar and rack but then I would not be able to open the rear doors of van to get to gas locker etc.... (essential when travelling eurotunnel) Anyway! perfect excuse for some new bikes! lol
We always visit local weighbridge fully loaded before trips...Away to Croatia this summer for a month can't wait!
We always visit local weighbridge fully loaded before trips...Away to Croatia this summer for a month can't wait!
Thanks everyone for your input, the MH we have just purchased doesn't have a garage hence picking your brains, I'm inclined towards the towbar option, hubby is sitting precriously on the fence at the mo, so having read what you've all said I do think the best option for us is going to be the towbar one as hubby is disabled so it's really down to me to get Wilma on the carrier.
Eddieo I'm going to have a shufties at your thread in a mo, have a great time in Croatia hun.
We plan on loading the old girl up and visiting the local weighbridge to check our situation out to make sure we are okay.
Eddieo I'm going to have a shufties at your thread in a mo, have a great time in Croatia hun.
We plan on loading the old girl up and visiting the local weighbridge to check our situation out to make sure we are okay.
No I didn't as it turned out the towbar that was fitted was actually a scooter rack with towbar and both hubbies elec scooter and my Wilma fit on that nicely, no fuss no muss here's a pic of them loaded up
I do like those tow bar ones though!
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Funky my dearest are you completely shameless? You promised you would never reveal our secrets to anyone but the News of The World
Hi Alan......am I right in remembering that Louise's Spirit is a recumbent ?
Because if so you would have to check the length between the wheels to make sure it fits in the channels ok......just a thought over my morning coffee
Lynda
Because if so you would have to check the length between the wheels to make sure it fits in the channels ok......just a thought over my morning coffee
Lynda
Honestly......if you didnt keep drawing forum members towards our little secrets they would maybe stay secret for longer.......although I confess that I did actually tell the news of the world but they closed the following week......obviously far too steamy for themFunky my dearest are you completely shameless? You promised you would never reveal our secrets to anyone but the News of The World
Funky
Yes. Thanks Lynda. Two things to thing about then ... Distance between wheels and weight ..Hi Alan......am I right in remembering that Louise's Spirit is a recumbent ?
Because if so you would have to check the length between the wheels to make sure it fits in the channels ok......just a thought over my morning coffee
Lynda
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