Best place to fit a bike rack

Blue River · Member

Best place to fit a bike rack

wendyv · Guru

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Our van was built with a slightly extended A frame. A piece of metal - like an upside down U, but with the arms splayed, was mounted on this, in front of the stone guard for the gas bottles. A hole in the top of the cross piece took a towball. We already had a bike rack that fitted on a towball on the back of a vehicle and wanted to keep using this. The bikes hung down from the rack. There was just enough room to get the van boot lid partly open, when the bikes were up. They were well clear of the vehicle.
We were admanat that we would not carry bikes on the back of the van, having seen a couple of accidents where bikes came off same due to vibration and fell in the road of oncoming traffic.
Our arrangement worked well over the three years of full time travel round Australia and on some other trips.
It meant that we could, when we wanted, put the bikes on the back of the vehicle and drive off somewhere and then go cycling.

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-- Edited by wendyv on Saturday 6th of January 2018 08:28:23 PM

Dwilz · Veteran Member

Ive had my rack fitted on the rear and had a cover made up which works fine for me.

mezza56 · Senior Member

Hi Blue River , be wary of mounting on the back , I am in the throes of working out the best way to fit them on the drawbar , ours is an extended bar so they can fit there , just be aware of positioning if you have a front boot , so they don't get in the way . We had ours on the rear bar and in Qld the bar broke away and the bikes bit the dust . On the back theres too much movement on undulating roads for my liking .

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

The best place is in the shed at home.
Seriously, we have seen MANY bikes either fall off, or effectively destroyed by grit and grime from the vibrations.

Cheers,
Peter

moamajohn · Guru

Gday this works for us .I relocated the tyre off centre,Rang Supreme and they said all the rear ends are designed to take 2 wheels an 2 full jerry cans so no weight problems. Just a normal tow bar rack with mods and fitted on with Hi tensile U bolts . I went to the local cop shop to see what they said re number plate .all OK .Cheers

-- Edited by moamajohn on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:21:14 AM

-- Edited by moamajohn on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:23:39 AM

Cupie · Guru

When I bother to take my bike, it fits behind the folded up rear seats in the back of the Patrol . Drivers side of course. Engel on the other side.

These days though I only take it if I am going to the beach or similar for a few weeks. I don't do wind or hills but a morning ride along the beach side walking paths is fantastic as is a ride around a country town before it gets too hot. (Our usual day at the beach starts with a few km paddle in a kayak followed by a couple of Ks on the bike, back in time to make breakfast for SWMBO who has by then woken & showered. We sit outside having breakfast, enjoying the view as we plan the day (includes shopping of course). I repeat the exercise at dusk & crank up the BBQ with a bottle of red. Fantastic!)

You certainly see a few mangled bikes beside the road.

I have a bike rack & have toyed with lots of mounting options but always opt out after considering the mechanical advantage of the lever action of the mounts. A recipe for disaster & a test for welds. I only use it plugged into my hitch receiver to go to the local bike paths when living at home.

Perhaps those that are purpose built into the rear frame of the van like on some Motor Homes are best.

For me, I'll continue to put the seat down & carry it in the back of the Patrol.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

moamajohn wrote:
Gday this works for us .I relocated the tyre off centre,Rang Supreme and they said all the rear ends are designed to take 2 wheels an 2 full jerry cans so no weight problems. Just a normal tow bar rack with mods and fitted on with Hi tensile U bolts . I went to the local cop shop to see what they said re number plate .all OK .Cheers

-- Edited by moamajohn on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:21:14 AM

-- Edited by moamajohn on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:23:39 AM

Those bikes illegally obscure the number plate and the lights.

Sooner or later you will be booked for that.

Apart from that, mounting ANY weight at the rear of a van WILL increase the inherent instability.

Cheers,

Peter

moamajohn · Guru

Been 5 yrs now .Bout 10 Breathos and 2 weight tests and 2 coppers that wanted to see inside purely out of interest so I shall continue to live with the worry , My concern is the amount of vans that I pass that you cannot see the mirrors on either side till you are near the rear of the vehicle towing .

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

moamajohn wrote:
Been 5 yrs now .Bout 10 Breathos and 2 weight tests and 2 coppers that wanted to see inside purely out of interest so I shall continue to live with the worry , My concern is the amount of vans that I pass that you cannot see the mirrors on either side till you are near the rear of the vehicle towing .

Sorry, I did not realise that these were some of those optional laws or those that only apply to some people.

I will add them to the list that also includes complying with GVM and GCM, number plate height, speed limits, ...... remind me of the others please.......

Cheers,

Peter

gold dandelion · Senior Member

I bought a rack that fits on my spare at the back of the van. spent 3 years going around Oz, never had a problem, cant see how two bikes, 20kgs is going to make any difference to the weight scale of things. they will only fall off for one reason. Have a new van now and doing the same thing. dust is a problem, however a cover controls most of that. I give them a quick hit with degreaser, wash them and then add wd40 when I can. works fine.

Blue River · Member

Thanks for the feed back.Happy travels Neville & Polly

BigRig · Veteran Member

My bike rack is in the garage . I Walk everywhere . Much betterer for Me.

I cycle at the gym , it's much safer there.