Transporting Bicycles

David when we bought our 794 last year I wanted to fit the Fiamma bike lift, but was told by Lowdhams that it wouldn't fit on the mounting bars on the back (apparently they need to be higher up than the current fittings) and ended up with the Fiamma Pro bike rack and a free step. It is worth checking which bike racks will fit onto the mounting rails. 

 Tow  bar and cycle carrier ,we had that setup on out Autocruise,get a carrier the cycles that mount higher on carrier as some M/Cs tend to have long overhang  that could result in "grounding"

Don't know how you are for weight, but won't the tow bar itself carry a significant weight penalty? I know when I was looking through the specs for ours it caught my attention. Not that we intend to tow a car, so won't be having one fitted.

David we are currently waiting to have a towbar fitted to our MH, all arranged through Witter. We have bought a Thule bike rack to fit on it.  

As you say it will be much lower than the one on the Bailey MH but also the weight of 2 eBikes is to much for the rear doors of the van. 

At the weekend we were away in the van but took the folding bikes with us in their bags, they fitted lovely through the rear doors and sat very nicely between the seats. 

Thanks for all the comments, most appreciated. 

With regards the Fiamma Lift, it might fit as the top bar is quite high compared to our previous Bailey Approach 740 SE, see picture below of our current van. Not sure if the bathroom window might be an issue. As it would be two EBikes weighing about 22kgs each I am also not sure about having that weight at the higher level.

On the weight issue we should be OK as the van has a 750kgs payload and there is not a lot of weight at the back because its a rear bathroom. We have also cut back what we take in this one compared to the 740 which was so much larger.

The preferred option is a chassis mounted bike rack that folds but at the price I have been quoted it is a very expensive option, especially if as we get older we feel that bikes are no longer an option. The towbar option seems the most likely possibility. There is still a weight increase over a standard Fiamma Bike Pro but the lifting variety would also be heavier. It's complicated a bit more by the fact that it's an AlKo Chassis so it require extensions over the standard van fitting. I am just a bit concerned about the security of a towbar mounted rack and quite how folding EBikes (in their unfolded state!) would be secured on it as they are a different shape to standard bikes. Someone has kindly offered to show us how the towball system works when we see them on a campsite in a couple of weeks and perhaps that might allay my concerns?

I suppose with a towbar I could also tow a car

David

David, I have a Thule towbar bike rack and find it much easier to load my folding E-Bike onto it. You can put one wheel at a time onto it which lessens the load you have to lift. I only fold the handlebars down before strapping the bike on. Another advantage of the tow bar bike rack is you can easily carry other items on it, e.g. an awning. It is also easily transferable to another vehicle.

peedee

Hi David, not being MHs we dont have the exact same problem but very similar.

Bought an ebike last year and soon became apparent that using a roof mounted rack would be a problem, my current Thule rack cannot accommodate the down tube size and the weight is a real issue.

Been looking at alternatives and one is the Dachlift rack where you load the bikes at the side of the car and then it cantilevers up onto the roof. 

Looking at the price it seemed expensive-£275-until I saw the price of the Fiamma rack!

Back when we seriously considered a MH it seemed every one we saw  had a Fiamma rack on it.

Our MH buddies used a chassis mounted fixed rack, that accommodated a small scooter, and it may have been the price you mentioned but worth me asking.

We use our towball mounted carrier for both our Ebikes when not caravanning.

It's a Thule Velocompact 2 cycle carrier that can carry a total load of 46kg, very solid clamp and key locking onto the towball and rock steady.

Our Ebikes (22kg each without battery) have no crossbar but the Thule clamp system allows positioning by moving the clamps horizontal or vertical along with a swiveling system, this allows it to clamp the seat post tube or the front angled tube no matter its shape (ours is oval/rectangular shaped) as in photo. Also the Thule base that the bikes sit on is adjustable to cater for different front to back wheel distances on your bikes, and the individual bike clamps also has a locking key.

All in all it's a very well thought out system that looks to be very well designed for a multitude of different sized, shaped bikes.

Hi David, quick update re racks.

Spoke to my friend who tells me it was not chassis mounted.He had a flange tow bar fitted, its an Autotrail, and then got a rack that bolted to the flange.

Was substantial and took weight of a scooter.

We use our towball mounted carrier for both our Ebikes when not caravanning.

Hi Metheven, yes we also have a Thule tow ball mounted rack but its the problem of carrying bikes, other than on the roof, that we have.

Each potential solution then throws up more issues and at the moment waiting to try a Thule Outride in the hope that with the battery and front wheel removed I can safely lift the bike to roof level to load it.

If not its then either a Maxx Raxx, if I can get the bracket attached to the detachable bar-previously discounted as I had a fold away bar-or carrying in the car which requires the handle bars to be removed, the hatch wont close otherwise, and is no use if taking more than one person in the rear.