Rear mounted bike rack.Good or bad idea?

Many will say you shouldn't put a bike rack on the back of a caravan but our Dutch and German chums do it all the time. You obviously have to check carefully that it does not unbalance the overall weight distribution of the caravan. One thing that concerns me about what you have said is that you want to put four bikes on the rack, albeit two of them childrens bikes. I think that could be pushing things too far and would suggest alternative travelling arrangements for the childrens bikes, either inside the caravan if you have sufficient payload (same would apply if you had them on the back) or perhaps in the car.

David 

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" I'd suggest Many will say you shouldn't put a bike rack on the back of a caravan but our Dutch and German chums do it all the time "

David, the vast majority of them would be Continental 'vans.

I've carried two adult bikes on a Fiamma rack on the A frame of my old Hymer but have no chance on this new Coachman, it already tows most unstable, wouldn't even consider putting a rack on the back. 

Another David, but did you tow all those miles with the rack on the back of a UK 'van David ?

Basically weight at the back is bad as it can create a pendulum effect so needs to be added with care. Your caravan though is a fairly heavy one so some leeway is possible. You do need to look at the weight of the rack and bikes and make sure that the weight is balanced out. I do doubt though if four bikes at the back is sensible, but a couple of lightweight ones might be in order.

Do remember the bikes have to be included in your weight allowance though and if you have clothing and other things for four people on board then I am not at all sure you will have the capacity. You might however be able to increase the allowance but would need to go to Swift through your dealer.

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Personally if there was the possibility of a decent fitting to the rear of the 'van and with the proviso that a nosweight over 85kg (for example) was also obtained via loading I would be happy to hang two bikes on the back. I would not wish to carry more. The two childrens bikes I would probably choose to carry on the roof. 

I have the rear mounted option but choose to mount on the car roof as the MTPLM is already very limited on most vans and very few will have weight to spare.  In addition, it also depends on the weight of the bikes.  Mine is a fairly expensive bike and is 8 Kg, whereas my wife's is double that.  

The first step is to contact swift about this and read the vans manual. I'd love to be able to fit them to the rear of my van, but am unable. Weight wise, yes some adjustment will be required. Just watch how heavy the bikes are.

Thanks for all the feedback folks. think im going to go ahead and order the thule elite g2. will use this for 2 bikes only and maybe look at a bike rack for the roof of my car to fit alongside the thule roofbox i already have. this would take care of the 2 adult bikes and the kids ones can go on the back of the caravan.

This question crops up every couple of months and you will always get people arguing from either side of the fence.

The theory is that putting weight at the ends of a caravan is not a good thing.

But I can only speak from experience. We have had two caravans (Abbey and Swift - UK manufactured) over a period of 20 years and both had rear mounted bike racks.

I can honestly say that there is no difference in the feel when towing, whether the bikes are fitted or not. I do not believe that it has any effect on stability.

I would say that this is by far the best way to carry bikes - they can be loaded in advance of setting off, they are out of the way, they are safe from damage, it's a useful place to store them on site (we have a wire rope and padlock)......I wouldn't do it any other way.

All that said, we have two bikes. Four bikes does sound a bit much, even to a hardened fan of this method of carrying bikes.