we have just bought a thule 9705 bolt on bike rack for our zafira, we are camping in 3 weeks n want to take 2 adult bikes and 2 bigish kids bikes which will fit on rack, we want to know if this will work while towing our mp712 trailer and whether it will work if we get the high sides for trailer too???? we want to take all bikes n have the extra space in trailer and wondered if it would interfere when turning??
Mmm, I think this will be pushing it myself with four bikes on. Although slightly different, we could only manage two bikes when towing our older TT and the frame length of the MP712 doesn't appear much different. The trailer is lower that our TT, but if you're planning on the extensions, I think you can have the cake, but might only be able to drool over it.
If you've got all the stuff, is it not possible to do a dummy load one weekend?
I'd suggest roof bars & put two bikes up there. Four bikes is a lot on a rack unless its a "ride-on" type towball mounted jobbie. Even then its a lot of weight to have hanging so far off the back. Could you not strap 2 bikes lying down onto the top of the trailer...?
All you can do is try it. put the bikes on & try turning. You also need to check weights, as weight of bikes+rack+trailer noseweight needs to be no more than max towbar download as stated in your car handbook or you could overload car rear axle.
I would think this probably can't work. You are already using up a lot of your rear axle loading with passengers plus the noseweight of the trailer. Adding bikes would probably put you over the limit.
thank you to all who replied, unfortunately bike rack can just hold 4 if 2 are kiddie size and you can not pull a trailer although advised we could!! that is unless travelling in a straight line! we returned it and went camping in a transit, great!!! we got all 5 bikes n camping gear in with room to spare, now selling trailer(see ads). as for all who mentioned weight being a factor, we asked advice from the people who fitted our tow bar n they reckon it can hold a ridiculous amount n need not worry.
There is a limit to noseweight, and it won't be enough for the bikes and the trailer on a normal car. You would have to weigh the bikes to be sure, but four bikes and a trailer just has to be too much.
we put all 4 bikes on the roof when towing, really easy doesn't affect noseweight or turning, doesn't help MPG but can't have it all ways, plus you can still use the boot!
4 bikes and a trailer is probably doable nose weight wise on something with say a 100 kg noseweight like a 4x4 (about 70 kg for 4 bikes + carrier, 30 kg proabaly oka faor typical camping trailer - my 5x3 trailer when loaded up for camping has a noseweight of about 20-30 kg
As for bikes on the roof. It's not always easy - high roofs like a big MPV are somewaht difficult. Some bikes can be on the heavy side, and not everyone is stroong enough to lift a bike up easily.
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Topic: towing trailer while using a bike rack
