Not sure which thread to put this under but here seems as good as any......
We are looking to buy some bikes and would like to take them with us caravaning. The question is can a rear mounted bike rack work well whilst the van is hitched up?
We have a Kia Sorrento - if anyone can make any recomendations that would be great. The bikes will be adult mountain bikes.
It depends on the car, the van and ther carrier, but you can probably carry acouple of bikes behind as well as towing - the main thing being clearance when turning.
You need to consider the type of rack though. You can get towbar mounted racks that you can use whilst towing. however you would need to consider your noseweight. 2 bikes ( at say 15 Kg each) and a rack will be in the order of about 40 kg, which will too mcuh extra for a lot of setups.
Alternatively, you can get racks which mount on the rear door/hatch of the car. The weight is then taken by the main body of the car. You would still need to be mindful of the max rear axle load, but unless the car is heavily loded youa re probably ok.
Eg the Thule Clipon or Clip On High models. Rather than use straps these use clamp system that is very quick and easy to operate and makes for a very secure mounting.
I use a clipOn on the back of a Mondeo Estate - rack has never given me any cause for concern. Bikes are secure, though slightly faffy to load (getting them arrneged and safely secure/protected), but it's got better as I've worked out just the best way to mount and secure the bikes.
However, if you just want to carry two bikes, then I'd consider the Clip On high as it is a wheel suppport rack, which for my mind is a better option for loading bikes onto.
Disadvantage is that you can't open the hatch with bikes attached.
I can recommend both Roofrack.co.uk and Ski Drive as online suppliers with good web sites and service. These or the manufacturers sites with have applications guides for specific racks/vehicles
As ever plenty more comments on the forums to be found with a search.
You could of course pad up the bikes and put them in the van, with the weight over the axle. If you ask in the caravan forum there are people that do this, with various methods of fixing the bikes so they don't slide around and damage things. Remember to count the weight into the total payload of course.
Quote: Originally posted by cathrobjay on 18/4/2010
Hi
Not sure which thread to put this under but here seems as good as any......
We are looking to buy some bikes and would like to take them with us caravaning. The question is can a rear mounted bike rack work well whilst the van is hitched up?
We have a Kia Sorrento - if anyone can make any recomendations that would be great. The bikes will be adult mountain bikes.
Cheers
Rob and Cath
We have a Sorento and we use a Witter tow bar mounted rack for carrying our two lightish weight bikes. The 2003/2009 Sorento has a minimum nose weight allowance of 112kgs with the 2006/2009 model having an even greater allowance so it should not be a problem use a tow bar mounted rack. We find the rack fine with the bikes on whilst towing, except you can't open the rear door but the rear window can be opened a bit. We usually find we can reverse onto pitches providing its not too tight, if it is we remove the bikes. What we have found useful in Europe where many campsites close for lunch is that we can leave thecar and caravan and go off on the bikes to look for a pitch.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Bike Racks
