Decided to get more active and take the mountain bikes away, so has anyone got any advice on the best place to position bikes and what type of carrier to use whilst towing our van.We tow with a Freelander 2.
In the car or on the roof are the best options unless your caravans noseweight is low enough for a towbar mounted carrier.
Guess also with the freelanders spare, is there enough clearance between carrier & caravan, Dont want to hear a nasty crunch as you turn a sharp corner when bike & caravan meet.
You can fit motorhome type Fiamma or Omnistor bike carriers on the back of most caravan provided manufacturer approves. It would seem a bad idea to add so much weight on the back but plenty of Dutch/German caravanners have them & I've seen them fitted to UK built 'vans.
I put the kids bikes in van and strapped down so can't move and put the adults bike on the roof as it spreads the weight best as well as being the most convenient to use
Totally agree about Thule carriers, we have them our car and by far the best. Though its ideally a two person job if you are trying to put them onto a 4WD type vehicle.
thules on the roof is probably the best bet,used them alot with our mondeo
with a 4x4 (depending on which one) its possible to fold rear seats down and stand them upright in the boot and fastened to grab handles with bungees.worked for us at the weekend
Thule on the roof, the towbar ones are a pain, they mean you cant get into the boot of the car and cause trouble hitching. I have 3 bikes on the roof of my Sedona and can get them on and off without too much hassle as long as I use the caravan step to stand on to get them up to the roof. Thule are a bit more expensive than others but worth every penny as they are so easy to use, the clutch bar will hold the bike as soon as you put it on allowing you to strap the wheels easily. try Ebay for bargains, I got 2 of mine there 2nd hand and Thule will replace any broken clips etc free of charge, you just have to give them a ring and they post immediately.
Someones read my mind about bike carriers. I am looking into taking bikes away. Does anyone have any advise for me with a kia sedonna, I did see somebody on site with a galaxy and they were using a type of work bench stool to be able to get on the roof i would rather find other options to that one if i can. Id have been looking at the ones that sit on the tow bar of the caravan.
If you have more than one bike, a towbar mounted one can be a problem, because their weight uses some of your towbar weight allowance, and doesn't allow you to get the proper noseweight on the caravan.
Quote: Originally posted by yorkie1960 on 17/6/2009
Hi,
Someones read my mind about bike carriers. I am looking into taking bikes away. Does anyone have any advise for me with a kia sedonna, I did see somebody on site with a galaxy and they were using a type of work bench stool to be able to get on the roof i would rather find other options to that one if i can. Id have been looking at the ones that sit on the tow bar of the caravan.
cheers Yorkie
we just used the caravan step , its a 2 tier jobby.perfect !!
Advise from major caravan maker NEVER put a cycle carrier on the rear of your van irrelevant that dutch and germans do it No British van is designed for that weight and it will end in an accident.remember a bike weighs around 14 kg !!
I have three Thule carriers for the roof of my Zafira for when I am towing the van - the middle one is a bit of a two person job, but not too bad. However when I am not towing the van I use a Thule tow ball mounted rack as you get better economy and most place we go to cycle have height restrictors!!!
As we have a motor mover, that has taken a fair bit of our weight limit so at 16kg each 3 bikes would be a fair amount of our payload. Also if you carry the bikes in the van, you can only really cycle from the site as you will have no way of carrying them on the car to somewhere quieter or more picturesque.
I have 3 on my Sedona as I said, one adult bike and 2 bikes for 12yr old size, I can get them up easily with the caravan step, just a normal one, leave the side door open and you can stand in the sill of the car. I ask one of the kids to stand behind me incase I find myself leaning backwards so that if needed they can push me forwards. I am 5ft 3ins and find it easy enough. I will say that the roof bars on the Sedona ( mine is 3 yrs old and the old shape) are a bit flimsy, they flexed too much for my liking so I fitted thule bars for the bikes as well as the carriers.
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Topic: cycle carriers
