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Hi all

if you have a tow bar bike rack is this included in the nose weight of the caravan ?

anyone know where i can get a roof rack for 4 bikes to fit a mondeo, i have only ever seen one that fits 3 bikes.

Preferably very cheap!

thanks SP

Quote: Originally posted by cazzapayney on 10/5/2008

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anyone know where i can get a roof rack for 4 bikes to fit a mondeo, i have only ever seen one that fits 3 bikes.

Preferably very cheap!

thanks SP

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Well, we just built ours up for our Mondeo estate using standard Thule  bars of the widest width permissible and standard Thule bike racks. We can get two tandems, a triplet tandem and a solo bike up there without clashing handlebars so there's plenty of space. Nose to tail the bike carriers and space the bars out as widely as possible, then shuffle the whole thing around checking as you go with the bikes before you screw it down properly. After that it's a matter of remembering which bike goes where.

Have to say it wasn't the cheapest ...but if you're sticking £5000 worth of bikes on the roof, the cost of the bike rack is the least of your worries! Try Halfords for more budget priced versions of the above sections.

Not sure if you have an estate but I have an '04 Mondeo TDCi 130 estate and carry 4 bikes on the roof when towing using Halfords cross bars on the factory fitted roof rails and the basic steel Thule bike carriers that were about £25ea I think though I didn't buy them in one go. Two bikes are adult and two junior.

I have to alternate the bike carriers one facing forward and then rearward to get them to fit the width and find that I have to remove the pedals off one junior bike to make them all fit. I also remove the saddles from them as this helps them clear the handlebars of the next bike - and reduces the weight slightly along with keeping them dry in the rain. It takes me about 20min to load up but is far better than adding to the weight on the towbar. I leave the carriers fitted to the crossbars and lift the whole thing on/off together for storage.

With 4 bikes I am a few kg over the specified max roof rack load of 75kg as the adult bikes say they are 16kg ea and the carriers are 4kg ea without the roof bars - the dealer has told me the bars could easily take 100kg you just have to be careful on the handling in corners etc. with extra weight - given that I'm towing this isn't an issue.

Last comment would be that I get 28mpg towing without bikes and 24mpg towing with them. Hope that's useful.

Quote: Originally posted by shudawudacuda on 02/9/2006

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cheers for the replies I have got both roof bars and tow bar racks but the roof ones dont seem as sturdy and if the bikes fell off it would cause lots of damage hence the question

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Properly fitted roof bike racks are as least as sturdy as back racks. Also once you've got them up there you can add extra straps and rope the whole lot down for extra security while on the move.

Quote: Originally posted by Gavel on 02/9/2006

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We took 4 cycles on the roof and 2 inside the van to Germany and had no problem. I would steer away from putting them on the towbar.

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why would you steer away from the ones on the towbars?? We tow a caravan and have a rack on the towbar and its perfect :O) just wondering what problem is?? we have a mondeo hatch by the way :O)

Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Gavel on 02/9/2006

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We took 4 cycles on the roof and 2 inside the van to Germany and had no problem. I would steer away from putting them on the towbar.

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why would you steer away from the ones on the towbars?? We tow a caravan and have a rack on the towbar and its perfect :O) just wondering what problem is?? we have a mondeo hatch by the way :O)

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Hi,

If you use a bike carrier that connects to the tow bar then it's load must be added to the caravan's noseweight, which will then, more than likley, exceed the maximum permissible noseweight given by the car manufacturer.

Mr U-M

PS if anyone wants to collect from Bristol I have a set of Mondeo Estate OEM roof bars that connect to the car's rails. They would go for a song!

Quote: Originally posted by Ulti-Mates on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Gavel on 02/9/2006

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We took 4 cycles on the roof and 2 inside the van to Germany and had no problem. I would steer away from putting them on the towbar.

---

why would you steer away from the ones on the towbars?? We tow a caravan and have a rack on the towbar and its perfect :O) just wondering what problem is?? we have a mondeo hatch by the way :O)

---

Hi,

If you use a bike carrier that connects to the tow bar then it's load must be added to the caravan's noseweight, which will then, more than likley, exceed the maximum permissible noseweight given by the car manufacturer.

Mr U-M

 

PS if anyone wants to collect from Bristol I have a set of Mondeo Estate OEM roof bars that connect to the car's rails. They would go for a song!

 

 

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yes i know about noseweight Mr U.m and ours is OK...obviously these people were not checking there weight :O( you just got to take into account the extra you got on the towbar..mostly with ours its just one BMX bike but with mine and my hubbies on aswell (lightweight bikes aswell) it starts to make a difference..

Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Ulti-Mates on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Gavel on 02/9/2006

---

We took 4 cycles on the roof and 2 inside the van to Germany and had no problem. I would steer away from putting them on the towbar.

---

why would you steer away from the ones on the towbars?? We tow a caravan and have a rack on the towbar and its perfect :O) just wondering what problem is?? we have a mondeo hatch by the way :O)

---

Hi,

If you use a bike carrier that connects to the tow bar then it's load must be added to the caravan's noseweight, which will then, more than likley, exceed the maximum permissible noseweight given by the car manufacturer.

Mr U-M

 

PS if anyone wants to collect from Bristol I have a set of Mondeo Estate OEM roof bars that connect to the car's rails. They would go for a song!

 

 

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yes i know about noseweight Mr U.m and ours is OK...obviously these people were not checking there weight :O( you just got to take into account the extra you got on the towbar..mostly with ours its just one BMX bike but with mine and my hubbies on aswell (lightweight bikes aswell) it starts to make a difference..

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HI, sorry I misunderstood.  With our Mondeo we always struggled to keep within the 75kg allowed, so a fly landing on it would have pushed us over, never mind another 30 or 40 kg from bike racks.

cheers

Mr U-M

Quote: Originally posted by Ulti-Mates on 11/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Ulti-Mates on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by HappyCamper2004 on 10/5/2008

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Quote: Originally posted by Gavel on 02/9/2006

---

We took 4 cycles on the roof and 2 inside the van to Germany and had no problem. I would steer away from putting them on the towbar.

---

why would you steer away from the ones on the towbars?? We tow a caravan and have a rack on the towbar and its perfect :O) just wondering what problem is?? we have a mondeo hatch by the way :O)

---

Hi,

If you use a bike carrier that connects to the tow bar then it's load must be added to the caravan's noseweight, which will then, more than likley, exceed the maximum permissible noseweight given by the car manufacturer.

Mr U-M

 

PS if anyone wants to collect from Bristol I have a set of Mondeo Estate OEM roof bars that connect to the car's rails. They would go for a song!

 

 

---

yes i know about noseweight Mr U.m and ours is OK...obviously these people were not checking there weight :O( you just got to take into account the extra you got on the towbar..mostly with ours its just one BMX bike but with mine and my hubbies on aswell (lightweight bikes aswell) it starts to make a difference..

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HI, sorry I misunderstood.  With our Mondeo we always struggled to keep within the 75kg allowed, so a fly landing on it would have pushed us over, never mind another 30 or 40 kg from bike racks.

cheers

 

Mr U-M

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we have had noseweight problems i know the feeling :( and like you said a fly does make a lot of difference,coming back from North Devon over Easter when we didn't have any bikes on, and our van was going potty on the M5 :O(

my fault loading :( and a tiny bit of moving stuff around makes so much difference :O)

Generally speaking the rear axle weight and the towbar weight are fundamental in the stability of the whole unit.
Most towbars that connect to the towball, through the hitch bolts have to be taken into account when levelling out the weight of the van and noseweight. You should weigh the bikes and the holder and subtract that weight from the noseweight of the van and then base the vans noseweight on the balance. In a lot of caravans this can make things a bit iffy as the nosewieght for the van is also stipulated at 75kg. The best practice is to have the bikes on a roof rack or inside the van and strapped down, preferably with some cloth or bubble wrap where the bikes are next to the caravan internal fittings.

Over the years I have seen some grossly overloaded units and in general if the whole of your unit, car and caravan sits level on the road then it is OK, if the rear or front of the caravan is down and either lifting the rear of the car or lowering it too much then you need to have a rethink.

Of course on bigger cars with a higher tow ball wieght restriction then there is scope for using tow ball mounted racks, one such vehicle would be a landrover which I believe has a 100+kg limit allowing for perhaps one or two bikes.

If the caravan doesn't feel right when driving then it is usually a problem with loading.