Tow-ball bike rack?
Hi all,
Just asking if anybody has any experience/advice/recommendations on a bike rack. Trying to avoid one that hooks over rear wheel due to concerns over additional load on rear door hinges, any good ones out there that fit to tow ball etc?
Cheers,
Stewart
I've got one that fixes to the rear wheel and it's ok although the bikes bounce a bit. I thought of the tow bar fixing but rejected it because you wouldn't be able to open the rear door when it was mounted.
guess if you remove the spare wheel to fit the rack, the weight should not be any greater.
Hello Stewart
I have a Westfalia bike rack that attaches to the tow ball, and folds down (with bikes still attached) to allow the rear door to be opened. You will need to add a bracket, or similar to the tow bar, to move the tow ball further out. Otherwise, the overhang of the spare wheel is too great.
https://www.westfalia-automotive.com/uk/products/cycle-carriers/bc-60-cycle-carrier/
Phil
These guys make heavy duty tow ball mounted bike racks which not only fit off road vehicles but can also be used while actually off roading. !!
The racks are specifically designed to clear the rear mounted spare wheel and will hinge to allow the rear door to be opened. They are based in Australia but I believe that they have a European disributor.
http://www.isi-carriers.com/index.html
I have a Thule one that fits on top of the tow ball. It can take up to four bikes, is very sturdy and I could say it does what it says it will do on the tin.
I'd be interested in a tow- ball one, but what prevents the rack from rotating on the tow-ball?
Does yours, clear the rear wheel?
I'd be interested in a tow- ball one, but what prevents the rack from rotating on the tow-ball?
Does yours, clear the rear wheel?
Many of them use a clamp around the towball or a bracket that is fixed in place by the towball bolts.
Hi Arnie,
The rack has a special clamp that goes over the tow ball: it fastens very tightly around the ball and the whole rack does not move. It comes out some bit from the back and I have no issues with the spare wheel getting in the way, once the adaptor is fitted (but I do not have a standard arrangement - my spare wheel carrier is attached to the bumper and is not on the rear door, but I think the 'rear overhang' is as much as a standard wheel would be). Check out the thule website:
the carrier:
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/products/carriers-and-racks/bike-carriers/tow...
the adaptor:
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/products/carriers-and-racks/bike-carriers/bik...
Hope that helps,
Ph
Bigblock,
Have to hand it to the Aussies: they do make the best 4x4 product accessories. I lot that iSi rack ...... imagine is doesn't come to cheap though, once you've paid carriage AND import tax!
ph
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Thanks all for comments - the Isi version looks fantastic and is the sort of thing I would be after. However suspect need to adapt hitching point and probably not a cheap option... Believe it was the westfalia version I have seen and observed folding down, unfortunately only 2x bike and I'm really after 3x as minimum. Have to check out Thule version.
I do have spare wheel rack, what I need is a bit of engineering savvy to fit a stabilising and load bearing arm from this to tow ball. Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe search for a tow-ball clamp...
Cheers,
Stewart