WHAT BIKE RACK?

Hi, I am a newbie and about to buy a Boxer Symbol and want a bike rack for 2 bikes. I read a posting on-line that some owners have experienced slippage and door damage with the Fiamma rack. Should I ignore this or try a Thule door mounted rack or go to the expense of fitting a TOWBAR and use a tow ball rack??   Any advice would be gratefully received, Cheers, John 

If you go down the tow bar route, look at Wesfalia's tow bar racks, very well made and folds up smaller than Thule's possibly.
Bought one recently for our car. Our coachbuilt van has the usual Fiamma cycle rack.

Pete

Thanks! 
John

Hi, i have a fiamma rack on my symphony, when i have two mountain bikes on it the back door certainly flexes a bit if i hit a pothole or go over a bump, it has'nt done any damage though. I think the weight limit is about 30 kilos and that is what my two bikes weigh, i would have gone for lighter ones if i had realised.

Dave

If you go down the towball route, bear in mind you won't be able to open the rear doors unless you remove the carrier.

PB

I know the Thule towbar rack tilts away but does this give enough clearance to open the back doors??
John

Thule makes more than one towbar based rack. The tilt on mine - a 928 - was too little to clear my tailgate and I had to modify it, but barn doors are typically less of a problem. You probably won't get a definitive answer from anyone, because it depends on too many factors (e.g. what height in relation to the doors the towball ends up, which depends on make/model of towbar).

One of the best products for clearance when tilted is the Atera Strada DL3 - though it actually slides on rails rather than tilting. Beautifully made, but not cheap...

The Wesfalia BC60 two bike rack drops down to a horizontal level. Though possibly more clearance for your rear doors to open, than the Thule models, it would need checking to confirm clearance before purchasing. Although you can get these racks online, we got ours from the towbar fitting company so we could see an example in action. You could test drive ours but I think Lanarkshire is too far away from us! The weight of the tow bar rack is also an important consideration. Ours is 18.4 kg !! It does take both my wife and me to attach it safely, only because I have a suspect back problem. But the benefit to me is that our two bikes can be lifted off with reasonable ease as they are at a more convenient level. I have seen these on the back of coachbuilt motorhomes when we are travelling abroad and all owners give the low level convenience as a reason for purchase. However, you have the addition of opening rear doors to consider. I think Fiamme do a swinging out to the side model specially for van conversions. Saw these being demonstrated at the NEC Show last year. They look good.

Hope some of this helps with your decisions.

Pete

PS The Westfalia model is not cheap either!

janniecop wrote:I know the Thule towbar rack tilts away but does this give enough clearance to open the back doors??
John

No it doesn't.
i have one!

PB

Despite having a towbar on my first van (a Topaz), I chose a Fiamma bike rack as I didn't know about towbar racks. I think it cost about £250.
Now I'm on my second van (Symbol) I wish I'd had a towbar rack for the Topaz as I could have used it for my Symbol.
I actually bought a used Fiamma rack for the Symbol but decided not to fit it in case the fixing damaged the doors - I thought even the fixing clamps could mark the door and I didn't want to drill the doors as recommended. I was told that not drilling the doors to secure the rack may allow it to slip.
I resold the Fiamma, had a towbar fitted to the Symbol and bought a used Thule towbar rack for little more than £100.
I finf it easier to load than the Fiamma and it takes minutes to attach the rack so it's left in the garage when I don't need to carry the bikes. With a Fiamma, it's not quick to remove so I tended to leave it on the Topaz permanently. It would also take up a lot more space if left in the garage.
John

Hi Everyone

Thanks to all your helpful info & advice 
I've decided to down the towball route and plan to get a Westafalia BC 60 Rack as suggested by Pete 
Found it on PF Jones website for £324.95 incl VAT & Delivery. Looks really good and it tilts to horizontal with the bikes on so you can open the back doors. 
Hopefully picking the 'van up next Wed! 

Cheers
John & Anne

Is this a better buy?

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PB

If we're talking Mk1/Mk2 Boxer, I started-off with an Omnistor rack produced after Thule took over this company. It was a complete disaster. Cutting a very long story short, on the first continental trip it fell apart and I nearly lost both bikes. The engineering of many aspects of this product was, in my opinion, completely flawed and I said as much in the report I sent to the manufacturer. In the end I returned the rack and got a total refund. Subsequently I fitted a Fiamma 200D (I think that's the correct number) and that has been rock solid in comparison.

I got the feeling that Thule were embarking on a process of re-engineering the Omnistor legacy products, but I'm not sure how far they've got so, for now, I'd say proceed with caution on Thule carriers for early Boxer.

Bartfarst


PS just found the previous posting on this issue:
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