Bike rack

Mids wrote:Hi I have a new Broadway  eb when we purchased  it had a bike rack fitted. We have now brought 2 e blkes and want to use a cover to protect  them .problem is the cover now obscures  the light panel. Think this may be a design  fault on the part of autosleeper. (Even with no cover on it is not ideal .) Anyone had the same problem . Any way round this?

IIRC it's been referred to as a problem in other threads here. It's a difficult one to solve, because if you put the rack up high it makes it harder to get bikes on and off (and may get too close to the rear window). I think that A/S's take on it is that if you put bikes on it, it becomes your responsibility to make sure that the lights and number plate are not obscured! I guess the only realistic solution is a separate lighting (and number plate if necessary) board, attached to the bikes or rack.

Mids,

I started a long thread on this in Jun this year which you should read:

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t29673-bike-rack?highlight=bike+rack

I modified my Nuevo to take a lighting board.  It was not difficult or expensive.  I have suspended my flying 12N socket with cable ties from the alloy strut that supports the skirt just behind the waste water outlet.  

The lighting regulations require all rear lights to be unobscured from an inside angle of 45 degrees.  Even if a cover is not fitted, the bikes will still obscure the lights.  The C&MC make this clear in their on-line technical advice on motorhome bike racks. Auto-Sleeper's handbooks should also make this clear but they don't.

Mids,

itFiamma Motorhome Caravan Campervan Licence Plate Holder Carrier for Cycle Bike Racks 06146A01- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CVDNVY9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xGN2DbVBSSQ12

This is way more than I would pay for a lighting board.  If the lighting board has triangular reflectors you should replace them with round or rectangular ones.  If your rear fog lamp is obscured, you should ensure the lighting board has a fog lamp as not all do.  The lighting board does not require reversing lights.  You will need to decide if you want a 13pin or 12N connection for your 7 core lighting board cable and whether you want it mounted, if so where, or simply hung as an in-line flying connector which is what I have.  You should steer clear of more expensive LEDs as the vehicle might not recognise that the lighting board is fitted.  If your dealer fits the motorhome for the lighting board, don't let him sell you the cable that Sargent makes up as it is expensive and over specified for a caravan's supplementary electrics when a tow bar is fitted.  All you need is a 9 pin Mate-N-Lock connector to plug into the VLM5 unit, a short section of 7 core cable and a 12N or 13 pin socket.  The vehicle requires no modification so the warranty should be unaffected.

Rogerscrimini,

If you move a full size bike from the nearside to the offside, surely it will simply obscure the offside?  Its best the mount the bike(s) centrally on the rack.  If this results in either the nearside or offside rear lights being obscured when viewed from an angle of 45 degrees from either the nearside or the offside, a lighting board should be fitted.

Mids,

The cover would be one of my concerns.  My Taylormade cover which is for e-bikes so slightly oversize would almost certainly get in the way of the Fiamma's lights.  I can't see if it has reflectors but I am sure it will.  My point on reflectors is that the much cheaper and more normal lighting boards like the one I have are sometimes fitted with triangular reflectors which should only be used on the back of trailers. If you buy the cheaper lighting board you will have to buy some shock cord or light rope to attached it securely to the bikes and rack but this is not difficult to do and it helps to stop the cover from flapping about.