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Bike Rack Mounts On Your Caravan
Bikes are wonderful assets for a caravan holiday. Either as a means for kids to keep themselves occupied in a safe environment or for “big kids” to exercise and explore.
However, the transportation of bikes to and from the holiday is difficult due to their awkward size and shape.
Over the years Hardings have developed a selection of bike rack mounting options to solve customers problems. Generally if you want to take them badly enough, together we can find a way! When analysing your rig for a bike rack installation we consider:
- Turning circle clearance
- Towball mass and subsequent weight distribution issues
- Ease of access to the car and caravan boots
- Sway control
- Chassis and structural issues
- Welfare of the bikes
- The practicality of the hitch up process, and
- Cost
Here are some examples.
Towbar Mount
Fix the bike rack onto the ballmount of the weight distributing hitch. This simple process will be cost effective due to minimal fabrication and gives you the option of leaving the van behind and taking your bikes off for the day. Against that it does make the hitch up process cramped and awkward. Furthermore it is not usually and option if a spare wheel exists on the rear door of a Four Wheel Drive.
A-Frame Mount
Mount the bikes high up over the fittings on the A-Frame. This can be helpful where the draw bar is short and otherwise a turning circle conflict could occur. This installation involves a bit more fabrication and can interfere with the front boot or front window of the caravan.
A-Frame Mount
Mount the bike rack mid way on the caravan A-Frame. Assuming the draw bar is long enough you will still have access to the front boot with a more convenient height to secure bikes when mounting.
Bumper Mount
Install a heavy duty bumper bar at the rear of the caravan and fit a bike rack in position. This eliminates interference to the hitch up process and any turning circle conflicts but has potential downsides also. The extra weight at the rear can induce chassis flexing, can cause sway and is the harshest on the bikes and bumper bars due to the continual bouncing. Furthermore this option will not usually work with a spare wheel already existing on the van bumper.
Roof Mount
If you have a camper trailer you could mount bikes on the roof using a dedicated carrying rack. Usually you need quick release wheels on the bike and then of course somewhere to store the wheels. This is popular with real enthusiasts owning valuable bikes as it is very secure and eliminates scratching and rubbing.
Bike Racks
Folding Racks: 3 Bike Capacity $165 4 Bike Capacity $185
