2 Push Bikes need to go on the back of our van

gollymolly · Senior Member

2 Push Bikes need to go on the back of our van

jetj · Guru

I have a folding bike that goes in the van, which is a nuisance at times.

gollymolly · Senior Member

Sorry I have not explained myself very well. What sort of rack are you all using to hold the bikes

Rip and Rosie · Guru

I went off one day to buy a rack for bikes. I wanted to put it over the spare wheel on the back of the van.
Sadly, they told me that this would not work, and sooner or later, I would find the bikes gone- lost to the fact that this was never made to carry anything more than the spare wheel.
So, my advice- be ware of what your limitations are.

Rosie

Baz421 · Guru

Hi Rosie

we had 2 bikes on the back of a 20ft van, mounted back down to the van subframe that supports the 2 spare tyres.

The frame for the bikes was 50MM tube attached to a HEAVY DUTY bike rack. We could see the vibration in the rear camera and it beat itself to almost a bad death.

Anyway we fitted an even heavier frame with 13 mm high tensile bolts and even this proved risky as it would eventually vibrate to death and possibly damage the subframe that supports the rear spare wheels.

The main problem for us was the distance from the van axles to the bike rack as this exacerbated the bumps (we go on dirt "roads") and the vibrations/oscillations.

Hope this is not too techo, but we decided the van was more important and if we took bikes again they would be fold up and in the ute.

Cheers Baz

johnq · Guru

Over the years I have read warnings about bike carriers and high frequency vibration causing metal fatigue to parts of tow bars. The same problem would occur if attached elsewhere. Maybe some qualified person might comment.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

I've seen bikes hanging high on the back wall of a caravan, on some kind of rack. I wonder would this cause as much vibration as when they are on a bike rack attatched to the rear bumper-bar?

snapper49 · Senior Member

I made my own bike rack after trying 3 different bought types
They sit above the spare whee; on a coromal 511
I did however weld extra 50mm supports for the rear bumper
The rack i eventully made is similar to one that looks like a motor bike rack where the bikes sit on it rather than suspended
They are attached via both wheels supported on carriers then attached at the crossbars to keep them vertical
The rack is removable and is simply attached via an upright tube from the spare wheel carrier

So far so good

gollymolly · Senior Member

Snapper,

This sounds like what we need. Would you mind if you are able to, take a photo for us and put it on the site or email to us. We are suecardwell01@gmail.com

Like you we have looked at quite a few but they were not suitable.

jetj · Guru

I bought a rack for $5 at a garage sale that goes on the towbar and can fold down to open the tailgate. Haven't used it yet. It is quite heavy and would be a bit of strain on a towbar I would think.

wendyv · Guru

We had a towball mounted, fold down, rack for our 2 bikes before we got van. On van, had a bar built across the A frame, in front of the gas bottles. It went up, across and down - wasn't flat across the A frame. In the middle of it, was a hole to put a tow ball in. We put the bike rack on that, and so carried the bikes between the back of the vehicle and the boot of the van. Worked very well, for years. When we were camped up, and wanted to go riding somewhere a little distance away, could transfer the rack to towball on back of vehicle.

snapper49 · Senior Member

Have jury duty next few days will do it ASAP

snapper49 · Senior Member

here it is will email you the pic so you can zoom in and have a good look at it

jimricho · Guru

I can't see how the weight of a couple of pushbikes on the rear bumper would be a problem. I've seen rear bumpers carrying generators, motor scooters, outboard motors, fold-up boat trailers, full jerry cans, etc, all much heavier than a couple of treadlies.

Rip and Rosie · Guru

It's about how the rear of the van and chassis is constructed.