A bike rack - Sprinter

  • Thread starter Thread starter 70321
  • Start date Start date
7

70321

Deleted User
Hello, I've done a fair bit of searching but can't find the answer (oops that sounds like a bad song) but Mr K (who is still working frantically) needs a bike rack for his beloved. We are (hopefully) collecting a Sprinter next month and he wants a rack to the back door which allows us to open the back door. He says he's researched it for himself and still doesn't know. Can anyone help? Thanks
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
1595110161703.png
Give eBay a try, pricey though?
1595110161703.png
 
Upvote 0
Thanks, what make is it so we (he) can find it. Have you used? Do you recommend?
 
Upvote 0
PS I have no idea if it looks good or not, but Mr K will. He's sleeping just now :)
 
Upvote 0
Hi got one on my Transit you can open the back door its a Fiamma Carry Bike 200D hope this helps

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
Have you considered tow ball mounted bike racks? Thule make innovative racks for cars and vans.
 
Upvote 0
canopus said:
A Tow Bar option is far better than drilling holes in your van IMO.
Click to expand...
I don't know what his reasons are...perhaps doesn't want to add length? The Thule that I've linked to above isn't drilled...it's glued :oops:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
It's so we can open the back doors without taking the bike rack off...that's why we don't want a tow bar option.
 
Upvote 0
I have a Sprinter and have one of the ones ambulancekidd showed you. The only thing I would say is be careful opening the doors, I nearly knocked my bl**dy head off a couple of times as the rails extend a long way.
I dont carry bikes on mine just a storage box, so got a couple of rails off ebay and cut them down.
20200721_134819.jpg
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
golly said:
I have a Sprinter and have one of the ones ambulancekidd showed you. The only thing I would say is be careful opening the doors, I nearly knocked my bl**dy head off a couple of times as the rails extend a long way.
I dont carry bikes on mine just a storage box, so got a couple of rails off ebay and cut them down.View attachment 408917
Click to expand...
Thanks but I don't know what make these are...do you?
 
Upvote 0
We use a towbar mounted two bike rack made by Witter which folds down with the bikes on to enable the rear doors to be opened.
 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
Beatrix Kiddo said:
It's so we can open the back doors without taking the bike rack off...that's why we don't want a tow bar option.
Click to expand...

Although mine is a ducato and not a merc, I bought a tow bar mounted atera strada dl3 bike rack for our current van which tilts and slides far enough back to enable the doors to be opened.

On the last van, I had a door mounted rack and I vowed I would never have one again. I hated opening the door with both the bikes on, and hated shutting it even more. It is such a lot of weight to be hanging onto the door and it was definitely more of a firm push than slam otherwise the rebound on the bike rack was horrendous. I did have the support arms mounted on the higher setting though so that everything cleared the light clusters, which won't have helped the 'top heavy' feeling the doors had when opening/closing.
 
Upvote 0
It looks like most of the racks designed to fit on the van doors have a max load of only 35kg. I guess its unavoidable because the door hinges will only support a certain weight but it seems pretty low to me for two bikes. We had approx 40kg of bikes on a rack designed to take 60kg and wouldn't really have wanted to put any more weight on it....it was fine when stationary, but there was always movement over speed bumps. I'm not sure a rack only rated to 35kg will give you much of a safety margin unless you have two rather lightweight bikes?
 
Upvote 0
canopus said:
Have you considered tow ball mounted bike racks? Thule make innovative racks for cars and vans.
Click to expand...
The Thule one is a nice rack (Easy rack) however on our Fiat Ducato you still cannot open the rear doors But the westafalia one we can ( we own both ).

the Thule is deeper from the number plate to the back of the rack the wetfalia is slightly less deep but is a better engineered rack (in my opinion) We can lower it and open the rear doors. I have never fancied hanging a bike rack in rear doors as I have seen some that damage the paintwork.

the westafalia:

BC 60 | Westfalia-Automotive

To get your excursion off to a fine start, Westfalia-Automotive designed its BC 60 cycle carrier with your needs squarely in mind – easy mounting on the towbar, extremely compact and ultra-safe.
www.westfalia-automotive.com

Edited to say the Thule came as a box of parts the Westafailia was just out of the box. In fairness this is what they say about the product.

  • No assembly of individual components required: unit is delivered ready-to-use
  • The compact dimensions and design of the BC 60 make it easy to pick up by the frame and carry to the car
  • One step is all that is needed to fit the BC 60 to the towbar. Simply move into place and it connects effortlessly
  • Easy to load – it is easier to mount cycles onto a waist level carrier than a roof mounted rack
  • Unrestricted access to the boot even when loaded via the innovative fold down mechanism
  • No paintwork damage: the sideward, tool free mounting helps avoid potential damage to the vehicle
  • Suitable for all current vehicle types

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
DangerMousy said:
It looks like most of the racks designed to fit on the van doors have a max load of only 35kg. I guess its unavoidable because the door hinges will only support a certain weight but it seems pretty low to me for two bikes. We had approx 40kg of bikes on a rack designed to take 60kg and wouldn't really have wanted to put any more weight on it....it was fine when stationary, but there was always movement over speed bumps. I'm not sure a rack only rated to 35kg will give you much of a safety margin unless you have two rather lightweight bikes?
Click to expand...

Thanks. His bike is 10kilos and I'm taking my Brompton inside so weight not an issue. Thanks
 
Upvote 0
Beatrix Kiddo said:
Thanks all, great information. We just know we don't want a towbar one and we one that holds a 10kilo bike. Thule looks like the favourite at the moment.
Click to expand...

In that case, that probably won't feel anywhere near as bad opening and shutting the doors as ours did with two bikes on that weighed the best part of 25 to 30kg in total.
 
Upvote 0
We have a van star swing out. It is attached to the chassis. Doors can be opened with bikes on. Will take up to 60 kg so ideal for electric bikes . Sorry I don’t know how to put a link on but if you look at Roadpro there is a video demo. As has been said before you need to think carefully about how much weight you’d be happy to put on the door, most racks will only take 35 kg so with pot holes and bumpy roads it will be putting a lot of pressure on .
 
Upvote 0
Sorry just read your bike is10 kg so probably wouldn’t need what we have

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
I have the Thule elite on my relay van, it seems solid enough. It was fitted by the convertors, so I cannot comment on how easy it as to fit. There are a couple of height positions in order to avoid overlapping rear lights. I don't open the door with the bikes on, they are the last thing loaded and the first to come off on arrival.
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top