kelly58 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 We have just purchased 2 mountain bikes as we do not have a bike rack on the motorhome, we were thinking of carrying them in the motorhome do any of you other motorhomers follow this practice or is it fraught with danger we though we could secure them outside during the time we are parked up I know it may seem a lot of trouble , but as we have an end kitchen it would meen removeing the oven and fridge to fix a bike rack to the rear of the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Sorry, I don't want to sound insulting but are you sure you would have to remove the oven etc? Have you looked into it or are you just assuming that's what it would involve? Of course most van constructions are different but for our end kitchen model it involved nothing of the sort. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Grumpy Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Depending on what type of van you have consider fitting a tow bar and suitable bike carrier. It will probably be a bit more expensive but there are several reasons why it may be a better bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Having a bike inside a van is a real pain in the bum! It - or they - even worse - are a pain in the bum to get in and out of the narrow van door and they can - and probably will - do a lot of damage to cupboards and furnishings - even if firmly secured - and secured to what is always gonna be a problem - and then there is the issue of moving about in the van on the road and what about when you stop for a cuppa or the loo? Each to his own and good luck if you do it but it is not a thing that many of us would do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWO Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hi there Kelly I don't know if you use your mountain bikes as intended,ie off-road but they could be in a bit of a mess when you come to leave. In fact my co-pilot won't let me in the van let alone my bike after I have been out on some days. On a more serious point. Will you get the handle bars thro the door and then round the corner of the units without a lot of swearing and hitting the units . Then it would be quite difficult to secure the bikes safely whilst on the road, they would be a pain in the butt when you stop for a break on-route, I would have thought the a bike rack would be best if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 We have an end kitchen, and the cooker did not have to be removed, to fit the bike rack. We had it fitted while we waited, as were going away the next day to France !! The rack is usfull for a box , when not taking bikes. Pauline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Kelvyn, I'd suggest looking into getting a bike rack of some sort outside, you won't regret it. Trying to put the bikes in and out without damaging the van, or yourselves, is tricky at the best of time. When it's wet and you're having to do it, it will be annoying ... when the bikes are mucky and you have to clean them off first ... you'll be really, really p*ssed off ... you'll then find that you won't bother to take them at all and then you will really, really, really be infuriated at the waste of money!!!!! We had some folding bikes which we used to store inside the motorhome which we had at the time, a Swift Suntor 590RS, basically similar to an overcab version of yours, even though they folded down, they were still a pain in the b*m to get in and out without damaging something. They weighed around 14kg which isn't anywhere like as heavy as a mountain bike .. wait until you try to put your mountaim bikes in and you'll see what I mean, lifting them off the ground into the door is bad enough, trying to do this and fit them through the door turn the corner etc and do the reverse is not easy. We did try some mountain bikes, with removable front wheels, to see if they were any better but it was a nightmare and having to secure them as well was a nuisance. We now have a motorhome with a large rear garage and whilst it's fairly easy by comparison to the Swift to put the bikes in the garage, it is still much, much easier to put them on the rear bike rack ... which we didn't think we'd need and only got as they were offering it as part of the motorhome purchase deal for free! One other thing, if your mountain bikes have standard mountain bike tyres on them, change them for some more normal road type tyres, they're not expensive but it really does make a heck of a difference if you don't intend to do 'proper' mountain biking and just casual riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febbie Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Most Motorcaravan manufactorers' make provision for fitting a cycle rack by having strengthened points in the bodywork of the vehicle these avoid disturbing the interior of van..Your Dealer should know. We used to carry 2 folding bikes in the interior of one van and they were a right pain, particularly attempting to use the habitation areas for stops on the road. Fortunately in our current outfit we have a cargo area to stow them. there used to be a firm in the Hemel Hempstead area that made a rack to fit on a towbar That would take away a lot of your worries (!) (!) (!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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