Lorrie Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 How much should I expect to pay to have a cycle rack fitted on our van? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Depends on who is doing the fitting and what the 'van is. A door mounted unit on a panel van shouldn't cost more than an hours labour but a rear wall mounted unit on say an Auto sleepers where the cooker needs to be removed to fasten the fixings properly could cost you four or five hours labour. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RupertGS Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 This is a job that should only be done by experts. As Dave Newell says the kitchen may have to be removed so that the fitter can locate the strong points to which to attach the bile rack fittings.A cycle rack fitted incorrectly will end up ripping off the back of your motorhome. Go to a reputable firm of motorhome body repairers who will know how they're constructed and will do the job properly.This is not something to skimp on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Hi Lorrie and welcome to the nut house! :-> It would help if you could tell us what your motorhome/van is and the layout in question. Whether you are competent to undertake it yourself, or need expert help, is something you will have to decide. I fitted a bike rack to our Rapido 709F when we had it, but it didn't involve removing a fridge etc as it had a rear corner bed so I could get access to the rear wall easily and used spreader plates inside to support the rack so that it didn't put all the pressure on small areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 We have a Bessacarr E560 so fixed end bed. Looking for a professional fitter, as want to be sure it is fitted correctly having read MMM article a couple of months back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Then I'd think one to two hours labour would be reasonable, cost will depend on hourly rate charged by whoever you get to do the job. As an example we've just had to pay out £92 for a Merc agent to clear a fault light that cropped up on a customers vehicle while we were working on it. no fault was found and no fault code was recorded in the OBD system, all they did was plug in their computer and clear the fault light, maybe I should go into diagnostics checking and fault light clearance >:-) . D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Contact the converters and fid out where the reinforcement points are on the rear of your 'van. They should be abe to tell you how far in from the edge etc they are and get a rack that will mount at these points. That way you can drill right through and tighten up on the spreader plates without crushing the rear wall of your 'van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 You can vary the distances between fixing points - both vertically and to a lesser degree horizontally - for most bike racks in order to suit the van's mounting points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do you have a towbar? Thule do these for 2 or 3 or 4 bikes. Avoids heavy lifting as well...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 JudgeMental - 2009-09-16 5:03 PM Do you have a towbar? Thule do these for 2 or 3 or 4 bikes. Avoids heavy lifting as well...... What is the maximum permissible weight on the towbar? What is the total weight of this rack with four bikes on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Harvey - 2009-09-18 2:03 PM JudgeMental - 2009-09-16 5:03 PM Do you have a towbar? Thule do these for 2 or 3 or 4 bikes. Avoids heavy lifting as well...... What is the maximum permissible weight on the towbar? What is the total weight of this rack with four bikes on it? Err......How the hell do I know, its not my van:-S ask the manafacturer/fitter of the tow bar? Then Thule I would think regards the capacity of the rack they need? Then its up to the buyer to weigh the bikes if they dont know already. I think its called due dilegence *-) http://tinylink.com/?T5gE4PfRC0 and this from the CC: "Noseweight, or more technically "static vertical load" is the downwards weight the caravan exerts on the back of the towing vehicle. Whilst this is recommended as 7% of the actual laden weight of the caravan, for good stability towing, there is a limit to what the car body, suspension and towbar can accept. In general this is set by manufacturers at 50 to 75kg, though bigger cars and many 4x4s may offer 100kg or more. Don't expect any sympathy from the car manufacturer if higher loading is shown to have caused damage to the car. Bear in mind too that the dynamic noseweight as the vehicle travels along will vary wildly around the static figure, being perhaps several times higher during braking, and largely disappearing at high speed due to aerodynamic effects. Exceeding the static noseweight by only a small amount could therefore mean a significant dynamic overloading." PLUS: regards security....a heavy motorbike chain and lock can secure the bikes throught the tow bar. Far more secure then a conventional aluminium bike rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.