Cycle Rack on PVC

[Guest machra]

Has anyone had any sucess at fitting a cycle rack low down on the rear doors of a Ducato PVC. I do not want to fit one in the 'standard' position, high up on the right hand door, as this will obstruct the view from the rear lounge. I do not have a tow bar so tow bar fitted cycle racks are not an option.

 

 

[Robinhood]

....you may wish to look at the following thread.

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=23510&posts=12

 

The bike-rack mentioned here, and subsequently fitted by Judgemental, is mounted considerably lower than the standard PVC offerings from either Fiamma or Omnistor.

 

I think a bike will still provide some obstruction of the view, but it will be less than the standard PVC version.

 

http://www.omnistorawnings.co.uk/department/omni-bike_sport/page/2/

 

If you PM Judgemental he may be able to advise from personal experience.

 

[Guest ChrisB]

Another option is to fit a towbar and purchase one of the many (e.g. Thule, Bak-Rak)) towbar-mounted racks available. These are easy to put on/off and the same height as the towball.

 

[neillking]

The Omnistor '2-doors' can be fitted lower and takes both three bikes and 50 Kgs. The latest Fiamma 200DJ for two bikes and 35KG has two possible mounting positions - high and low.

But - the reason the high position is standard is that obscuring lights and/or number plate is illegal - this applies 'through spokes' too. Fiamma say the "lower version must be used together with the number plate holder bar with regulation lights...". We have occasional supply problems with the Fiamma bar but similar items are available from places like Halfords, unfortunately many of those have triangular reflectors to indicate a towed unit. You will of course need 'towar electrics' and a spare number plate to use these light bars.

Hope this helps.

[Guest JudgeMental]

neillking - 2011-12-01 2:26 PM

The Omnistor '2-doors' can be fitted lower and takes both three bikes and 50 Kgs. The latest Fiamma 200DJ for two bikes and 35KG has two possible mounting positions - high and low.

But - the reason the high position is standard is that obscuring lights and/or number plate is illegal - this applies 'through spokes' too. Fiamma say the "lower version must be used together with the number plate holder bar with regulation lights...". We have occasional supply problems with the Fiamma bar but similar items are available from places like Halfords, unfortunately many of those have triangular reflectors to indicate a towed unit. You will of course need 'towar electrics' and a spare number plate to use these light bars.

Hope this helps.

AS Robin mentioned above this is the rack we went for and had to fit a number plate/tow bar attachment with lighting as bike wheels obstruct rear lights and when rack in open position the number plate as wellIf I was doing this again I would go for a tow bar mounted rack, stronger and better as not on the back all the time...its a pain opening doors with the rack permanently fitted, when you only actually need it when away on trips? *-)

[neillking]

I had a 2-Doors on an earlier 'van, I never found it a pain when empty but it did make the door heavy to open when loaded. The asymmetric load did cause slight distortion over time with the LH eventually dipping slightly.

[Keithl]

Hi Kevin,

 

Our friends have a VW Transporter with barn style rear doors and did not want to fit a rack to the doors so opted for a towbar and Mont Blanc ball mounted cycle carrier and they are very pleased with it.

It has the added advantage of coming ready equipped with road lighting and a number plate board and swings down on a clever hinge arrangement to allow the rear doors to be opened without having to unlaod the rack.

It wasn't cheap (having to have a tow bar fitted as well) but was definitely the best solution for them.

 

Keith.

 

PS I have seen photos of door mounted racks on Ducatos bending the door at the attachment points so be warned.

[Guest machra]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will look into fiting a towbar and then a towbar mounted rack. I can see the wallet taking a battering in the new year. :'(

[mel wood]

machra - 2011-12-01 4:24 PM

 

Thanks for the replies. I think I will look into fiting a towbar and then a towbar mounted rack. I can see the wallet taking a battering in the new year. :'(

 

Hi

You may be wise to do so.

 

DO NOT fit a fiamma or similar to the door. Although it is the designated rack, we found after two and a half years that the rack had bent the door. (Someone else in MMM reported the same problem,)

 

As regards your wallet taking a battering, we paid £1300 for a repair to the door (admittedly we chose to have the work done at a Peugeot approved body shop so that the Peugeot anti-rust warranty was not affected).

 

Rather than fit any other type of rack we chose to buy folding bikes (bike in a bag). They cost £199 each and are excellent. They are easy to transport and store in our Auto-Sleepers Symbol ES.

 

If you (or anyone else) wishes to know more please send me a pm.

[Mike88]

I have fitted both a Fiamma door mounted rack and a Thule towball mounted rack on a Transit PVC. It is backbreaking to lift bikes onto door mounted racks so that arrangement was totally unsatisfactory so opted for the towball version. With some modification I used the Fiamma door rack to support a backbox.

 

In practice a towball rack is far far easier to get the bikes on and off. The only downside is that you can't open the rear doors with bikes onboard and that can be a problem if you have storage cupboards accessible from the rear. However, in my experience the towball mounted rack is the least worst option so that is probably what I shall go for again on my Ducato PVC.

 

Incidentally the OP says that he would fit a door mounted rack low down onto the left hand door. If that was the case he would not be able to use the rear doors with bikes on board as the right hand door is the first one to be opened. That being the case there would be absolutely no advantage in having a door mounted rack other than of course cost.

[neillking]

This isn't an accusation of any kind but it is worth making the point that it is very important to keep within the restricted weight allowance for door mounted racks, it is the door, hinge, and mounting strengths that limit the amount that can be carried. Plainly the heavier duty three-bike 2-doors is going to impose a lot more strain than the Fiamma if fully loaded. Also when fitting the 2-doors rack to an earlier vehicle I went to some trouble to reinforce the mountings inside the door and that worked OK for me, that can't be done with the dedicated 'clamp-on' Ducato racks of course.