Scooter Carrier

[Drifter]

Hi People Can anyone reccomend the best type of scooter rack for the back of my camper Autotrail Apache

[court jester]

Hi all, If anyone out there is in the know, I'm also looking to fit a scooter carrier to my Cristall Champ. What is the best way to go - are there any universal ones available or do they have to be made to fit the chassis of a specific make and model of motorhome??

[Dave Newell]

A small trailer is the best way to carry a scooter unless you have a built in garage specifically designed for carrying one inside. D.

[Bill Ord]

There's simply no way the Autotrail Apache has the load capacity to take a scooter, either rear axle loading or total weight unless you intend to run the van very near empty and with empty water tanks. I had an Autotrail Chetenne 635 which had a maximum weight of 3400kg and I will now admit was usually overloaded if I travelled with full tanks and my windsurf kit. Remember it's not only the weight of the scooter you must add the weight of the carrier as well and then add on the factor for the overhang. Having said all that you're unlikely to be stopped and weighed but it's best to brace yourself for a surprise and visit a weighbridge before proceeding.

[Mel E]

Bill is right except in one thing - you are increasingly likely to be stopped and weighed as the UK police are having a blitz on overloaded motorhomes. One of the MMM team got stopped on the way to the York Show this year, for example. And you only need to be stopped once for your vehicle to become undriveable (if it's still overweight with the scooter unloaded, they'll keep the vehicle until it's modified). Roughly speaking, every 100 Kgs you add to the back of your Autotrail will add 140 to 160 Kgs to your rear axle load. You need a lot of spare capacity to stay legal. Most scooter racks require a tow bar to be fitted to suport them (say, at least 100 Kgs, then there is the rack (at least 60 Kgs and the scooter (say, 100 Kgs at least). That's 260 Kgs total off your spare capacity and about 360 extra load on the back axle. So get your m'home on the weighbridge - both in total and back axle only - before you spend money doing anything. It would be awful to spend a lot of money and then get stopped by the police - especially on the Continent where they might well impound your vehicle. As a final thought, don't assume that a garage model will solve all these problems. Lots of so-called garage models do not have adequate carrying capacity to put a scooter in the garage. As the say, 'buyer beware'.