Moncayoman Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Evening all, Went into Barrons today to ask about getting a bike rack fitted below the rear window of my m/h. I bought a two bike fiamma carrier off ebay. First bit of advice was - these things can cause all sorts of strain on the rear panel. 2nd bit of advice was - if you fit it yourself, you don't have to locate the wood supports in the rear panel, just anywhere in the rear panel is fine. In fact through the wood supports could make the starin even worse. 3rd bit of advice - pay them £130 plus sealant and they will do it for me. Any views, comments, encouragement or warnings from the learned forum members? As ever thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Andy and his DIY friend fitted ours, but I think it all depends on the van. Ours too fitted under the rear window but we are blessed with large garage and a wood panel that we had already fitted along that wall for putting internal hooks on. We also got the top and bottom reinforcing blocks that Fiamma do, although we didn't really need them for the base we just preferred to have the extra strength. The instructions are very clear and I am sure we got the sealant in with the kit. Think it is a quiet time of the season and they where looking for work, others I am sure will come along soon and give more advice on the fitting. Good luck with it, Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panagah Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hi I take what the dealer is telling you but against that is the fact that many MHs have rear bike rakcs fitted. I have a four bike rack on mine and TBH have often thought about the strain. A correctly fitted rack which is sealed correctly should give you no problems though if the ammount of racks fitted is anything to go by. Another option of fitting a rack is to have a towbar fitted and then use a tow ball bike rack. An expensive option I know but a sure safer bet. Also its advisable to ensure the bikes you load on are of course light. Mine are and weigh so little nowadays compared to my old chopper. As for fitting it yourself? I suppose it would depend on how you are with DIY. As far as I am aware there is not a need to locate the wood supports as nearly all rack I see are fitted central to the back. This must be something to do with area and mass. If I was fitting one on to my 4 year old van I would do it myself but I suppose if my van was newish then I would get it done at a dealer in order to have someone to moan at if it goes pete tong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Many motorhome manufacturers build in "strong" areas designed to take the bike rack fittings. It could be worth contacting the maker of your motorhome and asking them where the mounting points are. I have fitted a bike rack to the rear of an Auto Trail and it was simply not possible to locate the rack mountings within the wooden sections. To the best of my knowledge the rack is still fitted to that particular 'van and in fact the owner contacted me the other day for some more work so I assume everything is still ok with it. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moncayoman Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks yet again. Just having someone else's experience or view is enough to convince. I am going to fit the rack myself, and take advantage of the fact that I can get at it easy enough through the underbed storage (garage ?). A really good point is the fact that it can be impossible to always put it through the supports..so thanks for all your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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