Last week it arrived and today we tested out our Towbar mounted bike rack :yes:

It is a 3 bike holder with an adapter to take a 4th bike and slides away from the car so you can open and get into your boot with the bikes still on it :clap: .

The 3 bike holder came complete and folded up in its box ready to to use... very easy but the 4th bike adaptor you have to attach yourself but looks straightforward...although we have not tried this yet!

We chose an Atera Strada DL4 UK lights Towbar Bike Carrier (aka 4DL mk II).

It weighs 14.4kg, +2.5kg for the 4th bike extender, and if you add on 4 bikes at 15kg each you are up to a nose weight of 76.9kg...I know it is over the 75kg noseweight limit on our Westfalia Detachable Towbar... but only just and seems to be the lightest 4 bike towbar mounted carrier. To help take the extra weight off the towbar the 4th bike adapter comes with 2 straps which we are going to use from/around the roof rails to support the carrier and bikes ...so hopefully this will prove to be OK and keep it below the 75kg.

Atera are a well respected German manufacturer and we bought ours from:

www.roofbox.co.uk

for £375

We had been looking at a Thule Euroclassic G5 909 towbar bike carrier BUT it weighs 19kg +2kg for the 4th bike extender and if you then add on 4 bikes at 15kg each you are up to a nose weight of 81kg on a towbar that only takes 75kg and we felt that was pushing it a bit too far!

So some photos for you:

1st 2 photos are at Hampton Load National Trust carpark by the River Severn and across by foot ferry from The Severn Valley Steam Railway stop with Hettie the Yeti and her new bike carrier in its upright "on the Move" position!

Please not only 2 bikes on...mine is having repairs :'(

The next 2 show the bike carrier when slid away from the car to enable boot access with out having to remove bikes...which is brilliant!

Please do comment on my entry to this thread ...

...or / and add details for your towbar mounted bike carrier so that this hopefully becomes a useful thread to others considering these expensive options

Thank you :sun:

Lady Penelope

GREAT pics LP.

I have Thule roof bars and bike carriers that I use on my current Honda Accord Tourer so all I need are new clamps to fit the SM and they cost about £65 from Halfords.

My only concern is the height of the SM, will I be able to manage putting bikes up there as Im not all that tall :S

great thread .... looking to buy a bike rack myself at the min so very helpful. with regards the 75kg limit .... this is a very safe working limit and wouldnt matter if u went over it by a couple of kg's so i wouldnt worry too much .. they always state the safe working limit way below what it actually is so people wont overload it ( knowing that people will exceed the limit ... we always do )

im going to put my rack on the mrs chelsea tractor instead of my vrs ... ssshhhh !! just dont tell her

GREAT pics LP.

I have Thule roof bars and bike carriers that I use on my current Honda Accord Tourer so all I need are new clamps to fit the SM and they cost about £65 from Halfords.

My only concern is the height of the SM, will I be able to manage putting bikes up there as Im not all that tall :S

I stand on a folding plastic step stool to place / remove a bike on the roof bike carrier on my yeti.

My link

I stand on a folding plastic step stool to place / remove a bike on the roof bike carrier on my yeti.

My link

Thanks aaaa.

Problem solved, I will get one next time I'm passing.

great thread .... looking to buy a bike rack myself at the min so very helpful. with regards the 75kg limit .... this is a very safe working limit and wouldnt matter if u went over it by a couple of kg's so i wouldnt worry too much .. they always state the safe working limit way below what it actually is so people wont overload it ( knowing that people will exceed the limit ... we always do )

im going to put my rack on the mrs chelsea tractor instead of my vrs ... ssshhhh !! just dont tell her

Very true that the stated 75kg would be very conservative.

Would be worth noting that the 75kg is taken as the weight ON THE BALL HITCH (as if the weight was right on top of the ball hitch). With the bike rack being suspended out from the back of the car the leverage effect would cause far more strain on the tow bar mounting than the same weight standing on the ball hitch - even more so when extended to open the boot like in the photos. The straps would counter this of course (and it wouldnt worry me anyway!) Very nice rack!

Very true that the stated 75kg would be very conservative.

Would be worth noting that the 75kg is taken as the weight ON THE BALL HITCH (as if the weight was right on top of the ball hitch). With the bike rack being suspended out from the back of the car the leverage effect would cause far more strain on the tow bar mounting than the same weight standing on the ball hitch - even more so when extended to open the boot like in the photos. The straps would counter this of course (and it wouldnt worry me anyway!) Very nice rack!

I had a Halfords Tailgate High Level bike rack. Did not rate it at all came loose and gave me no confidence in it's use. Then got a MAXXRAX towball carrier. Easily fitted, rock solid and secure(from both theft and coming loose). Can travel at normal speeds confidently. Very strong and simple construction.

http://www.maxxraxx.co.uk/

See link. I would rate it very highly.

Quite a few of my old mountain bike mates got the Thule 9503. Got one myself and it's a great job. Price is good too at just over 100 quid. 3 bikes only though.

Edited 3 June, 201016 yr by rhb

Nice rack Lady P!

Oh I will be very jealous when you can just roll in your bikes and I have to climb up high to do the same! Especially if they are muddy! I had had three bikes on the A2 this past week and the middle one was already tricky to get up comfortably. They A2 is already taller than a Golf and the Yeti taller still! A ladder thingy will have to be bought for sure. I like this one but look at the price! Madness!

@ Lady P

I have been trying (and apparently failing) to send you a PM, dont know why, the whole site seems to be on a go slow.

Re the friend with the Felly problem,

I offered what advice I could, and asked for more details, but there was no reply.

Mysteriously, the thread (which was moved to the Felly area), has disappeared entirely!

Yesterday it was there, today it has gone.

Any idea what is happening??

@ Lady P

I have been trying (and apparently failing) to send you a PM, dont know why, the whole site seems to be on a go slow.

Re the friend with the Felly problem,

I offered what advice I could, and asked for more details, but there was no reply.

Mysteriously, the thread (which was moved to the Felly area), has disappeared entirely!

Yesterday it was there, today it has gone.

Any idea what is happening??

Hi GentleGiant - No have not had any PM from you and have not looked at felly area and can't remember what the thread was called anyway :S Maybe he deleted it? I think you can do that ? if you start a thread but not sure :no: Sorry no idea but I wouldn't worry about it

BUT Have you seen the "There is a rumour that..." thread her in Yetiland!!!! I can see you now Lets hope Mummy says YES!

best wishes

Lady Penelope

Nice rack Lady P!

Oh I will be very jealous when you can just roll in your bikes and I have to climb up high to do the same! Especially if they are muddy! I had had three bikes on the A2 this past week and the middle one was already tricky to get up comfortably. They A2 is already taller than a Golf and the Yeti taller still! A ladder thingy will have to be bought for sure. I like this one but look at the price! Madness!

There is a typo in you link!!! They meant: “Golden Household Ladder 3 Steps”

Thanks all for your nice comments on our bike rack and helpful advice on the weight issue :yes:

Other positives to note...there is a lot of room between the bikes and soooo much easier to get on and off the rack than our old Halfords Tailgate high holder where they were all squashed up against each other getting scratched as well as being to high and heavy for me to lift them on :'( plus much more secure as lock to the tow bar and sturdy so don't feel they are going to fall off!!!

My other half vetoed a roof bike holder...can't think it had anything to do with my driving under a rope whilst forgetting bikes on and writing 2 specialised mountain bikes off...there was a lot of at the time..I mean accidents happen... :S

Good job I'm not a double decker bus driver

OMG 900000...how much!!!???

Edited 4 June, 201016 yr by Lady Penelope

OMG 900000...how much!!!???

Are you referring to the price of the ladder or how much I like your rack?!

Naughty 900000

Hi LP, Mystery after mystery, the thread has reappeared.

Still no reply tho.

On the bike rack, hmmm, interesting. Is it always that far back, or just when you are loading? I am thinking it is so far back you need a flag (warning lamp at night). (more than 3ft)

Another thought; when loaded up, can you now do wheelies up a hill??

This bike carrier appeals to me. Stores quite small.

http://www.westfalia-automotive.de/index.php?id=71

tom

Lady P: in the towbar thread you mention that the reversing sensors kept on beeping when you selected reverse with the test rack on. Have you managed to fix that now that you have your own bike rack?