Bicycle rack conundrum... Continued.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

My RS Adventurous is on the Mercedes Benz 3500 chassis, 1 ton, with a 170 inch wheelbase.... I was looking for a swing away bicycle rack..and discovered after a long conversation with Yakima that they don't recommend it due to the very long wheelbase on my van....

I've called Thule this morning and am waiting for an official reponse....the representative on the phone said something about a distance limitation.... BUT, she was going to discuss with their technical support team....

The reason I want the swing away is for easy access to the rear doors and the ability to move the bicycles to the side whenever we're sleeping in the van....

The rear doors are the "emergency exit"... I'm not going to block the rear doors... no matter what anyone says... they're there for a reason...

Yakima said..the distance between the front and rear of the vehicle and the geometry of the 170 inch wheelbase puts a too much pressure on the sleeve that goes into the 2 inch receiver on our vehicle...it would wind up bending the sleeve and metal fatigue..or we could easily lose the cycles if the straps sheared off under the strain of the vehicle dynamics... either situation seems very unappealing.....

I'll let you know what Thule says.... should be interesting.

Of course I see many people who purchased and installed bicycle racks on their RVs all the time...the person at Yakima said...they just don't know and it's a gray area... not too much is talked about.. with this .... however, they have had a number of cases where the rack failed and it's always on the 170 inch wheelbase.....

Please be careful and aware ......I won't risk my safety and others for the sake of taking my bicycles along.. might as well just rent some wherever we go.... much easier.....

[Bud]

A heck of a lot of rv's do not have back doors, the additional risk with no back door is ridiculously low.

I don't really understand what the hitch has to do with wheelbase length. Seems like 'their' rack failed, not the hitch.

A year ago I purchased a folding ebike and made a platform for a Stowaway II hitch frame, so I could use the backdoors - 05/04 Roadtrek 190P. This year a full size ebike, mountain bike. I just finished making the new carrier for the Stowaway 2 hitch frame. This solution is also noticeably less costly. The folding bike had protection with a cover, and the full size bike will too. It is all ready to roll out the driveway.

Hopefully you'll find a good solution.

Bud

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Bud

A heck of a lot of rv's do not have back doors, the additional risk with no back door is ridiculously low.

I don't really understand what the hitch has to do with wheelbase length. Seems like 'their' rack failed, not the hitch.

A year ago I purchased a folding ebike and made a platform for a Stowaway II hitch frame, so I could use the backdoors - 05/04 Roadtrek 190P. This year a full size ebike, mountain bike. I just finished making the new carrier for the Stowaway 2 hitch frame. This solution is also noticeably less costly. The folding bike had protection with a cover, and the full size bike will too. It is all ready to roll out the driveway.

Hopefully you'll find a good solution.

Bud

you wrote;

[I don't really understand what the hitch has to do with wheelbase length.


I'm not an engineer... but, the Yakima folks said... it's a physics thing...

Hey, their in the business of selling product... you bet I was surprised when they talked me out of it. Turning down a $500 plus sale is not something I would expect ...unless they had a very compelling reason.


I'll post something if I find out...

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

you wrote;



[I don't really understand what the hitch has to do with wheelbase length.





I'm not an engineer... but, the Yakima folks said... it's a physics thing...



Hey, their in the business of selling product... you bet I was surprised when they talked me out of it. Turning down a $500 plus sale is not something I would expect ...unless they had a very compelling reason.





I'll post something if I find out...

Unfortunately it is an issue....I went thru this.........too much bounce to put it simply. May fail the rack. I was told it is fine on a 144 WB so I lucked out. Doesn't mean a failure will occur but you will not find the big rack companies telling you it is ok.

[warpig]

Swing away rack:

https://www.modernbike.com/rockymoun...k-2-bike-black

Rack where door can be opened with bike on door:

Bike carriers for Van conversions : Sprinter > 06/2006

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by warpig

Swing away rack:

https://www.modernbike.com/rockymoun...k-2-bike-black

Rack where door can be opened with bike on door:

Bike carriers for Van conversions : Sprinter > 06/2006

Yes but the manufacturers say due to the wheel to back of rack is too great on a 170 WB and could break the rack.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by warpig

Swing away rack:

https://www.modernbike.com/rockymoun...k-2-bike-black

Rack where door can be opened with bike on door:

Bike carriers for Van conversions : Sprinter > 06/2006

I did look at this rack... did you notice how HIGH the rack is mounted on the back of the Sprinter.... the vehicle is almost 10 feet tall... and the rack is about 4 1/2 feet off the ground... that's the base of the platform... my bikes weigh over 30 pounds... not getting any younger...so, it requires you to lift the bicycles completely over your head and don't know how I would attach that to the arms... on the rack

[warpig]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

I did look at this rack... did you notice how HIGH the rack is mounted on the back of the Sprinter.... the vehicle is almost 10 feet tall... and the rack is about 4 1/2 feet off the ground... that's the base of the platform... my bikes weigh over 30 pounds... not getting any younger...so, it requires you to lift the bicycles completely over your head and don't know how I would attach that to the arms... on the rack

I definitely understand. I'm not the tallest person in the world, so it wouldn't work for me. I do like the swing away.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by ponti33602

Unfortunately it is an issue....I went thru this.........too much bounce to put it simply. May fail the rack. I was told it is fine on a 144 WB so I lucked out. Doesn't mean a failure will occur but you will not find the big rack companies telling you it is ok.

The photo shows a Kuat NV which we also use on a 155" WB Chevy. We have traveled a couple of thousand miles carrying two 60 pound bikes on this rack without incident.

Did you have to use a tongue extender to clear the spare tire?

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by warpig

Swing away rack:

https://www.modernbike.com/rockymoun...k-2-bike-black

Rack where door can be opened with bike on door:

Bike carriers for Van conversions : Sprinter > 06/2006

The Rockymount carrier is interesting. It's the first swing away platform style rack that I've seen.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by ponti33602

Unfortunately it is an issue....I went thru this.........too much bounce to put it simply. May fail the rack. I was told it is fine on a 144 WB so I lucked out. Doesn't mean a failure will occur but you will not find the big rack companies telling you it is ok.

Hi Bob, thanks for your reply.. just because smaller companies won't disclose this doesn't mean that it's OK... sure, maybe a failure "will not occur", BUT, the fact that they "don't recommend it" is reason enough for concern, if you know what I mean.... it's not like they omitted it... they told me directly that they don't recommend it... .completely different story.

ON another matter.... I should be picking up my RS with the new suspension upgrade Thursday or Friday.... I'll let you know if that settles the bouncing factor in the back....

[BBQ]

.

If you read the fine prints,
most of the racks recommend a supporting strap to reduce bouncing.
But nobody reads that.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

If you read the fine prints,
most of the racks recommend a supporting strap to reduce bouncing.
But nobody reads that.

Interesting.... and maybe they never make phone calls and ask questions either??

I'm probably "old school"... because, well, I'm in my late 60s..... BUT, I'd rather play it safe and not have an issue... like ruining my bikes or damage to my rig...

Having a failure on the road ...is a pretty serious problem.. don't you agree?

You can't call Ghostbusters..to fix that.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Interesting.... and maybe they never make phone calls and ask questions either??

I'm probably "old school"... because, well, I'm in my late 60s..... BUT, I'd rather play it safe and not have an issue... like ruining my bikes or damage to my rig...

Having a failure on the road ...is a pretty serious problem.. don't you agree?

You can't call Ghostbusters..to fix that.

Some bike racks do involve support. I'm not aware that any of the platform bike racks requires that.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Some bike racks do involve support. I'm not aware that any of the platform bike racks requires that.

I specifically asked the representative at Yakima.. would a platform bike rack work...he said NO....it would actually be worse.....

Again, it's all about geometry and physics...the 170 inch wheel base transfers to much velocity onto the rear of the vehicle....too much bouncing...

I don't know.. maybe this will be alleviated with my new suspension upgrade..

[rclemins]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

My RS Adventurous is on the Mercedes Benz 3500 chassis, 1 ton, with a 170 inch wheelbase.... I was looking for a swing away bicycle rack..and discovered after a long conversation with Yakima that they don't recommend it due to the very long wheelbase on my van....



I've called Thule this morning and am waiting for an official reponse....the representative on the phone said something about a distance limitation.... BUT, she was going to discuss with their technical support team....



The reason I want the swing away is for easy access to the rear doors and the ability to move the bicycles to the side whenever we're sleeping in the van....



The rear doors are the "emergency exit"... I'm not going to block the rear doors... no matter what anyone says... they're there for a reason...



Yakima said..the distance between the front and rear of the vehicle and the geometry of the 170 inch wheelbase puts a too much pressure on the sleeve that goes into the 2 inch receiver on our vehicle...it would wind up bending the sleeve and metal fatigue..or we could easily lose the cycles if the straps sheared off under the strain of the vehicle dynamics... either situation seems very unappealing.....



I'll let you know what Thule says.... should be interesting.



Of course I see many people who purchased and installed bicycle racks on their RVs all the time...the person at Yakima said...they just don't know and it's a gray area... not too much is talked about.. with this .... however, they have had a number of cases where the rack failed and it's always on the 170 inch wheelbase.....



Please be careful and aware ......I won't risk my safety and others for the sake of taking my bicycles along.. might as well just rent some wherever we go.... much easier.....

I use a rockymounts backstage with my zion 159” promaster 3500. Works great, I see no potential problems resulting from the longer wheelbase. They are in fact designed for use with sprinters and similar vans.

[rockymtnb]

To the best of my knowledge the 1upUSA Heavy Duty (or Super Duty) tray mount bike rack combined with the RakAttach swing out arm is the only system fully rated for rugged RV and offroad usage.

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-...ble-bike-rack/

http://rakattach.com/

These racks are common in Moab where Sprinter 4x4s bounce around rough mountain bike access roads all the time.

Be aware, these rack systems are heavy! It's sometimes helpful to have a second person assist with rack mounting. But once installed bike access and removal is simple.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

To the best of my knowledge the 1upUSA Heavy Duty (or Super Duty) tray mount bike rack combined with the RakAttach swing out arm is the only system fully rated for rugged RV and offroad usage.

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-...ble-bike-rack/

http://rakattach.com/

These racks are common in Moab where Sprinter 4x4s bounce around rough mountain bike access roads all the time.

Be aware, these rack systems are heavy! It's sometimes helpful to have a second person assist with rack mounting. But once installed bike access and removal is simple.

That's pretty slick! Thanks for the heads up.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

That's pretty slick! Thanks for the heads up.

It's not just the bouncing... it's the 170 inch wheelbase...

Think 170, 170 , 170....

That's it...

There's no 4 by 4 with a 170 inch wheelbase....

[mackcs]

Go to "Fiamma" bike rack for the sprinter van. I have had one on a CS Adventurous 2017. Great rack. Complicated instructions but no drilling, goes on your rear door. Rear door still opens and the rack when not used folds up against the door. Not cheap, try Panther RV, about $650 but a beautiful work of art (for a bike rack).