Hello
Has anybody worked out a safe way to carry bikes on top of a Rapido folding caravan? I've seen pictures of welded bike racks on here, but was wondering if anybody just straps bikes to the top of the trailer? We'd probably only be putting our daughter's bike on there, but would it be safe (for the caravan and other road users!)?
I've been trying to figure out ways to carry them on my Export. I've got a few pictures of racks that people have made up. There's more on our group but I don't want to weld nor drill holes in the galvanised chassis. I have worked out how the front would mount but the rear of the caravan I'm still scratching my head about how to do it.
This is a home made rack someone had sold on eBay last year;
I just didn't like the idea of it just being strapped on top & also it not having a rain cover.
Here's another one;
I have read that people do strap bikes on top of their folding caravans trailer tents etc but you have to remove a pedal & loosen the handlebars so it can lay as flat as possible so it don't do any damage. I haven't heard of anyone having any problems in transporting them like that.
Thanks for posting the pics! The second one looks good - is that a tow bar welded to the chassis of the caravan at the back with a tow bar mounted bike rack? That seems perfect, as perhaps you wouldn't have to detach it to open and close the caravan.
I didn't know there was a rapido group. What a great idea!
I don't think the tow bar has been welded to the chassis but I think it has been bolted to it between the 2 main chassis rails or slid inside them. I've just got another towbar mounted bike rack today so I'm thinking of doing something similar to mine. Although I really want to build some sort of luggage rack to go on the top of mine.
Hi I have been thinking of bolting a toeball to the bed support on my Sterling, I don,think it will put any excess strain as it is strong enought to take the weight of the bed occupents then use a ball mounted cycle carrier.
------------- If it ain't broke don't try to fix it!
I realise this is an old thread but I have something useful to add:
Rapido used to offer a rack attachment as an optional extra but it isn't available any more. The rack could be attached once the rain-cover was in place.
A helpful French Rapido enthusiast has drawn up plans for a home made version that is almost identical, these can be found here. The notes are all in French but it's all easy to follow, just remember the measurements are all metric.
(http://www.pliante-rapido.com/portevelo.pdf)
The rack is really just a set or parallel roof bars - despite the Porte Vélo name of the document, you still need to contrive a way of fixing the bikes to the bars.
These caravans were made in France and were very popular in Europe. The foreign language enthusiast sites are good - Google Translate is your friend.