I'm on the verge of purchasing a VW Transporter Kombi T5, but...
One of the main reasons for buying it is to get extra stress-free space over a large family estate car. The ability to get a family tent, cookers etc. along with the luxury of taking the main house bbq, gazebo etc. - and bikes. We've seen plenty of T5s with what appear to be sturdy, possibly permanent tailgate bike racks, and think that is the ideal solution to carry four bikes (two adult and two children). We don't get on with towball mounted bike racks so don't want to go down that route.
However, initial research suggests that this idea won't work if the van has a rear spoiler (it was factory fitted for the previous owner). So I guess the options would be to put cut-outs into the spoiler, or remove it completely.
How big a job would either of these be? Or is there a third alternative?
Side question - can you get permanently mounted rear bike racks (glued or bolted I guess)? I think that would be a nice solution.
Our friends who have a T5 with barn doors are having the same discussion and it would seem that door mounted bike racks for a barn door model will take a maximum of 2 bikes due to the weight/ stresses on the doors. The spoiler would also have to be removed. See here .
Your only real option is a 4 bike tow bar carrier, a 4 bike roof carrier (if that was feasible, they haven’t looked into this yet) or a combination of door and roof bike carriers (2 on the back, 2 on the roof).
Thanks :) will check back, because I've heard that 4 bikes would be feasible if you upgrade the tailgate struts. But spoiler removal etc all seems doable.
Sorry. I'm confused. Do you have barn doors or a tailgate?
You cannot get a 4 bike rack if you have a barn door as you cannot upgrade the hinges. You can can get a 4 bike rack if you you have a tailgate, even without upgrading the struts, though I would recommend doing this.