Towbar mounted carrier

joeirish

I am thinking of buying a towbar mounted 2 bike carrier for my campervan. The issue is that the ball of the towbar is only about 14 inches from the ground and the towbar actually touches the ground sometimes going up or down steep slopes such as on and off a ferry. So my question would a towbar mounted carrier be a problem or are they sufficiently high not to scrape the ground in these situations. Thanks.

pmannion9

Sounds very near the ground that !!!
From my experience most of the thule towbar racks will sit higher the towbar itself...
Some have a tilting mechanism to allow access to the boot while attached. This may not work if your towbar is so low...
There are videos online of most of the Thule models which should give you a clearer idea...

kevin_stephens

We have a VW T5 camper van. The very top of the tow ball is 15 inch above the ground. We have a Thule 2-bike lockable bike carrier that sits on the ball. It has been great including a trip to Sicily involving a long ferry crossing. We really like the fact that it's lockable and we can lock bikes too it with the carrier detached from the van for more security and convenience at camp sites. I'm going to get a tow ball fitted to my car so I can use the bike carrier on it.

joeirish

Kevin Stephens wrote:

We have a VW T5 camper van. The very top of the tow ball is 15 inch above the ground. We have a Thule 2-bike lockable bike carrier that sits on the ball. It has been great including a trip to Sicily involving a long ferry crossing. We really like the fact that it's lockable and we can lock bikes too it with the carrier detached from the van for more security and convenience at camp sites. I'm going to get a tow ball fitted to my car so I can use the bike carrier on it.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know which model of Thule carrier you have.

joeirish

pmannion9 wrote:

Sounds very near the ground that !!!
From my experience most of the thule towbar racks will sit higher the towbar itself...
Some have a tilting mechanism to allow access to the boot while attached. This may not work if your towbar is so low...
There are videos online of most of the Thule models which should give you a clearer idea...

Thanks for the reply. The tilt mechanism won't be needed for the camervan as we have no rear opening doors. It's just an issue of the height above ground.

kevin_stephens

joeirish wrote:

Kevin Stephens wrote:

We have a VW T5 camper van. The very top of the tow ball is 15 inch above the ground. We have a Thule 2-bike lockable bike carrier that sits on the ball. It has been great including a trip to Sicily involving a long ferry crossing. We really like the fact that it's lockable and we can lock bikes too it with the carrier detached from the van for more security and convenience at camp sites. I'm going to get a tow ball fitted to my car so I can use the bike carrier on it.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know which model of Thule carrier you have.

I think it's a VeloCompact 925

hdow

Our tow bar also sits about 14" above the ground on our camper. Have a look at the Exodus Cycle Carrier. £54 from Halfords. Packs up small when not in use and is lockable. Got one after trying one for a couple of months