Bike-Rack: Tailgate or Towbar Mount?

[Village]

@Village. @rolling_stone. Sorry to ask so late in the day but I've only just seen this [newly revised] thread. What is the 'wire anchor' that you guys are talking about please? I ask as I've also got a Thule towbar rack and can't open the tailgate. That said, mine's an Easy Fold XT-2 and it's a bit of the main structure of the rack that gets's in the way of the tailgate rather than anything else. Cheers.

This one:


You can see the original anchor point 2-3" to the left

 

[t0mb0]

You can, just, but it needs to be a small bike! I've done it with an Isla Beinn 20, on the two closest rails, like so:
View attachment 117215

View attachment 117216And with the top rack deployed, you cant tilt the thule without opening the tailgate at the same time, as the handlebars on the lower bike catch

Awesome, cheers, pretty much as I suspected I think. Carrying five bikes as our kids get bigger is going to be a challenge!

 

[Ayjay]

@Village. Thanks for that. As I suspected, mine's a different design and that hack would not apply as there's no such wire!

 

[Eclipse Custom Vans]

What are the general thoughts around bike carriers? I want to be able to transport 4 bikes, am I best going for the VW Gen type one that mounts to the roof or are tow bar type ones better.

Id like to be able to have a spoiler on the roof which is why I am thinking of the tow bar one however I’m interested to know peoples take on them as to which would be the most suitable type.

Thank you

I prefer and always recommend tow bar type. Easier to remove, can use with spoiler and don’t need to mess around with gas struts on tailgates. Coupled with a detachable tow bar they are great

 

[Saint Paul]

I prefer and always recommend tow bar type. Easier to remove, can use with spoiler and don’t need to mess around with gas struts on tailgates. Coupled with a detachable tow bar they are great

Just the set up I am going for!

 

[Bentley T6]

Well just in case anyone is interested, I put the Thule on to do a spacing comparison and a tailgate opening test.

View attachment 69916
You can see how much wider spaced the Thule tracks are, which is much better for MTBs. Obviously that’s only a 3’er, but you can get a fourth track to add on

But annoyingly I can now confirm that you cannot open the tailgate with the Thule leaned back. Bolox.

Hi @Village ,

I have only just stumbled across your post looking to buy a bike rack for the tow ball.

My van had a commercial style tow ball fitted which I’ve temporarily removed. I was planning to reinstate to add a Thule easyfold xt bike rack but having seen your post I’m a bit gutted if this won’t work.

I have an electric tailgate and a spoiler so cannot use the high level mounted racks. I’m going to take a look at my tow ball fitting as I’m sure there are 2no heights for it, so my question is, by how much would it need to be lowered to actually allow a tailgate to swing open (if you happen to know at all)?

Cheers

 

[Spaghetti]

Well just in case anyone is interested, I put the Thule on to do a spacing comparison and a tailgate opening test.

View attachment 69916
You can see how much wider spaced the Thule tracks are, which is much better for MTBs. Obviously that’s only a 3’er, but you can get a fourth track to add on

But annoyingly I can now confirm that you cannot open the tailgate with the Thule leaned back. Bolox.

I can open mine with a Thule Velospace XT. I presume you’ve adjusted the cables to their 70 degree setting?

Mine is on a Westfalia removeable bar.

 

[Bentley T6]

I can open mine with a Thule Velospace XT. I presume you’ve adjusted the cables to their 70 degree setting?

Mine is on a Westfalia removeable bar.

Hi @Spaghetti ,

I haven’t purchased the Thule easy fold yet. If it can be opened in place then it’s back on

Thanks

 

[Spaghetti]

Hi @Spaghetti ,

I haven’t purchased the Thule easy fold yet. If it can be opened in place then it’s back on

Thanks

Ah, mine’s the Thule Velospace XT3. The easy fold is a different beast altogether.

 

[Bentley T6]

Ah, mine’s the Thule Velospace XT3. The easy fold is a different beast altogether.

Well might just look at that one if it works!!! Don’t suppose you have a photo do you, of the tailgate opening too? Only if you have one.

 

[Ayjay]

I managed to give my van a tow bar mounted bike rack that now folds down to allow the tailgate to open properly. I've got a Thule Easyfold XT2 which, as the name indicates, folds to the size of a medium sized suitcase when not in use. Because it is so portable and easy to store when folded up and in it's zip up cover, I have always been willing to put up with the inconvenience on not being able to open the back when we're using the rack unless we either unload the bikes and then take it off or, as we did most of the time during our recent South of France road trip, just lift the whole thing off (ie. bikes 'n all) and drop it back on when we needed to. However, the novelty of doing that started to wear off as it can sometimes be awkward to place it in exactly the right spot to enable it to lock down properly on the tow ball. Anyway, I saw a video on YouTube made by a couple under the name of 'California Time' where they simply took out to thick plastic bungs which doubled as the stops for tilt mechanism on the rack. At first, I wasn't keen on their idea as I reckoned that the bungs probably contributed to the strength of the pivot point but when I got to take it apart, I realised that you could cut them down to a size which allowed the rack to fold enough but still maintained the structural integrity. An hours work and job done - I've just been out (in the rain) to test it and the tailgate clears the rack easily. I just need to make a prop of some kind now otherwise all the weight will rest on the handlebars of the outside bike when it's folded. A 27" length of roofing batten with a V cut into one end should do nicely but that's for later. If anyone's interested, I can explain some more and take some pics.

 

[Spaghetti]

Well might just look at that one if it works!!! Don’t suppose you have a photo do you, of the tailgate opening too? Only if you have one.

I’ve only got one photo with the tailgate open. I can fold it down even with 4 bikes on (using the optional 4th bike rail).

I just have to make sure the pedal is at the highest point on the (van side of the) closest bike to the tailgate.

 

[Bentley T6]

I’ve only got one with the tailgate open. I can fold it down with 4 bikes on (using the optional 4th bike rail).

I just have to make sure the pedal is at the highest point for the (van side of the) closest bike to the tailgate.



View attachment 169436

View attachment 169437

Awesome thank you my friend….

I managed to give my van a tow bar mounted bike rack that now folds down to allow the tailgate to open properly. I've got a Thule Easyfold XT2 which, as the name indicates, folds to the size of a medium sized suitcase when not in use. Because it is so portable and easy to store when folded up and in it's zip up cover, I have always been willing to put up with the inconvenience on not being able to open the back when we're using the rack unless we either unload the bikes and then take it off or, as we did most of the time during our recent South of France road trip, just lift the whole thing off (ie. bikes 'n all) and drop it back on when we needed to. However, the novelty of doing that started to wear off as it can sometimes be awkward to place it in exactly the right spot to enable it to lock down properly on the tow ball. Anyway, I saw a video on YouTube made by a couple under the name of 'California Time' where they simply took out to thick plastic bungs which doubled as the stops for tilt mechanism on the rack. At first, I wasn't keen on their idea as I reckoned that the bungs probably contributed to the strength of the pivot point but when I got to take it apart, I realised that you could cut them down to a size which allowed the rack to fold enough but still maintained the structural integrity. An hours work and job done - I've just been out (in the rain) to test it and the tailgate clears the rack easily. I just need to make a prop of some kind now otherwise all the weight will rest on the handlebars of the outside bike when it's folded. A 27" length of roofing batten with a V cut into one end should do nicely but that's for later. If anyone's interested, I can explain some more and take some pics.

That’s really helpful, thank you @Ayjay Much appreciated

 

[Ayjay]

@Bentley T6. Sorry but it was a bit late last night to start digging around for pictures but if you want to see some of how I modified the rack, I can dig them out - let me know. I know of at at least one other member here who has followed my lead and got their Easyfold to work properly with a tail gate.. I've got a camera on mine as well if you're interested.

 

[Village]

Hi @Village ,

I have only just stumbled across your post looking to buy a bike rack for the tow ball.

My van had a commercial style tow ball fitted which I’ve temporarily removed. I was planning to reinstate to add a Thule easyfold xt bike rack but having seen your post I’m a bit gutted if this won’t work.

I have an electric tailgate and a spoiler so cannot use the high level mounted racks. I’m going to take a look at my tow ball fitting as I’m sure there are 2no heights for it, so my question is, by how much would it need to be lowered to actually allow a tailgate to swing open (if you happen to know at all)?

Cheers

Sorry, I don’t know how high the commercial tow ball is so not sure what height adjustment would be needed. Maybe some pics?

As has been said above, the easy fold has a different base system to the xt3 so don’t know how much the base thicknesses differ, which will also impact on opening of tailgate vs height of tow all (there’s also the folding mech, but @Ayjay seems to have a solution for that)

But I did update the post you quoted to confirm the chain adjustment allowed it to open with the xt3

 

[Bentley T6]

@Bentley T6. Sorry but it was a bit late last night to start digging around for pictures but if you want to see some of how I modified the rack, I can dig them out - let me know. I know of at at least one other member here who has followed my lead and got their Easyfold to work properly with a tail gate.. I've got a camera on mine as well if you're interested.

That sounds great thank you @Ayjay

No rush, but next time you’re able to get a picture that would be great. Interested with the camera mount too!!!

Thanks.

 

[Bentley T6]

Sorry, I don’t know how high the commercial tow ball is so not sure what height adjustment would be needed. Maybe some pics?

As has been said above, the easy fold has a different base system to the xt3 so don’t know how much the base thicknesses differ, which will also impact on opening of tailgate vs height of tow all (there’s also the folding mech, but @Ayjay seems to have a solution for that)

But I did update the post you quoted to confirm the chain adjustment allowed it to open with the xt3

That’s great, thanks. Will get the tow ball back on and take a few measurements and pics.

 

[Ayjay]

@Bentley T6. I haven't got access to my laptop at the moment - the pictures are all on it (or backup discs which are also at home). I'll sort some out either tomorrow or Monday and post them. I think they're already here on T6F somewhere but it will probably be easier to do it again.

 

[Ayjay]

@Bentley T6. All these pictures are to be found somewhere here on T6F but it's probably easier to just post them all again:



Folded down and tailgate open - I don't bother with the wooden prop any more.



Arrows marked 1 indicate the bolts which need to be taken out to dismantle the rack to allow the bung/stops (marked at 2) to be removed for cutting. Be careful of the lighting cable looms - you just need to pull out the clips to get plenty of room to work.



This is one of them after cutting - I just put them in a vice and used a hacksaw.



The black tube over the central part of the number plate is the camera - an Auto Vox TW1 which I bought from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUTO-VOX-True-Wireless-Reversing-Installation-Support-TW1-UK/dp/B09DL3P5BL/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1E3I6ZY4CFMF5&keywords=autovox+tw1&qid=1661098849&sprefix=autovox+tw1%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-3

The kit comes with the monitor and 1 camera but I also bought an extra. At the time, I didn't have a reversing camera on the van so I fixed one to both the van and the bike rack and it's very easy to switch between the two as required. I've now got a Kenwood reversing camera hooked up to my new Kenwood head unit in the van but will continue to use the Act Vox on the bike rack - personally, I think it's a brilliant bit of kit that's very easy to install and use. I'm bad enough reversing the van without extra aids so I'm terrified every time I reverse the van fitted with a cycle rack with assistance!



As you can see, the monitor is pretty small. I keep it on my Seat Shelf when I'm using it but it does come with the usual sucker mount for the dash/windscreen.



Hope this helps.

 

[laidbackian]

I transport bikes a lot, basically every weekend for my kids cycle club. Before getting my T6 earlier this year I used a top spec Thule towbar rack for about 3 years, it was brilliant. They are solid but there is inevitably some movement along very bumpy roads but they are good.

Since getting a T6 I’ve got the VW standard tailgate mounted rack. This has been a further godsend, it’s always there and ready to use in 5 seconds. Because it is fixed at 4 points to the van it does not move around at all, it is absolutely rock solid. There’s nothing to store when not in use, it just sits on the back of the van all the time rather than taking up space in the garage.

My advice would be to get the VW tailgate mounted rack but it’s only fair to point out the drawbacks although they are minor:

* I am 6ft and need a small step to get the first bike on/off unless the van is on level ground, if it’s pointing downhill at all then I can’t reach. This was a bit embarrassing at a bike race on my first outing, I had to hold my son up above my head so he could reach to undo the frame clamp!
* You will not get under 2m height restrictions with the bikes on. They are mostly out of the airflow so drag is not a problem.

A final benefit to even things up... if you are rear ended in a crash your bikes will escape damage

Some really good points. I have the Thule Wanderway 2 for our two bikes, but it can take up to four, with a maximum payload of 60kg. Easy to fit and is always ready to use, but you’ll need to upgrade the tailgate struts. I‘m 5ft 6 and have a tall folding step, which allows me to reach everything and get the bikes on and off. With my MTB on the height clearance required is 2.35 m, but will depend on the bikes carried.