VW Tailgate Bike Rack - Opening Tailgate with bikes loaded

[Davenjo]

My ball of my aftermarket towbar (Tow Trust) sits slightly higher than yours (top of mine is above the top ledge of the bumper so maybe 20mm higher than your Westfalia) and closer which will equate to less clearance - that said, it appears that the Altera Strada's connection mechanism and red/green indicator sits lower above the towball than others I've seen so I think it would still work on mine.

 

[Oldrat]

My ball of my aftermarket towbar (Tow Trust) sits slightly higher than yours (top of mine is above the top ledge of the bumper so maybe 20mm higher than your Westfalia) and closer which will equate to less clearance - that said, it appears that the Altera Strada's connection mechanism and red/green indicator sits lower above the towball than others I've seen so I think it would still work on mine.

Good luck
I tried to take the picture level with the flat step of the bumper to give an idea of height.

 

[Oldrat]

Just a quick pic with two bikes on rack. So as a twobike carrier it’s fab, and works with the T6 tailgate.

I think you might have to fiddle with three bikes though, ie twist the handlebars around

 

[Mairy]

I think I'm going with the Atera. A quick google found 5% off through UKCampsite.co.uk: The Roof Box Company.
Better than nowt if anyone else is looking...

 

[Oldrat]

Anyone thinking of buying this rack is very welcome to pop over and see it in action even try it on their own van. I’m in Harrow, North West London. Kettle will be on
(Sorry- Bit of a trek from Rochdale though)

Sorry no loans though

 

[Richie_duckdive]

You can get a bike rack that fits on a tow ball and folds down out of the way. Means getting a tow bar fitted if you haven't got one though

Any tips on model / make for this functionality?

 

[Oldrat]

Altera Strada from The Roofbox company

 

[ScottT6]

As anyone got a part code for the oem uprated struts
not after market
Cheers

 

[Flyingspanner]

I used my brothers van on a two week tour of Scotland, he has a genuine accessory VW bike rack, with three bikes on the rack I could open the tailgate and just used his prop stand to to hold the lid up with the bikes still in place, they were very secure and no hassle having to move anything out of the way gain access to the rear of the van.
I have a Thule easy fold 3 carrier for my Sk Superb which folds down away from the tailgate and mounts on the towbar, this is also good, but when not in use (when on holiday at the family chalet in the French Alps, the Thule carrier was left in the garage where the Transporter carrier just folds up against the rear window, so (the van carrier) is less inconvenient when visiting villages etc for parking.

 

[Flyingspanner]

Looks like the one for a bike rack is lower power than some others, possibly a California (chairs in tailgate).
Look at the force listed in the image below. Bike rack 1200 Newtons, but they also do a 1270N version too.

 

[Broadside]

These are the uprated ones on my Shuttle which has the VW standard bike rack, same part number that @Flyingspanner spanner has identified above, 1200N version.

 

[rolling_stone]

Any tips on model / make for this functionality?

Atera Strada DL is good for road and gravel bikes. I don't find it as stable for my longish mountain bike. Max. recommended wheelbase is 1200mm.

The Thule Velospace XT also tilts to give clearance if you modify the wire apparently, and is more suitable for longer bikes.

 

[CraggyMac]

Has anybody bought the Halfords 4 bike rack.It appears to recline to allow a hatchback to open?

Halfords Advanced 4 Bike Towbar Mounted Bike Rack | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Halfords Advanced 4 Bike Tow Bar Mounted Bike Rack is really easy to fit at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

 

[Green Giant]

Hi
We have ordered a vw tailgate bike rack, looking for advice on which struts to replace the standard ones.
I would like to have the tailgate stay open with our two road bikes on the rack, the weight of two bikes combined is 20kg, the rack is around 15kg,so let’s round up to 40 kg.
The rack will probably live on the van full time, but we would like to be able to pull tailgate down without the bikes on and without super human strength, is there such a strut..

 

[drinfinity]

Normally you wouldn’t do this. It’s a lot more load on the system, and you would need to be careful that the handlebars don’t crash into the roof. I did see other online folks have held bikes up with 1200N struts, but in some cases they were finding the mountings on the van were breaking off. There is also a company that will do an uprated bracket too (but my GoogleFu has deserted me and I can’t find it again).

I have 1250N struts on my tailgate, and I have to give it a bit of a heave to come down with the bike rack empty. If you add another 200N in the middle of the tailgate, the back of my envelope suggests you might need to go up to 1400N per strut, but you’d have to really hang off the door to shut it without a bike.

 

[drinfinity]

Found it now. Uberbus do some strengthened mounts, and struts at 2500N, for if you want to carry a spare wheel on there. Overkill for your application, but they are adjustable by letting some gas pressure out.

UB Heavy Duty Tailgate Struts - VW T5 / 6 / 6.1 - UBERBUS Components

Gas adjustment instructions Gas struts fitting instructions

uberbuscomponents.com

 

[Green Giant]

Found it now. Uberbus do some strengthened mounts, and struts at 2500N, for if you want to carry a spare wheel on there. Overkill for your application, but they are adjustable by letting some gas pressure out.

UB Heavy Duty Tailgate Struts - VW T5 / 6 / 6.1 - UBERBUS Components

Gas adjustment instructions Gas struts fitting instructions

uberbuscomponents.com

Ok great thanks for the advice, as you say it’s not recommended, I guess the closing the tailgate with bikes on could also cause potential damage to door, rack or bikes. Maybe I’ll see what California owners upgrade to when they fit a rack, as they also have chairs etc on the tailgate.
Those struts in the link aren’t cheap, so think I’ll wait till I’ve tried the bikes on the rack for handlebar clearance , as if they foul the roof, I won’t want the tailgate fully open with bikes loaded anyway lol

 

[ginkster]

Ok great thanks for the advice, as you say it’s not recommended, I guess the closing the tailgate with bikes on could also cause potential damage to door, rack or bikes. Maybe I’ll see what California owners upgrade to when they fit a rack, as they also have chairs etc on the tailgate.
Those struts in the link aren’t cheap, so think I’ll wait till I’ve tried the bikes on the rack for handlebar clearance , as if they foul the roof, I won’t want the tailgate fully open with bikes loaded anyway lol

You should be fine for clearance with the roof down and road bikes, the problem may be if the pop-top is up (depending on geometry) or MTBs with wide bars. My tailgate, with standard struts, stays up with just the rack on, although how well it does this does vary a bit with temperature. I reckon the 1250nm struts would easily hold a couple of road bikes and as long as you close the tailgate under control you won’t do any damage. They will make it harder to close if you take the rack off though!

 

[Green Giant]

That’s really helpful info, cheers

 

[Noontang]

I got mine from Transporter HQ- VW T6 / T6.1 Upgraded Tailgate Struts 1250N - T5 / T6 Gas Struts - Transporter HQ