andrewd Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Does anyone have any experience with bike racks for 3 bikes to fit to the tow bar? I've been looking at the Thule Rideon 9403 and I wondered if anyone had tried this on a LWB or have any other suggestions? One of the bikes has a child seat on the back, anyone tried this? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill comer Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hi there, I have a 2002 defender 110 with the spare wheel mounted on the back door. I have no experience of the Thule personally. I have used a Thule Euroway before on a 'normal' car. I have an Atera Strada 3+1 bike rack, which I had for my previous car, an expensive but good rack - too good to off load cheaply. The had three issues fitting it to the defender: 1) the clamping handle sticks up when not engaged and would interfere with the spare wheel, stopping you from attaching/removing the rack. 2) The rack has an upright support arm which interferes with the spare wheel. 3) where to attach the bracing straps. Solutions: 1) Opening the rear door allows the bracing clamp to be raised & lowered fine. This is likely to be similar to the Thules which also clamp around the tow ball. 2) The supporting bar is a bit like the one on the Euroway and was too close to the car and was in the way of the spare wheel. My solution for this was a suitable sized spacer. NB I do not have super wide tyres. 3) The supporting straps are used to brace the rack from swinging on the ball and only needed when you have 4 or maybe 3 bikes. I wrap the strap around the spare wheel mount. Some points to check: 1) Is whether the Thule will attach to witter style tow balls. They were originally designed just for goose neck style. 2) Because of the design of the Thule there might not be room for the nearest bike to fit on the vehicle. 3) Also look at Pendle. They now do a tilting rack, they are British and are built like a Defender. And because of Pendles flexibility with the slider positions a 4 bike pendle should mount on easily for 3 bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tog Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I have had two different types of rack from Pendle Bike racks over the years(see http://www.pendle-bike.co.uk). I currently have the Wheel Support 3 Bike Behind the Ball Mount, which allows me to open the back door without removing the carrier from the tow bar, although the bikes have to be removed. Previous to these I had tried various other makes but non were as robust or well made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveT Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I have a rack from Maxxraxx. It had two bikes on for a six week trip round Morocco with lots of offroading. It didn't flinch! They do a 4 bike version too. Recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewd Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Thanks for your suggestions, I can see this isn't going to be an easy choice. I'm a little confused by the Pendle site as they suggest that the 3 bike behind the ball rack is not suitable for a 4x4 with external spare wheel. There is a "Two ball Landrover rack" but that supports the frame rather than the wheels. Regarding the Thule it does look as if you're right that the spare would stop the closest rack being used :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewd Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 I've been looking at the Maxxraxx products and they do seem very good. However, I understand from Maxxraxx that in order for it to working with a sliding tow bar, the tow bar needs a modification. Maxxraxx describes it as "we drill into the sliding plate and insert a couple of grub screws". Clive, is this the type of tow bar that you have? If so, did you make this mod as it seems like a bit of a hack to me. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveT Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Well I'm not sure as mine is bolted directly to steel box section on the back of my vehicle, as I dont actually have a tow bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewd Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Great, thanks for the picture. Looks very stable. You obviously don't have the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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