Cycling UK Forum

Has anyone got/used one of these to carry bikes inside a caravan?
http://www.carabike.com
We've just changed our van and SWMBO would like it if I font get oil on the cushions or scrape the woodwork in this one.

What's to stop the bike(s) or rack from moving within the 'van if you have to brake suddenly,or hit a pothole,etc?
Whenever we've carried bike(s) in the caravan we've wrapped them/it in a big cover sheet,leaned on one of the bench seats,with the tyres again the other one.

Further studying after posting that and I'm thinking a homemade fork mount fixed on a flat board sitting on the floor. Something along the lines of this.
http://youtu.be/0QDKTrrGsEw

reohn2 wrote:What's to stop the bike(s) or rack from moving within the 'van if you have to brake suddenly,or hit a pothole,etc?
Whenever we've carried bike(s) in the caravan we've wrapped them/it in a big cover sheet,leaned on one of the bench seats,with the tyres again the other one.

That's what I was wondering especially as being stainless steel you would imagine they might ski along the carpet with sudden movement.
In the past I've used old sheets and done exactly as you have done but somehow I've ended up damaging stuff. I'm thinking if I do it that way again it might be wiser to remove pedals.?

Paulatic wrote:Has anyone got/used one of these to carry bikes inside a caravan?
http://www.carabike.com
We've just changed our van and SWMBO would like it if I font get oil on the cushions or scrape the woodwork in this one.

No, I wouldn't trust it 'cos of the way bikes can bounce around.

I did carry bikes in my caravan a lot, here's how it worked in a caravan where the lounge was at the front and with a side kitchen

Old thick grey blankets on the seat cushions, maybe turn them upside down, and draping a couple of thicknesses across the woodwork. One bike leaning on each of the benches

Some poly packaging with grooves cut in to fit wheels into - these were used as wheel chocks. One stuck on the front wheel and jammed up against the front wall stops the bike moving forward under braking, one under the back wheel (hopefully) does the same when accelerating. Bike leaning slightly on the cushion with the pedal on the cushion side pointing slightly up, resting on the top of the (protected) cushion in such a way the if you try to move the bike backwards it will try to turn the back wheel backwards - so this provides a extra guard against the bike moving backwards.

The bike that was on the kitchen side had to have its saddle resting on the fridge door so some wrapping to protect the saddle and the door from chafing was used. If you have a longer 'van then of course you might have more room.

I mentioned the bikes were almost upright - more poly blocks in the middle between the two bike's wheels helped to stop the bikes from toppling over.

You'd best experiment with the positiong to find out where the mucky bits go, - you might have one bike in forwards and one backwards.

NEVER put dirty/muddy bikes in the caravan. Or wet ones if you can help it.

Rest of the caravan's load adjusted if necessary for correct noseweight. Mine was a 13-footer with the battery in the middle, with the normal loading and 1.5 small gas bottles up front the noseweight was just right with 2 bikes in this way.

Driving - don't go tanking around sharp bends, esp it's its bumpy otherwise stuff might move!

Then of course you can't stop and use 'van for a cuppa 'cos you'll have to remove stuff ...

Sorry, but it was a few years ago and I don't have piccies!

Internally ours is about 14' so similar.
Interesting idea with the polystyrene blocks for wheels as past experiences which caused damage is when the bike has moved from where I put it despite bungees. Are you talking about using the sort of thing used as packing for e.g. A tv in a cardboard box?

Paulatic wrote:Internally ours is about 14' so similar.
Interesting idea with the polystyrene blocks for wheels as past experiences which caused damage is when the bike has moved from where I put it despite bungees. Are you talking about using the sort of thing used as packing for e.g. A tv in a cardboard box?

Yup that's it. I had a few pieces that had slots cut in that just fitted the bike tyres, but not deep enough to hold the bike up which, IMHO, is a great way to damage the rimes if you put sideways stress on them.

These days you can buy blocks of this stuff quite cheaply (look on ebay) that you can cut/carve to shape - so you could have a couple that fit snugly on the floor and front wall of the caravan, with a couple of slots cut in them for the bike wheels, so less risk of sliding about.

Spare toe strap round the brake levers and a spare bit of cardboard or foam plus a couple of elastic cords to suitable restraining points would do better and be the cheapest, least space using alternative.

I would also consider lifting one or two of the seat cushions out of the way and placing the bike(s) on the bare boards under where the cushions sit - again with cardboard and and elastic cords.