Swing away bike racks....do they work?

[The Snook]

Looked at a picture of a swing away and wondered if the radius of the swing (the wangle of the dangle...) is too short???? Anyone have experience with one? Thanks !

[The Snook]

For the record, I decided to go with a Fiamma rack that mounts on the rear door. I didn't have a trailer hitch for the swing away yet. No way I'm gonna tow anything with my old girl auto tranny so that kind of just added cost. On talking with someone with experience with the Fiamma, sounded good to me. Plusses of Fiamma : keeps bikes closer to van, better parkinb etc.. no need for hitch (duh), 3 seems simpler to me less moving parts which I like ! 4 Its eurovan specific which gives me confidence....this rack is built so your license plate is visible avoiding possible pullover which I have heard of. AND 4 total weight for this system much less

Cons:1 getting in back hatch IS possible but a little more involved, My advise was get a telescoping tent pole to prop rear lid up if bikes are on rack, or use you muscles and be quick !
2 See 1..........
Also replacing my small Thule box with a very large Yakima Skybox 18. Trying to dial it out for convenience.
I'l give a report when the rig is installed if anyone has interest.

[streamr]

I have a Yakima swing down model. It clears the rear deck when down with no problem. I already had a hitch so there was no extra cost. My problem is that once in awhile, I do tow a small trailer. If I want to take the bikes on that same trip, I can't. I think if I had to do it over, I would probably go with the hatch mounted Fiamma. I didn't the first time because I read about people complaining about having to remove the bikes just to open the hatch. I think I would like the bikes to sit a little higher, too. The trailer I tow has a lid so I may adapt the Yakima roof rack to fit the trailer when needed.
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'03 MV

[campism]

Click the link below and scroll down to the swingaway photo. Looks like there is plenty of clearance at the side. He mentions both Yakima and Thule with no mention of one not working adequately. I personally would much prefer a swingaway to a hatch-mounted or a tilt-down rack simply for the improved ease of access.

http://www.rackattack.com/blog/post/2009/09/04/vol...-bike-rack
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[Masta Shake]

Rocky Mounts has a swing away tray type called the Backstage. Haven't seen one on a EV yet though so not sure if it will move the bikes far enough to the side.

https://rockymounts.com/products/backstage-swing-away-platform-hitch-rack
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As a good friend told me when I got the Syncro: "Welcome to the an intense love/hate relationship".

[kage25x]

I have a 2'' Kuat 2 bike rack which I love, but the backstage looks really nice.

[eurovank]

I have a Yakima Swing Away 4 bike rack on a 2002 EVC.

When loaded with bikes, it does not open all the way for full clearance. Swinging it wide makes the innermost bike bike bump against the rear right of the van, but there is one angle at which I can open the hatch somewhat if I need to grab my wheel chocks or anything near the rear floor. But to open the hatch all the way, I have to remove the bikes.

With the bikes removed, or if I have only one bike and it is hanging from the outermost slot on the rack, it does open wide enough for full clearance.

[wildenbeast]

I also went with a Fiamma rack. On my former Vanagons, I would use a piece of copper pipe that slipped over the hatch strut to hold up the hatch with bikes loaded on them.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...5881fe5bbe

However, for the Eurovan, I have replaced the worn out hatch struts that came with my van with upgraded ones (1200N) direct from Fiamma. With the upgraded struts, I can lift the hatch with 2 mountain bikes on the rack. Keeps the bikes and the rack out of the way at the campsite.

http://www.everythingfiamma.co.uk/p/8951385/vw-t4-uprated-tailgate-strut.html

[Itsamoto]

[markcm2]

I just purchased a swing-away V2 receiver from www.discountramps.com for $105 shipped. I used a 20% 4th of july coupon (they have coupons all the time).

http://www.discountramps.com/wheelchair-scooter-carrier-swing-away/p/SC-SWING-AWAY-V2/

I purchase a 2-bike rack from them years ago, it was simple yet well built and works great. Also, built in USA and cost $95 shipped. At one point, I lost one of the tire hoops, when I called to ask if I could buy a replacement, they just shipped me one no cost (GREAT SERVICE).

I have yet to receive this swing-away although I've read good reviews. My plan is to build a storage box with a rear opening panel and then put 2 bike trays on top of the box. I saw a custom box like this on a eurovan once and it looked awesome; here's a screen shot I took

[Itsamoto]

That is an awesome idea -- best of both worlds.

[jjvincent]

I'm in the middle of building my own box/bike rack that swings out of the way. For the last 10 years I have used my own swing away box I made and then used my old Thule bike rack that used to be on my old Jetta as it hangs from the hatch. When I get around to finishing it, I'll post some pics. The new one will correct some issues I've always had with those swing away bike racks/boxes.

[Stripped66]

I modified my bumper re-bar to house my bike carrier. Not pictured is the 1/8" thick plate welded to the side of the mounts/re-bar; they project forward and are bolted through the sides of the body...very stout.

2" receivers, located at the reflector holes in the bumper.

3/16" x 2" square tube, and hinges designed for 4x4 spare-tire swing-away fabrication.

When drawn together, it pulls tight against a high-tech damper:

Holds 4 bikes with the spare tire removed, 2 with the spare-tire on it. Propane tank because I like hot showers (and hot food) after a long ride or race

Things I need to change/modify:
- weld another 2" receiver for the spare-tire mount. This will allow the entire spare-tire mount to be removable. At the moment, only my MTB will clear the spare-tire mount when all 4 bikes are on the rack (you can see the mount in the pic below)...but that requires I unbolt and relocate 2 of the bicyle-fork mounts. It would be easier just to pull a pin and remove the spare tire instead of unbolting it from the mount, and any of our bikes would fit that location.
- weld adjustable stops for the two swing-outs. The driver's side poses no real issues, but the propane-tank mount on the passenger side can gouge the rear door if it swings back too far (and if I moved the propane tank further inward to give more clearance when the rack is swung out, it would hit a bike). Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if the pivots were located a bit more laterally. Oh well.
- a telescoping support rod for the rear door. The cool thing about the rack is when the rear door is up and the rack is unloaded, it swings back underneath the rear door and does not obstruct our add-a-room tent (and it also holds our water-heater/shower). However, if the rear door were to sag (or the kids pull it down, such as tripping/falling into the sides of the add-a-room), the glass would hit the top of the rack and shatter.
- cap the open ends of the tubes and paint the rack.

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[Itsamoto]

That is heavy duty -- a gate rack. Good use of the fog light holes . Wow.

Makes me want a steel bumper with integrated swing aways.

[markcm2]

[jakefromstatefarm]

@Stripped66, that custom rack is pretty impressive!

I have been wanting to build a hitch mounted swing away that has an aluminum box on top (much like the one pictured). But I want to make the aluminum box the kitchen for the van (since it is a weekender w/o kitchen inside). Then I can pop out the Fiamma awning, swing the kitchen to the side of the awning (or close to it) and cook from there. Then when we get home and are using the van around town, I just pop the kitchen off.

Anybody see anything like this?

[mastersryan!]

whoa, that custom rack is awesome! I'm jealous.
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1993 VW Eurovan MV Weekender 2.5L 5cyl 5spd 230,xxxmiles and counting!
2018 VW Tiguan SEL 2.0T 4Motion

[Joshwa]

Amazing work on that custom rack.
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93 Weekender TDI conversion (AHU)
93 MV TDI conversion (1Z)
Weekender rear cot
Late model cabin air filter on 93
Euro spec bumper install on 93

[jjvincent]

[volkybus]

those r cool bike racks. I,m new to the eurovans but have had and still have a 76 westy. My bike rack is on the hatch but it makes the hatch unusable without removing bikes plus I also haul a boat trailer so I,m lookin to update on the euro. throwing the bike inside is one possibily. as is putting a bike rack in front. Has anybody tryed that w/a Euro/? I had one once on a 67 11 window. but had to drill holes in front and the Euro is all plastic . thanks Bill