Right, the black hole is finally going to get put back on the road. Its a 73 bay vw transporter that has done more miles on the back of a recovery truck than under its own power. However im just biting the bullet and throwing money at it.

Ive got a two bike fiamma rack on the back currently however its attached to the rear tailgate which in turn is attached to the rest of the van by some 36 year old hinges. That and the fact the rack is rated to carry 35kg suggests putting two 40lb+ DH bikes on it might not be the soundest idea.

Also the new engine produces a lot more heat that the old aircooled lump and i have my concerns for the tires and possibly paint.

Anyone got any alternative suggestions? My thoughts were to get a full length roof rack like this:-

and then bolt some thule style up right bike racks to it.

The only issue would be height clearance but i guess that would only be a problem for carparks etc.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Ta

Towbar + trailer?

what lump have you gone for?

can you not get a tow bar mounted rack?

if you are worried about heat then i guess roof stylee is the only way.

i think you can get simple roof bars for campers which may be better for thule racks?

I was thinking about a trailer, the original idea was to get a full covered trailer made out of another bay bus and shortening it. However after throwing good money after bad at the bus i can really afford it. The other concern with a trailer is how long it will make the vehicle as campers are all that small to start with.

The engine is a 2.0l subaru legacy which runs a good deal hotter than the old 1600 aircooled, and the rad and fans are adjacent to the engine lid so everything round there gets awfully warm.