Were looking at replacing our rear door cycle carrier on our vw t4. Lifting the bikes above your head is just too much for mrs simmo. Looking at a pendle of thule rack for the tow hitch, any suggestions or recomendations?

I have an Atera Strada four bike carrier and love it. One of the best features is that it ‘rolls’ away from the car (instead of tilting) on drawer-style rollers. Holds the bikes really well and is compact enough to easily stick in the car when you get to the ride.
Only downside is it’s a bit expensive… But I think it was worth it.

Thule 908/9 works well for me.

I’ve had a max-raxx for several years and been very happy with it

bak rak

Ive got no direct experience, but these look well smart, not the bike rack tho, I like the look of the base rack with attached bike carriers

Link

I rate the MaxxRaxx, I have one (which I’m selling)

Allows you to tow with the bikes on, really well built and very handy.
Swings away from the car to allow access to the boot as well.

I quite fancy the Thule tow bar mounted rack that you then add bike racks to as it lets you use it for other things as well as bike.

Cost is pretty reasonable and actually cheaper than some of the dedicated bike tow bar ones.

Ivee got a brand new one of these for sale

http://www.thule.com/en/GB/Products/BikeCarriers/Towbar/908000.aspx

Won it in a bike week competition, never use it as i have a van the bike fits in and no tow bar to fix it on.
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+1 for the Atera Strada DL

That 908 is very good, my mate has the 3 bike version – and streets ahead of my cheaper Thule.

I’ve got the Thule 308 too, seems bombproof to me and really secure. A useful benefit is that I can open the back door of my van with bikes on the rack. The bikes are fairly secure on it, eg from thieving types, but you’d want to use a lock as well.

Downsides – extremely heavy and large, takes up a lot of space when not attached to the van.