So I have a Vw tailgate rack on my Vw t5. It works well but,
Only really fits 2 mtb’s on without faffing/rubbing
Is too high for mrs p to load up
Can rub on non oval tubes
Hard to lift tailgate when bikes on
Height barriers on car parks are a hazard especially with Mrs p driving!

I’ve got a towbar and I’m thinking of switching to altera strada as lower down and can use tailgate. Can sell the Vw rack and buy an altera strada for similar so cost neutral.

Am I Bonkers? Is there such a thing as the perfect rack?;-)
We use the rack a lot as most riding needs a drive.

The tilt lets you raise the tail gate even with 780mm bars to get in the boot, ( handy to get the dog out I find!!) what I will say is with the fixed arms you need to put a bit of thought into fitting the bikes on and off, and what order you will want them off of that makes sense? Great rack though really solid, so easy to fit to the tow bar it’s daft and light enough to not be a mission to carry to the garage etc

I’ve got the three bike strada and a friend has the Thule. I *think* I prefer the fastening system on the Thule, but am not dissatisfied with the atera…

We use the rack a lot as most riding needs a drive. [/I]

Put the bikes in the van?

tbh I’ve always had towbar racks on my cars, currently got a Thule but I had to modify it as they seem to be designed for road bikes and just too narrow for MTB’s. Easy mod though, just reduced the length of the inner clamp so the bike leans inwards.

There is no perfect rack – that’s for sure but the Vw has some not insignificant flaws so think I’ll switch in the quest for perfection. Also i can justify it as a long term saving as Mrs p has only narrowly avoided driving into peage with 2m height barrier!

@Markie – what is that stability of the strada like when fully loaded? It looks great and the only complaints I have seen are of people saying it’s not as stable as the Thule. Don’t know if that is a real issue though

Got a bed in the van so only 1 bike fits

There is plenty of examples of perfect racks – Google is your friend!

Back to carrying bikes, I have an Atera Strada 3 bike with a 4th bike kit and it’s great. Very sturdy but lightweight – adds a lot of length to what is already a long car so something to be aware of when parking.

As above, it can be a bit of a faff getting bikes on for the first time but you quickly get used to how they best fit. When the kids bikes go on, it’s always smallest first, but that does then leave mine (the most expensive) at the back! We managed to get three #Enduro bikes on the Atera.

I had a Thule in the past and the Atera is every bit as stable. The only issue I have (which applies to any such rack) is that long wheelbase MTBs have a lot of front tyre in the slipstream so the bars tend to twist, so i usually add a strap across them to keep the wheel straight.

@leffeboy we’ve had no problems with stability whatsoever – I’ve never even considered it, in fact – but but that’s with one kids bike and two circa 26 pound hardtails, so maybe it’s a problem with heavier bikes?

Have tried a Thule and a Strada DL. Both have very tight spacing so getting 3 bikes on without rubbing can be a real faff. I couldn’t have lived with the fixed arms of the Strada DL so sent it back and replaced it with an Evo. Spacing is still tight, but at least you can swap the arms around.

My brother has an Altea 4 bike rack and his criticism is that the arms with the clamps on the end are hard to thread through the bikes if they are different sizes so he loads the bikes smaller first then larges/heaviest on the end, the opposite to what you ideally want to do, but probably not an issue.

My Buzzrack Quattro gets around this problem as it has a loop in between the bikes with shorter clamp-arms so much more flexibility as to how you load the bikes .

However in both cases the bikes are very close together so always a risk of clashing so no perfect solution. Also the biggest issue with the tow bar rack is that they extend the length of the vehicle alot, so you need to remove it when you’re not using it so just becomes another faff that gets in the way of getting out and riding.

I have seen some racks that fold up when not in use – probably best off with one of these. But ultimately every option is a compromise, you just need to decide where you want to make the compromises.

@Markie – thanks. That’s what I suspected and needed to know.
Takes on board comment from pdw…
even though it’s called a frickin evo, what does that even mean

I have the Altera dl3 on the back of my T5 with a tailgate. Superb bit of kit had 4 bikes on with no problems.

I bought it from Roofbox and they told me it was the only rack that allowed a T5 tailgate to open with the rack on. not sure if that is true but it is very tight clearance. They often sell returned racks at a bit of a discount.

Thanks all.

Anyone want to buy a vwt5 tailgate rack by any chance after my ringing endorsement!

Its not a bad rack – its very solid, WAY better than the fiamina POS I had on my t4 which would regularly bounce off. Lockable. Takes 4 road bikes. 2-3 mtb depending on how you like your paintwork.

I drove 400 miles up to Peebles with three 160mm bikes on mine and it was rock solid. We diverted via a private airfield and may have gone past 70mph once or to wide and it was great. I’ve got a saloon so probably more air going over the bikes than behind a van.

pahoehoe – Member
Thanks all.

Anyone want to buy a vwt5 tailgate rack by any chance after my ringing endorsement!

pahoehoe – I assume its one of those high up tailgate racks that mount at the rear window height? If so do you think one of these Thule tow-bar boxes pictured below would fit underneath it?

I have to get the T5 yet (camper), but would want one of these bike racks on the tailgate so might be interested.

Cheers.

Yep it’s the official Vw t5 rack. There’s a lot of room under it so that box might fit.

So the altera strada dl arrived – sold the Vw rack. Altera strada is nice – definitely not as solid feeling as the Vw rack but so much easier to load bikes due to lower height. Not sure you’d get 3 big “enduro” bikes on it but similar spacing to the Vw.
Overall a good swap if not strictly nessecary in true stw style.