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Has anybody used their tow bar rack to carry stuff as well as bikes?
If so how did you do it?
I know the velospace xt has a propitiatory bag but I have a velo compact.
I’m thinking it might be useful to say have one Bike on it plus a bit of extra “boot” space at times.
I’ve lashed two bikes in boxes to my Buzz Rack 3 bike thing. We were heading from Sheffield to Manchester airport and it was the only way of getting over without hiring a van. Would’ve normally taken the train, but our return flight got in at 1am.
Worked a charm in the end. Two hard boxes, three ratchet straps and one successful round trip. Was nervous to begin with but was fine in the end!
Should also note that I didn’t exceed 60mph because of the potential added aero drag caused by the boxes.
I've got the Thule Easybase and its really useful. I use it with the Thule soft bag as an overflow when we're on big camping trips and want to take bulky stuff with us. Great to use as a storage cabinet on site too. You can also get other accessories like bike racks and other things. Folds up flat so hang it off the wall in the garage with a couple of cheap hooks from B&Q so takes up little space when not in use, and the soft bag folds up small too. The Easybase itself is not that expensive. However got to be careful as it only has a 40kg weight limit...though I only discovered that after couple of years of use and have easily loaded it up with more weight than that a number of times (van awning is 20kg's on its own and also packed up with other awning stuff, gas bbq, etc), so seems like a very conservative weight limit.
Thanks guys.
@cakeandcheese that’s the sort of thing I was thinking of, although not necessarily a box as big as a bike one and would need to be waterproof too.
@wobbliscott I looked at the easybase but that doesn’t tilt to allow boot access, so have discounted that plus that’s a stuff but no bikes option.
Good point on non-tilting on easybase, but you can mount bikes on the easybase, they do bike rack kits for it, though i'd probably look to mount Thule 591's on it which should be doable and a better option....but with no tilt option you're oot anyway.
It’s a bit odd that it doesn’t tilt when the bike racks do.
Do you reckon the easy bag would go on a bike rack? Or does it need a flat base?
NO reason why the easybag couldn’t be mounted on a bike rack. It’s a soft bag that attaches by straps so you can attach it to the rack base and the vertical loop where the bike frame clamps are mounted to. The only thing to be wary of is any sharp edges digging into the base which could puncture holes in it.
I just bought some agricultural machinery from this company and saw they sell this...
https://www.machinerysaleseu.co.uk/10-300-tragarz-300
Just check the weight your tow bar can handle. On many cars its 50-100kgs! (and you have to take the weight of the cradle into account)
Just seen the option above advertising 300kgs!!!
It actually states that it "also works as a driving carriage on wheels with a 300KG load capacity" ie, as a pull along trolley, rather than as a tow bar rack. The loading for the latter would depend on the vehicle as you state.
This demo image is an interesting one
What were you thinking of transporting?
Thanks- looking for something to go on the bike rack rather than a new rack as the bike rack tilts but the platforms don’t seem to.
I know the roof is an option - got a box and thule 598 but they’re a faff to put on / take off and was wondering if something could be paired with the tow bar rack.
In terms of contents - not so much road kill but holiday stuff - bike gear / other clothing etc so shouldn’t be massively heavy.
I started a similar thread a while back. Might be some useful stuff in there. I haven’t actually got round to getting anything sorted mind..
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/thule-backup-style-towbar-mounted-boxes/
Interested here too as just about to have a towbars fitted and have gone for a velocompact. I was thinking a couple of large waterproof duffel bags should be easily attached