I’m fairly sure we have a good number of Berlingo owners on here, I’m considering one as my next car (either the 2008-2018 model or the newer 2018-on model) but with how I want to use it I’ve had a sudden realisation that I don’t think it’ll work… 🤔

Could one of you lovely owners be able to measure the following 2 measurements please? Doesn’t matter which model as I think they’ll be very similar in the measurements.

From the inside edge of a towbar (or position of a towbar if not fitted, so 10cm away from the rear bumper), at a height of 110cm from the top of the rear bumper (or top of towbar, if fitted), how much distance is there, at that 110cm vertical height, to the rear window?

Secondly, how high is the bottom of the rear window from the same base location as above?

Like so:

Cheers!

For those wondering, I’m trying work out if my current towbar rack will actually fit with my bikes on it, or will the bars smash through the rear window… 🤣 And if they will fit, can I open the rear window (just the window, not the tailgate) with the bikes in the normal position. I’ll want to use the car with a boot camping pod which will mean bikes on the outside some of the time, if they won’t go on a boot rack then that’s another headache as they’ll need to go on the roof… 🫤

It’s derived from a van so basically vertical apart from the depth of the bumper+towbar. You’ll need a sliding/tilting rack if you want access to the window.

But…. Sliding rear doors and massive headroom mean it’s far easier to dump shopping in or retrieve stuff through the side doors than the boot in most cases so as long as your bikes actually fit without having to spin the bars then it’s a non issue.

My Aiston rack is the version designed for 4×4’s to clear the spare wheel so is about 10cm longer than normal and fits bikes fine.

n.b. being van derived the back end on some of them sits high when unloaded. So the measurement you need (inline with the towball flange) may not actually be vertical.

Yeah I’m fairly certain I’ll have to tilt the rack to get the rear window open, but it’s that depth of the bumper + towbar that I need, if it is indeed completely vertical from the bottom upwards.

And yeah I know one of the main advantages of the Berlingo is being able to get bikes inside with wheels on, but for trips where I’m camping, having a week’s worth of luggage, plus a set of spare wheels, plus 2x bikes, plus room for me sleeping in the van… Well, it’s big, but not that big! 🤣 So realistically the bikes would need to go outside on those occasions. And thanks to 800mm wide bars, my bikes overhang inboard by about 25cm from the inner edge of the towbar ball, which looking at pics is cutting it fine for clearance + some ‘wiggle’ room for movement on the road.

Ah yes, spinning the bars is also an option that would give clearance, ta 👍

About 18cm and 14cm – but that is a guesstimate as I don’t have anything to mark a proper start point so the finger wiggled slightly.

Got a 2013 with a towball so just went and measured – but I’m a desk worker so my eye isn’t trained light someone who dabbles in DIY…and it appears my finger isn’t as stable either!

Assuming you have a tilting bike rack, the rear window will open but not fully – assuming the model you get has the opening rear window. Also, wider bars tend to be the thing that stops the window opening fully – unless your bike rack tilts a lot.

I’m running 760mm bars that were longer – however, a rather nasty hidden dip had the handlebar skelp the rear window after they had been fitted so I’d decided they needed trimmed. After the first ride the starting width was far too wide anyway for me, so 760 seems to be the magic number and I’ve plenty space for rack/bike movement now.

Rack is Atera M-bike (or something) – wider space between the racks for boost/ebikes. Towbar has a 10mm spacer to move the towball further from the bumper.

I reckon I could get 2 bikes in back of car with luggage and I could sleep in the back without too much hassle – the front seat space would be filled with the camping/cooking stuff and probably some of the luggage. The front passenger seat would be pushed forward and I’d have a single air bed in the back (all rear seats removed)…my sleeping space takes up the width of 1 car seat (maybe just a bit more), which means I’ve got about 2/3s of the rear to have the bike gear and some luggage – probably keep the rear wheel on the bikes and only then have 2 spare wheels to balance.

There is plenty space in the car for a 1 person camping experience (in all fairness, I’ve only got 1 bike so the 2 bikes would never really be an issue for me so I’d have more room for luggage/camping kit.

Cheers for that, yeah it’s definitely close – tbh if I wanted to use one of the standard camping pods I’d probably need to fit a swing out towbar adapter anyway as there wouldn’t be enough room to slide out the cooking drawer. So that would add decent amount of distance to the rack. That does mean having a flange towbar, not a swan neck – another thing to consider.

Tilt as standard isn’t an issue, plenty of room to open the window/tailgate, but you can see from the pics below what the issue is, there’s a decent overhang at the front when the rack is upright.

2 bikes inside might be an option too, front wheels off (as I’ll likely have a Geometron G1 XL by then). Lots of Tetris stuff to consider, measure up and work out what would work for me. 😵‍💫

Alternative plan might be a tailgate-mounted rack (although I assume you’re talking about towbar rack as you’ve already got one). I’ve never been keen on the idea of raising my van tailgate when there’s 2 bikes on it – and you’d need to use some amount of effort to do so – but I’ve seen others do it. Of course, it’d require a pole of sorts to hold the (much) heavier tailgate plus bikes up but would give you clear access around the tailgate area.

Your rack has far more tilt than the one I have so suspect the window would open no problems at all…and the actual boot itself might be able to open.

Alternative plan might be a tailgate-mounted rack (although I assume you’re talking about towbar rack as you’ve already got one). I’ve never been keen on the idea of raising my van tailgate when there’s 2 bikes on it – and you’d need to use some amount of effort to do so – but I’ve seen others do it. Of course, it’d require a pole of sorts to hold the (much) heavier tailgate plus bikes up but would give you clear access around the tailgate area.

Yeah that’s an option but completely rules out opening the rear window when camping, and I’m not sure about having 30kg of bikes plus the rack, and they all seem to be strap on ones, unless you want to drill the tailgate…

Might be ok for your typical average camper bikes (couple of hybrids for eg) but not with 10k’s worth and over 30kg of bikes.

and the actual boot itself might be able to open.

That would be handy 🤣 although a swing out towbar would mitigate those issues

Where are you located? Is there a Berlingo owner nearby with a towball that could be tested with the rack and bikes?

High mounted would minimize the effort needed to open it, and you could probably get an electric actuator to replace the gas strut?

If I was buying a new-er van with the intention to keep it long term I’d absolutely invest in something like the Fammia racks that semi-permanently attach to the back. They do one for the Caddy so a Berlingo might not be impossible, but the smallest PSA one they make is for the Vivaro/Partner/Dispatch.

I know half the advantage of a van is the bikes being inside, but it’s equally nice to be able to get to night rides in winter, just outside of from-the-door range, and not have to deal with a muddy van afterwards if it’s carpeted etc.

and not have to deal with a muddy van afterwards if it’s carpeted

A large tarp in the back that the manky bike sits on…when you get home, the bike is removed and the tarp is pulled out and vehicle is still nice and clean…

depending on how many bikes you need on in this config, have a think about a thule xpress rack. They are really compact and go on and off dead fast compared to bulky racks, and allow the bar/wheel to be turned slightly to aid distances.

if you need proper access, i recon it takes me <10 seconds to take bike off the rack and rack off the car, so its not really a big faff, and the rack can be thrown in the boot with all your other stuff easily enough

Berlingo (pug Partner) owner here albeit the older original version. I think you’ll struggle TBH with a camping pod / boot jump and a bike rack. The cooker slideout extends quite far and even with the rack tilted I think would be quite a bit of faff. There was someone on the Berlingo forum/FB group (?) who bodged together a swingaway bike rack but it wasnt pretty or commercially viable.

Im on the microcampers FB group and most people seem to have a drive away awning with a boot jump as there isnt any weatherproof space otherwise. At the end of the day they are a small van – I love mine but I think its a bit too small to be camper/bike hauler/jack of all trades.
IIRC not many of them have an opening rear window – it might only be the XTR spec?

I know half the advantage of a van is the bikes being inside, but it’s equally nice to be able to get to night rides in winter, just outside of from-the-door range, and not have to deal with a muddy van afterwards if it’s carpeted etc.

I’d 100% want the option of putting a bike inside as well as a rack outside, but with the added complication of needing to keep the camping conversation kit in the car as I really don’t have anywhere to store it, and needing to use the car as a normal 5 seater at other times.

Local rides in winter – bike on the rack outside
Summer local rides – bike inside, front wheel on or off
Camping trips – 2x bikes outside.

Where are you located? Is there a Berlingo owner nearby with a towball that could be tested with the rack and bikes?

I’m in Kent – gonna try and have a look at a car at the weekend, will be taking my tape measure!

Ahh, missed the camping pod part. Cooking aside though you’d still have good access through the side doors. And despite the marketing pictures unless you’re <5ft they’re not somewhere you can comfortably spend much time.

Leftfield idea: Roof tents, even Decathlon are now selling them. A lot of the advantages of the boot-jump idea (small footprint, can camp on tarmac, comfy mattress, quick to setup, etc) just without the ‘stealth’ part. Downside is they’re probably not something you’d want on the roof 24/7/365, but they are big and flat for storage.

Berlingo (pug Partner) owner here albeit the older original version. I think you’ll struggle TBH with a camping pod / boot jump and a bike rack. The cooker slideout extends quite far and even with the rack tilted I think would be quite a bit of faff. There was someone on the Berlingo forum/FB group (?) who bodged together a swingaway bike rack but it wasnt pretty or commercially viable.

Yeah I think with a normal boot jump a swing arm adapter would be needed with a towbar rack, or a tailgate mounted rack. There’s a couple of swing arm racks available it seems.

Im on the microcampers FB group and most people seem to have a drive away awning with a boot jump as there isnt any weatherproof space otherwise. At the end of the day they are a small van – I love mine but I think its a bit too small to be camper/bike hauler/jack of all trades.

I think it’s doable – on the basis that it would only really be used for 2 or 3 nights in a row at the very max. Some clever thinking around inside layout may be required… Unfortunately I don’t think there’s anything slightly larger for remotely similar prices used – not without having been to mars and back on mileage. And definitely nothing at the same price new.

Leftfield idea: Roof tents, even Decathlon are now selling them. A lot of the advantages of the boot-jump idea (small footprint, can camp on tarmac, comfy mattress, quick to setup, etc) just without the ‘stealth’ part. Downside is they’re probably not something you’d want on the roof 24/7/365, but they are big and flat for storage.

Deffo an option for a diesel used car, not really if I wanted a new electric version – it’s enough of a brick with a limited range as it is 🤣 plus like the camping pod, I have nowhere to store it – the garage is already full of ‘stuff’ 🫤 I’d actually considered putting a roof tent on my current car but storage put paid to that.

My bike goes on the roof. Mine has roof rails and it all works well and seems fairly solid. I’m really tall but so must you be. I can get a bike on or off on my own

If you’re looking at the new version then try and get a long wheelbase, that extra space will make a huge difference. With a seat out I can just get xl mtb bike in upright, wheels on. Or 2 smaller gravel bikes. But the extra wheel base would probably mean you could leave the seat in and just fold it. Plus less precision

Oh and try and get your head round so the variants. Mine has opening rear window and 3 independently removable seats. Not all do and both are really useful

The higher the spec, the more useful things it has – like a split boot so you can open the window, or the independently removable rear seats…

If you’re looking at the new version then try and get a long wheelbase, that extra space will make a huge difference. With a seat out I can just get xl mtb bike in upright, wheels on. Or 2 smaller gravel bikes. But the extra wheel base would probably mean you could leave the seat in and just fold it. Plus less precision

The new ones have seats that don’t fold upright or come out, but they fold completely flat, so that should give some more room as there won’t be a seat upright getting in the way.

Yeah, specs of the new ones… HEADACHE!

I’d want the top spec regardless, I’m coming from a top of the range Skoda Superb so I’m going to be giving up a lot of kit regardless. New or old, opening rear window and 3x rear seats is a must have.

So the E-Berlingo: no towbar pre conditioning on the XL but I’m presuming you can get an aftermarket one fitted. Nor can you get the ‘modutop’ glass roof with the extra storage and lighting which I think I’d want tbh.

Then you have the E-Rifter – better value it seems, the lease deals are cheaper, same goes for no roof or towbar on the long version, but you can’t get the GT spec (top level) in the long version either.

I think the vauxhall version is the worst spec’d one and tbh looks gopping.

TBH if the electric versions don’t make sense financially (covered in the EV thread) then I’ll go for a diesel auto, either the Peugeot or the Citroen version, hopefully something around 2012-2015 for about £10k or less.

Having a think, and a measure of my 2 bikes, wheels off, top and tailed with the bars turned – I can get them in a space 40cm wide and 190cm long (with one or maybe 2 pedals off, also less than 190cm where the wheel actually touches the floor)) which if the 120cm wide boot measurement is correct, means 80cm for sleeping (more at the front of the car) which is more than enough. With some clever modular bits I reckon it’s doable for all my use cases below; sliding the passenger seat forward or folding it flat is fine, same for the drivers seat for sleeping too.

2x Bikes on towbar rack, std car
1x Bike in boot, wheel on, std car
2x Bikes in boot, wheel off, camping mode
2x Bikes on towbar rack, camping mode

Modutop does remove some overhead space…probably not a huge concern but one to be aware of.

2017 Pug Partner with drive away awning, Thule Xpress rack carrying two bikes and a Campal boot jump for two.
No problems schlepping around France for 2 weeks on our summer holidays. Split window opens fine but rack needs removed to open the boot. Even able to set up a mozzy net for SW France using two spare tent poles in the interior rack holes.
No pics of the rack in place I’m afraid.

If you’re looking at the new version then try and get a long wheelbase, that extra space will make a huge difference.

2nded, been useful so many times.

2 bikes inside might be an option too, front wheels off (as I’ll likely have a Geometron G1 XL by then).

You’d fit it wheels on in a 2008-18 one if you take the rear seats (at least 2) out.

In those ones you also want one WITHOUT the roof storage as it reduces the height for bars etc wheels on.

Key thing about pre 18 is the rear seat footwells which you lose on the post-18 new shape. The footwell lets you keep the front wheel on. Bikes go longways and you just turn the wheel at an angle. This pushes the end of the bar higher and if you’re tall (as you ride XL long bikes like me) the bars are high anyway. Hence needing no roof gubbins variant.

3 bikes 3 people wheels on, boom.

I was looking at replacing with a new shape one but the fold flat seats were a deal breaker as my big bikes wouldn’t fit wheels on. It might work in an XL wheelbase but they weren’t available when I was looking. Ended up in a 5 series tourer with a towbar rack.

Key thing about pre 18 is the rear seat footwells which you lose on the post-18 new shape. The footwell lets you keep the front wheel on. Bikes go longways and you just turn the wheel at an angle. This pushes the end of the bar higher and if you’re tall (as you ride XL long bikes like me) the bars are high anyway. Hence needing no roof gubbins variant.

3 bikes 3 people wheels on, boom.

I was looking at replacing with a new shape one but the fold flat seats were a deal breaker as my big bikes wouldn’t fit wheels on. It might work in an XL wheelbase but they weren’t available when I was looking. Ended up in a 5 series tourer with a towbar rack.

Ahh, is that due to the storage bins in the roof at the back? Tbh I’ve not seen many, if any pre-18 models with that feature but I’ll keep it in mind for the new model. Will deffo test the Geometron in one (might get some strange looks in the dealership 🤣).

Had a quick look at a std length 2018 Berlingo today, my current bike is 2040mm length with wheels, the G1 is 2110mm (70mm longer).

You can see from the pic above, the end of the rear wheel would be near the end of the arm rest, and the disc/rear mech etc would be sitting right between the seats, so not really doable – obviously that’s with the bike straight in down the middle.

The passenger seat does fold flat though so there’s some scope for extra room that way.

Also measured my original measurement, on a car without a towbar so had to eyeball it, but my it’ll be close, I reckon about 30cm room. No chance of opening the rear window without the bikes tilted, as the bars would be about 75% up the window.

I’d deffo be looking at the XL model. Oh and apparently it’s a 9-12 month wait for one at the moment. 😱

Wheels on mine goes in with the front wheel turned through 90 degrees. The front wheel sits in the passenger foot well. Turning the wheel obviously maakes the bike shorter. We’ll except the bars but these but it does go in My bike is 1.22m wheel base I think. I’m sure a really modern long bike wouldn’t fit

Remove armrest and plenty room…probably.

Remove armrest and plenty room…probably.

Fold down the passenger seat flat, even more room! 😁 But it’s just a bit too clunky, I know I’d end up with a big Betty digging into my shoulder after taking a corner too fast… 🤣

The XL is 2230mm behind the front seats so 10cm to spare, even with a massive bike. And it allows a full length bed (I’m 191cm) with both front seats up in the driving position, and more room in the back for cooking stuff/battery/storage etc. It’s just the question of the towbar and whether there’s an aftermarket option.

I hadn’t looked at the picture properly and hadn’t noticed the storage unit was so far back so it probably won’t fit…mine doesn’t hang as far back and my 27.5 wheeled Aeris 120 fits nicely in middle, but mine is previous model.

The 3 way split rear seats on the 2nd gen (pre-2018) model, how much of a must have are they?

I’m tempted to pick up a cheap Berlingo/partner teepee for about £5k or less, keep my current car and use the berlingo for MTB trips, chucking the bike in the back, and some ‘rough’ camping in it with the very basics – mainly to see if I would be happy losing the creature comforts of my current car (even the new model doesn’t have much more than the older ones) and if it’s workable for camping etc. Then if I decide to go the new route I can sell the superb, and keep the old Berlingo for use as a deposit after the wait for a new one. Or, if I decide the berlingo life isn’t for me, I can sell it and I’ll still have my Superb, which took ages to find in the right spec level and which I’d kick myself if I had to buy again.

Something like this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208229017357?atmobcid=soc3

No opening rear window, but a towbar (which will save me a few hundred) and 60/40 rear seats – if the latter is a must have them I’ll narrow my search.

I do like being able to remove seats and do so quite a lot. Does the 60 40 come out? The split wouldn’t worry me it’s the removal. But I bet other people have removable seats and they never had one out ever.

The lack of window opening is minor

You were hoping for a long wheel base. Have you ruled out a caddy maxi? They’ve had the long wheel base for years

My memory is that they both work the same, i.e.top folds down and then the whole lot rotates up. Which is pretty useless for an MTB car as you lose the length of the footwell (compared to the car style, base flips UP and back folds down into the gap left behind.

I think the advantage of that generation is the seats come out without tools, which means you don’t need to tell your insurer that you’re using it as a ‘van’. So if they do that in the 60/40 configuration then it’s all good as really you need to take 2 out to fit more than one bike in anyway without getting really jiggly trying to squeeze two in right against each other.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208229017357?atmobcid=soc3

Check when the Eloys fluid was last topped up. It’s a daft system used for regenerating the emissions gubbins, but rather than let you just pour a bottle of fluid into a tank the whole thing has to be replaced by a dealer and it’s not cheap.

You were hoping for a long wheel base. Have you ruled out a caddy maxi? They’ve had the long wheel base for years

VW tax puts paid to that, cheapest ones are 8-10k with intergalactic miles.

And there’s no EV version – I’d only consider a brand new car if it was an EV.

So if they do that in the 60/40 configuration then it’s all good as really you need to take 2 out to fit more than one bike in anyway without getting really jiggly trying to squeeze two in right against each other.

Ta, yeah I figured it would be the same, maybe a bit less practical as I could probably just remove these middle rear seat to get the bike in with wheels on, I’ll check and make sure the 2 way split come out the same and if there space with just removing one of the side seats. Also, storing the 2x seat will be trickier being a bigger footprint overall.

Check when the Eloys fluid was last topped up. It’s a daft system used for regenerating the emissions gubbins, but rather than let you just pour a bottle of fluid into a tank the whole thing has to be replaced by a dealer and it’s not cheap.

Again, thanks! For a cheap one I’m not going to be precious about whether it’s petrol or diesel, manual or automatic – if I decide to get a nicer 2nd gen version about 2015 age or so then I’d get one with the right spec. Will do some research as to the things too look out for. This will be something I’ll be looking at over winter so I won’t be buying just yet.

I’d not want to be without the individual removable seats…the middle one is pretty much permanently removed as my bike spends a lot of time in the car so sits nicely in the middle of the car.

The other 2 seats get removed almost semi frequently – there are things to be moved or taken somewhere that need a totally flat space or if I’m going to sleep in the back – I stick an single airbed in the back passenger side and I can sleep there with pillow against the tailgate – at 6′ 1″, my feet just touch the front seat (which is pushed forward and flattened) – however, I reckon the pillow pushes me down 6 inches or so as it is a proper pillow.

Rear window opening – wasn’t a big thing for me to begin with but if the rack is on the back, then it gets used more often than I think it will.

I had the mark 1 Berlingo with the 60/40 seats – I removed the 60% but that needed a torx bolt and weight a fair amount…I’d removed it as folding it seemed to waste a lot of space – I’m guessing the same would happen in the Mark 2 version – I’ve not had a proper look in the newest style version so no idea what the seats do.

Seats fold flat in the new version – I’ve got a 2019 vauxhall combi XL (same van). Mine is great, but also a huge PITA with some ridiculous emissions fault that they can’t diagnose, and appeared 6 weeks after warranty expired. Dealer repair strategy appears to be changing parts at my expense until the light goes off. £1K in so far and next repair is entire ad blue system for £1700…

08-18 ones with the 2+1 split the seats come out too.

I normally kept the double seat in the garage most of the time as rarely moving more than three people.

I thought the new Cit/Pug version of the car hd left a lip when the seats were removed…if the Vauxhall version goes flat then that might be more appealing.

They’re all the same in the back for the 2018 onwards model, the seat base rotates forward and down into the footwell when you fold the seat back, which is what allows them to fold nearly flat.

Not seen any pics of the new one with seats actually removed but there’ll be a cavity left where the seat would go when folded.