Gen 3 ball hitch bike racks

[western uk]

Hi peeps, not actually posted for a year or so but glad it's still here.
Would anybody have any idea of a suitable ball hitch bike rack ?
Able to tilt down enough to use the back door ,move wheel bar ?
This obviously depends on a few things, but was wondering if anybody had any luck without ball joint mods.
Cheers

[markp2]

We have used a Thule 9502 and 9593 rack and currently a Dutch brand which I can't remember.
All fit well on a Gen 3 with underslung spare wheel but if you have a rear mounted spare wheel, you may need to remove the spare wheel to get bikes onto all the positions.
We have fitted a 50mm spacer for the tow ball but it still isn't enough for an adult bike to clear the spare wheel.
Mark

[Predictable Bob]

There IS a UK company that make a tow bar mounted bike carrier that can accommodate a rear mounted spare but I can't for the life of me remember who it is !

I don't remember it allowing access but IIRC it was fairly simple to remove

Google is your friend !


Bingo !

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/bike-carrie...r-mounting.php

[western uk]

Thanks for your input Lads ,I was thinking along the lines of just using the outside fixing points on a 4 bike rack ,hopefully giving enough room for wheel to clear.
My search goes on !

[pictonroad]

Hi, I have a Pendle 4 bike rack and even with a 33x12" mud on the back I can just squeeze 3 bikes on with a bit of juggling bars and saddles. I used a lowering plate on the towbar, 10mm plate bent with 3 light bikes so I've doubled up to 20mm. The tyre just clears the rack, took a bit of careful measuring to get it all set up right.

[Karma Supra]

Nice

[western uk]

Hi pictonroad, thanks for posting the pic!
So does the bike rack tilt down allowing you to open wheel carrier and fully open back door with this set up ?
At the moment I'm using an adapted halfords hang on the back of a hatchback type bike rack ,that I've retro fitted over the spare wheel with good quality 20mm straps.
Worked well on the Gen 2 ,but on the Gen 3 with the back wiper being below the back window it fouls the rack slightly , so not able to use rear window wiper.

I'll try and get a pic up on here but don't hold your breath

[pictonroad]

No it doesn't tilt.

This is how I see it, unless I'm wide of the mark i don't think it's possible.

A tilting wheel carrier won't let you open the spare wheel. They're designed so that a hatch will clear them, a hatch opens in an upwards arc. The spare wheel opens in a horizontal plane, it's always going to clash.

I've set mine up so the spare wheel just clears the rack when it's empty.

This is the bonus of having a surf, you just open the rear glass to sling stuff in the back.

My rack was only £20 on eBay.