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Bike carrier rack


rileys
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I agree with @richt the car would have the stress of the bike rack and the trailer.  Plus if you are not careful reversing the trailer might damage the bike on the rack.  Easier/cheaper to upgrade the trailer.  The Insignia is on the limit with the bike and rack (I have Insignia also).

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  • 5 months later...
On 10/1/2020 at 8:50 PM, Mcasp said:

What about a rack with a trials bike on and a trailer with another ? Using an insignia estate 2ltr diesel????

Yeah, that’s my plan. Dave Cooper rack for the trials bike and a Motolug trailer with the big V-Strom on it. (On a 1.4 VW golf)

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7 hours ago, haggetty said:

Yeah, that’s my plan. Dave Cooper rack for the trials bike and a Motolug trailer with the big V-Strom on it. (On a 1.4 VW golf)

Check towbar and car specs , I'd be very surprised if this is legal and in the event of an accident may invalidate your insurance.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/27/2021 at 7:50 AM, b40rt said:

Check towbar and car specs , I'd be very surprised if this is legal and in the event of an accident may invalidate your insurance  

I would love to have a discussion with towbar suppliers and insurance companies on this issue to get clarification. Is the specified maximum legally enforceable or is it max recommended? Do the police ever stop and check trailer nose weights? After an accident, how could noseweight ever be verified, weight could slide forward in an accident? What if the noseweight was just 1kg over? You can’t be that accurate can you?

I used to check my ‘van nose weight by trying to  lift the weight by hand. If it was hard work but doable, it was about 70kg and about right, I didn’t mess with bathroom scales every time!

My towbar supplier ‘Tow Trust’ actually advised me not to use a Dave Cooper rack on a car because of leverage loads etc etc. Sounded hyper risk averse and illogical to me. I phoned Dave Cooper and recounted what I’d been told. He was puzzled indeed and said his racks had been tested with TT towbars at MIRA, overloaded, and on cars like mine, smashed over speed bumps and all sorts with no problems. 
He said he’s even seen cars picked up by cranes and swung around by the towball as a demonstration of strength! 
 

There’s clearly a lot of toss regarding racks, trailers, loads etc. 
I will load up and drive accordingly, stick to speed limits and avoid accidents like I have for the last 40 years. If someone decides to have an accident with me, it is much more likely to be their fault. Anyway, what is life without a little risk? I’ve just bought my first trials bike at 57! 
 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, haggetty said:

I would love to have a discussion with towbar suppliers and insurance companies on this issue to get clarification. Is the specified maximum legally enforceable or is it max recommended? Do the police ever stop and check trailer nose weights? After an accident, how could noseweight ever be verified, weight could slide forward in an accident? What if the noseweight was just 1kg over? You can’t be that accurate can you?

I used to check my ‘van nose weight by trying to  lift the weight by hand. If it was hard work but doable, it was about 70kg and about right, I didn’t mess with bathroom scales every time!

My towbar supplier ‘Tow Trust’ actually advised me not to use a Dave Cooper rack on a car because of leverage loads etc etc. Sounded hyper risk averse and illogical to me. I phoned Dave Cooper and recounted what I’d been told. He was puzzled indeed and said his racks had been tested with TT towbars at MIRA, overloaded, and on cars like mine, smashed over speed bumps and all sorts with no problems. 
He said he’s even seen cars picked up by cranes and swung around by the towball as a demonstration of strength! 
 

There’s clearly a lot of toss regarding racks, trailers, loads etc. 
I will load up and drive accordingly, stick to speed limits and avoid accidents like I have for the last 40 years. If someone decides to have an accident with me, it is much more likely to be their fault. Anyway, what is life without a little risk? I’ve just bought my first trials bike at 57! 
 

In every day use the weight suspended so far back will affect traction, steering and breaking. Your choice. 

Can't beat a little risk to spice up life, I wouldn't bother with boots, helmet or gloves either .

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8 hours ago, haggetty said:

... Do the police ever stop and check trailer nose weights? ....

 

Generally speaking no.  The driver and vehicle standards agency (formerly VOSA) are the people most involved in this area of enforcement.  They are rather more "jobsworth" than the Police.  The common issue is overloading and there are weighbridges around the country where this is checked.  They are also responsible for tachograph and other similar enforcement.

As a very general rule the Police don't know enough about the law to be bothered.  If you have a minor accident they will be much more bothered about getting the road clear and testing you for alcohol and so on.  Where the trailer and bike rack would be scrutinised is if the accident resulted in a fatality.  Then the insurance companies would be seeking some serious money out of one another.  If overloading were present this is contributory negligence and can adversely affect the level of cover.  It is possible the Police at that stage would look to prosecute for something because the family of the deceased tend to want that.  If you just dented someone's car they just want it fixed.

Too much weight on the rear of the vehicle is unlikely to break the bar but adversely affects the handling.  This will be the prosecution's line of blame attribution.  The recommended limits are there to save you from that line of attack.  It is unwise to ignore them.

There is a VOSA stop point near us and it is not often open due to limited budget.  When it is open there is soon a line of sorry looking individuals with crappy old trailers and big fines.

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