I'm off to Holland next month with my caravan and would like to take couple of pedal cycles with me. I'm a bit short in the leg to lift them onto a roof mounted cycle carrier so I was wondering if anyone knows of a carrier that can be fitted to the rear tailgate.? Halfords stock an universal carrier that fits, but I am a bit worried because part of the weight rests on the rear window and two of the straps clamp to the side of the glass. Has anyone used a similar carrier? Are they safe and is the glass strong enough to support the weight of 2 cycles? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Ron

 

Do you have the tow hitch?

I've seen carriers that are attached to the tow hitch with a capacity of at least four bicycles.
http://www.etrailer.com/pc-br2b~59400.htm

The universal trunk type of bike carriers usually rest their weight on two sections and attach with about four nylon straps. This type should be okay too because one section would rest on the rear bumper and one on the window area.

 

You can get ones that fit your hitch or roof rack... which ever you have:
http://www.thuleracks.com/carrier_bike1.asp

 

I would invest in a hitch with and a hitch Mounted Rack (personally I use a roof rack, but I tall), You can easily cause enough damage to your car using a hatch mounted rack to pay for the trailer hitch.
I would also get a rack that doesn't clamp on the frame of the bike, they now offer rear racks that allow the bike to rest on the wheels, these are the best to secure the bikes without damaging them.

 

I got a trailer hitch mount. I use it for the attachment so I can put my snowboards on it. I never put a bike on there.

 

I'm also considering something for a bike carrier. Right now I'm putting the bike inside, but sometimes I wish I was able to place the bikes outside. A roof rack is not an option for me because simple to get off my housing complex there is this gate that simply doesn't have that much clearance.

One of the racks that has the straps is a bit risky because the two top straps rest on the spoiler, which doesn't look to strong to support the bike weights, specially when the hatch is under stress like bumps or pothholes.

Check this out:

http://www.thuleracks.com/product.as...=8&sku=916

 

I got the one like this http://www.thuleracks.com/product.as...=8&sku=912it folds down at the hitch and folds where it comes out for the bikes. It clears the both the hitch and hatch on the outie so you dont have to fold it down to get inside. It is only held in with a screw so I drilled it and now I can use a lock too.