Bicycle carrier on the A-Frame

There has been a lot of interest in the bicycle carrier we had made for our new 14.4-3 Expanda caravan.  So here, in pictures, is the whole arrangement.  It starts with the finished effect, rather reminiscent of Man Ray's sculpture in the Australian National Gallery (a mysterious wrapped object). People have stopped us and asked: WHAT is THAT?

The trailer net stops the bike cover from flapping and destroying itself in transit.

The bike cover is by Fiamma, about $120, useful to keep the bikes from getting sprayed with grit and dust from the road and the car tyres.

It unzips and folds down but not off at this stage.

We use a Thule bike rack, takes 3 bikes.

Fold down the arms of the bike rack,

and remove the cover by pulling it off upwards.

This is the bare rack and supporting assembly.

The supporting assembly was custom made by our wonderful friend Marcos, then welded on to the A-frame, then sprayed with galvanising paint. Total cost, about $350.

The bike rack fits onto a tow ball welded to the top of the support assembly, just the same as if it was on a tow ball on the back of a car.

The whole thing works well, there is enough clearance of the bike wheels when loaded to do a corner on full lock. The spare wheel may still be removed, the water carrier is usable, the rear hatch of the vehicle can be opened and the caravan boot may also be opened even with the bikes loaded.