Bike rack for super custom hiace

Hi All

I have a 1995 super custom hiace with a 2" lift, giving a little extra useful clearance for dirt roads, and am looking into fitting a bike rack to my van.  I see two options:

1/ 'Hang off the back van door type' rack.  
2/ Fit a hitch and add a 'hitch mounted' bike rack

Has anyone done this?  I would appreciate any comments/learning points/tips...

This is my assessment so far:

1/ 'Hang off the back van door type' rack.

My preference a Fiamma bike rack because it is
-door mounted so no loss of clearance due to hitch custom fit
-cost of fiamma rack less than hitch + hitch mounted rack

My questions
-fiamma door mounted racks are produced for VW vans - is a fiamma door mounted rack fully adjustable and easily fitted to a super custom back door?
-fiamma racks come in 2,3 and 4 bike capacity options.  Can a 2 bike option be purchased and an extension be put on to add +1 or +2 bikes?
-what is the best method of getting a fiamma rack to Vancouver, Canada!?!?

My concerns
-robustness of the fiamma rack vs. a hitch mounted rack.  Taking 2-4 bikes on a hitch mounted rack appears a more solid option at 100-110kmph on the highway.  Any comment as to the quality and reliability of long distance travel with the fiamma rack?

2/ Fit a hitch and add a 'hitch mounted' bike rack

My concerns are:
-loss of clearance because to fit a hitch the attachment points are restricted by vehicle components, meaning a low mount position... therefore loss of clearance
-expense.  hitch mount likely a custom job + hitch mounted rack too

any thoughts, comments would be appreciated.  Particularly with respect to fitting and experience of fiamma rack on a toyota hiace

many thanks in advance

Andy

Hi Andy,

by hitch, I am assuming you mean towbar? I have had a towbar fitted to my SC van and I bolt my bike carrier to it. From memory, the towbar was that for a standard Toyota Hiace. I remember that the cost was less than what was originally quoted to me as a standard towbar could be used instead of something custom made. I'm not sure of the part number though for the towbar.

I also use the towbar for towing a trailer   

Hope this helps,

Werner

Hi,
       I'm no expert but my thoughts are-

 If I was going to be driving on roads rough enough to warrant a suspension lift, I would worry about mounting a bike rack to the door of my van.  All the weight of the bikes will be on the sheet metal,  and four bikes weigh a fair bit,  especially since the outside ones will be exerting a bit of leverage on the frame of the rack. 
 I have a Maxxraxx bike rack- it bolts to a towbar flange, which makes it pretty secure and also means the towball is free for a trailer (boats!).
 You might even consider putting a rack on top of a trailer and towing them. That would be very expensive to set up,  though, unless you already have one! 
Maxxraxx: http://www.maxxraxx.co.uk

 I dare say they would ship to Canada, if they or an equivalent is not available locally. 

 Have a look at the website to understand their selling points.  Even if you don't want one of these it may help you to cIarify what you do want! 
They have a couple of handy features that are hard to find: you can fit extra brackets to other cars,  to make it easy to swap the rack over and, of course, you can still use the hitch! 

Cheers,
               W.

Hi Andy-

How did this pan out for you? Were you able to make something work? The same questions are running through my head today as I try and come up with a good solution for my 91 Hiace Cruising Cabin. Leaning towards a Fiamma rack though as I just got quoted $800 for a custom hitch fabricated and installed.

Cheers,
Brad

Brad: I just put a universal hitch on my hiace cruising cabin 149.99 from princess auto and it only required a few modifications/fabricating to get it to fit..

Andy: as others have said this is not good for your door, the hinges or struts. Even with a 2inch lift your low spot will still be your rear spare. A towing hitch can be modified if need be to give you the needed clearance, and in a tough spot makes an excellent recovery point it winch mount. I’m planning to get one of those hitch mounted bike racks that pivots down and away, or maybe fabricate one that double hinges sideways to open the door. Had Also crossed my mind to build a heavy duty spare tire mount and mount the tire vertically behind the door like you see on Jeep’s etc. Then just get the hardware to mount bikes onto your spare tire.