Bike Racks & Roof Boxes: How to Carry Your Gear Safely

Late-Summer Touring Guide

A practical guide from Bedam Leisure — caravan & motorhome specialists

There's a reason almost every motorhome on a UK site has a bike rack on the back: two wheels turn a good pitch into a whole holiday. But a rack that's wrong for your vehicle — or right for your vehicle and badly loaded — is the sort of thing you notice in the mirrors at 60mph, and occasionally the sort of thing a police officer notices too. Here's how we'd get bikes, and everything else, onto the back of your van safely.

1 The rack

Match the rack to the vehicle, not the other way round

Bike racks aren't one-size-fits-all, and the mounting point is what matters. Coachbuilt motorhomes usually take a rack bolted to the rear wall — the wall is built for it, but the rack's feet need to land on the reinforced points, which is why brands like Fiamma make vehicle-specific versions alongside universal ones. Panel van conversions and campervans need tailgate- or door-specific racks shaped around their rear doors. And caravans are their own case entirely, which we'll come to.

For most coachbuilt motorhomes with an existing rack mounting or a sound rear wall, a lightweight aluminium rack that carries two bikes and expands to three covers nearly everyone.

2 The load

Load it like the motorway is watching

Every rack has a maximum load, and it's lower than you think. A conventional bike weighs 12–15kg; an e-bike is typically 23–27kg with the battery in. Two e-bikes can push a lighter rack past its limit before you've added a child seat — so weigh your bikes, check the rating plate on the rack, and if you ride e-bikes, take the batteries out before you travel. It drops each bike by 2–3kg, protects the battery from rain and vibration, and removes the most stealable part.

Load the heaviest bike first, closest to the vehicle, and clamp every frame — bungees are for beach balls, not bicycles. Then stop after the first ten minutes of driving and check everything again. Straps settle, quick-releases loosen, and the first miles shake out anything you got wrong on the driveway.

Caravanners have one extra sum to do. Bikes mounted behind the axle act on a lever: every kilo back there lifts the hitch and cuts your noseweight, and low noseweight is the classic ingredient in a snake. After loading the rack, put the noseweight gauge on and make sure you're still around 5–7% of the caravan's loaded weight, within your hitch and towbar limits. If you can't get there, move the bikes into the car or onto the towing vehicle instead.

Clamp, don't hope: the Fiamma Bike-Block Pro S D2 (£55.99) locks each frame to the rack with a proper adjustable arm — far more secure than straps alone.

3 The law

Stay visible, stay legal

The rule is simple: your rear number plate and lights must remain clearly visible with the rack loaded. If bikes obscure either, you need a lighting board with a duplicate plate, plugged into your 12N or 13-pin socket — and the duplicate has to be a proper DVLA-standard plate, not something home-made. Get it wrong and you're looking at a fine of up to £1,000, and an MOT-style conversation at the roadside you don't want.

Heading to the Continent? Italy and Spain require a red-and-white striped warning board on any load that overhangs the rear of the vehicle — bikes included. It costs less than a campsite pizza, so keep one in the locker permanently.

4 The rest of the gear

Roof box? On a van, think rear box instead

On the tow car, a roof box on decent bars is still the best way to swallow awning poles, levelling ramps and wetsuits. On a motorhome or campervan it's a different story: you're already close to three metres tall, the roof is busy with vents and solar, and nobody enjoys a ladder in a car park. That's why the motorhome answer to the roof box goes on the back — a big, lockable rear box that mounts on the same rail system as a bike rack and keeps the weight low, where it belongs.

Towing with the car doing the carrying? A set of Summit Premium multi-fit roof bars (£133.99) is the foundation for any roof box — check the fitment list against your car before ordering.