Easylifter?

[Sharpie]

I use the fixed easylifter with a ramp, the towbar mounted one. Great product and works well.

I'm sure it is good, as a rack. Personally I see no need for lowering things to the ground. If you can't get your bike up a foot or so of ramp without panicking or worse, perhaps you shouldn't be riding one. With two of us we could even just lift the little thing straight on, and off. Riding the much bigger bikes onto the trailer, also no problems.

But I see the attractions for some, and those who have no payload left but just want to buzz about on a scooter or bigger, and are worried about even taking their feet off the ground, never mind just walking one up a ramp standing alongside and using the clutch with the motor running to power it up. Instead of just riding it straight on. And don't want to use an ordinary trailer, but something fixed laterally with castoring wheels so they don't have to learn any other skills either when maneuvering.

Anyway I've said far too much already and possibly annoyed another who has different ideas. I don't want to dominate here, and am just as keen as anyone to learn about decent well developed alternatives, so I'll try to be quiet now.

 

[barryd]

It is not just a simple payload issue. If you want to sling a rack on the back of a motorhome with any significant rear overhang you have to understand that the lever arm due to it not being directly above the rear axle but some distance behind it, means that the rear axle (and tyres) gets loaded with more than the simple addition of bike+rack+mountings. And unloads the front axle the same (not good if yours is FWD and already can scrabble it's drive wheels in difficult, or just ordinary circumstances). Such as a hill start on a wet road, never mind something more serious.

My Ducato basically has the wheels at each corner, no significant overhang. So a rack on the back should weight up the rear axle, and the tyres, rather lightly, I've calculated it, and it is within limits for my setup, axle plated weight, tyre load ratings etc with my light trailbike.

For big motorhomes with garages behind the rear axle, this is significant. If the load was between the axles it would be quite different, but they aren't made that way. Sure the total mass may actually be within the payload limit, but take it to a weighbridge and measure front and rear axle weights and you might get a surprise, if a lot of that payload is in the garage or on a rack on the back.

I agree about the overhang. Its one of the reasons its been so hard to find a replacement for our Kontiki 640. The only van that I believe is suitable for a rack and lightweight bike in a coach built that has the rear lounge layout we prefer is one with a luton overcab and an extended Alko Chassis. The overhang is considerably shorter than coachbuilts that are on the standard fiat chassis and you can compensate for the extra weight on the back by storing stuff like folding bikes or our inflatable kayak in the Luton. Took me a while to get the balance right but its perfect now. Nothing else works. So far I have identified three possible vans that would work for us.

The 110cc Honda Vision we carry is just over 100kg, the old Peugeot Speedfight was just 95kg. Not exactly powerhouses but great fun and more than capable of doing a 100 miles on a day out from the van which is all you need really as the van does the long drags from place to place. Crossing the highest passes in the Pyrenees or the Alps can be a bit of a challenge on one, sometimes you feel like getting off and pushing but its great coming down the other side

 

[Sharpie]

My little Kawasaki 250cc is pretty good, especially after some upgrades, but I am in negotiations for a Honda CR500 which is even lighter. No worries about any roads even 2-up. Though the CR500 isn't a 2 person bike, so I am thinking about that. Probably will still buy it anyway. Not a scooter person, as you might have guessed.

Van with bike on a fixed rack on the back suits me. For others there will be different choices and compromises. Though the ones still tugging about cars on A frames do baffle me, wouldn't they be better off just towing a caravan ?

 

[Drover]

OH Dear, for one the bikes are not wider than the van that's only the camera angle but as seems usual you are the font of all knowledge and will leave you to get on with it. I don't need to explain all alterations made to both lifter and van to you. You are right though about the fog light.

As stated , the bikes you have on the rack plus the rack will take the permissible weight allowed by Fiat over the top.
Unless you have had a different type approved set up done. due to it being newer than 2008 and under 3500kgs gross weight.this would be shown on the plate attached to the iron work on the chassis.
You would be fine with a more lightweight bike/scooter though.
Nice bikes by the way though I would change the marker board because some eagle eyed vosa person or policeman might spot it's wrong,
The fine would be for exceeding design weight, not gross or axles as you say they are ok (i am not a font of all knowledge but it was my former life) be careful...

 

[barryd]

My little Kawasaki 250cc is pretty good, especially after some upgrades, but I am in negotiations for a Honda CR500 which is even lighter. No worries about any roads even 2-up. Though the CR500 isn't a 2 person bike, so I am thinking about that. Probably will still buy it anyway. Not a scooter person, as you might have guessed.

Van with bike on a fixed rack on the back suits me. For others there will be different choices and compromises. Though the ones still tugging about cars on A frames do baffle me, wouldn't they be better off just towing a caravan ?

I would love a trail bike but Mrs D wouldn't. Plus you can get a case of Leffe, a load of shopping, a full Thetford and forty litres of water on our scooter. well not all at the same time. Oh I can strap the kayak on it as well.

Just wish the thing had more grunt on the hills. You have to plan ahead. Take a run up! If they could somehow fit a 200 or 250cc engine into a Vision and keep it the same weight it would be the ideal motorhome bike. We did over 4000 mile on our last euro trip on it.

 

[Silverdude]

I’ve got a hydra trail, the one with wheels.

I use a ramp for loading as don’t want to mess around with the bottle jack.

You wouldn’t know it’s on the back of the van.

Great thing to use

 

[RV2MAX]

I had a easylifter on my 12 tonne US RV , to carry a Burgman400 (225kg) , it was not stable in a rotational sense . I ended up by buying another and joining the two lifts onto one carry rack

I would suggest that most motorhomes would be not suitable (legal) to use one, and those that are would only be able to carry a very light bike on it . The hydratrail much more suitable for most .

 

[Sharpie]

As stated , the bikes you have on the rack plus the rack will take the permissible weight allowed by Fiat over the top.
Unless you have had a different type approved set up done. due to it being newer than 2008 and under 3500kgs gross weight.this would be shown on the plate attached to the iron work on the chassis.
You would be fine with a more lightweight bike/scooter though.
Nice bikes by the way though I would change the marker board because some eagle eyed vosa person or policeman might spot it's wrong,
The fine would be for exceeding design weight, not gross or axles as you say they are ok (i am not a font of all knowledge but it was my former life) be careful...

|f Fiat wanted to make the mounting points stronger then I'm sure they could But that would add a little cost and weight. For very little purpose. They can tow quite a lot. as it is. That is towing.

So best just understand the limitations. As for other devices for e.g. esoteric bike carrying systems, well there are actually regulations about the ones that have wheels that run along the road. Not sure that every UK manufacturer chooses to recognise that, nor plates it up as required..

 

[Sharpie]

Sorry, not having a go against anyone who doesn't want to ramp a bike up and down. That time might well come to me. So it is good that all these things exist.

 

[Drover]

Sorry, not having a go against anyone who doesn't want to ramp a bike up and down. That time might well come to me. So it is good that all these things exist.

Fiat do indeed make a heavy duty chassis, it will plate to 4.6 ton on 2 axles with only 4 wheels.... it's the best in its class though if you downplate it to 3.5 ton you loose a lot of payload. (Mine is 4500kgs though only has a 100kgs garage payload)
3.5 ton chassis get a tow bar weight of around 80 to 100kgs. A chassis extension for a rack needs a full set of measurements to work out the payload of the rack and the effect it has on the axles.
Though anyone can construct one if the gross plated weight is over 3500kgs....until it gets to the testing centre.
The law is an ass as they say. and I am very unsure on a easy lifter, I keep thinking "wibbly wobbly wheels" though it would cure my lack if space after the better half has filled the garage up.
I was hoping loads would add "it's the best thing ever" but they haven't
thanks to alshymre for thread

 

[Sharpie]

Well I used to drive around a 7 tonne truck, towing a 5 tonne trailer packed with a quarter of a million quids worth of instrumentation, very specialised and I cant possibly go into details. On my licence just for passing the car test, back in the day. However we did get sent off for a couple of days to learn how to actually handle these things at MIRA. Which was interesting, actually guite sobering. I thought I knew it all being young, well i did not.

Still have all of that, but choose not to use it. I don't think I am quite as sharp as I used to be. But I do still know how to use air brakes, exhaust brakes, shift a 14 speed manual truck gearbox with splitters, and the rest.






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