Spotted one of these towbar platforms today.

[Obanboy666]

Out on my travels today I spotted a van parked up with a Bak-Rak towbar platform and it had a Solent lockable box attached.
Way more secure than a Fiamma box setup and considerably cheaper.

approximately £150.00.

approximately £120.00. Heavy duty, locks and rubber seals to lid so waterproof.

Much higher carrying capacity than a Fiamma box, all I need is a towbar which for my Renault base vehicle is approximately £100.00.

To fit a Fiamma rack to my van rear doors and buy a Fiamma 320 ultra box would be well over £500.00 and a much lower carrying capacity and less versatile as no towbar. Seriously considering going for a rack and Solent box.
Any members use a Bak-Rak or Thule easy base which is very similiar ?

 

[malagaoth]

I cant fault your thinking (I have looked into these carriers myself) but arent you forgetting something?

I was quoted £900 to fit a tow bar to my Nuevo!

£900 + £150 + £120 = £1170

Twice the cost of a Fiama and rack!

 

[wildebus]

I cant fault your thinking (I have looked into these carriers myself) but arent you forgetting something?

I was quoted £900 to fit a tow bar to my Nuevo!

£900 + £150 + £120 = £1170

Twice the cost of a Fiama and rack!

is a Nuevo a Custom Motorhome? Obanboys Master being a PVC will be able to use a standard Towbar kit which as he said is around £100.
I installed a Towbar plus 13-pin electrics and a bypass relay on my VW LT (aka Sprinter) for around £105 IIRC.

I am quite tempted to make a carrier to fit onto my Towbar ball mount (as opposed to fitting on the actual ball) but they need to be swingable to allow the rear doors to open, so gets trickier.

 

[GeoffL]

We have an (unused) Bak-Rak that we bought to carry bikes with our Mk II Pajero as the spare wheel mounted carrier we also bought was way too unstable. If you do go the Bak-Rak route, be aware that these things are heavy and also that you may not legally exceed the plated noseweight for the tow ball. So the Fiamma route might give you more capacity. HTH, Geoff

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Out on my travels today I spotted a van parked up with a Bak-Rak towbar platform and it had a Solent lockable box attached.
Way more secure than a Fiamma box setup and considerably cheaper.

View attachment 63158 approximately £150.00.

View attachment 63159 approximately £120.00. Heavy duty, locks and rubber seals to lid so waterproof.

Much higher carrying capacity than a Fiamma box, all I need is a towbar which for my Renault base vehicle is approximately £100.00.

To fit a Fiamma rack to my van rear doors and buy a Fiamma 320 ultra box would be well over £500.00 and a much lower carrying capacity and less versatile as no towbar. Seriously considering going for a rack and Solent box.
Any members use a Bak-Rak or Thule easy base which is very similiar ?

Hey Hi ya Obanboy,
I LIKEY!.
I CERTAINLY think that this set up would be a REALLY good Solution for those that ALREADY have a Tow Bar fitted, It’s actually better & more substantial in my opinion than my set up.

(Rectangular Reflectors are ordered to replace the Wrong Triangle ones that I’ve had showing for the last two years !)

 

[Christoff1019]

Wonder how the Solent box fits onto the base. Any idea?

 

[Obanboy666]

Wonder how the Solent box fits onto the base. Any idea?

Easy, the Bak-Rak has holes in both the base cross members and the upright so it would just be a matter of drilling corresponding holes in the Solent box base and back then bolt together preferably using nyloc nuts. I always use oversize washers when bolting plastic to anything to spread the load, easily made out of Ali plate or similiar.

 

[Obanboy666]

Towbar, Bak Rak and Solent box all fitted. Bonus is my number plate is more or less visible so not going to fit a number plate high up as I previously planned. Any comments regarding number plate ? I reckon I should be ok.
Have to say impressed with the Bak Rak and box, both sturdy and watertight. I have put my interior and exterior windscreen covers, 2 x chairs, camera tripod, hose reel, ehu cable and a few other odds and sods in box so loads of space freed up. Well pleased with result.

 

[harrow]

Your road tax is due on the 1st of August 2018

:wave:

 

[r4dent]

Do you need one of those red & white marker boards when abroad ?

and lighting board in UK & EU?

 

[Byronic]

Because I change the way my van is used and for changing requirements,
I try to make adaptions as easily reversible as possible.

So to carry a couple of bikes on the rear I welded up a light frame
there are only 2 x 8mm holes on the doorshut to fix the frame
lugs through to internal s/s reinforcement plates. The other
edge of the frame I bolted thru the existing door hinge holes.
For the bikes I fitted a Fiamma D bike rack you can see the brackets
in the image. For a while I put an aluminium box on to carry the
sun loungers. The main thing was I could open the barn doors
to carry a 200kg m/bike, that lasted 1 season
Needless to add that the van rear now looks completely different.
(another story).

 

[Byronic]

Don't forget triangle reflectors are for trailers, not racks.
Not that it bothered me overly!

 

[Obanboy666]

Do you need one of those red & white marker boards when abroad ?

and lighting board in UK & EU?

Won’t be going abroad, seen more than enough foreign countries when I worked. The uk law states rear lights must be in view from rear at an angle of up to 45 degrees which they are and I reckon the number plate is ok as is, still in view. I nearly bought a taller box but if a vehicle has a high brake light it must be visible, mine wouldn’t have been.
I’ve been looking out for trailers and the like recently when out and about and it beggars belief what I’ve seen.
Hand written number plates or no number plate at all, lights not working or covered in that much crap no one would know if they are working or not.
Something else I have noticed recently when up Teesdale and the North York Moors is farmers flying down the road on quad bikes. No number plates and I would be amazed if they are taxed and insured to go on public roads. The police appear to turn a blind eye to them.
It would be interesting what would happen if they were involved in an accident

 

[Tezza33]

Something else I have noticed recently when up Teesdale and the North York Moors is farmers flying down the road on quad bikes. No number plates and I would be amazed if they are taxed and insured to go on public roads. The police appear to turn a blind eye to them.
It would be interesting what would happen if they were involved in an accident

If they are being used on a public road they have to follow regulations

Agricultural quad bikes

An agricultural quadricycle (quad) is a light 4-wheeled vehicle intended for off-road use. It must be registered with DVLA as an agricultural vehicle and be used as a working vehicle for farming, forestry or similar purposes.
You are allowed to use an agricultural quad on the public road for short distances as long as it is registered for road use, has a number plate and complies with the relevant lighting and construction requirements.

I have a back box low down on my van, you can see all the lights either side easily and the number plate is still visible, I have had Police cars behind me that have not taken any notice so I shouldn't worry

 

[phillybarbour]

That looks a good piece of kit.

 

[Nabsim]

Its a while since I have had t check lighting regs but I think there is something where some lights have to be visible from both sides, I know the chopper guys with one sided number plates had problems with that one but that may just have been the number plate. There are construction & use and lighting regs that can be used against you as well as all the normal stuff when you get pulled.

If you have checked lighting regs then you already know but if not have a look. It looks good to me but like I say I have this nag that there is something about angle of visibility for some lights. Its got to be the basic lights on a lighting board if there is something so not a hard fix if you have to

I have always liked those since we first saw them when son in law was after something to carry a non foldable wheelchair or mobility scooter, brilliant bits of kits and decent prices

 

[Obanboy666]

Its a while since I have had t check lighting regs but I think there is something where some lights have to be visible from both sides, I know the chopper guys with one sided number plates had problems with that one but that may just have been the number plate. There are construction & use and lighting regs that can be used against you as well as all the normal stuff when you get pulled.

If you have checked lighting regs then you already know but if not have a look. It looks good to me but like I say I have this nag that there is something about angle of visibility for some lights. Its got to be the basic lights on a lighting board if there is something so not a hard fix if you have to

I have always liked those since we first saw them when son in law was after something to carry a non foldable wheelchair or mobility scooter, brilliant bits of kits and decent prices

Yes, the lights have to be visible when viewed from the rear at up 45 degrees. So if you have a box that is as high as the vehicle lights the lights wouldn’t be visible unless you were stood directly behind the vehicle. Hope that makes sense.
The one that I wasn’t aware of is the centre high level brake light. Apparently on no account can this be obscured.
This extract from a Fiamma rack installation manual shows what I’m on about regarding angle of view from the rear.

 

[Nabsim]

Thats it, thought I remembered something. If you are okay on that you should be fine. I dont think there is (or was) anything about lights being on furthest extremity just the visibility. If you jump on one of the custom car/bike sites they have links to everything if you get stuck.

I was thinking of maybe one of the racks to carry something like a Peugeot MP3 type scooter til Caz pointed out the two dogs

 

[spigot]

Towbar, Bak Rak and Solent box all fitted. Bonus is my number plate is more or less visible so not going to fit a number plate high up as I previously planned. Any comments regarding number plate ? I reckon I should be ok.
Have to say impressed with the Bak Rak and box, both sturdy and watertight. I have put my interior and exterior windscreen covers, 2 x chairs, camera tripod, hose reel, ehu cable and a few other odds and sods in box so loads of space freed up. Well pleased with result.

View attachment 63732

Looks pretty good to me, could be just what I need.

I tend to use back doors, can it be swung out the way to facilitate this?

 

[Obanboy666]

Looks pretty good to me, could be just what I need.

I tend to use back doors, can it be swung out the way to facilitate this?

Unfortunately not. The platform does drop down but with box attached not enough to clear doors.
I don’t use the rear doors much so was prepared to put up with that inconvenience to gain the extra storage.