Caravan A-frame Bike Carrier

How to measure to check which Carry Bike models will fit the A-frame of your caravan.

Fiamma produce a range of bike carriers to fit to the A-frame of caravans enabling you to take your bikes on holiday without having to load them into the caravan or onto the car roof.

To make sure you can fit a bike carrier to your caravan, and determine the correct model, you will need to take some measurements on your caravan and bikes.

How to Measure

1. Remove the fairing from your A-frame





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2. Check the drawer bar type on your caravan - Fiamma Carry Bikes only fit to A-frame type drawer bars and not straight drawer bars.





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3. Measure the available space - Measure from the front of the caravan body, to the furthest back piece of furniture on the A-frame. This will usually be the handbrake handle but may be the jockey wheel handle or clamp. Make sure to measure with the handbrake engaged or the jockey wheel handle closest to the caravan to ensure you have space to use the handles with the bike rack fitted. If the front of the caravan body is curved, place a piece of wood against the front of the caravan body to give a straight line to measure to. Ignore the hitch mounting strut as Fiamma Carry Bikes have an opening to fit around this strut.





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4. Find the “Rear rail offset” measurement for the bike carrier you are considering - This will be on the bike carrier product page on AgentFiamma.co.uk. This tells you the distance between the part of the bike rack that will be closest to your handbrake/jockey wheel handle, and the centre of the bike support rail closest to the caravan.





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5. Next, your bike - Measure the distance from the bike frame centre line to the outside edge of the pedals. Add this to the “Rear rail offset” measurement.

Add the rear rail offset measurement to the bike measurement. If this total is less than the fitting space on your caravan from step 3, the bikes can be fitted without the pedals hitting the caravan body. This assumes the bike carrier is fitted as far forward as possible. If you have extra space you can fit the carrier closer to the caravan but make sure to allow some space in case the bike shifts or vibrates while driving. This will prevent the pedals damaging the front of the caravan while travelling.

Other things to consider

Now you’ve determined if it is possible to fit a bike carrier to your caravan, there are a few more things to consider to make sure you’ll be happy with the result and everything will work without issue.

Opening your gas locker

If your caravan has a front locker, consider whether you’ll have access to the locker with the bike carrier fitted in your intended position and with bikes loaded. Some of Fiamma’s Caravan Carry Bikes can be tilted even with the bikes loaded to allow access to the front locker so consider one of these models if access is an issue.

Towing stability

Carrying bikes on the A-frame of the caravan obviously affects nose weight. The nose weight of your caravan should be between 5% and 7% of the total mass for stable towing and obviously within the limits of your car’s towball capacity. Consider whether you can distribute other weight in your caravan to stay within these limits as well as the weight of the bikes and carrier on the total laden mass of the caravan.

Limited space

Above we have said to measure the width of your bike's pedals to determine if a bike carrier can be fitted, however, the width of your handlebars can also have an effect. If you have wider handlebars you may need to loosen the stem and turn the handlebars so they point front to back on the bike to avoid impacting the front of the caravan. Remember to take an allen key on holiday with you so you can set your bars straight again when you arrive at your destination.

If you're really pushed for space and are determined to take your bikes on holiday, you could remove your bike's pedals to make it take up less space. But again, make sure to take a pedal spanner with you so you can refit them once you arrive at your destination.

Think ahead

Might you want to change your bikes before you change your caravan? If so, your new bike might have slightly wider pedals than your old bike so make sure to allow for this when positioning the bike rack on the A-frame.

Al-ko ATC

Does your caravan have ATC? If so, the ATC indicator is usually fitted to the A-frame fairing. Since you remove the fairing to fit the bike carrier, consider whether the indicator can be relocated and whether you’re willing to do this to fit your bike carrier.