Bike rack for a P38

Slightly odd I know but does anyone know of a bespoke bike rack that can be fitted to a P38? A friend of mine has a superb on fitted to the back of his Disco tdi as a bolt on, despite the spare wheel. I have the usual one that "straps" to the top and bottom of the tailgate which can be used on most hatchbacks but I am doing a 230 mile round trip to Cornwall and back as a family holiday and back and want to take three bikes with me. I'm a little nervous about the stability of the standard one I have.

Nothing appears on eBay so maybe I'm being unrealistic. If anyone has had a similar experience please let me know.

Andrew

Mine is similar to this one,except it locks on to the ball of the tow bar.
It fits in seconds,takes 3 bikes and is rock solid on the move.

Clipper 2 Bike Towbar Mounted Cycle Carrier Towbar Cycle Carriers Cycle Carriers Cycling Outdoor Pursuit...

Hi Andy(?)

This looks pretty good. My tow bar is just the basic swan neck shape, woud it fit this too? I've enlarged the image from the website, it doesn't look to secure anywhere other than on the tow bar, no straps or anything. Is this correct?

Andrew

I've got a Thule one that fits onto my swan neck removable towbar.

Downside is that you can't open the tailgates with bikes on it (it does fold down, but not really practical with bikes on it).

I didn't think it would be very secure, but it's been absolutely fine. Can't fit 3 full size bikes on it though and it could do with being a bit taller (just my opinion).

Seems to have gone up quite a bit since I bought mine though:

THULE Hang on towbar 3 bike Cycle Carrier 972 Free P&P | £74.90 | Towequipe.co.uk

This one takes 4 bikes

On the tow ball 4 bike discovery rack

Pete

Thanks for the tips guys. That's given me a few options.

Andrew

i use a MaxxRaxx up to 4 bikes and allow access to boot without removing bikes.

Pete The Biker said:

This one takes 4 bikes

On the tow ball 4 bike discovery rack

Pete

Click to expand...

I got this one- takes four full sized bikes and (with a lot of strapping )a kids bike too- down side is like others have said you can't open the back door whilst they're on- but on the plus side -the thing is rock solid and feels really safe when it's fully loaded

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have a look around. They seem to cost more than the sum total of our three bikes though! It would be cheaper than the repairs to the car behind if they fell off my standard one, however! Not too sure what I'll do. Has anyone made a long journey with three bikes using the standard hatchback/Halfords job, straps 'n' all?

Ever thought about a roof mount?
Not as daft as it sounds you can stand on the side steps or in the door opening to reach up to load/unload it

I had this fitted on my Classic, would fit a P38 aswell - only thing is it won't fit a swan neck towbar, you need one with a flat backing plate of some sort. It also fits a Discovery, the bend of the bars clears the spare wheel nicely.

I forgot to say the cheap and cheerful Halfords one with straps top and bottom did the job just fine. I'm so glad I went for it. Having the bikes with us was great. there are some lovely rides around where we stayed in Cornwall. I'm sure some of you know there's a super ride along the Camel Estuary between Bodmin and Padstow. Well worth the effort.

I never recomend those strap ones . Getting the tension correct is a nightmare. I have known if them coming off, strewing bikes ont road . The "advanced" ones with metal fixings are much better - and yu can open the rear door with it fitted ( minus bikes, of course).

300AJC said:

I forgot to say the cheap and cheerful Halfords one with straps top and bottom did the job just fine. I'm so glad I went for it. Having the bikes with us was great. there are some lovely rides around where we stayed in Cornwall. I'm sure some of you know there's a super ride along the Camel Estuary between Bodmin and Padstow. Well worth the effort.

Click to expand...

We did that ride last time we were there. Fantastic. Padstow to Bodmin Jail for a pint or two and some scoff and then rush back again before the bike rental place closed!

Has anyone tried the Halfords 3 bike one with the rigid clamps?

Halfords | Halfords Advanced Rear High Mount 3 Cycle Carrier Clamp Fitting

I've got one that I used to use on a Golf, was wondering if it would fit, and if so which of the three supplied sets of rigid clamps did you use and on which hole setting.

What did you do about the rear wiper, I used to use a cut down one with the VW.