With the rapidly growing popularity of electric bikes a question we are increasingly being asked is how an electric bike can be carried on a bike rack for a Volkswagen T5, T6 or T6.1 campervan.
Traditionally VW Transporter bike carriers have fitted directly onto either the tailgate, or in the case of a barn door style van, then on the passenger side rear door. These bike racks are located at a high level, so they are above the level of the vehicle number plate and rear lights, which means that there’s no need to have a separate number plate or tailboard with extra lights. The downside of course is that the racks are high up (1.3m above ground level), so lifting an electric bike up to that height can be very difficult indeed.
The far better solution for carrying an electric bike is with a rack that is fitted to a towball on the van, however, making sure that you can still open the rear door without having to remove the bike, or bikes, is ideally something that you make sure it’s possible to do.
Where your Volkswagen T5, T6 or T6.1 Transporter campervan has a tailgate then your best solution for a towball mounted cycle carrier is the Atera STRADA DL. The rack is fully compatible with a VW factory fitted towbar (either the fixed or removable design) and has a slide and tilt mechanism which allows the whole rack to move back away from the van and the bikes to be also angled back – this combined slide and tilt feature allows the tailgate to the fully opened past the rack. It only just makes it past, but just is enough!
The Atera STRADA DL rack is supplied as standard with fittings to allow you to carry up to three bikes, but it is possible to buy an extra fitting so that it can carry up to four. The rack is also supplied with a full rear light tailboard with lead and plug, so that you can just plug it into the towbar electrics socket, just as you would with a trailer. This makes the rack totally compliant with all road traffic laws and regulations.
To see how the Atera STRADA DL works on a VW Transporter campervan and how it compares with a traditional rack that fits onto the top of the van tailgate then please take a look at our video where we and one of our customers explain the pros and the cons.
