Fitting a BMW Bike Rack

[Sherwood]

I need a cycle rack that I can use whilst towing my caravan so I opted for the BMW one as it does not use the tow bar;



The first job was to drill the roof rails for the Rivnuts.



The instructions showed tightening the Rivnuts with a nut and bolt but this didn't work;



So I bought a set of Rivnut pliers from Ebay for £13;



The most worrying part was gluing the pads to the back of the X5.

[x555]

Nice looking rack that mate soory all but i had to use that smilie ...i know childish
As i said though looks like a good bike carrier.I opted for the thule roof set up as i wanted to still be able to open the boot.


Here's mine...

OOHHH my first piccy on the new forum

[Sherwood]

Cheers, here it is with the bikes on





Yes, I am beginning to wish that I had put them on the roof!

I am hoping the consumption will be better with them behind but when towing a caravan I doubt it makes any difference.

[Sherwood]

Just back from a 2 week tour of the Scottish Highlands, the rack worked well.



I was impressed by how well the X5 towed the van.





It was a blast to drive as well...

[Chompers]

Good looking bike rack Sherwood, but b:censored:y expensive new £350+ IIRC thanks for sharing the pics, west coast I take it?

[Sherwood]

The rack was £150 of Ebay with a new fitting kit.

The holiday was based at the C&CC Site at Barcaldine between Oban and Fort William and we toured the Glens and Mull / Iona.

Great driving roads....

[Sherwood]

For anyone interested there has been a BMW X5 bike rack on Ebay for the last few weeks for £50

Genuine Bmw X5 E53 Bike Rack Carrier For 2 Bikes

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Bmw-X ... 1506843343

[shadrack]

call me thick but with a caravan that big could you not just throw the bikes in the caravan

[Sherwood]

[quote="shadrack"]
cakk me think but with a caravan that big could you not just throw the bikes in the caravan
[/quote]

Two problems with that, it adds to the towed weight and buggers up your caravan! 

[TimX5]

[quote="sherwood"]
[quote="shadrack"]
cakk me think but with a caravan that big could you not just throw the bikes in the caravan
[/quote]

Two problems with that, it adds to the towed weight and buggers up your caravan! 
[/quote]

:stupid:

[shadrack]

[quote="TimX5"]
[quote="sherwood"]
[quote="shadrack"]
cakk me think but with a caravan that big could you not just throw the bikes in the caravan
[/quote]

Two problems with that, it adds to the towed weight and buggers up your caravan! 
[/quote]

:stupid:
[/quote]

:chop:

[chrisn7]

The payload on many caravans is not that high and you are not supposed to exceed the MTPLM (Maximum Total Permissible Laden Mass-yep) of the caravan, as adding 3 bikes is significant. Putting bikes at the rear of the car is ok, but you then have to watch that the rear passengers, boot luggage, caravan nose weight and bikes then don't add up to a weight that exceeds the permissible rear axle weight, although unlikely with an X5.

[shadrack]

[quote="chrisn7"]
The payload on many caravans is not that high and you are not supposed to exceed the MTPLM (Maximum Total Permissible Laden Mass-yep) of the caravan, as adding 3 bikes is significant. Putting bikes at the rear of the car is ok, but you then have to watch that the rear passengers, boot luggage, caravan nose weight and bikes then don't add up to a weight that exceeds the permissible rear axle weight, although unlikely with an X5.
[/quote]

lucky for me hotels don't exceed the MTPLM on the ml