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Experiences of heavy load on rear of California

L

Legin

Guest User
Im considering one of the motorcycle carriers on my T6, not a towbar one (which I have had before and too flimsy) but a chassis based one which is rated up to 250kg. I see t5 photos with GS 1200 hanging off the back. I get the whole payload thing but I travel very lightly and mostly on my own.

I currently tow with a bike trailer but tbh the speed restrictions it imposes doesnt fit with my idea of making progress in particular inability to 3rd lane overtake. My question is , has anyone experience of a heavy dead load like this hanging off the back of a cali and if so how did the chassis cope dynamically.

I used to hang my enduro bike off the back of a mk3 swb shogun and stability wasnt great hence the trailer.

Im also considering moving the sliding seat from my ocean and putting the bike inside but looks a right lot of hastle and potential for interior damage.
 
Not just the payload but the individual rear axel weight maybe too high, you may still have to slide the rear seat forward to move weight off the axel.

I had to transport the late father in law’s mobility flyte scooter in the rear and that weighed about 250kgs with its ramps and the van felt fine but you knew it was there. Having the uprated rear springs helped.
AB5E9DB8-3655-4D3A-9E14-E08EBE959576.jpeg
 
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Good point on the axle load. I was thinking this is covered off in an empty van at least given that the carrier is TUV certified but maybe marginal on a 4 motion. Any idea what the sliding seat weighs as sliding it fwd isnt an issue for me, just wondering how much it contributes.
Motorbike shifts the load outside the wheel base by some distance so likely to be somewhat more adverse no doubt. Like an early 911
Surprised those mobility scooters weigh so much.
 
Legin said:
Im also considering moving the sliding seat from my ocean and putting the bike inside but looks a right lot of hastle and potential for interior damage.
Click to expand...

I’d be amazed if you can get a R1200GS inside. I’d say it’s too tall without dismantling the screen. And then securing it is going to be challenging.

I’d also like to travel with my bike, but considering converting a LWB crafter for practicalities sake.
 
Actually I have an r9t just I have seen GS on the back at least in photos. I agree like my KTM 1290 SA the GS is not going to fit.
The 9t might go in but its wide as well.
The height limitation is about 1.15m to get under the rear locker. I would probably get a slightly smaller naked bike and pull the front forks down with ratchet straps to get it in. Some fabrication work utilising the rails and its certainly possible.
However getting that rear seat out looks a right pain and the compromise of not having it once you arrive on site isnt great but I can sleep upstairs I suppose.
The Cate set up hanging off the back works for me but only if its not all over the place at speed on a motorway.
 
Exactly. However it is a van with a short overhang. I had an e class estate and towed a caravan with it , the long overhang meant it used to move around a lot compared to my x3 and landcruiser for instance.
For all i know its not a problem on a T6 but looking for some reassurance before going down this road. May well compromise and try it and if its not good put a 150 kg bike on instead.
Looks like the Germans go this route. Also photo of this whilst on hols in France and looked fine but much lighter of course
IMG_6830.JPG
 
Legin said:
Its actually the same one Im looking at and fits both T5 and T6. Daft price really so debating whether its worth making my own but these things always take longer to do than you think.
Click to expand...
 
How does it affect the handling of the van, I appreciate the Grom is much lighter.
 
You only know it’s there because you can see it in the reverse camera.
 
I recently started towing a car trailer and have put quite a lot of trailer nose weight onto the Cali tow bar but the van seems to tolerate it well. If I over-do the nose weight I detect a tiny bit of steering lightness but there again I might be imagining it.

It's basically a builder's van, designed to lug and drag stuff about and within reason it's pretty tolerant of various loading configurations.
 
I think i will give it a go and if the bikes too heavy i will get a lighter bike. Really had enough of towing as it brings back the reasons I have a cali and sold the caravan. Probably make one along the lines of Sidepod design as I also have a tow bar, apart from the cost saving it doesnt require holes drilled into the bumper.
Thanks for the feedback from you all.
 
Slight aside--

When I contacted Westfalia with regards to extending the the towbar in relation to the tailgate opening issue with standard Towball mounting Bike Carriers.

Their response was that VW had very specific load tolerances for the chassis and this had to be adhered to. Any change to the loading caused by moving the ball distance out from the specified point would put the loading outside the VW design tolerance and wasn't permissible.

From that any DIY construction would run into issues with Construction & Use, E Type approval and Insurance
compliance.
 
Mixing a few things here. The westfalia response is in a TUV world and modifying a certified tow bar for the use of towing.

First the Sidepod design doesnt put a vertical load onto the ball. So it just transfers the same force in the same direction to the same chassis attachment as the Cate design at a force much lower than tow rating of 2500kg and with no noseweight. Secondly it doesnt modify the towbar.

Fortunately the Cate design is fully TUV certified and as it transfers the entire load and bending moment into the towbar chassis attachment points this is therefore by definition approved at a static UDL of 250kg. They even supply a kit that allows the attachments to fit with both a towbar or without.

From a contstruction and use view point the tow bar is not used as a tow bar so towbar rule doesnt apply. Other rules do but they are much easier to comply with in the UK. As a for instance on a Skoda Citigo you can buy and fit a towbar but you cant tow with it for the reasons you said. So why do they sell they them ? Reason is to use it as a bike rack attachment.

Now clearly to extrapolate from the cate approval to a home made one off it needs to be justified in terms of strength. Sidepod did this through FE and I will do similar.
 
Legin said:
Im considering one of the motorcycle carriers on my T6, not a towbar one (which I have had before and too flimsy) but a chassis based one which is rated up to 250kg. I see t5 photos with GS 1200 hanging off the back. I get the whole payload thing but I travel very lightly and mostly on my own.

I currently tow with a bike trailer but tbh the speed restrictions it imposes doesnt fit with my idea of making progress in particular inability to 3rd lane overtake. My question is , has anyone experience of a heavy dead load like this hanging off the back of a cali and if so how did the chassis cope dynamically.

I used to hang my enduro bike off the back of a mk3 swb shogun and stability wasnt great hence the trailer.

Im also considering moving the sliding seat from my ocean and putting the bike inside but looks a right lot of hastle and potential for interior damage.
Click to expand...
We put a motorbike in a beach, removed bench seat and used folding ramps to get it in. see https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/california-beech-plus-motorbike.17116/
 
The rack isn’t permanent. It takes exactly 3mins and 38 seconds to put on.
I just lift the Grom on, back wheel first then strap it down. Done.
Two up is absolutely fine. Depends how far you want to go obvs
I just bungee the lighting board to the bike.
 
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