Memo Van Swing or Thule Swing Away

[sidepod]

Now don’t get excited, it’s not a (nother) swingers thread.

Swing out attachment for the tow bar/bike rack.
Allows the whole assembly to swing out of the way of the rear door.

I was about to set about making my own version but the materials add up to about £370 so for an extra £200 it’s not worth firing up the welder!

Obvs there are some mods required to the tow bar but that’s simple enough.

Discuss.

 

[WelshGas]

Now don’t get excited, it’s not a (nother) swingers thread.

Swing out attachment for the tow bar/bike rack.
Allows the whole assembly to swing out of the way of the rear door.

I was about to set about making my own version but the materials add up to about £370 so for an extra £200 it’s not worth firing up the welder!

Obvs there are some mods required to the tow bar but that’s simple enough.

Discuss.

Now this is not a criticism but a serious question, not just pertaining to a swing away bicycle rack.
How would the Vehicles Insurance company deal with any such DIY manufactured equipment, not just a bike rack as I’ve seen surfboard and kayak racks mentioned before.
Such items made and marketed by a company are I presume tested by the manufacturer who probably has some form of liability insurance.
How would a DIY item be treated?

 

[sidepod]

Absolutely no idea. Hopefully I’ll never find out.
I’ve been making stuff like this all my life. Not had any fails that I’m aware of.

 

[WelshGas]

Absolutely no idea. Hopefully I’ll never find out.
I’ve been making stuff like this all my life. Not had any fails that I’m aware of.

Often these DIY items are over engineered compared to Manufactured equivilents but Insurance companies can get very funny .

 

[Ting Tong]

I tried to get a towbar modified a while back and none of the local metal fabricators would touch it for liability reasons. If a weld fails and your bikes fall off and kill the occupants of the car behind, then the buck stops with you and no insurance is going to cover it.

 

[sidepod]

Well that killed that thread then…….

 

[larrylamb]

Well that killed that thread then…….

Thule swing away it is then

 

[larrylamb]

previous mention.

Thule apex swing away bike rack - not legal?

Hi We have been researching bike racks for our soon to be received beach and came across the Thule apex swing away tow bar mounted bike rack. Can’t find it anywhere in the UK, came across one goggle search entry and suggested these aren’t legal. Does anyone have any experience with these or if...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[larrylamb]

Could you adapt this for uk towbar hitch?? Or fit a 2" hitch receiver?

Yakima BackSwing hitch receiver swing adapter no. 8002483

The BackSwing is a great piece of kit which, when used with compatible Yakima 2 hitch racks, allows them to be swung away from the vehicle, giving full access to the rear doors; it's ideal for use on vehicles with vertically mounted tailgates as well as on vehicles with twin rear doors...

www.roofbox.co.uk

Also this,

swing out tow bar frame bike rack Campervan transit sprinter crafter boxer relay | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for swing out tow bar frame bike rack Campervan transit sprinter crafter boxer relay at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[sidepod]

Could you adapt this for uk towbar hitch?? Or fit a 2" hitch receiver?

Yakima BackSwing hitch receiver swing adapter no. 8002483

The BackSwing is a great piece of kit which, when used with compatible Yakima 2 hitch racks, allows them to be swung away from the vehicle, giving full access to the rear doors; it's ideal for use on vehicles with vertically mounted tailgates as well as on vehicles with twin rear doors...

www.roofbox.co.uk

Also this,

swing out tow bar frame bike rack Campervan transit sprinter crafter boxer relay | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for swing out tow bar frame bike rack Campervan transit sprinter crafter boxer relay at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Yeah I spotted eBay guy. Not a bad effort.
I think I’m going with the Memo swing away left hand pivot.
I need to convert my tow bar to hitch type but that’s simple enough.
Financial clearance granted this morning.

 

[sidepod]

 

[Ting Tong]

Now don’t get excited, it’s not a (nother) swingers thread.

Swing out attachment for the tow bar/bike rack.
Allows the whole assembly to swing out of the way of the rear door.

I was about to set about making my own version but the materials add up to about £370 so for an extra £200 it’s not worth firing up the welder!

Obvs there are some mods required to the tow bar but that’s simple enough.

Discuss.

Saw this on the Facebook group. It’s a hinged arm that that sits between your existing towbar rack and the towball.

https://www.pick-up-and-go.ch/produkte/spacemaker/?fbclid=IwAR2JeMJUGoHuiI9i0Zzxn7XyccJYtpu3-izSZhm80AcaqRtc642_dH4nsYg_aem_AeLoZax0_p4NHK8rHGOH5tAFc0syqjGXq-vHULGQ7_SEEgxICzc3_Ai6d1nydVjhuFA

 

[sidepod]

Looks nice. Price is not too bad.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Memo gets my vote; Just need to watch the weights, as total load including bike carrier + bikes (excluding swing out arm) is 60kgs.

Would have been Yakima as already have their roofbars, SUP carrier and find them to be excellent quality and prefer to Thule…but the Yakima is not suitable for UK towball.

Witter also do one, but looks to swig on Left hand side only.