# Bike Rack For 2010 Autotrail Frontier



## Knockluts

Hi, has anyone had a bike rack fitted to a 2010 Autotrail Frontier Cherokee yet? It has the spare mounted on the rear and a roof access ladder. 

If any one has had it done, advice would be appreciated. 

From what I understand the only rack available is from Omnistore who are manufacturing a rack specifically for this model. (£256 incl del.) 


Regards to all,


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## ytank

hi i have fitted one on the back of mine ill have a look 2 c if i can find a photo and ill post it on here for u 2 have a look at its a stanard bike rack 

hi 2 all having a look can u tell me how 2 upload i photo please


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## SineadandTony

Would be interested in those pictures also as we have an Arapaho with rear mounted spare and ladder. Our MH also has a tow bar so would appreciate any info relating to suitable bike carrier


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## johnnybiker

Hi I am having one fitted by Brownhills on Wednesday on my Autotrail Cherokee frontier, been waitng 3 months for the rack to turn up. I believe they have had to have them redesigned by omnistor specifically for the frontier model, arrived in the country end of January, I will let you know how it goes.


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## dawnwynne

ytank said:


> hi i have fitted one on the back of mine ill have a look 2 c if i can find a photo and ill post it on here for u 2 have a look at its a stanard bike rack
> 
> hi 2 all having a look can u tell me how 2 upload i photo please


I'm sure there are other ways but the easiest for me is to click 'post reply' at the top of the page instead of using the quick reply at the bottom. It will take you to a new page where you can write your message...underneath your message you will see 'filename' click the browse button to the right of it and find you photo. Once you have selected your photo press 'add attachement' then press submit...that should do it.

oops didn't realise how old this post was....hopefully it still helped! :?


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## Knockluts

Here's an update: 

Just had an "Omnistor Plus - Auto Trail - 2 bikes" rack fitted to my Cherokee at Continental Caravans, Cross Hands, for £305. 
First time they'd done one but they have another lined up later this week. 

The rails are quite high, as expected, but I can load the bikes without difficulty, I am currently 5' 10" and shrinking! 

As the name implies it has been specifically designed the 2010 Frontier Range. 

Regards to all,


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## RainDancer

Hi Guys.

For all those Autotrailers out there with a towbar have a look Here for towbar mounted cycle carriers. I have one and it works a treat. Hope it helps.


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## Bacchus

Knockluts said:


> Here's an update:
> 
> Just had an "Omnistor Plus - Auto Trail - 2 bikes" rack fitted to my Cherokee at Continental Caravans, Cross Hands, for £305.
> First time they'd done one but they have another lined up later this week.
> 
> The rails are quite high, as expected, but I can load the bikes without difficulty, I am currently 5' 10" and shrinking!
> 
> As the name implies it has been specifically designed the 2010 Frontier Range.
> 
> Regards to all,


Hey Knockluts - I'll be collecting my Chieftain from Continental Motorhomes on 3 March - small world!!


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## Knockluts

Hello Bacchus,
It sure is!
We bought our van at the NEC show in October from Brownhills. While we were having our bike rack fitted today, we chatted to one of the sales guys who asked, "where did we buy it?" when we told him he became a bit sniffy and said, "we were at the NEC too!"  

Genuinely if we'd known we would probably have given them a try. It was our first time and we were swept along by the huge, very proffesional, Brownhills stand.

Good luck with your new acquisition.

Kind Regards,


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## drfcchris

we are presently advertising a towbar bike rack now on bay

thule 9502 ride on 2 bike towball mount

changed of van new one has a bike rack fitted, but I would recommend the towbar mount as an alternative

Chris


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## Bacchus

Knockluts said:


> Hello Bacchus,
> It sure is!
> We bought our van at the NEC show in October from Brownhills. While we were having our bike rack fitted today, we chatted to one of the sales guys who asked, "where did we buy it?" when we told him he became a bit sniffy and said, "we were at the NEC too!"
> 
> Genuinely if we'd known we would probably have given them a try. It was our first time and we were swept along by the huge, very proffesional, Brownhills stand.
> 
> Good luck with your new acquisition.
> 
> Kind Regards,


I've not heard anything bad about Continental - they seem a pretty honest bunch and they gave me a good deal on my trade-in. What more can you ask.


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## colbr44

I bought new 2010 frontier Chieftan and had a Fiamma Carry Bike Lift which sits above the spare wheel and then you wind the bike rack down load the bikes wind them back up, i had to slightly offset the rails so that it would not interfere with the ladders operation.


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## AeroHOT

We had an Omnistor rack fitted to our 2010 Cherokee, picture below. Haven't had the chance to try it out in anger yet as our motorhome is getting electrical gremlins fixed. It looks as though it will be fine if you are 5'9" or over and fitting the bike cover is the only thing that may tricky....that ladder may prove useful!!


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## AeroHOT

Just an update to this thread with my experience so far.......
Only difficulties I have noted so far, are:
1: the rails on which the cycles stand have to be loosened off and slid to one side and re-tightened to allow the ladder to be lowered. In the picture in the above post, if you look carefully, you will see that I had yet to find this out! Some Autotrails have the ladder on the right, some on the left, so I guess the factory just fit the rails in the middle!
2: As the carrier is mounted above the spare wheel, anyone under 5'9" will struggle to fit the bikes on....a set of steps may well be required, especially if you use a cover over the bikes when travelling
3: The ladder cannot be deployed with cycles on the rack....which may present an issue for some.
Hope this helps

Cheers
Stewart


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## briggsy

I own a 2010 Mohawk and don,t want to spoil the look of the rear with a rack. I was talking to a chap with a 2010 Chieftain which is the same rear end.The two things he said was the rack was too highly fitted and when the rack wae loaded with bikes and cover, it made the "reversing aid " not camera blind.Discuss height that rack will finish at.


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## lifeson

AeroHOT said:


> Just an update to this thread with my experience so far.......
> Only difficulties I have noted so far, are:
> 1: the rails on which the cycles stand have to be loosened off and slid to one side and re-tightened to allow the ladder to be lowered. In the picture in the above post, if you look carefully, you will see that I had yet to find this out! Some Autotrails have the ladder on the right, some on the left, so I guess the factory just fit the rails in the middle!
> 2: As the carrier is mounted above the spare wheel, anyone under 5'9" will struggle to fit the bikes on....a set of steps may well be required, especially if you use a cover over the bikes when travelling
> 3: The ladder cannot be deployed with cycles on the rack....which may present an issue for some.
> Hope this helps
> 
> Cheers
> Stewart


Hi Stewart
We have the same van and need to get a bike rack fitted of some sorts - may go for towbar mounted carrier but am also interested in the rear mounted carrier like yours but am put off by drilling the back of the van and if the supports are visible on the inside of the van (assuming the omnistor version has brackets that are drilled straight through the back wall and bolted with brackets inside the van?)
I assume the top mounts are in the overhead cupboards but where do the lower bracket supports appear in the van?


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## Knockluts

To Briggsy and Lifeson, 

I started this thread and after nearly a year of using a bike rack on the 2010 Cherokee I guess I'm pretty close to being an expert!  

Thankfully, there are no visible signs inside of any brackets or mountings for the rack. 

As for the reversing camera, I can see one of the bikes on the screen when reversing but it doesn't hinder the functionality. 

To reinforce what has been said before: The bikes rails are quite high and I have to stand on tiptoe to get the bikes up and down. It's OK for the moment but maybe in a couple of years I'll think about getting one of those racks with a pulley system to raise the bikes onto the back of the van. 

Regards and Happy Camping,


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## Dill

We have an Omnibike Rack fitted to our Chieftain purchased from these people.

http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/omni_bike_lift_gar.htm

It's hight is about 6in higher then the spare wheel cover so it's an excellent hight to load bikes. The Max weight is 50kg which is ideal for two standard bikes, can extend to three with extra rail. The top mountings are through the garage wall and the bottom is mountings direct to the rear cross member which in my opinion makes it a lot stronger than the Fiamma type.

I have not had to use my spare wheel yet, and did not realise at the time. But I would think it would be very awkward to remove the spare without damage to the cover. I was told that it just comes out with a little effort. I will take photo's if required.

On the whole and providing that the spare wheel cover comes out without damage I would say it's a good rack.

Dill


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## lifeson

Dill said:


> We have an Omnibike Rack fitted to our Chieftain purchased from these people.
> 
> http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/omni_bike_lift_gar.htm
> 
> It's hight is about 6in higher then the spare wheel cover so it's an excellent hight to load bikes. The Max weight is 50kg which is ideal for two standard bikes, can extend to three with extra rail. The top mountings are through the garage wall and the bottom is mountings direct to the rear cross member which in my opinion makes it a lot stronger than the Fiamma type.
> 
> I have not had to use my spare wheel yet, and did not realise at the time. But I would think it would be very awkward to remove the spare without damage to the cover. I was told that it just comes out with a little effort. I will take photo's if required.
> 
> On the whole and providing that the spare wheel cover comes out without damage I would say it's a good rack.
> 
> Dill


Thanks Dill
We did less than 100 miles and got a puncture so spare access is a consideration
Some pics would be great if you can


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## AeroHOT

Lifeson, the fittings inside the M/h are fairly inconspicuous. Looking towards the rear of the van, the upper right is inside the locker and the lower right is under the bed. On the left they are both in the shower compartment, but are fitted with plastic covers which clip on to the reinforcing plates and sealed to the shower wall. It is a pretty clean installation. As previously mentioned, the rack sits a bit high, especially if you protect the bikes with a cover during travelling. The Autotrail umbrella comes in handy in lifting the cover over the handlebars!! Hope this helps.
Stewart


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## lifeson

AeroHOT said:


> Lifeson, the fittings inside the M/h are fairly inconspicuous. Looking towards the rear of the van, the upper right is inside the locker and the lower right is under the bed. On the left they are both in the shower compartment, but are fitted with plastic covers which clip on to the reinforcing plates and sealed to the shower wall. It is a pretty clean installation. As previously mentioned, the rack sits a bit high, especially if you protect the bikes with a cover during travelling. The Autotrail umbrella comes in handy in lifting the cover over the handlebars!! Hope this helps.
> Stewart


Hi Stewart
Any chance of a few close up pics of your bike rack especially around the spare wheel cover area and the internl shower fittings?
Once the rack is fitted, is it permanent?
Can you remove the spare wheel cover without major surgery?


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## AeroHOT

Hi Lifeson, I'll have the m/h back at the house this weekend for cleaning, so I'll see if I can organise some closeup pics. The fixture is "permanent" in as much as the rear wall of the m/h is drilled through to take the fixings, but I guess these could be plugged with suitable blanking material if the rack was removed. This would of course be visible. I have removed the spare wheel cover without any issues, with the rack fitted. I have not tried to remove it with bikes installed on the rack....again I'll have a look at the weekend. I posted a picture of the rear of the van on page 2 of this thread, it is a fairly large piccy, so gives a good idea of where the rack goes and where the fixings are....on the outside anyway.
Cheers
Stewart


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## Dill

AeroHOT said:


> Lifeson, the fittings inside the M/h are fairly inconspicuous. Looking towards the rear of the van, the upper right is inside the locker and the lower right is under the bed. On the left they are both in the shower compartment, but are fitted with plastic covers which clip on to the reinforcing plates and sealed to the shower wall. It is a pretty clean installation. As previously mentioned, the rack sits a bit high, especially if you protect the bikes with a cover during travelling. The Autotrail umbrella comes in handy in lifting the cover over the handlebars!! Hope this helps.
> Stewart


Hello Lifeson my appologies for taking so long for the Pic here it is. I have also tried to get the spare wheel cover off, and must admit it was fairly easy.

Regards

Dill


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## Kartracer2003

*BIKE RACKS*

Hi Guys

Saw these at chepstow show very clever and well made.
www.maxxraxx.co.uk.


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