I claim no credit for the design and development of this mounting which was found via a link that Randa provided to a thread on the French Forumeribatouring site (see below).



Why fit a bike rack mounting on the front of the caravan? Well, for safe and stable towing you need to have the caravan nose weight as near as possible to the lower of the two maximum figures quoted for your tow bar and your caravan. In practice I found this impossible to achieve with the caravan loaded normally. The other reason for us was that our two folding bikes were stowed on the floor of the caravan while towing making it difficult to access the interior if we needed to use the toilet or to have a snack en route. Putting a couple of bikes over the drawbar went a long way to solving both problems.

One additional reason is that I don't like rear-mounted bike racks on an Eriba as they put the weight in the wrong place; require drilling holes in the body for the mountings; they make the rear window unopenable and furthermore spoil the view out of the caravan when pitched.

A while ago I posted details of a fabricated bracket designed and built by another French caravanner that I met on a site in Provence but his design, while beautifully engineered is rather complex and expensive to make and would need repeated offering up to the caravan to ensure that all the holes were correctly aligned. The design shown above if far simpler and cheaper to fabricate and couldn't be easier to fit.
[URL=https://www.eribafolk.com/t76f48-How-to-MAKE-a-Drawbar-Bicycle-Carrier.html](for details see here)[/URL]

A friend who is a skilled welder made the bracket for me.

Fitting the bracket and tow ball took less than an hour and here's how to do it:



These are the bits that you will need:
1 x steel bracket as per the diagram above (I used the cardboard template to ensure that all the measurements were correct before ordering the bracket but this is not necessary as the measurements are spot-on.)
1 x 50mm bolt-on towball (the one shown is 'Maypole' brand. Others are available.)
2 x M16 bolts, locking washers and nuts (the ones shown came with the towball and were a shade too long for this application. I replaced them and at the same time substituted Nylock nuts and plain washers for the serrated ones.) M16 x 40mm bolts are just long enough but 45mm would perhaps be a better choice)
4 x M10 x 35mm high tensile bolts, plain washers and Nylock nuts.
1 x plastic towball cover (optional)
1 x tow ball-mounting bike carrier (I opted for a Thule 970 Express)

[b]Total cost approximately £100.[/b] (2016)


Start by supporting the front of the caravan chassis on axle stands then unbolt and remove the jockey wheel assembly.



The steel bracket is bolted to the jockey wheel support plate using the four M10 bolts. You will find it easier to attach the bottom two bolts loosely first and then re-attach the jockey wheel clamp with the upper two bolts. Make sure that all four bolts are really tight and refit the jockey wheel. You can now safely remove the axle stands.



All that now remains is to fit the towball to the bracket using the M16 bolts and voila, you have a support to which you can attach your choice of bike rack.





It couldn't be simpler as there was no need to cut the front fairing and the bracket will be easily transferable to another caravan should the need arise sometime in the future.

After some research I opted for the Thule 970 Express 2-bike carrier and also purchased some rubber straps to hold the bikes secure while towing.



To prevent damage to the paint on the bike carrier, I fitted some 22mm water pipe insulation (sourced from B&Q) which I secured with cable ties



With the rack mounted on the ball, the gas locker door can be opened just far enough to allow a hand to be inserted to check that the gas has been turned off prior to ferry/shuttle crossings.



Please note that:

1. the dimensions shown in the engineering drawing need to be followed precisely as the clearance between the ball and the gas locker door is so tight that the door cannot be opened with its plastic cover in place, and

2. this cycle rack requires no cutting or adaptation of the Eriba drawbar fairing.

Sincere thanks to the French Eriba owner who so generously shared the engineering drawing that made this project possible.