Does anyone have first hand experience of the x2 bike carrier that fits behind the hand brake on the tow unit? I am interested in the type that have a tow ball to which the carrier clips and of course then can be used on the car when camping. Currently AL fit them for £500 which seems rather stiff.
Presently I am using a MaxxRaxx fitted behind the tow ball on the car. It has been very reliable but it does bear additional weight on to the car.

Hi Chris, I presume you are talking about a bike carrier on the 'A' frame part of the caravan. We have one on ours - see pictures in Picture Gallery for Eriba Future. Ours was already fitted when we purchased the van. We have put our standard bikes on and also our folding bikes. There are ties that go through the wheels and a solid bar from the top of the bike rack frame that attaches to the cross bar of one of the bikes. We also add for extra safety a 'spider' bungee and a cover for when travelling. Sorry just realised I think you are on about a removable bike carrier to fit on your tow hitch when you are not pulling the van?? If so, we also use one of those which works very well with the added bonus we can hook up to the electrics for the number plate etc. We bought ours in Halfords for about £150 a couple of years ago. The bike rack on the van is fixed. I know there was a link somewhere on the forum regarding adapting a bike rack to fix to the 'a' frame. Regards Chris

How to: MAKE a Drawbar Bicycle Carrier
Hi Chris, Just found link, so hope this works....!
Otherwise go to Forum, Anything Eriba related, Page 12 and look for Rear Mounted Bike Rack, then look for Carrying Pushbikes in Eriba and then you come to this thread!!!.Chris

I have one of the A/L bike rack units fitted to my new Troll.... It IS expensive and I have seen that type of rack being sold a lot cheaper.... However it is well made and I couldn't be bothered to search around as time was of the essence as we were heading off on our latest trip....

What I would say, is that depending on the geometry of the frames of the bikes you want to carry you could find that the space is tight for TWO bikes.
You can fit two bikes but you MIGHT find that the jockey wheel handle could foul the outer bike frame in use...... You MIGHT also find that with the bikes in place clear access to the front caravan support legs could be compromised.

My bikes are all road bikes with 700c wheels......things might be easier with mountain bikes with 26" wheels and more relaxed frames.
I DID get my bikes on...but I needed a lot of faffing around before I found the perfect set-up for my bikes......
Having said all of the above I don't regret buying it.

My advice would be to try a frame fitted to an Eriba with your own bikes before purchase just to be on the safe side.....,

Thanks very much for the advice. I will have a trial if I am able before buying.