Looking back we wish we had made sure our 2019 Winnabego Travato 59K had a factory installed bike rack on it. But although it had a ladder and roof rack on it it did not have the bike rack.
We have taken our bikes a few times and have always wished for the real bike rack. We have hung the bikes from the ladder and although that worked ok it was awkward to put them on and they actually hung over the side of the van making the van wider than necessary. We also had a nice two bike carrier that fit in the receiver hitch of the van. It worked great except it made it impossible to get the back door open without taking the rack off. And it made the van 23 1/2 feet long instead of 21 feet. That extra length made it harder to find parking and after getting used to being able to park anywhere we decided we did not want to have bikes over being more nimble and shorter.
So after a lot of thought and research we decided the Fiamma 200DJ rack for the Promaster was the best choice for us. It allows us to use the door as usual and is really safe and secure and stable with the bikes on it. It adds another foot to the van length but that length is up high so you can still park in one parking spot as long as it has clearance in front and we back in to the site.
This bike rack has many things we really like. It was relatively easy to assemble and took us about 2 hours… but only because we installed one of the support arms on the left side instead of the right side and had to take it apart and put it back together. It attaches to the rear door without having to a drill any holes. That was huge for us and allows us to take the bike rack with us when/if we change vans.
Here’s the link to the item we purchased: https://pantherrvproducts.com/fiamma-02093d89-dodge-promaster-200dj-aluminum-bike-rack/
Panther RV Products was great to deal with. It was a great price and it shipped the same day we ordered it. And it was packaged in a wooden crate that protected it perfectly.
If you want to watch our installation process here’s the link to our video:
VAN TREKKING lifestyle 