Fitting a Bike Rack to a VW Camper California T5

[@LearningContext]

Much appreciated! ...this is where we realize we've done it all wrong! bwahaha lived this many times. thanks for taking the time to document this...trying it shortly. be well

[@njafry]

Nice walkthrough installation. Do you know if Thule make this rack for VW and it’s rebranded? Can’t seem to find a Thule branded rack for our T5.1…

[@aralivas4014]

very detailed. I like the way you handle carefully the installation. Well done !

[@drivinghorizons]

I was afraid to damage anything. I am usually very heavy handed and can easily damage things! Thanks for watching.

[@jonathancarmichael5301]

Awesome, thanks, will be attempting this in the next few days. Cheers 👍

[@ItchyFeetcaravanners]

Thanks for this one Rich, well filmed and explained 😊 And nice one Max for the background tunes! Martin & Jo.

[@drivinghorizons]

Thank you! It is quite an easy job. I think I may have made it harder than it is!! Max is a bit of a showman in private! Thanks for watching and commenting

[@ItchyFeetcaravanners]

@@drivinghorizons Your neighbour has great timing with their Dyson 🙂

[@CaravanningwithourWesties]

Quite detailed Richard and very informative. Thanks for sharing. Sue and Brian 👍🐶🐾😀

[@drivinghorizons]

Thank you both. Grateful you took the time to watch and comment, hope all is well, Rich

[@farlow2000]

What winds me up is that VW don't seem to do this rack for just 2 bikes!

[@willgardner8307]

Thanks for the video. Reading online that stronger gas struts are required, have a t5 'velle which I'm assuming, have the same struts as the cali. All good without changing?

[@drivinghorizons]

Hey Will, thanks for the question. I would think the struts may need changing on yours. The reason I say that is because the California has a pair of camping chairs in the tailgate, built in, so the tailgate is a lot heavier, so they needed stronger struts straight out of the factory. If yours is just a simple tailgate, like on the Transporter vans, they may have the standard struts so would need upgrading. Hope this helps a bit, I think your question may be better answered from VW themselves, jut to be on the safe side. Cheers. Rich

[@rikloveridge128]

At last, a vid that's slow enough, clear and points out challenges and extra tips. I bought secondhand and no replacement grommets... will have to track them down. Q. Did rear distance sensors still work or did the rack keep setting it off? Thanks.

[@drivinghorizons]

Rear sensor still works, but obviously judges distance from rear bumper. So...it becomes redundant when the rack is down with bikes on! Back to old fashioned mirrors and guesswork :) Thanks for commenting!

[@drivinghorizons]

Forgot to say, I bought the rack from Vanstyle as you saw. Perhaps they could help with the grommets?

[@kevinburns1527]

Great video have you got any links to where you can buy at a good price

[@drivinghorizons]

Best deal I found was with VanStyle. When I called them they said to go via their EBay store for the best price. Worth a call to them for sure. Thanks for watching!!

[@rikloveridge128]

Shame you stopped at putting on one bike... I wanted to see the challenges with the securing arms for the others... looked like the heights and angles could get interesting depending on the bikes you have... thickness of crossbar (or no crossbar).... perhaps an additional vid? Go on, you know you want to... born to be in front of a camera...!