Any photos with bicycles on rear rack?

[KLRchickie]

We are in the process of narrowing down what we do and don't want on our 17B

Some things are easy - "bike rack ready" being one of them. Two bicycles will be brought along more often than not (and they're a royal pain to fit with the motorcycles in the Sprinter van). We're questioning to "need" for an "Additional set LED brake lights" and a picture of the back of an Escape trailer with bicycles mounted on a rack could help us decide.

Anyone have one

[Donna D.]

If you put anything on the back of any brand of trailer and that item(s) block the rear lights of the trailer, you absolutely want extra tail lights mounted up higher... or some place that the "anything" doesn't block brake or turn lights. Safety always!

[Parker]

I don't think I have pictures handy, but I can say that I would not want to have bikes back there without the additional lights. We carry two full sized bikes on a rack that clamps on the bike wheels. The bikes are wide enough to interfere with seeing the taillights. We towed with a cover on them for a couple of trips, and that almost totally blocked the taillights. To me, the extra lights are a must-have.

I just checked....here's a picture of the back of the camper on the downhill side of the Eisenhower Tunnel in the way home from our trip to Chilliwack. No bike rack, but you can imagine what two sets of wheels in front of each taillight would do to their visibility.

[Devil Dog]

2012 17-B with the light add on . A must with a bike rack.
In bumper to bumper traffic a big safety advantage.

[nealmccarter]

We just started the process of ordering our Escape 19, and because we plan on carrying bikes, the additional LED brake lights were a no brainer.

[JohnB]

Here is a photo with bikes on the back. Not the best for showing lights through bike wheels. Could not find a shot square on which would show both left and right lights.

You can see the lights through the wheels but there could be certain angles where one or both lights would be obscured. I like the comfort of knowing that with the extra lights your turn signals and brake lights will always be visible.

[Chapitre]

I don't have a photo, but I can say that they obscure the back tail lights enough that I am really glad we also have the upper lights, especially in heavy traffic on "big" roads when everyone is jamming on their brakes!!

[dbailey]

I asked a cop friend about this. He said that blocking the rear tail lights with bicycle wheels was not actually illegal, since the lights are technically visible through the wheels. A police officer would not pull you over for this. That's the Ontario rule, anyways. Probably varies by jurisdiction.

But that doesn't address the question of whether or not carrying bikes on the back without the extra set of tail lights is a smart thing to do...

[Jim Bennett]

Most likely the same in any jurisdiction, Doug. But yeah, still not the smart thing to do.

I added my own. Bought the lights from Tammy to match, and spent about 3 hours to do it. The hardest part was feeding the wires trough to under the bed. Mounting the lights and connecting the wires took about 30 minutes. Best though to have it done at the factory if you plan to carry bikes.

[KLRchickie]

I knew we'd get a lot of "anything to be SAFE" type comments.

The picture is very appreciated, as it shows that bikes actually do obscure the tail lights a fair bit.

The fact is that both our car and our van have tail lights that show surprisingly well around our bikes on the rack, so automatically assuming that they'd be obscured on the trailer is silly.

[Jim Bennett]

Well, we are a silly bunch.

[cpaharley2008]

The other issue with bikes on the rear is your license plate, it can not be obscured and must be easily readable from a certain distance. It appears from the photo's#6 that the tag is not clearly visible.
One may want to relocate the plate holder and light to prevent "any excuse" of being detained, particularly in these times of "creative" ways of increasing local revenue by local authorities. Reminds me of this commercial

GEICO Piggy Pulled Over Commercial - Pig Driving a Convertible - YouTube

[KLRchickie]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Well, we are a silly bunch.

Ah, but did you install those extra lights because you objectively looked at the situation, or because "everyone said you should"?

Tell me I "hafta do something" and you've just encouraged me to look for reasons why not to!

[Jim Bennett]

Me, I am a conformist. I bow easily to peer pressure.

Truthfully, it was a cheap and easy retrofit, and certainly could help in some situations. In truth, I am rather non-conforming.

[nealmccarter]

We ordered them thinking better safe than sorry. $95 didn't seem like a terrible amount in the big scheme of things.

[KLRchickie]

Originally Posted by nealmccarter

We ordered them thinking better safe than sorry. $95 didn't seem like a terrible amount in the big scheme of things.

We are also trying not to $100 option ourselves to death...

[cpaharley2008]

If you ever owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle you know that H-D stands for "hundred dollar" because that is that most items associated with ownership costs.

[techfan]

Our A-frame trailer lights were almost 18 inches higher than the Escape. The Escape lights are lower than many other trailers. We also found that California truckers follow so close that I couldn't see how they could see my lights over their cab front. Besides being fairly low cost, this is one option that is not easily added later. Many other options can be added later, led bulb changes, A/C (if you had the prep work done) different faucet, different sink, etc, but the tail lights, not so much... so we decided to have them added and have not regretted them one bit. A good investment for safety.

[KLRchickie]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

If you ever owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle you know that H-D stands for "hundred dollar" because that is that most items associated with ownership costs.

Ducati, Kawasaki, and Yamaha here. No Harley Davidsons!!!!

[kstock11]

I've always believed in upgrading to the latest safety option. I've installed seat belts, third brake lights, etc. in cars. Worn bike helmets before they were required. For the cost of an inexpensive upgrade, my 19' will be more visible. Maybe the car behind the car behind me will see it when I hit the brakes. One avoided collision is well worth the expense.