I carry our 2 ebikes inside the AS. Set up costs about $100. Works great. Very simple and effective. If you are interested you can PM me, and I’ll tell you how. I think spending $800 on a rack and then spend more money for more secure parts is really expensive. I can see the FIAMMA for lighter bikes, but not ebikes.
i installed the pro pride brackets....seriousky heavy duty plus i moved from a 10 to a 12 sm screw, also with a much coarser thread than the dealer's
B
Thanks Ken - I will go and have a look..... Ok I understand now what you have done. This is great - Thanks!
Hi Doug,
Did you ever get your Fiamma rack mod done? Just curious. I installed the ss brackets from propride and now feel it’s bulletproof.
Thanks,
Ken
Hi Doug,
Did you ever get your Fiamma rack mod done? Just curious. I installed the ss brackets from propride and now feel it’s bulletproof.
Thanks,
Ken
Hi Ken - I also installed the ProPride Brackets and they have been brilliant.
Cheers
Doug
__________________ Trying to use my camera to create memories - not photographs!
Hi, we just purchased an AS 2019 25ft....have not bought the Fiamma bike rack yet...Ive read the threads and what you are suggesting looks like the best option to add support, without voiding the factory warranty. We have two fat tire bikes and was wonder if the factory tire trays will fit 4 inch tires. Our fat tire bikes are Giant momentum that weight 34 lbs each, so we are right at the limit of the weight recommended. We have a great Thule hitch bike rack that Ive used for years, but I have been afraid to fabricate a hitch receiver on the trailer, due to warranty issues and separation. Thanks ...are the support arms that you installed aluminum, what are they made of?
Hi, we just purchased an AS 2019 25ft....have not bought the Fiamma bike rack yet...Ive read the threads and what you are suggesting looks like the best option to add support, without voiding the factory warranty. We have two fat tire bikes and was wonder if the factory tire trays will fit 4 inch tires. Our fat tire bikes are Giant momentum that weight 34 lbs each, so we are right at the limit of the weight recommended. We have a great Thule hitch bike rack that Ive used for years, but I have been afraid to fabricate a hitch receiver on the trailer, due to warranty issues and separation. Thanks ...are the support arms that you installed aluminum, what are they made of?
We had Colonial Airstream install the Fiamma bike rack prior to picking up or 2019 FC 19CB last January. The first time we used it for our two mountain bikes it was a tight fit to get both of the bikes on the rack. I don't think the narrow wheel trays will accommodate fat tire width. The rack performed well on the 160 trip to the campground but it renders the trunk compartment near useless. By the time we got home the rack had started to pull from the AS. The rack did not fail, it was in installation issue where they did not connect it to anything solid, they had missed the rib during installation. Colonial was great at working with my local dealer in Michgan and were willing to cover the cost to have it repaired/reinstalled or to have it repaired/unistalled.
We were lucky the rack did not fall on the highway with $6000 worth of bikes. While I was not in love with the rack we decided to have them fix/re-install the rack. We then left the dealer and went next door and fell in love with a couple of eBikes. The weight of those surpassed the Fiamma specs so that changed our minds and we had them remove the rack. That was a relief, for the first time we were able to see the beautiful back of the AS while getting full access to our trunk. We will now be hauling our bikes above the tonnau cover on the truck.
Another option I was not aware of is finding someone that will custom fabricate a hitch receiver on the back of your AS. Our local deal does this with a weight ratting of 400 pounds as it ties into the frame. This would have been great outside of that fact that with our single axle AS the additional weight was more than we wanted with our limited payload.
I took my 2016 20ft Flying Cloud to J.D. Sanders in Alachula FL (recent ownership change) to install the suggested steel pro pride bike brackets to avoid the bracket failure documented in pervious posts. I did not feel comfortable removing and installing the new part.
The technician stated that I could create a major problem in a few years due to the reaction created by a large piece of steel (even with the foam backing) contacting the aluminum panel. I decided not to continue, before I recieved input from the AS expects.
Is this a valid concern? I certainly do not want to place the bikes or Air Stream in jeopardy.
Having maintained a few aluminum aircraft in the past - a couple of those in very harsh marine environments - i suggest the concern is not unfounded but manageable and likely better than losing the rack, if that is the point. When we swapped out the std fare zinc plated steel fasteners for stainless steel wherever we could, with a nylon washer under the head and pulling all the fasteners out of a baggie with CorrosionX inside during installation, we nearly cancelled our annual "scrape, sand, etch, alodyne and paint" contest. In dryer climes, the nylon washers were discarded without negative results.
Also, the fasteners that attach the parts - "old" aluminum or new stainless steel - appear to be stainless steel. I you weren't seeing rampant galvanic corrosion evidence on the old aluminum part, it is likely you can safely and effectively manage the risk with a rubber gasket and some appropriate sealant in the screw hole and a shot of CorrosionX or Boeshield(sp?) when all done.
I am not an engineer and did not play one on TV, don't try this at home, YMMV...
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2017 Int'l Serenity 27FB
2020 F250 powered by converted solar
Skip, as noted in #62 i too went with the seriously engineered ProPride brackets, installed by my local dealer. VERY HAPPY WITH PRODUCT!
Watch post #52 and make sure your dealer does too. My dealer originally installed my fiamma, but mounted the brackets about 3" lower than that instructed by AS in the vid. Dealer didn't echo the metal compatibility issue, but then again they installed it wrong....and would never admit even after reviewing the vid which pre-dated the install. I'm the last to give metal compatibility advuce, but the old bracket was steel, just a cheap pot metal vs eelded plate stock. The deal did use the provided rubber gaskef.I
completed the installation of the FIAMMA bike rack in our As 22FB.
i as mentioned, i had to makes some mods as the 22FB is not as wide and the bumper is also not as wide.
i used the 3m tape to hold the foam under the SS bracket and used plenty of Sikaflex 221 to ensure no water gets in. it gets tacky in 1 hours and fully cured in 7 days
FIAMMA/AS do not supply the SS #10 screws to install the bracket top the AS. these are user supplied (;
here are the as installed pics showing it in place as well as closed and open
you need to be handy and have many tools to do this install at home
Bad installation. I always screw the outside row into the vertical support locating them between the rivets, using as fat of stainless steel screws that will fit through the bracket. I rivet the inside row through the sheet aluminum, not so much for support but for guidance.
Seal the holes with Sikaflex, not silicone (incompatible with aluminum).
I've done it this way on my last three trailers without failure.
Silverwind - we are installing a Fiamma rack on our new Caravel 22FB - i have forwarded your comments to our airstream center to help with the install...
does it block access to the bumper compartment when the bikes are not loaded?
I have installed Propride's Fiamma Bike Rack Replacement Mounts. Like others, I view these as a safety improvement. Now that the weakest point in the system may be the Airstream wall frame member, I keep an eye on the wall to make sure that it is not deforming.
I added a 4" x 4" aluminum backing plate on the interior wall of the Airstream to help spread out the load from the mounting bolts.
When I placed my bikes onto the rack I noticed that the lower horizontal member of the Fiamma frame would flex down and toward the rear bumper a small amount. In order to eliminate/reduce this movement I put a pipe clamp with a threaded rod bolted to the bumper (see photo). This should reduce the dynamic loads on the rack when hitting all of those potholes in the roads.
When the bikes are on and I have them covered against rain, my Airstream taillights are obstructed more than I'd like. So I added a set of taillights to the Fiamma rack. I attached them to the aluminum channel that I installed to accommodate my fat tire bike.
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2017 25' Flying Cloud
2018 F-250 6.2L Gas
Blue Ox SwayPro 1000#
as a few others have mentioned , additional support is cheap insurance.
our home window installers had extra steel flashing
i used 3 of 1/16" steel flashing on each bracket. I bent them individually into shape. the three were bolted together with SS bolts and lock nuts.
it is now almost 1/4" thick with the paint and 3m VHB tape.
the existing SS bolts was attached to the FIAMMA frame.
the 4 ss screws were pre-drilled, tapped and VHB bond to the bumper.
i did not have any silver outdoor paint so i sued my bronze crackle paint.
two brackets were added and the rack is DEAD SOLID.
It is now support in 6 point; rear wall, bumper center, bumper end
2014 25' Flying Cloud
1987 29' Sovereign
1978 31' Sovereign
Tampa Bay
, Florida
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 412
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathygeese
We had the same problem and cheap pot metal on a high stress point may save Fiamma a few bucks but really inexcusable. Just lucky we didn’t lose the bikes and cause a serious accident behind us. In the process of buying a 27’ FC FBQ and selling my 25’ FC FBQ with the Fiamma rack and based on my experience, will research other options. $800 with so many know failures of that part is not good customer service IMHO.
Anyone know if Fiamma has addressed these problems going forward?
Any recommendations on a better brand option for carrying bikes in/on an Airstream FC? How about e bikes as they are usually heavier?
Thanks
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☘ 369goose
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
2014 25' Flying Cloud
1987 29' Sovereign
1978 31' Sovereign
Tampa Bay
, Florida
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 412
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daquenzer
I carry our 2 ebikes inside the AS. Set up costs about $100. Works great. Very simple and effective. If you are interested you can PM me, and I’ll tell you how. I think spending $800 on a rack and then spend more money for more secure parts is really expensive. I can see the FIAMMA for lighter bikes, but not ebikes.
Interested in your inside setup but Don’t know how to PM from here.
__________________
☘ 369goose
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
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