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HowieE · 02-07-2016, 10:21 AM

For years Airstream said you could not carry bikes on the rear bumper of an Airstream.

I designed and install my rake over 10 years ago. If you look at it you will see the vertical load is carried by the bumper and the rotational load, the one most likely to cause fatigue failure, is carried by the straps secured to the windowsill.

It is just poor engineering to expect a cast fitting to survive prolonged shock loads. Yes a better alloy would prolong the life but not eliminate the problem. Some form of compliance, the straps, has to be designed into the system.

wcrockett · 02-22-2016, 05:19 PM

Both of my brackets broke exactly as shown in the photographs. One broke the first time I used the rack. Fiamma claims I installed them incorrectly and refuses to warranty them. I have traveled about 15,000 miles since I bolted those brackets back in-place with the same two bikes on the rack. I have had no problems but I will never buy another Fiamma rack because they refuse to acknowledge that the part is defective and they want me to pay $50 for each new bracket. I have no assurance that the new brackets will not break like the orginal ones. They do not stand behind their product.

kscherzi · 07-04-2016, 06:31 PM

I've studied the photographs and wonder why did only one of the two flanges break, and happened to the pin, or rivet, that connected both parts? From the photos it almost appears the the pin slipped downward over time ultimately letting go of the top flange. If so the the bottom flange would have to take the full load and also be subject to a significant torque leading to failure.

I have the same Fiamma rack. I noticed that I happened to install one arm with the pin, or rivet, where the head is on top. The other I installed where the head is on the bottom. That one hasn't slipped but I'll be keeping an eye on it. Otherwise both parts seem okay.

Kilroy · 12-27-2016, 10:10 AM

I know this is an old thread, but am very happy I found it. I will not be buying a Fiamma rack. Still trying to decide what to do about bike rack. HowieE's rack design is a super thought. Was thinking about an upper attachment to back of Avion. Strap makes a lot more since than rigid mount.

Skip Stone · 01-07-2017, 11:40 AM

We recently purchased a 20ft Flying Cloud and are avid cyclists. I would like to carry two 29 pound mountain bikes on the back of the F.C. I was going to utilize the Fiamma rack, however after reading these posts, I honestly not have concerns, and do not want to place the bikes at risk.

Are the any bike rack options that will allow us the carry them off the back? I have a F-150 with a low ARE cover that may carry surfboards. Any input greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year - Skip

kscherzi · 01-07-2017, 05:42 PM

I have the Fiamma rack on my trailer and have yet to have a problem. I carry two road bikes. Hundreds of miles.

aftermath · 01-07-2017, 06:10 PM

I also have two bikes that we carry and have gone thousands of miles without an issue. As with all things, there will always be stories of things that go wrong. You need to look at the big body of evidence out there before you head off in another direction.

dkottum · 01-07-2017, 08:23 PM

Some Airstreamers have had their bike racks break and some Airstreamers have had lots of stuff break, come loose, and get thrown around inside their trailers. We have not had either and have towed a lot of miles traveling around the country for many years.

Kilroy · 01-08-2017, 06:20 AM

I just ordered a 1UP Superduty. Owner says rated for back of RV. Not cheap. Need 2" receiver. Google 1UP bike rack.

wcrockett · 01-08-2017, 06:39 AM

Fiamma refused to warranty my broken part because I did did the install and did not install it exactly as described in a You Tube video from an Airstream Service tech. That procedure is not described in their own installation manual. They were very explicit in explaining that I should have reviewed the you tube video because their own manual does not describe the required procedure or reference this video. That is just poor customer service and a lame excuse for denying a claim to replace a $50 part for a new rack used one time that was less than 30 days old. If you buy that rack be sure you pay airstream to install it. Based on this experience my opinion is that they will deny all warranty claims for racks not installed by Airstream dealers.

trumpetguy · 01-08-2017, 07:36 AM

Here is a link to a guy who had a receiver fabricated for a bike rack. I copied him and am pleased with the result.
https://youtu.be/Zzpwm7fVZts

Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

dkottum · 01-08-2017, 08:21 AM

The trouble with receiver mounted bike racks is the Airstream construction. The shell and frame are designed and fastened together as a single unit. The frame will flex, adding weight on an extended moment arm will make it flex more going down the road. Excessive weight on the frame without a shell attachment to stabilize the rotational downward forces on the frame (but not the shell) may result in shell/frame separation.

airstream327 · 01-12-2017, 07:40 PM

Check out a simple solution to make the fiamma bike rack easy to remove general repair section

Silver.Sanctuary · 02-03-2017, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wcrockett

Both of my brackets broke exactly as shown in the photographs. One broke the first time I used the rack. Fiamma claims I installed them incorrectly and refuses to warranty them. I have traveled about 15,000 miles since I bolted those brackets back in-place with the same two bikes on the rack. I have had no problems but I will never buy another Fiamma rack because they refuse to acknowledge that the part is defective and they want me to pay $50 for each new bracket. I have no assurance that the new brackets will not break like the orginal ones. They do not stand behind their product.

I read somewhere here that one bracket failed within 30 days and Fiamma refused to honor the warranty because the owner didn't watch the Airstream Youtube video before installing. Is this correct?

I don't know why they would be so proud of the Airstream video, since Ken Maxwell takes you to assemble the rails to the initial assembly and that video says to use M5x50 machine screws. IT IS WRONG!!! There are only 3 M5x50 machine screws and they go on the short arm sliders. The manual shows M6x50 to assemble the rail to the initial assembly.

CruizinDux · 02-03-2017, 10:26 PM

We have a Fiamma mounted on our FC20. Two cruiser bikes under the load limit and all is well so far. Pain in the butt to get into rear storage on the 20'. I finally cut a slit in a garden hose for the bike chain as I got tired of getting grease on my sleeve.

Bob

p.s. Skip Stone you may want to check out the 20-footers thread. Welcome to the 20's club.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f542...27845-108.html

Armadillo · 02-03-2017, 11:23 PM

Wow, this really caught my eye because it is a big concern for me. We have a Fiamma bike rack and the bracket broke on the street side (exactly as depicted in the photo in an early part of this thread) on the third day of our cross country trip to Florida. Fortunately, I just happened to see it at a gas stop and was able to wire the rack to a hole in the remaining part of the bracket attached to the trailer. On the way back from Florida, the other bracket broke in a similar fashion and again I was fortunate to catch it in time and wire it to the remaining part of the attached bracket on the trailer. Needless to say I check the rack at each stop I make. I carry two mountain bikes (one is 31 pounds and the other is 34 pounds which puts the total weight at 10 pounds under the stated 75 pound max weight). I called and emailed the Fiamma rep (I think his name was Kevin) and was told they wouldn't warranty the parts. So, I paid close to $100 for the two replacement brackets. Had them installed. Headed out on another cross country trip to the Northeast. Again, one of the brackets failed as described in the first post on this thread. Upon our return, I again bought some new brackets and had them installed. Bought a lighter bike for my wife but don't know what else to do to keep from losing my bikes on the freeway....but a bigger concern is what could happen to whoever might be driving behind me. A really scary thought. Any suggestions? I would definitely like to ditch the Fiamma bike rack and maybe go with a rack mounted above the propane tanks over the hitch.

kscherzi · 02-04-2017, 10:13 AM

Can you tell how the part broke? Did the pin shear, or did the pin appear to slide out of place? Speculation so far has been on the manufacturing process. But looking at my rack and the photo's I'm not convinced. If the metal were equally poor between the various parts then I would have expected the part with the single hole to fail on occasion too, not always just the part with two holes that's physically attached to the trailer as that has as much metal taking the load. However if the pin sheared, or slid out of place first, then it would have applied a significant torque to the part with two holes leading to a quick failure.

Silver.Sanctuary · 02-05-2017, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kscherzi

I've studied the photographs and wonder why did only one of the two flanges break, and happened to the pin, or rivet, that connected both parts? From the photos it almost appears the the pin slipped downward over time ultimately letting go of the top flange. If so the the bottom flange would have to take the full load and also be subject to a significant torque leading to failure.

I have the same Fiamma rack. I noticed that I happened to install one arm with the pin, or rivet, where the head is on top. The other I installed where the head is on the bottom. That one hasn't slipped but I'll be keeping an eye on it. Otherwise both parts seem okay.

I am sitting here with the two arms from my Fiamma rack. The video clearly tells you to put the longer part of the flange to the inside. Since the ones I have are identical, if you follow the Airstream video instructions, one WILL be up and one will be down! That is the only way they can be, and if they are all assembled the same, then the one on the left will be with the head down, potentially allowing for the rivet to slide down if the flared part of the rivet works loose. That part looks the weakest.

It sounds though, like the right one (as you look at it) fails too... Does it fail on the bottom only like the one on the left?

My concern (in addition to worrying about the bikes or cars behind me being damaged due to a catastrophic failure, is that Fiamma appears to be refusing to replace brackets under warranty. Were the reported failed brackets in this post refused because the warranty was past? Or were they clearly under warranty?

If enough people have been refused warranty replacement when the conditions of the warranty were not violated, we ought to be talking a class action suit. Problem is that legal fees would probably outweigh the remedy gain. Maybe that is what they are counting on. I certainly don't have any respect for Fiamma at this point. I will certainly arrange a safety strap to hold that upper bar if the brackets both go....

For the lower part of the bracket to fail in a brittle fatigue fracture, the slider on the bigger bar must be binding, because the design is to only put tensile and compressive forces on that short rod tube, and therefore only direct shear forces to the pin and consequently the bracket. If the slide binds, then I can see up and downward forces from the short tube being induced to the pin, resulting in forces pushing up and down on the bracket, ultimately resulting in a brittle failure from continued flexing. Since these forces, if they are occuring are applied to the upper part of the bracket closer to the large flange (caused by a downward force) the unsupported length of the cantilever is shorter than the forces caused by the same downward movement being applied to the bottom part of the bracket where the unsupported distance is longer. Upward forces would be the opposite, but with gravity helping on the downward arm movement, the failure of the lower part of the bracket would understandably occur first.

I am at a loss to see why the bracket would bind and put those downward forces onto the arm, pin, and bracket combination. Maybe applying teflon to the bigger tube at the point where the sliding bracket rides would help keep the slide from binding?

Of course these are all questions Fiamma engineers should be asking. With an apparently significant number of Fiamma owners not having a problem, maybe the failures only occur on brackets that are cast with flaws. Since both arms are identical, it would be logical that if some batches are formed much weaker than others, the boxes could easily end up with both parts flawed. I am tempted to drill out the rivet an put in Class 8 button head cap screws, both oriented with the nut down. This wouldn't keep a bracket from a brittle failure caused by excessive flexing if it is occurring, but at least you wouldn't worry about the pin sliding down and putting all stress on the lower bracket. If Fiamma is not honoring the warranty, then I don't lose anything fixing that part of their design. My bikes are only 52 pounts and I will load the 35 pound Verve 2 inboard and the 17 pound Trek outboard. Pretty sad to pay $600 for a bike rack and be convinced it will fail without doing something to fix what has to be a poor design.

I am tempted to machine identical brackets out of aluminum stock and not use their failing castings.

kscherzi · 02-05-2017, 09:15 AM

It is bothersome. Worst is that Fiamma isn't coming up with a fix. Just contuing to sell suspect parts. I've not had any problems yet but am hanging close to 5k worth of road bikes off the back of the trailer. I have a welder and am tempted to fabricate two replacement brackets out of steel. Should not be hard and may put my mind to rest. In the meantime I do strap the rack to the awning as a backup.

Silver.Sanctuary · 02-05-2017, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kscherzi

... If the metal were equally poor between the various parts then I would have expected the part with the single hole to fail on occasion too, not always just the part with two holes that's physically attached to the trailer as that has as much metal taking the load....

It is easy to see if you have the parts in front of you. The part with a single hole is at least twice as thick as either flange on the two hole part. That cross section is much beefier and is not going to fail before the flange.