Fiamma Bike Rack Broke

[GT3RS]

Got a 2014 27' FB International Classic, love it! We have over 100 nights in this baby and we can't wait to spend another. One of the additions we made was to install the Fiamma Bike rack. Great bike rack. However on our last trip from Colorado to Florida in October the rack attachment to the left side (driver side) broke in route to St. Augustine from Pensacola. See attachments. Been looking for a parts list so I can order order the part and replace or talk to Airstream/Fiamma about fixing part under warranty. Don't want to take it to dealer since service is awful! Rather do it myself. Any suggests/advice or guidance? By the way, my temporary fix (MacGyver), Gorilla Glue, a metal screw and nut and Gorilla Duct tape. It held from St. Augustine to Key Largo to Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale to San Antonio, TX and back to Denver. I want to fix it properly, so your help is truly appreciated.

Thank You,

Francisco
2014 27' FB International Classic
2014 Ford F-350 Superduty

[Protagonist]

You could contact Fiamma USA directly. (Fiamma Inc. - Home). You'd have to special-order the part you need. I'd recommend getting a spare if it's not too expensive… if it broke once it might break again.

[Debbie Ray]

My Fiamma rack had both brackets fail while on I5 in California this week. I have contacted the Airstream dealer and Fiamma USA. Neither had any options for me since the one year warranty expired 90 days ago. Two expensive bikes were damaged but thankfully we did not cause a pile up on the interstate. I'm obviously not happy with this product and looking for other options
Debbie



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[BAB]

I had the same part break on the Fiamma bike rack that was on my '12 28' Intl CCD. It was around $56 to replace that bracket. Dealer ordered the part for me. I am NOT putting a Fiamma bike rack on my new Classic. I bought Dahon folding bikes. Two of them cost not much more than a Fiamma bike rack and I won't have to deal with the contortionistic necessity that would be involved in removing a 50amp cord from the trailer trunk with bikes on the rear.

[Sbb]

My bike rack dropped the red knobs that held the bikes on, just va ished off tne back. Need to get replacement. The bike was a lot, the rack a lot and I pAid to install. Some how somebody needs to take responsibility.

[dwightdi]

The picture of the break indicates a brittle failure. They have used the wrong grade of aluminum for the casting. They likely used a high silica content alloy for sand or permanent mold casting, which give good strength, but no ductility. Flamma needs to respecify the proper alloy, have replacement parts made, and conduct a recall of all their products to fix the problem. Doing less than that should result in multiple law suites. Because this has the potential to cause a serious road accident people who have experienced this failure should file a complaint with the DOT.

[Skater]

I'd be pretty upset if that happened to my road bike (an old made-in-Pennsylvania Cannondale with a custom paint job), plus the risk of causing an accident. That rack is too expensive not to be covered for a defect like that!

[HiJoeSilver]

This should be a major issue to AS and Fiamma. As an engineer looking at those 2 fractures, this is a blatantly obvious design and manufacturing defect. Regardless of the warranty period, if one of these broke off of the back of a trailer and caused an accident by falling into the following traffic, they could both be looking at MAJOR lawsuits.
With few of these produced relative to other racks due to their narrow market, and the fact that several people on here have had similar issue, this could be a serious issue that if neither AS or Faimma address could land them both in court. Manufacturers typically have insurance to cover the expense of recalls, they should use it.

[ckottum]

Are those bikes electric? I think the maximum load on the Fiamma rack is 75 lbs. total.

cheryl

[Debbie Ray]

Since my initial post it has been determined that my rack was over loaded by 15 pounds. I take responsibility for this but I'm still concerned that these brackets are an issue. Please be sure you load your Fiamma rack well below the limit it appears they are not very forgiving!!
Since this is the only rack Airstream recommends it seems there is no good solution to transport two e-bikes.
Debbie


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[batman]

"
Since this is the only rack Airstream recommends it seems there is no good solution to transport two e-bikes.
Debbie


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Why not put a receiver on the front of your tow vehicle, insert bike rack.
Typical load limit for a class-3 front mount would be 500 lbs, tongue weight.

-Dennis

[Debbie Ray]

Dennis
That is exactly what I decided to do. There certainly are cons for carrying bikes on front but I don't feel I can trust the Fiamma rack with even one electric bike.


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[Gringo]

We're in a state park in Colorado, and I just spent the morning looking at front receiver hitches for our F-250SD . Unfortunately, the only one on the market for our truck would cost almost $ 500 installed, would require the removal of our factory fog lights, and would also not be compatible with our Westin stainless grill guard. SO, for me to spend $ 500 to end up with a front receiver hitch and have to throw away $ 700 worth of grill guard and two perfectly good fog lights doesn't make much sense. Still would have to buy a bike rack to go with the $ 500 hitch, making this a pretty expensive way to go. I'm thinking the Fiamma bike rack is still the best option, if people can manage to keep weight in mind. As sailors and pilots, we're clued into weight penalties already.

For those front brackets to fail, there must have been a lot of weight cantilevered out aft of the bumper. Those brackets normally don't see any load, they're just for vertical balance/stabilization. To prevent torque on the bumper mount.

[HiJoeSilver]

How about a rooftop Thule or Yakima for on top of the truck?

[carver 1]

I had a Fiamma on my 25' Int'l CCD and i was concerned, although I never had a failure. The new 30' Classic though would not permit me to use a Fiamma because of lack of access to the rear storage and the blocking of the emergency exit while the bikes were installed. I went to a front receiver on my F-250 and it has worked out well for us. I also like the fact that if the Admiral and I want to leave the trailer and explore elsewhere we can take our bikes with us.

>>ron<<

[dugster]

Picking up our 28 FC in 2 weeks with Fiamma rack installed. I will trust the warranty but look for a place to mount an emergency strap as a back up. From what I understand, the large storage area in the rear twin allows access when bikes are not on the rack. I'm just not crazy about front hitches that catch all the bugs.

[dkottum]

We have been using the Fiamma rack since they came out without problems. Several cross-country trips all over the country. It is easy to use, the bikes stay clean, and the weight at the rear balances some weight off the somewhat heavy tongue weight.

We tow with a softly-sprung Ram 1500 hitched with a flexible tapered round w.d. bar hitch, and set our Michelin 16" tire pressure at 65 psi of the 80 psi maximum. Have not experienced cabinets breaking, screws loosing or pulling out inside our Airstream, or trouble with the bike rack.

We used a similar Fiamma rack on our VW Camper and extensive travel for many years without issues. They have been a good product for us.

[twh731]

We haven't actually traveled with our Safari yet so I don't have any actual experience except watching my parents' preparations in the very distant past. Just wondering if it wouldn't be acceptable to put the bicycles inside the A/s on the floor or on a pad on one of the beds or couch? Normally the front wheels are easily removed and can utilize a smaller space. Tom

[SeaLevel]

We plan to start by carrying them in the bed of our truck, to see how that works out, but based on research, it sounds like some people also use something like this inside their AS:

http://www.amazon.com/Racor-PBS-2R-T...=two+bike+rack

Although I think carrying them inside the AS is an interesting idea, it seems like it could be a hassle for one night stops.

[dkottum]

SeaLevel, we carry that Recor Bike Stand with us to park our bikes in camp, and in the back of our pickup to take the bikes exploring away from camp. It will not hold the bikes upright traveling without a heavy strap looped around the bike frame and fastened to the bed of the truck.

Yes, I think for traveling place to place, bikes inside would be a hassle. And Murphy's Law suggests sooner or later they will damage the Airstream interior. We use the Airstream Fiamma rack when towing. Our bikes provide local touring for us most places we stop, so they must be convenient.