Berlino M59/Mk2 (2007) compatible with THULE 973 BackPac ?

[tomas81]

Hello
I´m looking for an info about compatibility of THULE 973 BackPac bike rack for 5th door.
Berlingo is M59 (Mk2 - 2007), 5th door is one-piece and opening up.

Has anybody an experience with this bike rack on that series of Berlingo?
Or anything similar?

Thank you in advance
Have a nice day
Tomas

[Gryffindor]

No experience, but I think you would need stronger gas lifters for the tailgate (as we call the 5th door).

Or, because sometimes the rack will have bikes on it and sometimes not, maybe a powered lifting device which can cope with different weights.

[Gryffindor]

I see that it weight 11kg and can take up to 60kg of bikes.

Try hanging similar weights from your tailgate to test the gas lifters.

Also contact Thule directly and ask their advice whether the rack fits your Berlingo.

[tomas81]

No experience, but I think you would need stronger gas lifters for the tailgate (as we call the 5th door).

Or, because sometimes the rack will have bikes on it and sometimes not, maybe a powered lifting device which can cope with different weights.

Thank you Rasputin. That is a good point with the additional weight being lifted on tailgate, when lifted up. I didnt consider it before.

I have contacted local (czech, slovak and hungarian) Thule wholesalers, but they state the same as the Thule official manuals that compatible is rack only with B 2008 - 2015.

I guess some of them just havent experience with Mk2 and follow the Thule's configurator, but hungarian guy described, that Mk2 has different form of tailgate and bumber...

[Pedronicus]

Do the Mk 2s (B9?) not have the opening glass section of the rear door? If so I would not be dangling possibly an extra 70+kg on it.

[Gryffindor]

My M59 does not have an opening glass section - no idea about the B9.

Your best bet is to download owners manuals for M59 and B9 and compare the bodywork.

I can't find an M59 manual right now, but this is a link to the Haynes repair manual:
https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-142...l#pid91767

Lots of B9 manuals (after 2008) online:
https://carmanuals2.com/brand/citroen
https://www.carpdfmanual.com/citro%C3%AB...nuals-pdf/
https://www.manualslib.com/products/Citr...44200.html

Their back doors are different shapes and sizes, so if Thule says the bike rack will not work on an M59, then it will not.

Search for racks suitable for Berlingos before 2008 not later.

I found this on eBay UK:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284082005249
It is genuine Citroen, suits 2007 M59, and must be very rare now. The item is collection in person only, but maybe you can convince the seller to ship for a price, or maybe you can arrange a courier?

Only other option on eBay UK is:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391832786944
Not Citroen. I am not sure it is any good?

[Gryffindor]

I found this on eBay UK:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284082005249
It is genuine Citroen, suits 2007 M59, and must be very rare now. The item is collection in person only, but maybe you can convince the seller to ship for a price, or maybe you can arrange a courier?

There is a Make Offer button. Make a generous offer and you can also add a note - so make the offer to include shipping, arranged by you or by the seller. If your offer is good enough, way above any bids he will get, he might say yes.

I once sold a magic lantern on eBay but with shipping only to the UK because it was large and heavy. I expected to make maybe £150.

A German resident contacted me and asked if I would ship to Germany? No, it would cost too much.
He asked me to find out how much, £70 - just for shipping.
He accepted the shipping price and asked again if I would allow him to bid.
I said if the bidding went over £200 I would accept his bid.

He won the auction with the highest bid - over £400! Plus £70 shipping!

The magic lantern must have been very rare, like this bike rack.

[tomas81]

My M59 does not have an opening glass section - no idea about the B9.

Your best bet is to download owners manuals for M59 and B9 and compare the bodywork.

I can't find an M59 manual right now, but this is a link to the Haynes repair manual:
https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-142...l#pid91767

Lots of B9 manuals (after 2008) online:
https://carmanuals2.com/brand/citroen
https://www.carpdfmanual.com/citro%C3%AB...nuals-pdf/
https://www.manualslib.com/products/Citr...44200.html

Their back doors are different shapes and sizes, so if Thule says the bike rack will not work on an M59, then it will not.

Search for racks suitable for Berlingos before 2008 not later.

I found this on eBay UK:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284082005249
It is genuine Citroen, suits 2007 M59, and must be very rare now. The item is collection in person only, but maybe you can convince the seller to ship for a price, or maybe you can arrange a courier?

Only other option on eBay UK is:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391832786944
Not Citroen. I am not sure it is any good?

Thank you for your effort to do the search on eBay. I wrote to the seller if is he willing to ship to Slovakia.

The reasons, why I was preffering the Thule 973 BackPac are 
1) tailgate is still openable while rack and bikes are hang (good point is the extra +30 or even 50kg weight)
2) no straps are used to fix the rack to the tailgate

Of course, the best way should be to mount a hitch and buy a appropriate rack, but this seems to me quite expensive option (260+260 EUR).

Once again, thank you all for your interest and help.

[Pedronicus]

The reasons, why I was preffering the Thule 973 BackPac are 
1) tailgate is still openable while rack and bikes are hang (good point is the extra +30 or even 50kg weight)
2) no straps are used to fix the rack to the tailgate

The User Manual (downloadable from Thule's web site) for this rack does not recommend opening the tailgate with the bikes mounted.

[tomas81]

The reasons, why I was preffering the Thule 973 BackPac are 
1) tailgate is still openable while rack and bikes are hang (good point is the extra +30 or even 50kg weight)
2) no straps are used to fix the rack to the tailgate

The User Manual (downloadable from Thule's web site) for this rack does not recommend opening the tailgate with the bikes mounted.

Thanks, that suggested me a lot.