Patrick, Versatility as you described will top my list of features when I am next shopping for a new-to-me vehicle. I have also given much thought to an enclosed travel trailer, that could permanently house a family of bikes and be easily towed when travel called-a bike shed on wheels. Of course, I also harbor fantasies of living car free! :)
On Friday, May 1, 2015 at 3:53:33 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote: > > This is why I always drive vans of some sort that allow the rear seats to > be removed. Currently, my '06 PT Cruiser will easily carry 2 medium bikes > inside with front wheels removed, while still accommodating 2 in people in > the front (57-60 c-c frame equivalents). I bet I could get 4 inside with > both wheels removed. > > My erstwhile 1984 Acadiane would take at least 4 with front wheels on; at > least, it would take a fully assembled '80s Ken Rogers racing trike with > room to spare and no hassle with the roofline. > > A Sprinter seems the ideal solution for a family of bikes. My own *beau > ideal* is a Transit Connect in full tradesman's kit -- basic white, no > rear seats, rubber mats, etc etc.; clean it out with leaf blower (as I did > for my '90 Voyager after it was stripped of 2d and 3d row seats, interior > cladding, trim, carpeting; and after my daughter had decorated the interior > with Magic Marker and I had applied almost 150 stickers to the outside.) > > On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 9:19 AM, KC <kathys...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > >> This info is very helpful as we will be purchasing a carrier >> immediately. Turns out the fork paint damage on my beautiful new bike was >> likely caused by the current carrier (Yakima hitch-mount swing away). >> Although we couldn't figure out how it could be happening, the person >> loading the carrier (rude to name him) has been extremely concerned about >> my bike and tried a new position yesterday resulting in nice scrapes on the >> back side of the frame. Best guess is even though they were loaded at the >> far ends of the 4-bike carrier, my bike was attacked by the other bike's >> brake lever. I will likely have to take Keven's advice to stop crying and >> put on clear nail polish and then cover with reflective tape. At >> this point I will be quite nicely reflecting on one side of the bike. >> Since I'm hoping to not continue the process and the carrier loader is >> trying to avoid being killed, looks like we will probably buy a new carrier >> immediately. >> >> It kills me to see my mixtie hanging askew on the hanging racks (and why >> is only my bike getting scratched up?), especially when we add the 2 >> kiddo's bikes into the mix. I've considered the attachment to create the >> cross bar on my bike, but it seems like an accident waiting to happen. >> Somehow it seems a platform would be more "organized". We have other >> hanging carriers (quit using them because we replaced with a swing-away to >> have access to the back of the vehicles). It helped me to see the above >> comments and wanted to see if there are any updates that would be of use to >> us. After reading the above, I think I am right about the platform being >> maybe a little better for the mix of bikes and am a little leery of further >> experimentation with my bike on the hanging carrier. I don't think we >> could easily handle a roof mount and the roof top is reserved for >> a kayak anyway.. >> >> We drive a Subaru Outback and Jeep Grand Cherokee, moving the carrier >> back and forth. If we had a 4-bike carrier on, we probably wouldn't get >> out of our own driveway without scraping so raising the hitch up would >> probably be important. Most of the time it would be 2 bikes - standard >> road bike with fenders and my Cheviot. But we also need the option to bring >> along 2 bikes for young kids. I've been looking at the ones for 2 that >> accommodate an add-on for an additional 2. It would be most useful for it >> to be swing-away so we could easily access everything. It is important >> that we can secure the bikes well as they could be unattended out of sight >> sometimes (although we are careful about that). And loading/unloading >> shouldn't be an ordeal so we can it frequently - we have a mix of short (30 >> min to 1 hr) drives to start riding and long trips. >> >> I will look at all the recommendations above, but appreciate any updated >> input. Thanks. >> >> (I think my optimal solution is a diesel sprinter with 4 captains chairs >> and a fold-down sofa in the rear to seat 3 and sleep 2 as queen size bed, >> with plenty of storage space between sofa & captains chairs for neatly >> organized "equipment", partnered with a 23' toy hauler for more >> accommodations for a longer trip. I think we could make that work. Makes a >> new carrier look pretty inexpensive, even if unplanned) >> >> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. > By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. > Other professional writing services. > http://www.resumespecialties.com/ > www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten > > ************************************* > *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a > circumference on the rim of which all conditions, distinctions, and > individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu > > *Kinei hos eromenon. It moves as the being-loved. *Aristotle > > *The Love that moves the Sun and all the other stars. *Dante > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
