Folding Bike Ideas

[Dave Storey]

Hi everyone . We own a trillium 4500 and a 2007 Chevy Uplander our tow van. Just need some ideas where to put our 2 folding bikes we have, in our van , on top of van ,behind the van , behind the trailer or in front of trailer or like the picture I sort of made up for fun.
We are going to Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick this summer from Ontario and trying to figure out where to put our bikes .

[FRED SMAILES]

Hey Dave, we carry ours under the dinette of our boler.

[Darral T.]

Looks like you got'er covered!

[QUOTE=Dave Storey;687464]Hi everyone . We own a trillium 4500 and a 2007 Chevy Uplander our tow van. Just need some ideas where to put our 2 folding bikes we have, in our van , on top of van ,behind the van , behind the trailer or in front of trailer

[MK Evenson]

Hey Dave, take another look, your bikes are multiplying!!!!!!
Mark

[theresa p]

Dave, Thanks for the laugh!

We don't have folding bikes, but are planning on getting some. Our concern on keeping them in the camper is that when we stop for lunch or overnight, we don't want them in the way inside. Since we keep our dinette made up as our bed, that eliminates Fred's solution. We do have a small dinette where the bunks used to be and potentially that'd work...but when travelling, we like to use that dinette for eating on. So, that's out, for us, too.

A few years ago we purchased a bike rack for the back of the camper but it extended out just enough that we found the increased sway it caused very unnerving and then, on that same daytrip, the whole unit almost broke away from our bumper! Yikes! Needless to say, that eliminated that option for us, too. That means we are left considering hauling them in and out of our Highlander, which is doable. Or putting them up on top of the vehicle, which is also doable but a bit more awkward.

I will follow this thread with interest to see what you end up deciding do to.

And you'll LOVE Grand Manan! One of our favourite places. Have you been there before?

[ckayaker]

Your photo looks about right... LOL! I keep my folding bike in my tow vehicle, that way it’s always where I am...

[Jon in AZ]

Agree- inside the tug. I would recommend securing them in some way. Loose cargo is dangerous in an accident.

Hanging on the outside anywhere they are exposed to weather and theft, and inside the trailer they get in the way, as you say.

The whole point of folding bikes in my mind is the ability to carry them inside the vehicle.

[Julie and Jose]

We can't put our bikes on the car because that is where we keep the kayaks. So we purchased folding bikes. My husband did not want the mini folding bikes. So we have full-sized folding mountain bikes. Based on our past experience with our regular bikes, bikes in either the trailer or the car made a dirty mess. The bike company wanted $99 for a bag to put the bicycle in. However, I discovered that massage table bags were just the right size. A massage table bag goes for only $30.

On short trips, we put the biked in the trailer over the axle in our Scamp 13. On longer trips when e might have to stop for a meal, we put the bikes in the back seat of the car.

Thanks to the massage table bags, it is working great for us!

[mccownw]

Julie/Jose:

Thanks! That's what we would like to do. What brand of bikes do you recommend?

[Dave Storey]

We have not been to Grand Manan Island Looking forward to it . We have reserved our camp site for a few weeks there already . Hope to see some Puffins , Whales ,Sharks and maybe catch a tuna from shore .
We use to own them big comfort bikes from Canadian Tire when first bought our trillium 10 years ago they weighed a ton and we did have a bike rack on the back of the trillium and loaded them on at that time . Lucky the camp site was not too far away at that time, what a learning experience that was , we almost had the trailer jump ahead of the car going back and forth , Plus my wife was kind up pissed at me looking at me like I was a nut bar. Ended up buying a friction bar for the trailer to stop the wobbling when you get up to speed kind of scary with out it . I didn't like having the bikes back there because the bottom of the rack would scrape the ground at the back when you pulled out of MacDonald's or Tim Horton's or get gas , note"especially if there was down grade then an a quick upgrade on the ground at the curb .. The bikes must of bounced all over down the highway because I had to check them every time we stopped for gas or treat to tighten them up . We got rid of the big bikes a long time ago and use the bike rack to carry lawn chairs now at least they are alot lighter LOL I think I will make a board to bolt down the folding bikes but for folding bikes something like this guy did on You tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuBIA0SY4RA

[Julie and Jose]

The kind we purchased are: Montague.
https://www.montaguebikes.com/

[Dave Storey]

We bought our bikes on kijiji used almost like bran new 5 speed 20" easy cruiser bikes for 100 bucks each a few years ago they are similar too the ones from walmart in the states if this link works . They are pretty good for speed and going up hills . I just looked online the price of new folding bikes , they went up in price compared to a few years ago . That is a nice bike in the last post.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Folding-B...ports/29603414

[stevebaz]

Hang a ladder on the back of the van and hang the bikes on that, or since you now have a ladder, a roof rack on top of the van will do just like in your picture.

We use foldy bikes too and they go in the back of the pick-up but they still take allot of space. I can still get them under or bed cover out of sight out of mind.

[Civilguy]

This was the approach we took. It's a bit rough in execution, but the concept proved sound and I expect we'll keep using it in our new tow vehicle.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...kes-81921.html

[Dave Storey]

I should of posted a picture of our tow vehicle at the beginning

[Zachs]

I own a Bike Friday folding bike that I keep in my Sprinter which is bigger then my Hunter Compact Jr!