Folding Bikes - Need your folding bike suggestions

I am a road cyclist whose son is an Over the Road Truck driver, going coast to coast living in his truck - He has stated that he is interested in a bike for exercise and transportation when he is stuck waiting to re-start his driving hours or waiting for a load. He to this point is not an experienced rider but we came up with the possibility of a folder that could be in a bag and hung between the cab and trailer or even possibly be kept under the bunks. Looking for suggestions/info - have looked at Dahon web site and am a little overwhelmed with choices. Also would like to hold costs to under $500. Thanks for any help you can give.

I am a road cyclist whose son is an Over the Road Truck driver, going coast to coast living in his truck - He has stated that he is interested in a bike for exercise and transportation when he is stuck waiting to re-start his driving hours or waiting for a load. He to this point is not an experienced rider but we came up with the possibility of a folder that could be in a bag and hung between the cab and trailer or even possibly be kept under the bunks. Looking for suggestions/info - have looked at Dahon web site and am a little overwhelmed with choices. Also would like to hold costs to under $500. Thanks for any help you can give.

Given your size and price requirements, you're probably looking at either a Dahon Curve or Downtube Mini.

Not sure I have size problems - if we hang it between the cab and trailer there is plenty of room - I saw the downtube advertisement here on the forum and when I went to the site there is a outlet store near my PA location. Are they of good quality?

How much space is available? I don't have a good sense of the dimensions of a truck's cab.

Personally, for $500, I would be looking at the Dahon Speed P8 or a Downtube 20" ... I would either go with the no suspension or full suspension according to the type of riding planned. Although with accessories the Dahon would take you over $500.

Are they of good quality?

You should check out the Downtube thread. Long story short, once you do a tune up that includes removing particular components and properly greasing them, they appear to do quite well.

If you are wondering, I have a Mini as a multimodal commuter.

To answer a couple of questions at once - room is not a problem if we hang it to the back of the cab (believe it or not, in his company magazine they showed a driver that had a go kart hanging back there).
Looking at downtubes page I thought that the 2008 Downtube IX with front suspension might do the trick because it has a rear fender - spray up the back of you clothes may not be the best when this becomes your only transportation away from the rig.

To answer a couple of questions at once - room is not a problem if we hang it to the back of the cab (believe it or not, in his company magazine they showed a driver that had a go kart hanging back there).
Looking at downtubes page I thought that the 2008 Downtube IX with front suspension might do the trick because it has a rear fender - spray up the back of you clothes may not be the best when this becomes your only transportation away from the rig.

If you're going to be hanging the bike then you may want to consider a nonfolding 20" bike like the Dahon Smoothhound. Most of the smallness of folding bikes comes from the small wheels. The actual folding part doesn't really make the bike smaller per say, just a different shape (like a crumpled piece of paper compared to a flat piece of paper).