Fifty Plus (50+) - OT: Bought a new bike carrier.

My wife retired yesterday so we picked up our new bike carrier on Thursday night. It's going to be used for our biking across Florida and U.S. trips. We got the idea from another couple that bought one (red, without the rear seats) for the same purpose and they really have theirs set up nice. I'm going to follow what he did on his, as much as I can, in order to get this one ready for the road trips. I have to wait until the arm and shoulder are fully recovered before I can start the modifications.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/564794_3297945691020_712351372_n.jpg

Since this is going to be our primary vehicle (selling her car and my truck), the wife insisted on having the folding rear seats, which lessens the amount of space I have for the bikes. I now have to come up with some creative way of getting her recumbent trike in there along with my road bike. Lots of modifications to do on the rear panels and ceiling that will hold the cycling gear (shoes, helmets, tools etc.). Will post photos of the finished product when the project is done.

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/282226_3297950971152_1339206461_32444485_993991641_n.jpg

Looks like y'all now have a retirement project to get on with. Should be a good hauler when you finish the interior to your needs. Good luck with the set up.

Bill

I now have to come up with some creative way of getting her recumbent trike in there along with my road bike.

Shouldn't be too difficult. That looks like it has more interior room than my Honda Element and we fit a SWB recumbent (bigger than a road bike) and a (folded) Greenspeed GT3 into ours rather easily. A few years ago I bought some plastic tubs from Target. They're just the right size to hold a pair of cycling shoes, helmet, gloves etc. so all that stuff is together and easy to find. My wife and I each have one.

What a great project. Congratulations on your wife's retirement.:beer: Cheers!

RG,

We took her trike to a dealer to see if it would fit before we made the final decision to purchase one. They didn't seem as if they were willing to have us try more than one way to get the bike in. The bike fit with the seats folded up and the rear wheel sitting on top of the seat. We are going to try other ways of getting the trike in, including boom first. We'll do that later today or tomorrow morning. Once we figure out exactly how the bike is going to be secured, I can get my parts list together and start the modifications.

I plan on putting some painted plywood on the side, where the optional second side window goes, and putting some netting on it to hold shoes, gloves and other items. I also plan on dropping a shelf from the roof, by the rear doors, to hold the helmets, small tool and parts box and other small items. I also hope to figure out a way to use the wasted space above the wheel wells by mounting some plastic boxes. The Fred Transit I mentioned has this setup and everything really fits nicely in place.

You do realize that your spare time will be significantly reduced due to the fact that all those minor chores The Boss put off until she had some time will now come to the forefront of her mind as she now has all this time that is not commited to her job so you therefore have all this time to commit to her chores because she has all this spare time. Have fun ingenuering (combining ingenuity and engineering) the fixes and work arounds to the bike hauler in your spare time.

We took her trike to a dealer to see if it would fit before we made the final decision to purchase one. They didn't seem as if they were willing to have us try more than one way to get the bike in. The bike fit with the seats folded up and the rear wheel sitting on top of the seat. We are going to try other ways of getting the trike in, including boom first. We'll do that later today or tomorrow morning. Once we figure out exactly how the bike is going to be secured, I can get my parts list together and start the modifications.

You might think about how to make use of all that vertical space without having stuff fall over during sharp turns. I'd be thinking about trying the trike on it's side.

My recumbent goes in diagonally back wheel first. No disassembly is required. It just makes it with the handlebar tucks behind the folded seat on the right. We pop the seat off of Mrs. Grouch's trike and fold the frame in half. The trike goes in through the right side door onto it's side. It's about a 5 minute disassembly or reassembly job. The rear seats of the Element are supposed to be easily removable but I haven't tried it yet. That'll probably happen this summer between the times when our grand children go back to Seattle and Mrs. Grouch and I go to Steven's point for the Midwest Recumbent Rally.

RG,

We took her trike to a dealer to see if it would fit before we made the final decision to purchase one. They didn't seem as if they were willing to have us try more than one way to get the bike in. ...
Really? I think I would have walked away and bought from someone else.

Really? I think I would have walked away and bought from someone else.

Yeah, that would have been a negative with me but not necessarily a deal breaker. There's more than one factor to juggle when you're buying a car.

Houston is a fairly large city and there is only one dealer that I know that specializes in trikes. It isn't like having several LBS to choose from when buying a conventional bicycle.

You do realize that your spare time will be significantly reduced due to the fact that all those minor chores The Boss put off until she had some time will now come to the forefront of her mind as she now has all this time that is not commited to her job so you therefore have all this time to commit to her chores because she has all this spare time. Have fun ingenuering (combining ingenuity and engineering) the fixes and work arounds to the bike hauler in your spare time.

Traveling and cycling is also what she wants to do. She's the one that found the dealer where we bought it. As for the home projects, my son has been staying with us, so those projects will be his payment for room and board.

You might think about how to make use of all that vertical space without having stuff fall over during sharp turns. I'd be thinking about trying the trike on it's side.

My recumbent goes in diagonally back wheel first. No disassembly is required. It just makes it with the handlebar tucks behind the folded seat on the right. We pop the seat off of Mrs. Grouch's trike and fold the frame in half. The trike goes in through the right side door onto it's side. It's about a 5 minute disassembly or reassembly job. The rear seats of the Element are supposed to be easily removable but I haven't tried it yet. That'll probably happen this summer between the times when our grand children go back to Seattle and Mrs. Grouch and I go to Steven's point for the Midwest Recumbent Rally.

Regardless if the trike goes in rear wheel or boom first, the wheels will be in tracks to prevent the trike from going sideways. I just need to figure out the best combination of seat position and bike placement. I plan on placing plywood on the floor to secure the tracks for both of the bikes. Lots of possible solutions to ponder over in the next week or two.

I've been looking at those... I just wish they were hybrid, since the car I would replace is a Camry hybrid. My wife is NOT on board with going on dates with me in it, however. :)

Send the wife back to work- she will enjoy it more. If I knew how hard retirement was going to be- I would not have gone for it. I can think of easier things to do than retire.

Az,

I was surprised that my wife actually likes it. She saw the red one at the MUP and saw how it was modified for carrying bikes and has been talking about one since. I would have gotten the one without the rear fold down seat but this is going to be our primary vehicle. I'm still keeping my custom show car and will use it in a pinch.

Stap,

What are you doing wrong? I'm loving my retirement. I have decided that not everything around the house has to be done now. If it can wait until tomorrow, it will.

Not doing anything wrong but I enjoy gardening but two nasty jobs have to be done--NOW. Fence has to be replaced and I am making my own panels. Get what I want and cheaper. Bottom hedge needs cutting and I only have a months window to do that. It has to come down by 3 ft. Thanks to the wife having a Bantam and her 6 chicks follow her home- I have to enlarge the chicken run and only about two months for that. Bike shed needs proofing and it needs new asphalt on the roof but that can wait till September. Campavan and My son-in law is chasing me to get on with it- That is last on my list as it will not go into operation till next year. And the house needs painting this summer.

AND then there is the weather. Had two glorious weeks of sun and now I am ready for the Fence- Well the old one is down-It is raining so no work on that tomorrow. Looks like the campavan will get some work done on it IF I do not get out and ride.

And not every job to be done NOW-- tell the wife. Took the old fence down today and put a temporary fence up to keep the dog in. "Thought you were going to do the fence" she said after taking the grandchildren out for a jolly this morning. Only 3 concrete stubs of posts to get out now and I CAN start putting up the new fence.

Retirement is great- you can do whatever you like- providing it is in the same priority as the wife's list.

But that new car of yours. Looks like a Ford Connect. but as you haven't named it I can't tell but whatever it is--I would get the floor and sides lined with Plywood. Makes it look more comfortable and it will be practical. We had all our vans lined at work and have done for years. Cuts down noise- small things getting lost in the panels and saves snagging the bar tape on the "Sharp" body work that is exposed.

Edit.
See you have the Lining planned already.

But that new car of yours. Looks like a Ford Connect. but as you haven't named it I can't tell but whatever it is--I would get the floor and sides lined with Plywood. Makes it look more comfortable and it will be practical. We had all our vans lined at work and have done for years. Cuts down noise- small things getting lost in the panels and saves snagging the bar tape on the "Sharp" body work that is exposed.

Edit.
See you have the Lining planned already.

My bad! Yes it's a Ford Transit Connect XLT Wagon. They are made in Europe and have been in the US for just a few years. They are getting to be very popular as service vehicles as they are less expensive and more fuel efficient than regular vans. I'm starting to see more and more of the wagons used as taxis, possibly for the same reason.

Yes, I have the plans already laid out for the side panels. It's the decking that I have to consider because of the fold-down seat and my wife's trike. We'll start looking at different scenarios tomorrow since today is going to be spent at the wife's retirement party at the library she worked at. She was very popular with the patrons. It's going to be an all day event so that everyone that wants to say goodbye can do so.

I don't have that much to do around the house. My son is staying with us, so as long as he is here and not working, house stuff is his payment for room and board. Stuff that I do around the house is always done after my ride. That is my rule. So far the wife has been very understanding. We'll have to see if things change over the next few months.

Fords have lost favour over here in the last few years but the Connect has proved a popular van. Bit bigger than most and they do an Economical Diesel version and a small capacity petrol that is almost as good on MPG. Those folding seats may cause a problem but I can see putting 6mm ply under neath could work. It does not have be durable unless you are putting piles of bricks in it so a cheap grade with a good enough finish would work.

And just a tip- Before fixing the ply to the floor with Screws or Bolts- Find out what is underneath the Metal floor before drilling. Had to replace an expensive Rad pipe on mine due to not checking.

John - pls keep this thread going...it appears several of us are interested. Thanks!

John,
In the 70's we did custom vans, not the conversions you see now, and we always installed either sheet of 3/4" plywood or particle board regardless of its final interior. My Dodge had the particle board in it, covering the entire rear compartment and then I put in the motorcycle toe downs. You could put carpeting if that was your thing. Mine was for hauling the dirt bikes so no finishes. On the working or hauling vans we put 1/2 " plywood on the walls using the reinforcing strips to anchor it, With all the premanufactured van items for haulers from the dirt bike use the sky is the limit. Try http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/?gclid=CM6fgJiQs7ACFUZN4Aod4we5Vg and look at their trailer and van accessories.

Bill

I'm planning on using a layer of berber carpet under a 3/8" or 1/2" piece of plywood for the decking. The carpeting will help quiet the sound and the plywood will allow me to screw the wheel rails and other items to the floor. I don't want to screw the plywood to the floor and have water get in the back. I'm not sure if I am going to paint the plywood decking or cover it with non-skid. The rear interior has several places that are there for mounting shelving and parts bins. I plan on using those same mounting points to mount the plywood side panels that will hold the cycling accessories. I'll be posting photos of the project as I go. It should be a good retirement project.

Have you considered somehow hanging your bike from the roof? It might create some more room for the bent and or other supplies.

Have you considered somehow hanging your bike from the roof? It might create some more room for the bent and or other supplies.

Tim,

There is enough room for both bikes to fit side by side. I didn't consider hanging the road bike as it would probably swing too much from side to side. I wish I had some photos of the Transit that I am going to base my mods upon. It will give a better idea of what I am trying to do.

Those Transits have plenty of room, but get worse gas mileage than my 270 hp SUV. My wife and I fit both our bikes and plenty of travel stuff in the back. If we need more room, a box on the roof rack provides it.

Those Transits have plenty of room, but get worse gas mileage than my 270 hp SUV. My wife and I fit both our bikes and plenty of travel stuff in the back. If we need more room, a box on the roof rack provides it.

Gas mileage is not the best, around 22-24 mpg combined and 24-26 mpg highway. The problem is the wife's recumbent tadpole trike. No way it and my bike will fit in an SUV. We tried prior to going with the Transit. If she rode a road bike, it would be no problem.

Today we played around with finding a better way to get the wife's recumbent trike in the van. We found the solution on try number two. The trike will have to go in boom first with the seats fully folded forward. I made a PVC stand to elevate the two front wheels of her trike so I can close the tailgate of my pickup truck. Adding 6 more inches in height to this stand, will bring the boom over the folded seats and forward enough to close the rear doors with some room to spare. Putting the trike in boom first also gives us room on each side of the trike's rear wheel to hold our luggage. The chain rings and pedals are between the two front headrests, but high enough and far enough behind them that they don't interfere with the front passengers. Although not really needed, she is going to make a cover for the chain rings so we don't accidentally get grease over everything.

My bike will fit, with or without the front wheel mounted, but I think that I am going to remove the wheel and secure it with a dropout clamp. I plan on making a wheel carrier to secure the wheel in an upright position.

The decking will go all the way up to the folded seats when the bikes are in the back. When we need to use the seats, the decking will fold over on a hinge so the seats can lock into the floor. Now that we have the plan, it's time to start buying the parts. I wonder how much that is going to run me? :( Now if I can get my brother to help me, I should have this project done within a week or so.

These have an EPA estimated MPG of 21/27. With a maximum cargo capacity of 129 cu ft.

As compared to a Ford Explorer with EPA of 18/25 and cargo of 80 cu ft.

If one can get by with a lot less space, the new Mazda CX-5 can get 26/35 with a stick, but has only 65 cu ft of cargo space.

The rear seats of the Element are supposed to be easily removable but I haven't tried it yet.

30 seconds. I suspect it takes the same amount to re-install them, but I never have... just love having a bike wagon.

John_V, it sounds like you have a great rig in the making. Good for you and your wife and I hope you get many happy motoring miles from it. It certainly appears to be the best fit for your intended useage. I'm anxious to see your completed project pictures, as I imagine many others are too.

Everytime I read of a purchase such as yours I'm tempted to start shopping for a new hauler my own self. Eventually though, some financial cyphering usually cools my jets.

I happen to own an early 90's full size passenger van with extensive cargo and people capacity that gets 13 to 15 mpg city, and 17 to 21 highway. We only ever use it on the open road and it is not and never has been our primary transportation. At $4.00 per gallon, I can purchase 5750 gallons of gasoline for the $23,000 purchase price of a new small and slightly more economical van. At 15mpg I can drive 86,250 miles on that 5750 gallons of gasoline which is roughly 20,000 more miles than I have on the van now. If my logic is correct, even after factoring in increasing fuel costs I would never realize any savings from my new van purchase as I'll never put that much mileage on my vehicle. We don't even average 5,000 annual miles on our primary vehicle.

Though the purchase and customization of a new vehicle makes perfect sense for someone who intends to use it as you do, it does not make good economic sense for me. Of course if we decide to downsize to runnig only one vehicle I'll need to recompute and your pictures may come in mighty handy!

These have an EPA estimated MPG of 21/27. With a maximum cargo capacity of 129 cu ft.

As compared to a Ford Explorer with EPA of 18/25 and cargo of 80 cu ft.

If one can get by with a lot less space, the new Mazda CX-5 can get 26/35 with a stick, but has only 65 cu ft of cargo space.

Last year, when we flew to Illinois, we rented a Mazda CX-5 wagon. It was nice and comfortable and handled very well, but I just don't see how one can get more than one bike in it, especially if you stand them up with the front wheels removed. When you have a special project like this, you almost always have to give up something; in my case a few miles per gallon. When we first started looking, I knew that we were going to run into this problem with her trike and suggested that she sell it and get a foldable one. That would have solved our problem, but she wouldn't go for it. She likes this one way too much to get rid of it.

FWIW, with the seats removed, I could get two bikes standing up in my PT Cruiser, but the gas mileage on those are terrible. No way I could get the trike in it.

Here are some updated photos of the project. We finally got the decking in the van the way we wanted to. The hinged part of the deck is split into two sections to match the widths of the seats. This allows them to fold over individually (to allow for one of the seats to be in an upright position) or together (when the bike and trike are not being transported and both seats are needed).

The decking is painted to match one of the upholstery colors so that it offsets the color of the dark van floor. Also, all the mounting points are drilled with t-bolts on the bottom allowing the use of threaded screws to mount the hardware. The hardware is held in place with thumb screws or knurled head screws so they come out without any tools. Each side of the deck has the same mounting configuration so that the bike and trike can be loaded on either side.

This is with the decking folded over to accommodate the smaller seat to be placed in the upright position.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/181275_3369276314241_1679638137_n.jpg

This is with the smaller seat in it's upright position which still allows us to transport the bike or the trike and one other passenger.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229881_3369276994258_1801172778_n.jpg

I would have liked to have the project finished by now, but I had to wait until the arm was well enough to lift the plywood. We still haven't decided on the material (plywood or pegboard) for the side panels that will hold the equipment, but we have two weeks to decide on that, or I may just do it while I am up in Illinois, providing I can get a hold of some tools.

I'll be posting some more progress photos as we get closer to completing the project.

Edit: I've ordered a front wheel carrier but it won't be in on time for our trip. It should be in by the time we get back. In the meantime, the front wheel will be bungeed to back of the seat using some of the tie-down hooks shown.

The mods are looking good, John, you do nice, well finished work. I remember how much more quiet the panel vans we customized in the 70's were after putting in the flooring and side walls were sheathed. It not only insulates from the road sound, it seems to tighten things up and the metal on metal rattles and squeaks went away. The hinged section for seat operation is a great idea to me. Keeps the functionality of the interior intact. The walls would be a toss up for me but I want to look into the new systems you can put in the vans that has track systems you install specific hangers and organizers on, depending on your needs.

Hope y'all enjoy the vacation and the new hauler. Looks really nice.

Bill

Thanks Bill! I'll let you know how it works out when we get the rest of the stuff for the wife's trike mounted and the side panels done. Looking forward to this weekends trip to see how the Transit does on the road.

Looks sweet John.

Do they not come in diesel? Sprinter comes in diesel. I surprise people with my diesel EXCURSION. 20mpg on back roads easy. Our diesel VWs...42 mpg all the time(average mileage ;) )

Thanks Mikey! I still have a lot of work to do to it before it looks like the wife and I want it to.


Do they not come in diesel? Sprinter comes in diesel. I surprise people with my diesel EXCURSION. 20mpg on back roads easy. Our diesel VWs...42 mpg all the time(average mileage ;) )

In the states, they only come with a 2.0 liter gas engine. The same engine is used on all four models. I would have liked it to be at least a 2.5 liter but it's not offered. So far we have been getting fairly good milage on the van. The last fill-up was 24 mpg with some interstate driving, but mostly city. The rated MPG by Ford is suppose to be 27 mpg.

...it's a Ford Transit Connect XLT Wagon. They are made in Europe...

Asia Minor (http://youtu.be/Rxp2hFvC498), actually: Gölcük, Turkey.

Asia Minor (http://youtu.be/Rxp2hFvC498), actually: Gölcük, Turkey.

Yep!

We took the Transit on it's maiden long distance trip to Illonois. I brought the Colnago with me and had more room left over than I knew what to do with. The ride was great, very comfortable, and didn't tire us out after driving for 2 1/2 days. Gas mileage was really good as we were getting 29 mph on average, with 26 mpg average while in the mountains. We kept the cruise control on for almost the entire trip and, even in the mountains, the Transit didn't choke going up the steep grades at 65-70 mph.

So far, this vehicle has surpassed the expectations that I had for it. It's just an excellent bike carrier.

I haven't posted any update photos in a while, so here are two that I took yesterday when we finally found a way to get the trike in the back without it wobbling all over the place. After several failed attempts to get the trike securely mounted in the back, we finally came up with the "contraption." It's the bike lift that I made for her trike to lift the boom over the tailgate of the pickup so we could close the tailgate. It now fits over the folded down seat and supports the front of the bike with a leg that goes to the floor of the van and keeps the weight of the trike off the folded down seat. All that is left now are the rear side panels that will hold the cycling gear. Hope to finish that up by this week if the heat doesn't kill me.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/578880_3520849703481_882708514_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/283704_3520856823659_1269784042_n.jpg

I'm sure glad the Transit has all this headroom. There would be no way to do this with any convention vehicle, other than a regular van.

The Transit is looking nice John, the interior seems very practical and well engineered. Your work is first rate.

Bill

Nice set up, should work out nicely for you.

Thanks for all the nice responses. We are really liking it so far. Only one more mod to do before it's complete.