StephenH

Hey folks,
Good news is, I'm okay.
Bad news is, my little Ranger pickup, which has faithfully hauled my tandem to all the ride starts, is not okay. As in, (probably) totaled. Fortunately, no bikes were hurt in the accident.

But, now I get to round up a new tandem-hauling machine. I just KNOW there was a thread on that a while back, but can't find it. And cars change anyway.

So criteria I'm looking for:
Mainly used for commuting for one person
Would like to be able to haul the tandem, inside or outside, without needing a rack.
Looking at the low-end of the scale, cost-wise. IE, the low end of new cars/SUVs/pickups. Not the $40,000 machines.
It would be really cool if I didn't need to take the front wheel off, either.
My little Ford Ranger worked great, but as near as I can tell, nobody even makes a little single-cab pickup anymore. Grrr. Take the front wheel off, fit it in the bed diagonally, and drive all over.
So ideas?

DubT

look at the top sticky!

Johnny Mullet

I can haul my tandem with a Geo Metro................

StephenH

Doh! I looked through about 5 pages of forum and tried the search, but didn't look there! And now I don't see how to delete the thread, either. So Never Mind. (and thanks!)

ksisler

Stephen; Important things are that you are ok and your tandem is ok. Ride forth!!!

Tony Marley

A Toyota Sienna minivan works well. You might be able to get a used one. I understand the Honda vans are also tandem-sized.

rickbyb

Stow 'n Go Seats

2015 Dodge Grand Caravan - Interior Features

JanMM

A single tandem or long wheelbase recumbent bike can go down the middle of a last-generation Mazda MPV. (2000-2006)
Not possible with a Mazda5.

nfmisso

Toyota did last year..... not anymore

That said, a minivan will do the job, and match the fuel economy of a four cylinder Ranger. The Chrysler products with sto&go rear seating are great for hauling stuff.

StephenH

I was thinking when I shopped for my 2011 Ford Ranger, that Toyota didn't make a single-cab small pickup then, either, it was either the Tacoma (sort of mid-size) or bigger.
Cheapest pickup I see is Nissan's Frontier, with "King cab" and bed that'll fit the tandem.
Way back when, I had a cheap Plymouth minivan, but they're proud of the minivans, now!

One thing I'm seriously looking at is that Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Nissan all make little cargo vans for commercial applications, which are cheaper than any of the regular minivans available. The big question is whether there's a console in between the front seats that will prevent a tandem from being parked there, and I haven't fully explored the possibilities yet. They're still not "cheap", but hey, gotta drive something!

StephenH

Update here- have been doing a lot more research on the little cargo vans.
Nissan and Chevy both use a Nissan CVT transmission, and I can't find much positive about them.
The Dodge version is a little bit more expensive than the Ford. Except, that the Ford comes in a Short Wheel Base and a Long Wheel Base version. That SWB MIGHT work, that'd put the rear wheel way up between the seats. But the LWB looks pretty definite that it would work.
So, I'll be shopping around some on them and see what I find...