StephenH

I don't think it would, but then again, you can move the rear wheel up between the seats a bit more if needed.
Or more to the point, I would think the handlebars turned sideways stick out at least as much as they do straight on.

Team Fab

This should be a good idea for inside those mini vans etc.....

Steepgrade?s In-Car Bike Racks Make Bike Moving Simple and Secure

SteepGrade Bike Racks

tegnamo

Maybe someone else has said this already, but it seems like a Subaru Outback would work pretty well if you're okay with laying the tandem on its side. The interior length with rear seats down measured out to near 80 inches. It's actually longer than what we found when measuring the Transit Connect, NV200, and Promaster City. We wanted to love those little vans, but they're less comfy, worse mileage, and not much cheaper (except the NV200, really). You do get extra head height, but for strictly tandem duties, I'd take an Outback most likely.

Paul J

The Outback might be our next option, we have transported our bike on it's side, for several years. Originally we used my 2005 Acura TSX with the rear seats folded down, this required the removal of the wheels, saddles and pedals so was not very convenient. In 2013 my wife wanted a small SUV so we purchased a Honda CRV, we have a trailer hitch rack for short trips when I don't mind the bike being outside. With the wheels removed it fits inside with the rear triangle up between the front seats. It doesn't require raising the armrests and we use an old pillowcase to keep any grime and chain lube at bay at our elbows, not ideal but works fine. We many years of taking wheels on and off bikes this isn't a bother for us. We did a trip to Prince Edward Island last year with several stops to ride along the way and had no problems. We were running close to catch the Block Island ferry and made the reassembly in under 3 minutes and made the ferry no problem. The Honda Pilot would probably be better but I like driving a car and she liked the smaller size of the CRV. Has anyone tried the Pilot?

waynesulak

I side loaded a single in a VW Jetta for years. I had built a sled/rack that slid out the back and rested on the ground at an angle to place the bike on. Lift and slide in/out it worked great. Side loading is nice for day trips but it limits luggage capacity and the ability to carry additional passengers when compared to upright loading.

We carry our tandem with no wheels vertically using a sliding floor rack with straps for the frame which is stored on the diagonal in an older square body model Mazda Tribute which is a Ford Escape. Still plenty of luggage room and can carry one rear passenger in comfort. Main issue is lifting the frame strapped to the rack from the ground into the rear hatch but I can do it by myself fairly easily.

midwestMTB

I use a 2000 BMW 323 wagon and it works great with just removing the wheels.

L134 

We can get 80's vintage tandems in a Nissan NV without removing anything.

zonatandem

Long time fans for our 1997 Honda Accord station wagon (last year they built wagon was '97). Worked great to haul our tandem +single racing bike + all our stuff for 3 months summer vacations.
However heading on a 1,000 mile road trip this spring to Utah our wagon gave up the ghost in the middle of nowhere (Ash Fork AZ on I-40). with 'only' 175,000 miles on the odo. Sad to junk it but it had served us extremely well for 19 years and did not owe us a dime!
Long story short . . . it would cost too much to fix (rebuilt engine for 5 grand) so we bought a new Hona Fit CVT and yes, the tandem fit fine with wheels/pedal/stoker bars removed and standing upright between the 2 front seat with our rack sticking out between us. Oh, and so did my single racing bke with wheels /pedals removed fit on top of our suitcases and all our other stuff from the Hoinda wagon.
As a bonus the trip 'puter on that sub-compact Fit read 46 mpg!
For us, and all our stuff, it's a perfect FIT!
All's well that ends well!
Pedal onn TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Azrael71

We have a Citroen Berlin go multi space (UK).
Fits the tandem with wheels removed 2 singles and 3 riders pkuse driver and all kit easily with just a single rear seat removed.

velojym

It took up the length of the interior, but when I bought my parents a box-store tandem years ago, it fit inside my '86 Camaro with the hatch closed. Not a recommendation, really, but I got a kick out of it.

DubT

I don"t know if this has been mentioned yet but a Toyota Venza can be used to haul a tandem. We have a small/small Calfee Tetra and with the front wheel removed and both bike seats the tandem will fit. The back tire is on the arm rest between the driver and the front seat passenger but it fits fine.

Here are some pictures.

colotandem

[QUOTE=DubT;19425541]I don"t know if this has been mentioned yet but a Toyota Venza can be used to haul a tandem. We have a small/small Calfee Tetra and with the front wheel removed and both bike seats the tandem will fit. The back tire is on the arm rest between the driver and the front seat passenger but it fits fine.

Here are some pictures.





That is a nice set up! I often wish our tandems were inside our car rather than in the back of my truck. That said, this would not do for us as our mtb tandems have a much higher BB - also, they are usually pretty dirty


Question for you - Why do you need the tie downs in addition to the fork mount?

DubT

[QUOTE=colotandem;19425601]

DubT

[QUOTE=DubT;19425643]The hinge was a little "sloppy " and the bike would sway a little. The tie does are not very tight. With the tandem offset there is also room for my single. I use a piece of a Saris mount for it.

Bewer

For all my tandems (1 road, 1 mtb full suspension and 1 Fatbike tandem) I'm using the RADSTAND-incar system. It's a German manufacturer of famous incar bike systems. I have added some fotos of ths inside bike stand in my SEAT Alhambra

OneIsAllYouNeed

It was raining today, so my tandem went inside my Subaru Impreza hatchback with the rear seats folded down. Normally the tandem rides on the roof with a Rockymounts R4, with the front wheel removed. Today, I undid two couplers and three cable splitters in the front triangle. The wheels, fenders, seats, handlebars are all installed. The rear half (two thirds?) of the bike slid easily into the car, and the front half went on top of it. I think it was faster and cleaner than putting the bike on the roof.

reburns

Just bought a Chevy Bolt EV. We have a 2005 Comotion Speedster. It is quick and easy to undo the 3 frame and cable couplers connecting the front triangle. The rest of the bike with rear wheel and rear rack attached fits inside the Bolt with the rear seat folded. Covered with a blanket, the front portion lies on top. This gives us a selection of day trip rides more than 100 miles radius from home on electric and/or people power.

jethro00

We test drove a Mercedes Sprinter crew van, 144 & 4x4. The crew version has a driver & passenger seat in the front and one row of seats in the back that can seat 3 people. It has about 89" inches between the rear doors and the back of the rear seats. Out tandem is 88" from the back of the rear tire to the end of the handlebar if the front wheel is turned sideways. Does anyone have the crew version of this van? It looks like a good fit for us. We are going to look at the Nissan NV and Ford Transit. But, as far as I can tell, neither offers a version with just one row of rear seats. That means we would have to remove and store several rows of seats, since there are only 2 of us.

I would appreciate any feedback from Mercedes crew van owners.
Also, what is the best way to secure a tandem intact in the back of such a van?

DonP

We "normally" travel with our daVinci in a 15 passenger Ford van. The Captains chairs and 1 row of seats are in it. But... I have had our DaVinci in our PT Cruiser! The front seat also folds down. The front wheel removed and my wife in the back seat behind the driver.

cornbear

We haul our Large Santana Arriva in our Kia Sedona minivan. Have to take the front wheel off, but no other adjustments.

dwmckee

For what ever it is worth, we own a bike shop and last year we had 3 bikes come in that were damaged on roof racks because the driver either forgot it was on top or because they misjudged the height of a tree branch over the car. One was a very nice CoMotion Tandem which we had to replace the fork for and some other smaller issues. One guy with a single bike scraped the whole thing off of his roof entering his garage. The latter did quite a bit more damage to his vehicle as well.

JanMM

I [almost] always place an orange traffic cone inside the entrance to our garage whenever our tandem goes traveling on our roof rack. May not prevent a problem away from home, of course.

surak

I fit my Kent tandem into my Honda HR-V in long mode yesterday with the front wheel, handlebars, and seat posts taken out.

LV2TNDM

Just print a little "Bikes on Top!" note on colorful paper and hang it from your rear-view mirror whenever bikes are on top. For those wanting a higher-tech option, Yakima makes (or used to make) a flip-up warning sign that goes on your hood. At speed, the thing stays down. When you drive below about 20 mph, it flips up reminding you about the bikes. I brought one along on our western states honeymoon when the tandem, mountain bikes and trailer on the roof were worth more than the Honda carrying them.

Bike rack horror story: A friend of a small American bike maker had his bike on his Audi as he arrived home. Opened the garage, drove in and trashed the bike (frame, fork and several components). Also damaged the Audi custom car/rack mount on the roof. In the ensuing panic of just destroying his bike and damaging his roof, he took his golf clubs out of the back to deal with the disaster. He was a serious golfer, so these were serious golf clubs. Then in his frenzied haste gets in the car and BACKS OVER HIS GOLF CLUBS! SON OF A B****!!!

Thus, in one incident, he:
- Destroyed his bike
- Damaged his Audi
- Destroyed his golf clubs

That's a "bad day at the office!" Poor guy! Reminds me of the "This American Life" squirrel incident story (worth a listen). Only positive? The bike in question wasn't a tandem!

But this may soon be a thing of the past, as hitch-mount bike racks seem to be replacing roof racks (for half bikes at least).

chichi

Ultimate Tandem Hauler, Winnebago ERA 170 C, Tandem fits in the cabin through side sliding door and you can take a shower and make lunch after your ride. Winnebago has discontinued the ERA 170C in favor of the 170M you can still fit a tandem in the 170M but you have to extend the slide before loading the bike. Overall we prefer the 170C regardless of tandem hauling abilities. Picked this one up used with only 7000 miles on it.