# Bicycle Transport Vehicle



## rickm (Dec 30, 2003)

I am in the market for a new motor vehicle. One of my requirements is that the vehicle have enough room in the back to transport 2 bicycles upright with the front wheel removed and the fork locked down into one of those universal bike mount fork holder thingies. It should be an SUV body style (not a minivan) and have a large upswinging hatchback style rear door. The vehicles that seem to fit the bill are a Tahoe, Yukon or Toyota Soqoia(sp?), but I do not know if the bikes will fit in these vehicles. Does anyone out there own one of these vehicles and are using it in this manner? Or does anyone out there have another vehicle that works well for this? I do not want the bikes on the roof or on the back of the vehicle.


----------



## JohnnyTooBad (Mar 24, 2004)

A Surburban / Yukon XL will definitely do. But if you go with anything smaller, you'd need to put the rear seats down. If you don't mind having a 2 seater, then almost anything would do. I used to be able to do that with my '95 S10 Blazer (Explorer is the same). Any standard SUV with 5 1/2 feet behind the front seats will do.

However, I just got myself a used Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, and put a cap/shell on it. Now I have a true 4 door, 4-5 seater, with a back end that I can put anything in, no matter how muddy. I'm 6'2" and can sit in the back seats. The bed is 5'6", and is just barely long enough for my XL bikes. I can lay the bike down with the front wheel on, or take the front wheel off and lock it upright into a QR that I have mounted to a strip of plywood.

Any of the mid to full size 4 door pickups will probably work. But if you go this route, expect to pay $900 to $1500 for a decent cap (mine was $1300). The bed of new Chevy Colorado is shorter than the Dakota.

-John


----------



## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*Honda*

Element. You can get a two-bike axle grabber to hold your bikes inside. Jim


----------



## rickm (Dec 30, 2003)

Yes, I have thought about a 4 door pickup with a camper shell, but it seems that the bikes would be more prone to theft in this setup. I dont mind having the 2 rear seats folded down when I have the bikes in there, as that would keep the wheelbase reasonable. The Suburban/Yukon XL is too long, and the 4 door pickup with camper shell would be pretty long too. Too long to fit in the garage of most homes.

The Element is just a little too funky for me, and rides to rough.


----------



## DM-SC (Jan 12, 2004)

rickm said:


> Yes, I have thought about a 4 door pickup with a camper shell, but it seems that the bikes would be more prone to theft in this setup. I dont mind having the 2 rear seats folded down when I have the bikes in there, as that would keep the wheelbase reasonable. The Suburban/Yukon XL is too long, and the 4 door pickup with camper shell would be pretty long too. Too long to fit in the garage of most homes.
> 
> The Element is just a little too funky for me, and rides to rough.


My GF has a Mazda Tribute (Ford Escape twin) that will hold either both of our MTBs or both of our road bikes. We have to fold the rear seats down, and the fit is snug, but they do fit. And, we don't have to drop our saddles.

It's funny, but though there are any number of larger SUV's that are LONG enough to hold two bikes, they aren't TALL enough without dropping the saddles. The problem is that most of the them loose rear cargo area height because of the folding thrid row seat. The other problem is the way the rear (or middle) seats fold flat...they really don't.


----------



## scott.com (Feb 4, 2004)

*Nissan Xterra*

Easy to fit two bikes like that.


----------



## NorCAMBA Prez (Jan 30, 2004)

*Xterra*

The Xterra's are pretty tall in the back. My Pathfinder doesn't work so well inside, so you'd probably rule that out.


----------



## rickm (Dec 30, 2003)

Yes, that is a requirement that I forgot to mention. I do not want to lower the saddle each time I load the bike in the vehicle. I already have a Jeep Liberty that requires me to do this, and i hate the way the rear tailgate swings out to the left on the Liberty. The tailgate that swings up is a great place for protection from the rain, and it keeps the rain from going into the vehicle when loading. Does anybody know if the Tahoe and/or Soquoia have enough rear height, because I know they just started putting third row seating in those.


----------



## JohnnyTooBad (Mar 24, 2004)

It's true, you need to put the seat down. I have QRs on my seat posts. Actually, the reason I went with the Dakota is that it does fit in my 20' (small) garage, because it is only 18.5'. If you lock the cap, the tailgate can't be opened.

Another thought might be a minivan. You can put bikes in, standing up, with the front wheels on. They are very tall inside. I have a friend with a minivan that came with an air pump near the tailgate, that's powered by a 12v continuous run pump. When we go on rides, she gets tire inflation duty. If you get a minivan with 2nd row buckets, you'd be able to remove one and carry 3 people and 3 bikes. Just don't get a minivan with a fold down 3rd row seat that goes into the floor, because it raises the floor. Go for one with a removable 3rd row. Too bad they're so ugly.

How about a Hummer. H1 (original Hummer)! You could fit the bikes across the back!


----------



## DM-SC (Jan 12, 2004)

JohnnyTooBad said:


> Just don't get a minivan with a fold down 3rd row seat that goes into the floor, because it raises the floor. Go for one with a removable 3rd row. Too bad they're so ugly.


Not so fast my fine young friend!!!! 

I went the minivan route last year. I have '03 Mazda MPV with the fold into the floor 3rd row seat. The middle seats are captain/bucket style with the right side seat that slides to the middle. I carry two bikes (road or mountain) back there all the time without having to drop the saddles.

It's not a bad looking example of a minivan either. Besides, I'm WAY too old to worry about what others think of my ride. Utility is much more important to me than looks.


----------



## rickm (Dec 30, 2003)

Good points DM. I dont really mind the look of a mini van. Lord knows I am way past caring what people think about what I drive. But when it comes to bikes, I care very much about what I ride. I would spend more on my bikes than I would on my car, if I thought I could get a decent car for that money, but I cannot. So, back to the mini-van, the reason I dont want a mini-van is because my wife already has mini-van, and I thought I would get something different so we would have more options.

PS, your link is broke. It throws this error

An error has occurred.

You do not appear to be the owner of this album.
Make sure you are logged in.

Please push the Back button on your browser to correct this problem.
Thank you.


----------



## Stick (Jan 12, 2004)

JimC. said:


> Element. You can get a two-bike axle grabber to hold your bikes inside. Jim


Actually, you don't need the axle-grabber. I bought an Element last July. My plan was to get a hitch-mounted rack for it, but it's too easy to just throw the bike(s) inside. There's too many configurations to list 'em all but, with one rear seat removed, you can fit two bikes (with both wheels on) and 3 people without much trouble. I just use a strap or bungee cord to hold 'em in place. Holds my road and/or mountain bikes easily.

<$20,000, AWD, 5 spd, avg 23 mpg, more fun to drive than you might imagine, tons of usable interior space, AND it's easy to clean. Really, it's a no-brainer! 14,989 miles to date, ZERO regrets.


----------



## DM-SC (Jan 12, 2004)

*That's funny...it worked on another board...*

Oh well, I uploaded two pics.

I understand what your saying about not wanting two of the same style vehicles. Tough choice...


----------



## ozlongboarder (Jan 12, 2004)

*suburban*

I can fit 5 bikes upright with front wheels removed and 5 guys and their riding gear in my suburban. I usually throw a sheet or movers blanket betwen them to prevent any scratching etc.


----------



## Stmpjmpr (Feb 6, 2004)

Stick said:


> <$20,000, AWD, 5 spd, avg 23 mpg, more fun to drive than you might imagine, tons of usable interior space, AND it's easy to clean. Really, it's a no-brainer! 14,989 miles to date, ZERO regrets.


Yeah, I love mine too. Bikes fit in back without taking wheels off or lowering seatposts in most cases (very large bikes for tall riders sometimes need one or the other). I've fit 5 bikes inside with both seats flipped up and 5 more on the roof Yakima rack before. That's a lot of bikes for such a small vehicle.


----------

