transporting a recumbent

What's 'best'?

I am pleased with my $150 trailer kit from Northern
Hydraulics/Harbor Freight. The idea came from a posting on
the IHPVA.org website.

I added the Saris troughs and frame clamps to carry my
Longbikes' Vanguard and a Bike Friday Air Glide. I tow
behind a New Beetle TDI with no problems. The trailer has
easily ten thousand miles and a goodly number at 100 mph.

"Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
| cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
| efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
| internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
| option is best. Can someone help?

A Chrysler T&C van holds my two GRRs very easily with the
rear seats out. Both bikes fit snugly together on one side
leaving the rest of the van empty for stuff.
--
Bob Siegel in Gainesville FL "Charlie duffy"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

I have a pickup truck & toolbox. I have a front fork
receiver mounted on the top of the tool box. The rear tire
sits snugly in one of the floor ridges of my bed liner.
Total cost $19.95

Jay

"Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

I transport my recumbent inside my honda odyssey. I have
both a rans vivo and a easy racer's fold-rush. I made a
mount out of 2x3's which straddles the back wheel with a
wing sticking out each side. A strap from each wing goes up
to the rear stays and holds the bike in place. undo the 2
straps and the bike rolls out the back.... the bike sits
along the right, inside of the van, all wheels in place. The
vivo seat has to be remove.... The mount connects to the
sheet of carpeted plywood I have on the floor, using t-
nuts..... very clean installation... with the bike out, I
can remove the mount by taking 4 screws out....and have a
flat floor. With very dark back windows, either bent can
remain there for weeks during my normal day to day stuff...
and popped out whenever I feel like it...

Anyone who wants a pic can send me an email and I'll send
it along..

Arne

=====================
"Jay Adair" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a pickup truck & toolbox. I have a front fork
receiver mounted on the top of the tool box. The rear tire
sits snugly in one of the floor ridges of my bed liner.
Total cost $19.95

"Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

I have a long wheel base RANS and a short wheel base RANS.
Both fit nicely in the back of a Windstar van with only the
third seat taken out. I prefer taking bikes inside rather
than outside the van, but that is just a preference.

One of the guys in our club has a Vision short wheel base,
and he has it mounted upside down on his bike rack.

Doug Thomas

When I'm moving them by car I use one of those cheap bike
racks that strap on the trunk- I carry one TE, one EZ1 and
one DF- no problems. gebuh

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

Quoted message said:

"Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote: I am in the
process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent cycles from
Easy Racer and am looking for the most efficient way to
transport them. I have looked at the internet sites and am
having difficulty deciding what option is best. Can
someone help?

I assume you mean to purchase a motor vehicle. Just to throw
in options towards substainable transportation, I either
ride or take my trikes onto Greyhound buses. I can take two
tadpole quite easily by towing one backwards and have no
extra charges to take them on Greyhound Canada buses, when I
am a passenger.

Maybe twice a year, they are put on the roof, rack or inside
a motor car or van.

Jay said:

... I assume you mean to purchase a motor vehicle. Just to
throw in options towards substainable transportation, I
either ride or take my trikes onto Greyhound buses. I can
take two tadpole quite easily by towing one backwards and
have no extra charges to take them on Greyhound Canada
buses, when I am a passenger....

Think of the oil company shareholders! 😉

--
Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

[email hidden] (Charlie duffy) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

That really depends on your vehicle. Other replies to this
thread rely on big vehicles. If you've got something huge,
just put the bike in the back. I personally don't believe in
driving something bigger than you really need most of the
time, so I've always had small cars (you know...cheaper to
buy, cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain, easier to park and
generally less aggrivating to the planet)...but others have
different perceptions of need, so they drive big vehicles.
(The biggest car I've ever owned is a Ford Focus station
wagon, which I bought specifically because my bikes/trikes
fit inside...I don't ride a LWB.)

Assuming you can't fit your TEs inside your vehicle (not
much of a stretch unless you drive a great big vehicle),
then you have to carry them either on a trailer or some
sort of rack.

I have zero experience with trailers.

Regarding racks, the best I've seen are the ATOC and
DraftMaster racks. The one that's right for you depends on
preference and your vehicle. SportWorks also is very good.
You won't go wrong with any of these. I own an ATOC rack.

Some (e.g. ATOC) rely on underlying racks such as Yakima or
Thule for the basic structure. Both of those brands are
excellent.

You WILL have to pay a lot of money for a rack system
(several hundred dollars). Don't worry about it...just spend
it and don't complain: it's worth it. Trying to go cheap
ALWAYS winds up costing more in the long run. However, don't
go crazy: do not get sucked in by accessories, such as locks
and cargo baskets and spoilers and the like. Spend your
money on the basic rack.

I've used Yakima racks for years (kayaking, cycling and
general purpose) and have never needed to lock them, nor
have I needed anything beyond basic straps.

Learn some knots. They come in handy. I especially like the
Trucker's Hitch...instant, zero-cost, highly effective block-and-
tackle action. Invest in some good (GOOD) rope and/or straps
with buckles. Learn how to tie your load down correctly.
(How many times have we all seen some clueless individual
driving along the Interstate, mattress affixed to the roof
with twine, folded nearly in half, trying to stabilize it by
sticking their arm out the window? Cracks me up every time.)

Hope this helps....

Andrew Douglas Marketing Manager Catrike

Charlie,

We use a Draftmaster to haul our Easy Racers. Works great.
We put a 2" hitch on our Accord and CRV to mount the
Draftmaster.

Enjoy,

Perry B

"Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

Andrew Douglas said:

... Assuming you can't fit your TEs inside your vehicle
(not much of a stretch unless you drive a great big
vehicle)....

So my 5th generation Honda Civic (1992-1995) hatchback is a
great big motor vehicle? 😉 There is a Tour Easy owner in
the Chicagoland area who regularly puts it inside the same
model of vehicle.

--
Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Jay wrote: I assume you mean to purchase a motor vehicle.
Just to throw in options towards substainable
transportation, I either ride or take my trikes onto
Greyhound buses. I can take two tadpole quite easily by
towing one backwards and have no extra charges to take
them on Greyhound Canada buses, when I am a passenger....

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman at [email hidden] wrote:
Think of the oil company shareholders! 😉

I do. That is one of the reasons that I am carfree. <grin>

So far I have even brought TWO tadpole trikes onto Greyhound
Canada buses about 8-10 times last summer. If you top and
tail them so that they are spooning like lovers, the they
fit in the luggage compartment just fine.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Assuming you can't fit your TEs inside your vehicle (not
much of a stretch unless you drive a great big
vehicle)....

So my 5th generation Honda Civic (1992-1995) hatchback is a
great big motor vehicle? 😉 There is a Tour Easy owner in
the Chicagoland area who regularly puts it inside the same
model of vehicle.

A Baron is a bit shorter I think, but that fits inside my
'93 Fiat Panda (surely the epitome of an econobox), but
only if I'm not carrying any passengers. Looking for one of
those hitch-mounted bike racks now. Even the smallest Opel
stationwagon fits a Jouta trike with full fairing, a SWB
and 3 chairs.

You can of course just use a bike to transport almost any
kind of HPV members.home.nlsleepdienst.jpgOpen ↗

Mark van Gorkom.

P.S.:Still don't know what the OP wants to transport his
bikes with

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 20:18:13 -0600, Tom Sherman
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

So my 5th generation Honda Civic (1992-1995) hatchback is a
great big motor vehicle?

Not sure about big, but they are sure as hell great ;-)

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

Not a very useful point of reference for your (Charlie's) question, but
something that would perhaps be useful for other readers curious about
transporting to know:

I drive an Acura RSX Type-S (gets very good gas mileage, and
is a low-emmission vehicle, and is ablast to drive too!). I
can get my RANS Vivo in there, just barely, with car rear
seats folded down, passenger seat folded forward, bike seat
removed and bike front wheel removed, it will fit in there.
I wrap it in blankets so it won't damage the car interior.
Still makes me nervous, though. I don't want to mess up the
leather :-)

I am looking into putting a hidden hitch on the car.

Of course, the bike *could* be transported on my GoldWing
(see pic at webshots) but it was a total pain, potentially
dangerous, and bad for the bike.

--
David Luecke Ridin' a RANS Vivo (wahoo!) Merritt Island,
Florida USA community.webshots.comdavid lueckeOpen ↗

[email hidden] (GEBUH) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

When I'm moving them by car I use one of those cheap bike
racks that strap on the trunk- I carry one TE, one EZ1 and
one DF- no problems. gebuh

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

The last time I purchased a cheap trunk rack, there was so
much sway that it freaked me out and I felt like the bike
was going to fall off. Plus I had to spend so much time bungee-
ing the bike that it offset the convenience of a trunk rack.

Charlie-

I transport a RANS Stratus using the Draftmaster rack. It
works well behind my Volvo and my RV. Ain't cheap, but beats
having the thing hangout on both sides of the Volvo!

RVC, USMC "Charlie duffy" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am in the process of purchasing two Tour Easy recumbent
cycles from Easy Racer and am looking for the most
efficient way to transport them. I have looked at the
internet sites and am having difficulty deciding what
option is best. Can someone help?

I just got Nashbar's catalog #190. Can anyone recommend
a trunk rack in there that will work with a BikeE XL?
Many thanks

I use an Atoc Tandem carrier to carry my RANS Screamer. I
realize its bigger than your Tour Easy's, but the principle
is the same. The swivel on the rack makes it easy to load
the tandem on top of my Ford Windstar Minivan. The Atoc is
mounted on my Saris rack. I can carry four bikes on the rack
total. Usually one is the Screamer, and another is my Vision
R50. There again, this setup isn't cheap, as are most racks
combinations.

Jim Vincent