Posts: 203
Joined: 6/24/2012
Location: England, GBR
Has anyone used a small van for transporting a bike?
I mainly ride mountain bikes but occasionally I would like to squeeze an MX bike in the back.
Main problem I've found is height but wondered if a lowered floor like in a disabled van would work? (with rear seats removed)
Added ramp is pretty cool.
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Location: Mechanicsburg, PA USA
I’m sure that lowered floor is EXPENSIVE, but a pretty sweet setup.
Often times you can compress the forks with a tie down between the handlebar and lower fork leg to get the bike in, and I have even seen people remove the front wheel and use a wheelbarrow wheel for transit. It literally takes 3 minutes to reinstall the front wheel.
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Maybe just slap a receiver and a hitch carrier on it for when you want to bring an mx bike?
BTW, it looks to me, as much as a height problem, there may be a length problem with that lowered floor. I mean, often you can fit a bike in a shorter cargo van space by going diagonal across the cargo area, but that option isn't there on this setup.
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Location: England, GBR
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Honestly you'll be paying a premium to purchase that accessible van. It's not cheap to convert a vehicle so that it's accessible for wheelchair users.
Yes the added ramp is a cool little feature for moto, that said I'm not sure if you'll have the length necessary to put in a bike. Even if you remove the back seat only a portion of the floor is dropped. I haven't been in one of those vans in a number of years but from what I remember it will be tight to fit a bike if it even fits.
Personally I would look at other options.
"Sorry Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower."
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Location: CAN
I would recommend getting a hitch and a dirt bike rack but get a mechanic to see if the car could handle the weight
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Location: Kansas City, MO USA
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Location: England, GBR
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Location: AS, USA
I bought a new transit connect long wheelbase last year. I mountain bike as well so it worked out great! I ended up trading it back in for a truck though because it was a complete pain in the ass to get two bikes in there and it was impossible to keep clean. I actually made money on the trade in because I bought a two year old leftover model. Put around 9k miles on it, tranny slipped constantly, went through 2 calipers and a set of rotors too. My first and last Ford I’ll ever buy. 
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Joined: 1/19/2013
Location: NorCal, CA USA
I've had a rear hitch carrier like this since 2002. No problems. And nobody randomly rear ending me.
Your questions sound like my wife. "What if you fall?"
Umm, f!ck, I guess I would deal with it. But if it's a problem for you, please do something else.
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Joined: 12/4/2017
Location: DEU
I'm envious... In Germany you wouldn't get any legalization for this. Only for bigger vans.
Back in the days I used a Renault Kangoo. Folding down the passenger seat, compressing the fork and putting the bike backwards in the Renault worked pretty good.
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Joined: 5/25/2014
Location: San Diego, CA USA
I looked long at hard at using a Chevy Astro van. Just about the right size and I know loads of
people have done it. In the end, I passed, but I still think about going that route.
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Joined: 1/8/2011
Location: Kansas City, MO USA
Damn dude I can't believe you had so much trouble with yours. Mine is a 2015 and have 103k miles on it and haven't had a single issue. Hell I haven't even had to put brakes on it yet. I did switch to a synthetic transmission fluid at like 75k and that seems to have smoothed out the shifts but that was more preventative maintenance as I haven't had any real issue with the tranny.
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Came very close to buying a Hearse once. Head over ruled and ended up buying another van. One day, maybe.... Seats four people and plenty of storage space.
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Location: Boise, ID USA
I just purchased this 2000 Chevy Astro. Has 98k on the odo, and I am converting the interior for camping.
These things are STOUT. AWD, and still rated to tow 5,000 lbs.
2” lift kit is on the way, 31 x 10.5 tires, and we should be ready to roll.
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Joined: 6/24/2012
Location: England, GBR
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Update: Went for the standard version of the Caddy MAXI. Surprised how much room there is in it!
Have to compress the forks with a tie down (anyone know a better solution?) but it's a minor inconvenience for 50mpg and ability for me to park in London (without bike).
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Location: Anaheim, CA USA
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Location: AUS
Hey whip
Thinking of trading in my transporter T5 for a caddy myself as I’ve had enough of being restricted by height in car parks.
Is it easy enough to get in there? Also Can you get 2 bikes in there alright?
Many thanks
