Tandem owners: what vehicle do you use to transport?

[54ny77]

Truth!

At the moment it's 8' of living room decor.

Originally Posted by robt57

hassle of how 'in the way' tandems ALWAYS are anytime they are not actually rolling.

[bikinchris]

In the past, we carried our tandem in the bed of an F100 with an 8 foot bed. We also spent 6 weeks carrying the tandem cross ways along with two singles and camping gear in a Ford Ranger with a camper top. We also used a Ford Explorer with a Thule roof rack that grabbed the fork and rear quick release.

[GregL]

As others have noted, the best answer to bike hauling inside a vehicle is always a minivan. My family had three Chrysler minivans over the years. Surprisingly reliable, comfortable, easy to work on, and swallowed tandems nicely. I attached two fork mounts to a plank. With the front wheel removed and one of the middle seats stowed, the tandem fit easily.

Greg

[hypnos]

With the wheels off, our tandem fits into my Subaru Outback. It also fits into my girlfriend's Lexus RX350L, but that model is no longer in production.

[dvs cycles]

Tacoma longbed with a shell.Tandem Slider 010.jpg

[deluz]

Toyota Sienna

[54ny77]

is that a taco w/ 5.5' or 6' bed?

Originally Posted by dvs cycles

Tacoma longbed with a shell.Attachment 1698090117

[dvs cycles]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

is that a taco w/ 5.5' or 6' bed?

Longbed is 73" Technically it is standard bed 5.5 is Shortbed.

[Tandem Rider]

We've carried them a bunch of ways over the years.

Roof rack was the least desireable, admittedly it was pre-sidewinder invention. Your bike is exposed to the elements, in the wind, kills your fuel economy, and exposed to easy theft, hard to load. Next up was in the bed of a full size pick up, wheel mounts on the front of the bed behind the rear window, no shell. Also exposed to the elements and easy theft, mostly out of the wind, didn't seem to hurt the fuel economy, easy to load. Followed by a Draftmaster, behind a SUV. Also exposed to the elements and easy theft, mostly out of the wind, easy to load. We now have a Dodge Grand Caravan with Stow and Go. I made a simple dummy axle board and riser that mounts the fork dropouts. The riser keeps the cranks and chain from getting the carpet dirty. Out of the elements, out of the wind, no effect on fuel economy, pretty protected from theft, easy to load. Of the 4 ways we like the Minivan the best, but then we put zero status on what vehicle we own, it's simply a tool to get us and stuff from point A to point B.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by dvs cycles

Tacoma longbed with a shell.

That is a slick slide out thingie. Did you make that? Any more photos? Great idea, and now I want to make one!

[DfCas]

I had a hanging hitch rack for 4 bikes. With the wheels removed, I could hang it angled/diagonally and it was not wider than the vehicle. Hanging racks are nearly free these days so its a cheap option. I always worried about it getting rear ended tho, as it sits pretty far off the back.

The minivan/van is clearly the winner tho in tandem hauling.

[zap]

Fold down rear seats and remove front wheel.

Good to go.

[Derosid]

We’ve always used a Yakima roof rack with a tandem mount. Works on sedans and wagons.