Calling STW.
I ride everywhere and use the wifes car (VW polo) if I need to take the bike somewhere special.
The wife is starting to feel jealous and wants a peice of the action and that means not leaving the children out.
So…
We are thinking of a 2nd ‘play’ car that will be used to transport 4 bikes and 4 near as damn-it adults, and perhaps full camping kit aswell.
She’s after a twin cab something or other, but I think it would be wasted and perhaps a bit costly to run.
Any one do this on a regular basis?
Was thinking perhaps a ball hitch carrier for 2/3 bikes and the other/s in the boot.
So a big estate car or people carrier type thing?

??..

Cakeface riders; transport, bike transport, cafe, tent all in one vehicle.

Pendle do a 4-bike towbar rack, very solid.

And swap the Polo for something bigger to take it, say a reasonable sized estate and/or MPV – maybe a Zafira?

In all seriousness, I know not everyone wants a “van” . Transporters may seem expensive, and to some may seem ugly and ungainly, but they do hold their value and can be adapted so well to suit individual requirements.( Other vans also available) That said, I used to shoe-horn loads of kit into a Zafira a few years ago.

yeah, cheers so far, wasn’t thinking of big vans but not ruling them out.
I’ve taken a look at Vaxhaull combos and other similar smaller vans.
I’ll see if the big ones are in our price range and maybe…

mtbmatt is selling a Ford Transit Connect on here – small van on the outside and big van on the inside 🙂

Ford Mondeo gets 5 adults and 5 bikes inside – not an exciting play vehicle, just good at a job.

Vans are nice for the space, though I got rid of mine due to fuel costs, road noise and wanting more acceleration for A-road overtaking. It was very comfortable though and didn’t even need to take the tent down when camping as I could just sling it in the back with the bikes.

If it’s just for trips away then the cheepest option is probably sell the polo and get something like a focus estate or c-max and a big bike rack.

I wouldn’t want to spend any length of time in a polo, with 4 adults, 4 bikes and 4 lots of luggage, especialy if it ever had to start/stop or go round a corner with all that weight!

On a practical note, I bought a big car thinking it’d be great for moving bikes/stuff arround, but TBH whilst it is usefull, I often wish I’d bought someting smaller and nippier (‘new’ mini maybe) and just bunged a bike rack on the back. I think I’d have hated a van despite giving a T4 some serious consideration.

I have a Honda Accord Estate and recently had a tow bar fitted.
Bought a Atera STRADA DL 3 to 4 bike carrier and it’s a pretty good solution.

The carrier slides away from the car so you can open the boot, will hold 4 bikes (there is a weight limit but if the bikes are a reasonable weight – under 35lbs then it’s fine)
You get 2 straps which I put around the roof bars for additional peace of mins when there are 4 bikes on

It’s not cheap but if you add up the cost of the bikes it carries and the cost of replacing a frame if a cheaper carrying solution failed it’s worth it

Thanks for the replies.

Its a bit split then, vans against estate cars.
I guess its down to personal preference, I might see if I can hire or borrow some to find my choice.

I use a crew cab as our family adventure vehicle. 35 mpg on a run, £130 road tax per year, 4 wheel drive option, park anywhere option, chuck all the wet, muddy gear/dog in the back and hose out after use with wipe clean leather interior. Pendle 4 bike carrier on the back.
We can fit all out camping gear inside and drive comfortably down to the Alps a few times a year. I would love a T5 but sometimes I don’t want to be driving a van and though it’s a commercial vehicle, it looks more like a Chelsea tractor to some.

We use our zafira diesel for the two of us with 2 children. We currently have all the bikes on the roof, leaves lots of space inside for passengers and luggage. We have had 5 people and 5 bikes, 4 on the roof and 1 bike in the boot. That was a bit of a squeeze, so not much room for luggage but ok for a day trip.

Bikes on the roof is good, I also manage to put them on, it’s quite straight forward. The only thing that you need to keep an eye on with bikes on the roof is the total weight limit of the car roof. 4 bikes and carriers will come very close if not over for full sussers. We picked the roof option as we don’t have a Towbar, but maybe a Towbar rack may have a higher weight limit? Also I am not sure if a 4 carrier on the Towbar may be illegal in other European countries? My mum still lives in holland said something about that, unless tat was just certain ones or those heavy Dutch bikes?

The zafira is great though, get one!

Simone

Mercedes Vaneo worth a look if you want an affordable small car like van….

We’ve got a Toyota Granvia, its an import model, had it for 3 years, great spec, drives brilliant, only gets used as a second car, is a bit juicy though.

VW Kombi (T5) options of 5 or 6 seats, drive like a car and one of the most versatile vehicles going

I carry 2 bikes on a Nissan Cube on a tow bar mounted Thule rack, very sturdy and holds the bikes firmly, my previous rack was again tow bar mounted but the bikes hung as opposed to stood on and consequently did wobble quite a lot so needed to pad between them.
One point on whatever veichle you get check the nose weight to ensure it will handle the rack and bikes, obviousley the bigger the veichle the higher the nose weight.
I purchased a motor home this year not the cheapest option but what a way to go I love it.

if you’ve got a tall vehicle, these racks are excellent

Home

used them a lot in vancouver, very quick to get bikes on and off

We are on our second C4 Grand Picasso, carries four bikes on the towbar, loads of room inside, been to the Alps a few times with it

All depends on your budget, not just for buying but running costs.
Started caravaning this year and on the sites wwe shared with campers I was amazed at the solutions people employed to get all the gear into or onto their cars/vans/motorbikes inc trikes.
Biggish estate for days away then add top box and/or trailer for bikes and camping gear.
I have been toying with the same idea for years but just cannot justify the costs. Currently looking at Kia Sorrento and one of these big 4X4 😆

The more I see of those 4-bike tow bar platforms, the more I think that it fits my needs.

VW Kombi (T5) options of 5 or 6 seats, drive like a car and one of the most versatile vehicles going

Unless your last car looked like this……….

Sometimes I wish my car handled even better, did more mpg etc, the few times I’ve borrowed vans the novelty’s worn off pretty quickly. With new diesel estates doing double the mpg it seems a bit silly driving a van when a similalry priced BMW straight 6 petrol would get better MPG and definately “drive like a car”.

I have gone for a smaller car and a tow bar rack. I also looked at a van conversion but the costs did not stack up for me. Bikes go on the back a treat and the MPG is much better than when I had roof mounted bikes. I also do not have to worry about car park height restrictions. The only word of warning is to keep an eye on the nose weight. Some cars/tow bars have quite a low limit.