Who needs a van? Actually I was thinking a getting a van to haul my dogs and motorcycle a few years back. I found renting a uhaul ($15 to $20/day) motorcycle trailer or my cargo trailer (when not full) to be easier and cheaper.
I did this for the last nine months. It is cheaper, but I work weird hours and trying to get a rental when I need to get out of town early in the mornings was a pain. I finally bit the bullet and got a big van. I was previously used a Dodge Grand Caravan for the Trials bikes. I had to compress the forks with a ratchet strap to clear the rear door but it worked pretty well until my son blew the motor up on a fishing trip.
I am on my second one since 1984. I am in the process of moving the topper tat I fabricated. It is hinged on the side and opens like a BBQ. It holds 2 HD's but you must angle it out from each other. I fabricated a 12' foldable aluminum ramp out of channel w/hinge. Much easier to use a trailer but if you want protection and no trailer, this is it. Rides very smooth. Has a 6.9-liter IDI diesel w a Gail Banks turbo & a gear Vendors over & under tail stock on the 400. It currently has 72K miles
I am on my second one since 1984. I am in the process of moving the topper tat I fabricated. It is hinged on the side and opens like a BBQ. It holds 2 HD's but you must angle it out from each other. I fabricated a 12' foldable aluminum ramp out of channel w/hinge. Much easier to use a trailer but if you want protection and no trailer, this is it. Rides very smooth. Has a 6.9-liter IDI diesel w a Gail Banks turbo & a gear Vendors over & under tail stock on the 400. It currently has 72K miles
I've never hauled 2 harleys in a van but I used to haul a shovelhead in my 75 ford conversion van. I worked on the road and lived out of the van part-time. Used to drop the ape hangers down and roll it up a 2"x12" into the back. I'd probably never seen a wheel chock back then, used to strap it to some mounting points I installed.Worked well for what I needed.
I still have that old van stored at my folks place, new tires, oil change, and a fresh tank of gas and it would be ready to roll. 351w and a 3 on the tree, 2 sunroofs, bubble windows, deep **** floor and walls. Those were the days.
Had a 78 Ford extended van, hauled a few bikes in that thing I'm the one everybody called when they broke down in the middle of nowhere. When I first moved to cali. I was loading and unloading my shovel by myself for several weeks till I found a place to live. .
Rented a 15 passenger transit 350’from budget and just removed the seats to haul our two sporties to Daytona bike week. Super easy and even had room to sleep. 10/10 would do again over pulling a trailer
Rented a 15 passenger transit 350’from budget and just removed the seats to haul our two sporties to Daytona bike week. Super easy and even had room to sleep. 10/10 would do again over pulling a trailer
It looks like you’ve got a wheel chock. It’s hard to tell from the pics. How did you mount those in there temporarily?
Yeah I had harbor freight wheel chocks for each bike. I just had them on the floor and screwed the back of the chock into a 2x10 that was the width of the van. Then I strapped the bikes from the forks down to the seat mounts. I didn’t need the chocks or the 2x10 but they helped keep the bikes from sliding forward in a hard stop. I only had one strap on the rear of the bikes and that was to compress the shocks more than anything.
I researched on how I was gonna transport the bikes to bike week for a solid few weeks. Renting trailer vs pick-up vs Van vs just riding down.
It was nice to sleep in the van, no trailer to worry about once we got to Daytona, 17.4mpg @80+.
Hardest part was taking the seats out and taking the time to put the handle bars down and sissy bar.
03-11-2019, 03:30 PM
