Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-05-2010, 10:33 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Lake Tahoe, NV
Posts: 296
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

I saw a van last summer with a receiver on the front of it that they had put their bike rack into. Bikes on the front make sense to me. Keeps them away from a lot of dust and road slop. Also they don't interfere with the back doors. I looked quickly at the front of our van and I'm not sure how they did it. I keep telling myself to look into this when I get a chance. oclv

oclv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2010, 12:22 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

I carry bikes on top and front. I used to use a trunk rack for the front, but now I have a front receiver, so I can use a carrier to carry a couple motorcycles up front to use for running shuttle.

(white = pre-makeover... but same van)


__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2010, 03:22 PM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Salt Lake City
Posts: 74
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

We travel with bikes a good bit so I'll make a few comments:

I have a rear swing away hitch mount rack (Yakima Terrafirma). If you are often in and out of the back of the van, it can be a little of a hassle because it must be swung away. But if you more setup and drive or camp for the night the bikes swing pretty nicely out of the way. Also I got it used of craigslist for $150. I have a 48"x 66" (plus 3" of incut space in the sides) bed in the back with storage which can be all reached from inside. I'm 6'2" and my fiance is 5'10"; we both sleep diagonal which can be a little cramped at the times but we manage as she likes to be a little squished by me and I like having a 1/4 of the bed open to my side. When we stop for a night we pop the bungees and swing the bikes to the side; takes about 2 minutes.
-With the dinnette/hallway setup we have I'm able to put two bikes inside if I want to which is nice if I'm leaving them at a trailhead for a long time.
-Our layout would probably not work well with a large dog crate.

-On roof is not an option for me as I travel through too many different forests which often have low hanging tree branches which already clip my contempo top.
-I like the idea of a front hitch but not if you will be doing a lot of night driving as my experience is it can block headlights some and coat your bike with bugs.
-I only have 2wd which at first I was conserned about but I think my risk tolerance is low for driving home up more than what I can in 2wd which is a fair amount.
-I would watch your wheel base as it will cause a longer turning radius. This is one of the reasons sportsmobile has gone with Ford E series and Dodge Ram extended van is the van gets longer but the wheel base stays the same. This is may not be true of sprinters?
__________________
Working on Converting a 2014 Sienna AWD Limited for rock climbing and back country skiing
Previous Rig: 1996 EB Dodge with Contempo Top
Sierrasclimber is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2010, 05:20 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 162
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

This is a big concern for my wife and I as well. We plan on having a slightly modified RB 13 plan in our EB and have been trying to figure out how much space is actually needed in the back area for 2 mountain bikes side by side with the front tires removed. I have seen a RB 50 plan in a EB that shows 2 road bikes tucked back there nicely in the extra 20" but the handle bars on a mountain bike are a few inches wider. We think that ~27" will be required, making our dinette even narrower. Any thoughts or pics?

Ideas and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Derek
tomesd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2010, 08:18 PM   #15
Site Team
 
BroncoHauler's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southern New Mexico
Posts: 10,177
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

There is a used 2007 Lopes 55 on the SMBw pre-owned site.


Herb
__________________
SMB-less as of 02/04/2012. Our savings account is richer, but our adventures are poorer.
BroncoHauler is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2010, 08:56 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
Re: which floorplan for MTB?

There is another Lopes style interior further down in a plain Sprinter. Too many good looking vans...
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

Turtle

UrbanDrifter

Jnlola

jnlola
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.