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?
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Working on Converting a 2014 Sienna AWD Limited for rock climbing and back country skiing
Previous Rig: 1996 EB Dodge with Contempo Top
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