Carrying bikes in a campervan

GyatsoLa

I'm in the process of buying a Volkswagen Transporter van which I'm hoping to convert to a campervan. I intend to carry at least 2, possibly 3 bikes around. I would prefer not to carry them externally for security and fuel efficiency. As I'm working on a bit of a blank canvas now I have a lot of flexibility in trying to work out how best to carry them.

I was wondering how others have dealt with this? A simple option would be to carry them permanently in padded bike bags, just like any other baggage, although I'd be worried about damage this way. The other thing I'm looking at are floor mounts from Minora or Thule such as this one:

http://www.thule.com/en/IE/Products/Bik ... Indoor-592

The main problem with these is that they seem to take up a lot of room.

I was thinking of mounting them on the side interior, maybe welding in hooks to the side of the van so I could use a Saris bone or similar, with build in storage either above or below. Has anyone tried this out? I was wondering if the different movement when a van accelerates or decelerates would be a problem for a standard rear rack.

Any option I haven't thought of?

(x-posted on Road General.)

Chunkers1980

My mate just whaps them all inside his, nothing special. Seems to work, take them out when you get there and carry a pop up tent for any other bits you need out the van.

nicklouse

Tow bar and a thule bike carrier.

'

and

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/

danlikesbikes

Make the vehicle into a camper.

Take the wheels off & place the bikes inside upside down and alternate them. Use some cheap as chips foam pipe lagging to protect the frame. Go buy some cheap dog beds,the ones that look like half a duvet covered in some awful patter, place these between the frames so they don't move around.

However as Nicklouse suggests the best option is the rear mount. Not issue with affecting fuel economy, bikes can be safely locked & they tilt down so you still can get access to the rear.

nicklouse

the guys that do MTB vans only tend to have one bike in there.

a conversion and RnR bed and the bikes will not be kept in the van

there is not much room



and the bed still needs to come forward.

GyatsoLa

Thanks for the input. I should have said that one reason I don't want a rear rack is that I live in an apartment building with a very cramped parking space - a rear rack would mean assembling and dissembling everything every time I pop out. Not impossible of course, but very awkward, so I was hoping for a situation where the bikes 'live' in the van so I don't have to think about them so much.

The main reason I'm interested in some way to mount them on the side wall is it would mean not having to mess with them when laying out the base level bed.

danlikesbikes

The Thule rack simply mounts to a tow bar, takes about a minute to attach and lock on and some models fold flat for ease of storage.

nicklouse

that is not a reason. fit it in seconds. not awkward at all.

bike living in the van not a hope in hell.

so a some knows they are in it they will be gone.

mount to side wall! then you will not be having any furniture in there then will you.

May be look at a Crafter.

like I said get on the forum and look at the builds ask the questions but what you are asking for is not really going to happen.

2 people and 2 bikes possible but it will not be a standard build.

DodgeT

Depends what your adding into the van to start with. If your doing a full conversion like the pic above, then your very limited with carrying them internally.
Or, if your just doing the basics, carpetting, insulation, RnR bed etc, ie no fitted sink and all that stuff, then there's loads of room inside for just lining the bikes up against the back of the front seats, bungee cord them in place around the posts off the headrests.
This is what my mate does with his and can easily get 3 bikes in fully assembled and still pull the bed out for use with the bikes in the van. Fine if you just want the van for sleeping in and doing your cooking / washing etc elsewhere, ie outside.

nicklouse

fitting them across the van really does depend on the bike.

My Krissis will but the DH and FR bikes no way. and if you have a Velle the trim makes the width less.

If you are sleeping in it you may want to atleast insulate and ply line it. which drops a few inches of the available width.

pilch

Loads of options as discussed, personally I would always try to fit them inside the van, not on display. Much better for peace of mind when leaving your van somewhere. Last year at the NPS loads of bikes were stolen off bike racks, even those with good locks, the pikey thieving cnuts scoped them out during the day then came back at 3am with bolt cutters.

Lwb is a good option the extra inches mean you can make a mini 'garage' at the rear to fit bikes sideways & keep all the muck out. Still gives you room in front for a r&r bed and storage etc.

For swb the other option is to mount them accross the wheel arches, you will have enough room then to sleep with your feet under them in between the wheel arches.

Or get a trafic lwb hi top, not as cool but you will get more van for your money and baaaaaaaaags of room.

A couple of pics to give you the idea...

YIMan

I have a fully converted Short Wheelbase poptop T4.

I can put my bike (road or MTB) inside the back diagonally behind the drivers seat across to by the sliding door/rock-and-roll seat/bed. But you wouldn't get more than one bike in this way - you will if you start taking wheels off.

When I'm camped up, I can do one of two things with the bike - one wheel off, spin both from seats round and it will fit across the front of the van between the seats and the dash. Or it will fit inside the poptop on the boards.

However, neither of these are really satisfactory.

What I would do if I was starting from scratch is to buy a long wheelbase van, have the rear seat on rails to move up/down AND then probably build a bike locker across the back - with a bit of inventiveness I'm sure you could get bikes in a rear locker safely with some hooks/fasteners. Even without the locker, with a the extra 400mm length of a LWB van and the bed on rails, you could fit the bikes across the back of the van and still have space to camp inside.

nicklouse

download sketchup and have a look at the models here http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=252891

GyatsoLa

Thanks for the feedback everyone, its all very interesting. Nick, that link is great, very useful.

Just to clarify a few things - the van is mostly for myself, so I've a lot of flexibility in the design and layout, I don't need to make the compromises for a 'family' van. I won't be doing it myself, it will probably be a local company here, www.cosycampers.ie. I had a chat with them about options - they suggested getting a LWB and either look at creating about a metre or room at the read (with the back seat on sliders), or do without about half the usual storage to make room at the side (there would be room the bikes for storage space).

I live in an apartment building with a fairly secure (but small) parking space in the basement. Hauling bikes up and down 3 storeys every time I leave is not something I want, hence I want the bikes to 'live' in the van. I'm not ruling out a rear rack, its just something I'd rather avoid if possible, hence I am looking for ideas.

bluechair84

Then maybe you could consider laying them flat on the floor and having the bed pull out over the top. If they are going to live in the van, you could have some anchoring points in the floor to chain them up to.

nicklouse

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=151746

Jeffskowski

You need a pop top on the van that contains two bunk beds. That way you dont need a Rock & Roll bed 'downstairs' thus freeing up room in the back and you can store the bikes in the van overnight as you sleep above. You could still have another set of seats in and room for the bikes and camping equipment. Cookers and things can be stored easily if you choose a compact portable set-up and don't build it into the interior. LWB would be better as more room/more comfortable with bikes, luggage etc but more of a pain to park.