Ideas for Taking Bikes and Rear Storage Container

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by PammieSue

.... Next is where do you put the kayaks? ... ... So far all we have come up with is that they will go on our tow along vehicle when we fix one up.

It's been done, apparently successfully, as the attached photo suggests. The forehead-slapper in this case is that this owner took a roof rack and mounted it on top of the existing mostly-useless Airstream-installed T1N roof rack. That is what allowed him/her to vault the kayaks over the air conditioner.

But dang, the resulting vehicle is tall!! And it's an intrepid soul who can climb up there for the purposes of loading and unloading those vessels every time they are needed. (S)he also put a ladder on the rear door, but that's only going to help with half of this battle. I am athletic and I would still be intimidated by the job.

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by roadmama

Hi Everyone. Thanks for all the suggestions. I will check them out. Two questions: (1) Was it hard to drive with the bikes in the front of the AI? I believe a front hitch can be secured for the AI. I was just concerned about the difficulties of driving it and whether the gas mileage would go down significantly; (2) can the person with the Brompton bikes send pictures of them stowed under the lounge. I have a non-extended version AI so will those bikes fit in that version easily?

I should choose my words more carefully..... the two Bromptons are stored under the rearmost part of the lounge. They cannot go in any further since part of the lounge frame is in the way, along with the battery and other electrical boxes under there. So for that reason, you may not get them in there in a non-extended AI. But I'm not sure how much space you have in there when the lounge is made into a bed. My Bromptons could also stand up (folded) in the space behind the bed extensions so perhaps you also have a few inches to spare there too.
Here are a couple pics showing them lying flat, and with the bed extensions deployed.



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[Marks71]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

I should choose my words more carefully..... the two Bromptons are stored under the rearmost part of the lounge. They cannot go in any further since part of the lounge frame is in the way, along with the battery and other electrical boxes under there. So for that reason, you may not get them in there in a non-extended AI. But I'm not sure how much space you have in there when the lounge is made into a bed. My Bromptons could also stand up (folded) in the space behind the bed extensions so perhaps you also have a few inches to spare there too.
Here are a couple pics showing them lying flat, and with the bed extensions deployed.
Attachment 248641Attachment 248642


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

Ahh ok I had pictured them all the way under and that was blowing my mind. We stand ours up behind the lounge, and fill up under the lounge with other stuff. I don't have a picture handy Guess you can play with both ideas to pick what's best for you. Either way, we love our folding bikes!

[3wd67rg]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

It's been done, apparently successfully, as the attached photo suggests. The forehead-slapper in this case is that this owner took a roof rack and mounted it on top of the existing mostly-useless Airstream-installed T1N roof rack. That is what allowed him/her to vault the kayaks over the air conditioner.

But dang, the resulting vehicle is tall!! And it's an intrepid soul who can climb up there for the purposes of loading and unloading those vessels every time they are needed. (S)he also put a ladder on the rear door, but that's only going to help with half of this battle. I am athletic and I would still be intimidated by the job.

And ours would be still taller than that! Unless there is a way to put a ladder on the rear and hook two kayaks to that, I guess they will go on the tow behind, a jeep Chris has if he can get it running again. He just flew back to Ohio this morning for it. On the roof we have two AC units and two vents, which makes for little room. We will probably rid ourselves of the antenna, we have found it to be pointless. More likely that we will use our TV with Internet access to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. But I did wonder if anyone had ever put two kayaks on top before. Thank you for the photo Interblog!

[InterBlog]

I didn't want to hijack this newer thread that asks about EXterior bike racks, so I'm reverting to this existing thread which talked about the INterior (folding bike) option.

Does anyone have any experience with the Schwinn Loop folding bike? I don't recall that particular brand being mentioned anywhere.

It is potentially attractive to me because of its low price point (under $200) and also because it seems to fold smaller than at least some of the competing products. It comes with a storage sack and I'm wondering if it would fit in the Interstate's closet. Closet storage would be ideal for us as we are committed to devoting our rear hitch to a cooler at minimum, cooler plus inflatable boat at max.

I realize that bike suitability is very much a function of usage intentions. Someone who wants to do serious off-road riding or long-distance pavement travel would probably not be happy with any folding bike option. Our scenario would be to use folding bikes to bridge the functionality gap - to compensate for the Interstate's lack of off-road capability. There are certain hikes that are just so many miles that one can't conceivably do the whole thing on foot in the time available. One either has to drive off-road partway into the destination (which the Interstate cannot do), or bike partway in, locking up the bikes and proceeding the remaining distance on foot. And that's the reason why low price point is important to me - we'd be leaving bikes, locked up sure, but there's always a theft risk with that. I would not want to leave a big investment on the ground. Better to go low-end for our needs.

Question is, would one or more fit in the closet. Amazon gives the Schwinn folded footprint as 30" x 32" x 11", but the package is irregular obviously and that's probably (hopefully) the dimensions at maximum point. Based on my trigonometry, that's within about an inch of what would fit in the mid-bath T1N closet on the diagonal. So it could go either way.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Question is, would one or more fit in the closet. Amazon gives the Schwinn folded footprint as 30" x 32" x 11", but the package is irregular obviously and that's probably (hopefully) the dimensions at maximum point. Based on my trigonometry, that's within about an inch of what would fit in the mid-bath T1N closet on the diagonal. So it could go either way.

The easy way to carry folding bikes— especially in a carry bag— would be to lay them on a bed. Then when you stop for the night, move the bikes outside and lock them to the hitch receiver safety chain loops, and load them back onto the bed when you break camp.

As long as you're not using the beds for seating or sleeping while the vehicle is in motion, they are a perfectly acceptable place to carry cargo. Before I bought a receiver-mounted cargo tray, that's where I used to carry my lawn chairs, patio mat, and grill while en route.

Another option would be to remove the door of your closet, and replace it with a curtain, possibly also with bungee netting across the lower portion for keeping things in place. Then if something stuck out an inch or two, it's not an inconvenience.

[Marks71]

Dahon US website gives cube dimensions when folded. You can compare to your schwinns

D7's about $500 20" wheels. We regularly do up to 20 miles round trip, someTimes with hills. And one 30 mile. They are a joy to ride. Smaller 16"wheels would give a smaller cube, but harder to cover distance

I don't know closets. We put ours right in back of rear lounge (EXT) model

M