Nick,
Did you sit for a while in the driver seat of the RAV4 (or any Toyota) – it is like a cement seat.
That is what removed this vehicle from my great search…
Since I could not find any auto that would seat 5 or allow a vertical bike – I focused on the comfort of the driver.
I picked the Subaru Outback.
We have about 20,000 miles with multiple bikes on the roof.
We drop almost 7 mpg with any bike on the roof.
But for the most part I lay a single flat with the rear seats down.
And curse it most every time I do this.
We moved from a GMC Yukon XL – where I could put 4 bikes vertically and take 4 passengers.
But the gas cost is almost three times what we now have in the Outback.
And you can buy 3 Outback’s for the same price of the Yukon.
We have to many other problems with the Outback – most minor but it drive me crazy and I cannot wait to dump this vehicle.
Good luck
Jim House
Maumee, OH
Nick,
Did you sit for a while in the driver seat of the RAV4 (or any Toyota) – it is like a cement seat.
That is what removed this vehicle from my great search…
Since I could not find any auto that would seat 5 or allow a vertical bike – I focused on the comfort of the driver.
I picked the Subaru Outback.
We have about 20,000 miles with multiple bikes on the roof.
We drop almost 7 mpg with any bike on the roof.
But for the most part I lay a single flat with the rear seats down.
And curse it most every time I do this.
We moved from a GMC Yukon XL – where I could put 4 bikes vertically and take 4 passengers.
But the gas cost is almost three times what we now have in the Outback.
And you can buy 3 Outback’s for the same price of the Yukon.
We have to many other problems with the Outback – most minor but it drive me crazy and I cannot wait to dump this vehicle.
Steve,
I have the Thule bicycle rack (square bar) system.
I did have to purchase new feet for the roof system on the Outback (replacing the gutter system feet for our old GMC Yukon).
Still retained all parts just in case we ever go back to a gutter system again.
We had three clamp on bike racks and an original Thule tandem rack.
We later replaced the tandem rack with this newer model.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajk6ETiNH-s
We also have a Thule cargo box (for skis) this will also fit onto the Outback built in roof bars (when moved to the across the vehicle position).
We have had no issues in either configuration with the cargo box.
To get the single bikes on the center two racks I need to step into the door well while lifting the bike into the rack. (not a big deal).
For the old tandem rack we needed a milk crate in order to mount the rear wheel into a Y shaped yoke system for the rear wheel.
With the new tandem rack I can solo with one hand swing the rear of the tandem without any help onto the rear of the rack system and synch down with a Velcro strap.
However with the tandem rack mounted, we cannot open the rear hatch all of the way.
If we use the tandem rack for a single, part of the rear of the rack will slide out and we can then use the rear hatch.
Again this is only for the TAMDEM RACK.
One thing that worries me for this system – the Thule web site provided me with their foot model number I needed for the replacement feet.
They gave me the model number for my specific Outback with the specific model year.
After the purchase in reading the instructions you needed to have the feet separated by 24 inches.
Give the build of the Outback roof bars and the configuration of the feet I only get 22+ inches center to center separation.
I have emailed Thule two times with regards to this issue and have received NO response.
While on a 3,000 mile road trip with two singles and one tandem on the roof we had and issue.
After driving at high speeds (70 MPH posted) in Bad Lands of South Dakota into a high wind thunderstorm the bikes started moving a lot.
We slowed down to 55 and it was a little better.
As a result the Outback roof rack is now looser then when we purchased it – I can physically lift the rack when mounted up and down.
Our dealer stated that this movement is within an acceptable tolerance.
I would not purchase and Outback (or Subaru) ever again.
We also lose about 7 mpg with the bikes on the roof.
Jim House
Maumee, OH
From: ran...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ran...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve Palincsar
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 8:47 AM
To: ran...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Randon] Best new, small SUV that can take a bike standing up (w/front-wheel removed)
On 11/25/2014 08:33 AM, Jim House - Custom Computer Solutions wrote:
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I've also heard that the Fit has a surprisingly tall cargo area. I never tried it, but I did look in the back at the showroom and it looked at least as big as the CR-V, just not as long. A 4WD version of the Fit is coming out in the spring, to be called an HR-V (http://automobiles.honda.com/hr-v/). Because the body is not as long, I'm not sure it would be long enough to sleep in (the CR-V will probably be pretty snug).
On Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 5:16 AM, Ken Freeman <kenfre...@gmail.com> wrote:
I saw a Fit with a bike upright in the back and room left over for sleeping, but it is not 4wd and would not meet your other criteria. Plus the bike had a very small frame - not sure you stow a larger frame without lowering the saddle.
On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 10:22 PM, NickBull <nick.bi...@gmail.com> wrote:
Well, two weekends ago I went and tested which cars I could fit my bike into, standing upright with the front wheel off. Answer:
Toyota RAV4 works but only barely, the saddle is jammed tight against the roof whichever direction the bike faces.
Subaru Forester was a complete fail. Maybe if I removed the saddle or pushed it down in the seat tube. But my knees are very sensitive to having the saddle height just so, and I didn't want to run into "issues" with driving to a ride, not getting the saddle height exactly right, and then having sore knees for a week or two. It's a pity because I was all set to buy a Forester.
Honda CR-V works and has plenty of clearance above the saddle, whichever direction the bike faces. Easiest is to roll it in backwards and then there is plenty of clearance to put in a fork-mount rack to hold the front end up high enough that it isn't resting on the fender.
The cars are all pretty comparable otherwise. Subaru arguably has a better 4WD drivetrain but I haven't seen a lot of complaints about either the RAV4 or CR-V. Our 2002 CR-V has worked just fine in all the weather conditions we've been hit with. We're not trying to go off-road, just be able to get home through an unexpected several-inch snowstorm.
So we now own a new (2014) CR-V. Or more precisely, Honda Finance owns it.
Nick
On Wednesday, November 19, 2014 10:11:06 PM UTC-5, David Buzzee wrote:
Any list of cars to suit your needs will include Subaru, several models will work.David Buzzee, now driving his third Subaru WRX
On Wednesday, November 19, 2014 9:30 PM, NickBull <nick.bi...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm looking for a new, small AWD SUV that can take a bike standing up w/front wheel removed. I want to be able to sleep in the back of the car next to the bike (e.g. before or after a brevet), so it does me no good to know that it's easy to put the bike lying on its side, because then there won't be any room for me to sleep next to the bike! Reason to get a new AWD car is that my wife will be driving it a lot in the winter and I want something rock-solid and reliable for her to drive. I'll be driving it to brevets during the non-snowy part of the year.
Honda Element would have been perfect for this, but of course they're not made anymore.
Appreciate any ideas you have.
Thanks,
Nick
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I've also heard that the Fit has a surprisingly tall cargo area. I never tried it, but I did look in the back at the showroom and it looked at least as big as the CR-V, just not as long. A 4WD version of the Fit is coming out in the spring, to be called an HR-V (http://automobiles.honda.com/hr-v/). Because the body is not as long, I'm not sure it would be long enough to sleep in (the CR-V will probably be pretty snug).
On Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 5:16 AM, Ken Freeman <kenfre...@gmail.com> wrote:
I saw a Fit with a bike upright in the back and room left over for sleeping, but it is not 4wd and would not meet your other criteria. Plus the bike had a very small frame - not sure you stow a larger frame without lowering the saddle.
On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 10:22 PM, NickBull <nick.bi...@gmail.com> wrote:
Well, two weekends ago I went and tested which cars I could fit my bike into, standing upright with the front wheel off. Answer:
Toyota RAV4 works but only barely, the saddle is jammed tight against the roof whichever direction the bike faces.
Subaru Forester was a complete fail. Maybe if I removed the saddle or pushed it down in the seat tube. But my knees are very sensitive to having the saddle height just so, and I didn't want to run into "issues" with driving to a ride, not getting the saddle height exactly right, and then having sore knees for a week or two. It's a pity because I was all set to buy a Forester.
Honda CR-V works and has plenty of clearance above the saddle, whichever direction the bike faces. Easiest is to roll it in backwards and then there is plenty of clearance to put in a fork-mount rack to hold the front end up high enough that it isn't resting on the fender.
The cars are all pretty comparable otherwise. Subaru arguably has a better 4WD drivetrain but I haven't seen a lot of complaints about either the RAV4 or CR-V. Our 2002 CR-V has worked just fine in all the weather conditions we've been hit with. We're not trying to go off-road, just be able to get home through an unexpected several-inch snowstorm.
So we now own a new (2014) CR-V. Or more precisely, Honda Finance owns it.
Nick
On Wednesday, November 19, 2014 10:11:06 PM UTC-5, David Buzzee wrote:
Any list of cars to suit your needs will include Subaru, several models will work.David Buzzee, now driving his third Subaru WRX
On Wednesday, November 19, 2014 9:30 PM, NickBull <nick.bi...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm looking for a new, small AWD SUV that can take a bike standing up w/front wheel removed. I want to be able to sleep in the back of the car next to the bike (e.g. before or after a brevet), so it does me no good to know that it's easy to put the bike lying on its side, because then there won't be any room for me to sleep next to the bike! Reason to get a new AWD car is that my wife will be driving it a lot in the winter and I want something rock-solid and reliable for her to drive. I'll be driving it to brevets during the non-snowy part of the year.
Honda Element would have been perfect for this, but of course they're not made anymore.
Appreciate any ideas you have.
Thanks,
Nick
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--Ken Freeman
Ann Arbor, MI USA
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