popmonkey69 Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 I appreciate this question has been answered before but with new products/vehicles around thought it may be worth asking again.... I'm a newbie starting up, just sold my road bike that was my 24/7 transport so.... Little car and trailer or van ? Is there any advantages or just personal choice? Cheers Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 I would says its down to personal choice and funds. I have a trailer but have started to use a rack on the back of the car. Ideally I would prefer a van, its secure, all your kit, tools and the bike/bikes are out of sight and it doubles up as a changing room but I cant justify the cost of buying and running another vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasserguy Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Van, then the scum can't see the bike and follow you home!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanorbust Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Van-derived car for me (Doblo or Berlingo). You don't have the lower speed limits imposed on vans, bike fits with rear seat folded and you've got the versatility of a family car the rest of the time. Gave up using a trailer years ago, too little security for the bike and speed limits too low. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmonkey69 Posted April 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 As my road bike has gone I need transport for work, was looking at a little car/van so rear rack not possible. I'm thinking van, just need to see how big a load space I'd need for a bike. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goudrons Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) It's already been mentioned, but car derived vans are excellent trials bike transport that double up as family hacks. The vans they are based on usually attract high insurance premiums, even though you're using them for SDP. It's probably due to the break in risk. Some of these small vans can also carry a higher VED than the car versions. Check the logbook to see if it's classed as a car. (M1 methinks) With a van derived car, you're more likely to find petrol versions if you don't want to get clobbered with whatever the Govenment has up their sleeve for diesel owners in the near future. You can find the odd petrol Doblo (1.4 not the 1.2, it's dog slow), Berlingo and Partner MPV's dotted about for reasonable money and they've usually had an easier life than an ex Royal Mail or BT van version. Edited April 11, 2017 by goudrons 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapezeartist Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 I worked my way through all the options before actually making a purchase. I started thinking about a trailer, because I've always had a bit of a passion for trailers over the years. But I don't have room to store one conveniently so it would have to be a collapsible. So that was going to be over £300 for a Dave Cooper (unless I was really lucky and found one secondhand). Then I was quoted £500 for a tow bar for my car . So that was going to be £800 in total and minimal residual value. Then I considered a rack. Same problem with the cost of the tow bar on the car, and the racks I've seen look pretty flimsy. I helped someone load up one day. Once it was on he patted the bike and said something to the effect of "There, that's all nice and secure." It actually flexed something horrible. So I came around to a van (doubling as a second means of transport). I was only planning on spending £1000 or so and everything I saw was awful: high mileage, diesel, battered outside and filthy inside. Finally for £900 I bought a Citroen Berlingo van. It's a petrol, clean inside and out, and "only" 98k miles. I've now been using it for about a month and I'm very pleased with it. It's far from a luxury motor, but it does the job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakennstirred Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 you have a pic with the bike in the back of the Berlingo ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 £500 for a towbar, was it gold plated! mine cost me £30 s/h of ebay and new fitting kit £15 +2hrs spanner work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 1 hour ago, suzuki250 said: £500 for a towbar, was it gold plated! I'm having a tow bar fitted to disco sport next week. Land Rover price £970! Not using them but still costing me £500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot 3 Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 Quoted £200 to have a £70 towbar fitted to a Focus...... can;'t even trust that one I g=had fitted to a Volvo a few years back cost me a new silencer because the salad chef that fitted it broke it and didn't bother telling me!! Wee vans can often be cheaper i the long run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapezeartist Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 16 hours ago, shakennstirred said: you have a pic with the bike in the back of the Berlingo ? Sorry. I haven't got the bike yet. Having checked measurements though, I reckon I'll need to remove the small rear seat completely, then tuck a wheel into that corner and put the bike diagonally across the space. That looks like it will work with a decent safety margin on the measurements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapezeartist Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 15 hours ago, suzuki250 said: £500 for a towbar, was it gold plated! mine cost me £30 s/h of ebay and new fitting kit £15 +2hrs spanner work I felt somewhat the same. That was for a new fully-fitted bar with a model-specific electric kit. If I had chosen to go that route I felt it was safest to have the pukka electric kit because modern car electronics are very complicated (and very expensive to repair if you blow something up!). If I was putting a bar on an old nail I would have bought the complete kit on eBay (new, unless I happened to stumble across a good s/h one) for £70-£100. I would have fitted it myself and scotch-locked the trailer electrics into the main loom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 (edited) 50 minutes ago, trapezeartist said: I felt somewhat the same. That was for a new fully-fitted bar with a model-specific electric kit. If I had chosen to go that route I felt it was safest to have the pukka electric kit because modern car electronics are very complicated (and very expensive to repair if you blow something up!). If I was putting a bar on an old nail I would have bought the complete kit on eBay (new, unless I happened to stumble across a good s/h one) for £70-£100. I would have fitted it myself and scotch-locked the trailer electrics into the main loom. No need for scotch-lock wiring on modern cars (That would cause problems) Its plug and play, the lighting is controlled by the ECU All you need is the relay, if its for the correct vehicle it should have the plug attached, plus most cars even have the holes ready for fitting Edited April 15, 2017 by suzuki250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakennstirred Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 My towbar cost me £69 off ebay, German made. Luckily on my 24 year old Polo it has some unused sockets on the back of the lighting block. I just added some spade connections to the wiring on the towbar power socket and that was it. Had to drill all the holes to fit it, but again luckily VW mark it all out for you on the body, took me about 2 hours tops to fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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