quote:

ORIGINAL: OldFatGuy

I didn't want to spend $4K on a trailer and another $35K on a SUV to pull it around, so this is what I did to be able to take my bike to track days and on vacations and such.

1) Find a cheap beater full size van like this one I got off of ebay. I spent $600 on the van, $96 to get it to pass inspection, and $45 on a new battery.




2) Throw in a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood and bolt it down so it can't move around. I'm going to put in some 3M skid resistant tape so that if the plywood gets wet, the tires won't slide around.


3) Buy a couple of Wheel Chocks, some ratcheting tie down straps, and I used eye bolts to create mounting points for the tie downs. I went with the removable Pingle wheel chocks. Determine where the chock should go, and bolt down the mouting hardware that comes with the chock. Here is a shot of the mouting hardware:


4) Here is the first Wheel Chock mounted. As you can see, I initally planned on mounting it further to the outside edge of the van, but some beams running under the floor prevented me from being able to mount my eye bolts there, so I had to adjust the position a little further in. No big deal, just wanted to mention it in case anyone was wondering about the other outline.




5) Pull the bike in and put the front wheel into the wheel chock. I used the Canyon Dancer straps on my 1KRR clipons tp secure the front of the bike in the wheel chock. Here is a shot of the Canyon Dancer and securing the front of the bike in the chock.




6) Once the bike is in and standing on it's own in the wheel chock, put some straps on the swing arm and determine where to put a couple of other eye bolts to use as mounting points for these straps. The pingle instructions said to use the rear straps to also pull the bike into the wheel chock. I know some people have the rear straps pulling on the bike away from the front. I went with the wheel chock manufacturers recommendation on this one as it made sense to me to have it pulling the bike into the wheel chock as a back up in case the front straps failed for some reason.




7) Basically do the same thing on the other side for another bike. If you're only going to be hauling one bike, then center the wheel chock instead of putting it on the sides. Keep in mind to check underneath to make sure any holes you are drilling will not hit anyting important and will be easily accessible. I wanted to be able to get my wife's Shadow in the van as well. We're heading to Deals Gap on Thursday, and we're taking both bikes. Here's a shot with the other wheel chock already mounted as well as all strap mounting points and both bikes in the back of the van. As you can see, I put some of the 3M Skid Resistant tape on the aluminum ramp. I was raining this morning when I started and the ramp was pretty slippery when it was wet.




One tip for using the ramp. There are 6 fingers that lay on the floor of the van and chains to keep the ramp from slipping off. The chains didn't

< Message edited by bmg velocity -- 7/26/2007 6:51:37 PM >

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Does not want to debate insurance co.'s or bad drivers for at least a decade or 10. Want to argue the merits? You are a one man show. Sorry no takers here.

(in reply to OldFatGuy)