"Dave Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:Roger Buchanan <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:[...]
Quoted message said:Linda and I are already figuring out our "fantasy" vehicle. A customized
cargo van for camping that is specific for mountain bikes and kayaks. As
soon as we come up with the "fantasy money" we'll get it on the road.
I've been trying to decide on my vehicle. Every few years I and
whatever slacker I can find take a 2-3 month road trip around the US.
I have started mountain biking since the last trip, and I already know
that the next trip must include our bikes. Previously I have used a
Jeep Cherokee for the trips, and it works fine to carry all the
camping gear, and in the city, and on the highway. But now I have a
hitch rack on my current Cherokee, and it's really a PITA to open the
liftgate, which is something you do continuously when camping out of a
Cherokee.
I thought about a Plymouth Voyager / Dodge Caravan, but just couldn't
bring myself to drive a minivan yet. I just replaced the Cherokee
with another Cherokee, and am thinking about putting a roof rack on
it. But I'm concerned about:
- difficulty of getting bikes on/off the roof rack
- excessive highway wind noise
- damage to the bikes from wind/sand/rain/bird impacts
- too much drag slowing down the car
- low bridges
Are any of these likely to be a problem? I've got no experience with
roof racks. I just know I almost never see anyone using them around
here (Florida). If there's a reason for that, I guess I'll go with
either the minivan (NO!) or a pickup truck with a big enough lock box
in the back to hold all the camping gear.
I've got until next spring/summer to decide if I need a new vechicle.
Dave
www.davewilson.cc/Bike
Think about getting a car or truck you can run as a BIODIESEL --- which
means virtually any diesel car or truck--new ones need no modifications,
very old used diesels may need fuel line modification for a minor cost.
You can MAKE your own biodiesel from free waste cooking oil ( sources like
burger king) and 70 cents a gallon for the conversion. A conversion kit you
put in your garage that converts 50 gallons at a time to 45 gallons of
biodiesel can be purchased for about $1900 --you could split one with a few
friends. Each night you can make a new 45 gallons.
Biodiesel in your car or truck means you are driving a vehicle which has
ultra low pollution effects...
Biodiesel means you are not sending money to the scum in the middle east..
Not sending the money out of the US puts it back in the US, which is more
intelligent for our economy
Biodiesel lets you say Screw off to the oil companies..
Biodiesel means you can get over 30 miles a gallon with virtually any car
and most smaller trucks. But at 70 cents per gallon, you can deal with fuel
costs for a larger truck like the big Econoline diesel van ford makes, or
the Sprinter Van Dodge sells.. Imports would provide much more choices in
cars or trucks that run diesel, as it appears the Oil Companies have
succeeded in limiting the selection in the US of American made vehicles and
standard imports.
Dan V