Hauling tandem - bike racks?
 

I have an Electra tandem DLX 7i arriving next week and am wondering the best way to transport it to a local trail ~ 10 miles away. I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna and don't want to put the bike on the roof. I have found the following racks -

https://www.houseoftandems.com/about...-cars-pg88.htm

The HOTT tandem rack is the more afforadable and looks simple enough to use. The Draftmaster looks more sophisticated. I don't know if the bike might fit inside my van. I have the captain style chairs to there is space up the middle all the way to the dashboard. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dave

We use a Saris rack in our Sienna to transport our Co-Motion tandem. There’s plenty of room and it takes about two-three minutes to load and unload the bike.

I was going to recommend the Rocky Mounts Tandem Tailpipe from Tandems East (https://tandemseast.com/bike-racks/) but it looks like your tandem uses an internally geared hub which means taking the rear wheel off isn't practical for routine transport. While you don't have to remove the rear wheel to use this rack, since it hangs the bike from the top tube it allows you do remove both wheels, making the bike shorter. In the case of our medium-sized crossover, our bike doesn't stick out past the sides of the car with both wheels off. If you're good with the width of the bike, the House of Tandems rack looks like a nice solution and Ric and Marcia @ H.O.T. are great.

Thanks for the reply and which Saris rack do you use? They make nice looking racks.s

Thanks for help and I will check out the racks on the website. I like the House of Tandem rack in that I won't have to remove the wheels. I am going to measure tonight how far the wheels will stick out on the sides, but I only have to drive 10 miles to the bike trail we use so not too worried about them sticking out a bit. Good to hear positive feedback about House of Tandems.

We use the Saris Triple track:
https://www.saris.com/product/traps-triple

we often load two tandems when we travel with our tandem friends. That allows four people in the van (rear seats folded down) plus tandems down the middle.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3407eb56e.jpeg

10 miles a way ride there.

Thanks so much for posting the link and photo. I will be very excited if I can fit the Electra Tandem inside my Sienna van. The sarris rack looks very nice. Thanks!

Wanted to ask how the rack is mounted. Are there screws the go into the floor or back of the folded down seats? Do you leave the rack permanently installed. Looks like a simple way to go and I am only going to be hauling one bike so can get the 35" version. Looks like your bikes all have quick release front wheels. My tandem has a bolt on front wheel but I may replace with a quick release. Thanks!

A customer at a shop where I worked used to put his tandem on his rear mounted rack, which resulted in the bike sticking a half meter out on ether side of the car.

I do the same on my Wrangler, I leave the tires on (now that the front has a motor hub). I just tie red cloth strips to each rim since it is an oversized load. Have not had any issues and I use bungee cords to minimize any frame or wheel movement. Most racks support heavier mountain bikes so the tandem weight should not be an issue.

The Saris rack has a rubber bottom and doesn’t slide on the folded sear material, so I put it in the van and take it out as needed. The tandem stretches from behind the console between the front seats to about 8 inches from the rear window. With quick release levers, loading and unloading is a snap!

Thanks for all the help! Nice to know that there are good options.

I have a Mazda5 mini-minivan and hang my tandem on a rear mounted Thule rack. I bungee front wheel to my clips. I also look at it from the front to even it out so it sticks out maybe 5 inches on either side.

We use the same setup, as do others. I used a 24" or so piece of wood for the fork mount and run a couple of straps from the handle bars to the Grand Caravan's mounts, this holds it in place and we can take the bike out with the wood attached and it acts as a stand outside the van as well.. I've seen others who have a piece of wood the entire width (48") of the van wedged against the sides which holds the bike pretty well. The van is the way to go once you get the particulars of your bike/van dialed in. Besides the wood mount for the forks I also have a couple of pieces of hardboard/Masonite that I put down on the van floor so if we need to roll in wet or dirty the van carpet stays clean.

I have a hollywood traveler frame bike rack that I put my tandem on. it sticks out about 6 inches with the rear tire; 8-12 inches with the front tire on. I don't take the tire off when I am transporting it within town. When I drove 90 minutes I did take off the front tire to make it easier to get down he road. Let me take a pic tomorrow when it is light outside so you can see what it looks like.
I originally purchased it 10 years ago to haul 3 mountain bikes but it works better for the tandem then the small cages of MTB.

https://hollywoodracks.com/collectio...nt=47046093382

I have tried to use the Rockbros rack with the suction cups thingy. It's actually perform better than I thought it will