Renting car. Will bike fit inside?
 

Kind of a silly question, but it is proving hard to determine.

I am going on my first ever multi-day tour in a month, from Astoria, OR to my home in Marin County, CA. About 800 miles. I have reserved a car rental from Hertz ("intermediate class, Toyota Corolla or similar") to drive North one way, and am not sure that I will be able to fit a 62cm Surly Disc Trucker with front and rear racks in it. I cannot specify the exact car model they will give me. The tiniest class they offer appear to be hatchback types, which would be the ideal configuration, but are probably too small. All of the larger cars are sedans that may have a narrow pass through from the trunk. I have only owned big trucks and SUVs and am unfamiliar with cramming bikes in cars.

They don't even have SUVs or vans available, and they cost twice the price if they did. The car costs over $300.00.

Hertz and Enterprise are the only companies that have locations in Astoria.

Can a big touring bike fit in a small to mid size sedan, perhaps with the wheels removed? I'd rather not have to remove the racks, handlebars, saddle, etc... and then have to put the whole bike and luggage back together in a parking lot at the start of my tour.

Bring an old sheet for the back seat and carpet, throw it away when done. Most rental are four-doors. Wheels off, it'll fit sideways. Worst case remove the front rack but that shouldn't be needed. My wife and I have done this with two bikes, easily. Dirty wheels can go in the trunk.

My 52cm LHT (26"wheel") fits in a Honda Fit with wheels and racks on, 46cm handlebar made wider by the mirror. It's tight. My 700c bike fits in too. A 62cm should fit with the wheels off, saddle down and maybe loose handlebar. I took my bike to the dealer and told them my bike has to fit or they don't have a sale. You could pretend you want to buy a car and try it yourself. Or go to the local Hertz branch and try.

Nissan Versas, around the same size, are fairly common in rentals. You'd want to make sure it's a Versa. Sometimes, they just say "Versa or similar". Usually, if they don't have what you reserved, they'll give something bigger.

I used to fit my bike in a Dodge Neon with the front wheel off (rear wheel in first). It's the pedals that can cause trouble, so just remove them.

I have a 60cm LHT. With both wheels off and no racks it fit inside the GF's Camry. (Put the wheels in the trunk.) Don't know if would have fit inside with the racks on. Keep in mind that was with two people. If it's just you, you may have the option of pushing and folding the front passenger seat forward, which would give you some extra room if you orient the frame diagonally. I can't imagine having to remove the saddle. At worst you might have to remove the seat post (or lower it). That takes two seconds to reinstall. Just put some tape on the post to mark the saddle height. If worse comes to worst you will have to put the racks on at the start. How long can that take? Just did a tour in MT back in June. Shipped the bike and had it assembled at REI but I told them I would put the racks on myself. I don't have the easiest front rack to put on (p-clamps up top). Took me maybe 15 min. max. You should have the tools anyway since you never know when you might have to tighten a rack bolt mid-tour.

I used to put my 53cm road bike in the trunk of my '98 Integra for traveling. I had to remove the wheels, of course. And pull the seatpost--the front-to-back depth was a little to short to keep the saddle on the bike. The seats didn't fold, so this was all in the trunk.

Cars are a little bigger now.
So I think the back seat width should work. But you might have to take off the rear rack, and perhaps the seatpost.
Bring something to cover the car's interior, and some foam or a stack of old towels to pad the bike's corners.

A 98 Integra:

http://www.featuredcars.com/images/f...ra_20621_1.jpg

If I was doing that, I would get some large pieces of cardboard to use to protect the car interior where sharp pointy parts of the bike like the front fork dropouts sit.

And a wrench that can be used to remove and replace the pedals might come in handy, some pedals can be pulled with a long arm allen wrench, 6 or 8mm.

Plan on taking the front wheel off, and you may have to pull the seatpost. (Electrical tape marks the insertion depth so you can replace it easily.) If you don't care about the interior of the car getting dirty, and it IS a rental car, at least put the chain on the big ring so it won't chew up the upholstery.

I have put my bikes in our mid-size sedan's trunk with the seats down. The seats fold down, so its a large opening, not some small pass thru.
63-65cm 700c bikes are a tight fit. I remove the front wheel and drop the seatpost to get them to fit.

With racks, you may need to remove the front one? or loosen the handlebars so they lie in line with the bike.



At worst, bring some towles and a bungee cord and have a bit of bike hang out the back of the car.

A few possibilities from experience:
(1) While at Hertz, ask for a hatchback, sometimes there is more than one car on the lot.
(2) Purchase a rear-trunk rack from Walmart or similar. You've got some possibilities since you are leaving from home and even if you leave the rack behind, it can be less expensive than the extra $$ for a SUV or similar car
(3) Despite racks, taking both wheels off, I've squeezed my 62cm bike in some cars like that, though it is more hit and miss.

62cm,25in Long wheelbase bikes are a PITA when it comes to small Two/four door non hatchback cars. Add front and rear racks to the recipe and four letter words become commonplace. When I stuffed my Uncle's 21in bike into my late 90's sentra I "lol'd" at the ease.

Pro-tip, Use sheets and towels to protect the upholstery, remove the seat post and don't even consider leaving both racks on.

Now if only folding companies would make more than one size..... Yes I own a coupled bike which makes group car camping trips doable.

My 60cm bikes fit fine in the trunk of my Corolla without having to fold the rear seats down as long as I remove both wheels. They have rear racks and I think would still be ok with front racks attached but I haven't tried that.

BTW, Bike Friday will make their folding bikes in the size you order.

As far I as I know a fully disassembled bike can fit in pretty much any car. So if you are willing & able to go to full disassembly I wouldn't worry.

Personal Experience: After my coast-to-coast tour I disassembled my 54cm LHT and put it in the trunk of a BMW convertible! I was bringing it back to the east-coast for an acquaintance. Not my car but a nice ride :)

Here's the car with my bike and most of my gear in the trunk:

http://ziligy.com/photos/posts/BMWtheRideHome.jpg

Last time I rented I ended up with a Toyota Yaris. I just stuck 1/3 of my bike out the back of the car and kept the windows open a bit and the A/C on high for 300 miles. Sometimes you just gotta suffer....

Thanks for all of the useful replies. A coworker of mine has a new Corolla, I measured the inside, and measured my bike. It looks like I would have to remove both wheels, both racks, and the rear fender to put it in sideways (parallel with the rear seat). The pass thru hole from the trunk is pretty big. Maybe it would go in from the trunk, rear wheel first, with the bars and fork hanging out of the partially closed trunk. I will figure it out. Pain in the ass.
I have never seen the point of sedans with their waste of the potential space behind the rear window and above the trunk lid. Wagons, hatchbacks, SUVs are so much more functional.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...DSCN3357-1.jpg

My wife and I had a family emergency when we were doing the Pacific Coast Route. We rented a Toyota Cary in Crescent City, CA, and put both of our bikes in the trunk. It took a little disassembly, but it was relatively easy.

We've also rented a Dodge Caravan and mid-sized SUVs.

I agree about sedans being impractical, plus I'm always amazed how big my 56 cm Surly DT is. OTOH loosening handlebar/seatpost & removing wheels/racks etc should take 30 min or less, not too bad for a multi-day tour. Much easier than doing S&S disassembly. If the chain has a quick-link perhaps you could remove the chain to lessen chance of staining upholstery. BTW I've never seen a Surly LHT on a roof-top rack, probably a 2-person job to hoist bike up heh.

Yeah, I'm just being a whiner. I just want to be ready and get on the road already! Still a month away. I have removed and replaced or changed virtually every component and accessory on this new bike. A little disassembly for travel won't kill me.

Buy a trunk rack.... This seems like the best idea. The Allen rack on Amazon for $41.00 gets great reviews and should make the trip very easy. Will be a shame to to just leave it behind at a hotel, but I think that is what I'll do. Anybody use these before? Secure?

Rent a Van From U Haul and there will Be Plenty of space.

For More Rental drop Off Options You can Use The Airport, PDX, use Tri-Met, to get Your bike & Gear to the Amtrak station..

and there You pick up a Bus * that Gets to Astoria (via US 26)

* http://www.oregon-point.com/nw_point.php



./.

I am also touring with my dog on the bike. The idea of trying to figure out trains and buses (neither of which I have ever been on in my life) along with a loaded bike and a dog seems like too much hassle, if it is even an option.

I recently ended a tour and required a rental car to get home. 62cm Bridgestone with front and rear racks and fenders would NOT go in the trunk of a rental Hyundai Sonata, a pretty nice mid-size sedan. I had reserved a minivan but when I showed up to load the agent said he could not release one of their 7-passenger vehicles on a one-way trip with dropoff. Be sure you know the dropoff rules.


Anyway, I bungeed the bike into the trunk and drove to the nearest bike shop where I purchased an inexpensive trunk rack. I also needed to carry my bro-in-law's bike and bags and the B.O.B. trailer and bag I was using. No way it all would have fit inside. Cardboard on the rear seat protected the interior from the trailer.


Disassembly of the bike to fit inside is a possiblity but is that a hassle you even want to consider? I'd buy a cheap rack off CL and give it away or toss it at the end of the trip.

I've used the cheap trunk rack on occasion with both rental cars and with my own. One thing to watch for is that the load is spread over a large and strong enough area of the trunk so you don't get indentations in the trunk lid. I don't worry about it if it's my car (keep them long enough that minor cosmetic issues no longer affect resale value), but it could lead to liability issues with a rental car.

Having sold and used a variety of racks before I was aware of the dentage threat and had some concerns, but the Allen Compact I bought was the only rack in stock at that moment and, fortunately, it left the rental unmarred.

U haul, rent a Small Van, one way will do it, then.

I tried u-haul for a pickup truck and they said they will not rent them one way. Only big trucks. Seems odd.

A pickup truck from Hertz was $1300 to rent. It is $300.00 for a car.