Originally Posted by
lwylie
The stores where you shop are more relaxed. My local Trader Joe's and New Seasons (Portland alternative to Whole Foods) ask me to leave the Travoy at the front of the store where they keep an eye on it, and to shop using a regular cart. Probably nobody would blink an eye at the bigger Kroger chain stores (e.g. Safeway, Fred Meyer). Maybe it's the size of the store that makes the difference.
FWIW, ironically since getting the Travoy a couple months ago I've used it more off the bike than on. My local TJs is three blocks away so I walk there and take the Travoy for larger shopping trips. It's not worth getting out the bike and having to lock it up. The padded handle is really comfortable to hold and pull. I also used the Travoy as a handtruck to haul two packs of Roxul insulation up two sets of stairs to my 2nd floor. The packs were big and bulky but not heavy. Piece of cake to haul with the Travoy!
Well, things are kind of weird with Covid now and groceries. One day I went to TJ and they wanted me to leave my travoy outside. I said "sure, as long as you take financial responsiblity for it and it cost $300 plus another $150 for my bags". Needless to say, they let me take it inside but did ask me not to load it until after I purchased and was outside at the bagging tables. What I do now is fold it and put it under the cart on the rack. Keep the groceries in the basket after purchase and go outside and load. I do have a silver mylar freezer liner bag for my big shopping bag, and I do fill that while I'm in the store shopping (I have to make sure stuff will fit to ride home and I've overbought a couple times, oops) but I empty the stuff back into cart before I go to the checkout. It's working okay. Pre-covid, though, not one store had an issue with my travoy as my shopping cart. Plenty folks bring those metal roller carts to shop in normal times as well.
Yeah, it's been useful to haul bags of mulch into the backyard and even some gym equipment that UPS left outside, lol. It tracks really well as a handcart and really minimizes the effort needed.