Bicycles

[sawdust_128]

I am looking at carrying a bicycle along on trips. Any advise regarding any aspect of this would be helpful and appreciated.

[Petervs]

We carry two full size foldable mountain bikes. They come in a carry bag, and fit nicely vertically in a storage bay. neat, convenient sensible. They ride like a regular bike.

Check out the Montague bike , as one example.

An unwritten LAW of Prevost ownership requires no crap hanging on the back of the coach, bicycles ladders, lawn chairs, etc. Leave that to the Bounder/Winnebago crowd.

[dale farley]

This site has a good selection at reasonable prices. Even has some folding bikes with tandem seats. http://www.shopdirect24-7.com/folding-bicycles.html?gclid=CMjCr-2vgpsCFQadnAodo3mRHg

[BrianE]

Since you asked............. We have a Montague folding mountain bike for sale. It has served us well however we've opted non-folding bikes and are willing to accept the space penalty. Described on the mfr. website: http://www.montagueco.com/bikes/mx-folding-bike.html. $350 + shipping. Send PM or email if interested.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We carry two full size bikes, non-foldable.

I got bikes with the quick removeable wheels and made a crude rack for the wheels out of 2X4's. They fit nicely in the driver side first bay and I can have them out and set up to ride in less than five minutes. There is still room between the bikes and wheels to have a large storage bin.

For a rather large fee I will show you my set up in OKC.

We started with the Dahon foldable bikes with 20 inch wheels and they were more difficult to ride and were more suited for just the campground. Now we have full size bikes that are OK to ride anywhere.

[Coloradobus]

We carry 2 mountain bikes in bay three, road side. They fit nicely with tires and seats intact on the bikes.:D

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Well I didn't know about the rule for NO BIKES on back, so when traveling, we carry 2 full size bikes. :o

HOWEVER, I do not carry them on the back of the bus, but on the back of my CUSTOM H3 Hummer, and I hope that is alright with everybody? :p :D

Gary S.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Hey Jed and Granny, you carry anything you all want on the back of yer truck.

[lewpopp]

Gary.....CUSTOM......Ain't you a beaut. Custom this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[garyde]

We carry two full size foldable mountain bikes. They come in a carry bag, and fit nicely vertically in a storage bay. neat, convenient sensible. They ride like a regular bike.

Check out the Montague bike , as one example.

An unwritten LAW of Prevost ownership requires no crap hanging on the back of the coach, bicycles ladders, lawn chairs, etc. Leave that to the Bounder/Winnebago crowd.

Hey Peter. What about a Smart Car?

[rfoster]

Just get the one with the motor on it.

The one I got off of Truick with a lifetime warranty works great.
It doesn't even have pedals.

[sawdust_128]

With all the czars being created, I nominate Peter as the czar of hanging crap.

What do you think? Instead of the usual POG awards at OKC we could hold coronations for the POG CZARS?

Czar of Bling!
Czar of Dents!
Czar of Aux air leaks.
Czar of slides.
Czar of polished wheels.
Czar of slack adjusters.
Czar of oysters.
Czar of airbags.

now back on topic. I will update on progress here tomorrow as we should be complete on this effort.

[Petervs]

Czar of Crap is one of the nicer things I have been called.

Just remember, being Czar of anything allows one to levy taxes and fines on infringement of the rules!

[sawdust_128]

Czar of Crap is one of the nicer things I have been called.

Just remember, being Czar of anything allows one to levy taxes and fines on infringement of the rules!


Oh crap!:eek: Should of known that you would have had prior experience being a czar of crap.:D:p

P.S. Glad you accepted the job. Congratulations. Now with these tax levy assessments, I guess you want the scoop on the crap on the outside of our coaches. Do you want scoops of crap as a PM, as an email, or should we all wait and just give you crap in person?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

My garden needs more crap.

I am trying to grow some giant size pumpkins from seeds I got from the forum Czar (Skiffer) and they could use a load.

Now I know why Brian's mole palace grows such nice grass. The neighbors are spreading the fertilizer.

[BrianE]

Jon, Having a generous supply of crap is not all roses. I get my ration of crap almost every day so the lawn is truly beautiful. The Czar dynasty isn't very generous however in providing a government paid mowing service. :D

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Brian,

I was going to suggest getting some sheep, but around this bunch of clowns and deviates that may be the last thing you want to get involved with.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Sawdust see what you have started I hope you are proud of yourself.

What position will you hold court jester.

No, better, you can be the czar of political correctness.

[Petervs]

The Czar of Crap decrees that there will be no Political Correctness associated with POG in any way.

Sawdust, as for delivering crap, please do not. You must all hold on to all you have. At OKC my tax assessor will circulate and provide each crapee with a tax bill based on the amount and quality of crap present. Payable in US Funds only, we do not accept crap in any form for payment.

[michaeldterry]

The Czar of Crap decrees that there will be no Political Correctness associated with POG in any way.


Now that's change I can believe in! :rolleyes:

[Jon Wehrenberg]

After reading the above, I think it is clear POG is truly full of crap.

Ed, you definitely need to get on the road and start spreading some of yours far and wide.

[truk4u]

Sheep! Did someone say Sheep...:p

[sawdust_128]

If you are carrying full size bikes, how/where do you do carry them? What racks are you using? How are you securing/locking them?

Holy crap Busman that's a lot of questions.

[sawdust_128]

Sheep! Did someone say Sheep...:p


Stand down big fella. They were talking about sheep crap, maybe.

[phorner]

We use a Thule bike rack which attaches to the spare tire on the back of the Jeep. This allows both bikes to swing out of the way when opening the rear door for access to the storage area behind the back seat.

Works great, but it's been my experience that we cart the bikes several thousand miles around the country to end up using them only a couple of times.

This trip, I think we're leaving them home in storage.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I think you are worried someone will invite you to spend the entire day in loose gravel uphill into the wind.

Paul, Ed and Cindy will be following the trail we blazed last year. Will you guys be coming thru again this year?

[phorner]

Joe,

We're headed to the desert southwest this year. Thought we would wait 'till at least July in order to take advantage of the warmer weather.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll make it to your neighborhood this summer. We had a great time last summer and I'm sure Ed and Cindy will enjoy your company.

And yes Ed, you definitely want to take the bike tour like we did!

[Jeff Bayley]

Ed- I looked around whenever I stayed at RV parks to see what other people were using for bike racks for a while before picking one. I wound up with this one that I've been very happy with http://www.bikerackshops.com/SGXC2BIKE.html the thing I like about it is how very fast you can get the bikes on off. If the bikes are a hassle to get off I find that I don't use them very much. This rack is extremely quick and secure as the bikes very well in stable.

Another neat product that guide is this dual hitch receiver http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/p-RVT1028.html this site you carry a bike rack and does something else like a boat, Waverunners, etc. I don't know if you could put a car on there and not because I don't know how the car device attaches to the bus but I think it goes in through the Reese hitch. I've never towed a car with me. I also went to a trailer hitch supply place and bought an extension to bring the rack out about another 12 to 15 inches because it was a little too close to let me open up the bay doors with the bikes on.

[gmcbuffalo]

Jon this sounds like Jeff is hanging bikes off the back of his bus.
GregM

[Jeff Bayley]

Yes, once in a while. No toad though remember ? Would a plastic Saturn look better than the bikes you think ?

I forgot to mention another reason why I liked that Swagman brand of bicycle carrier. It was the also the only one I could find that came with an optional waterproof cover which fits and tightens up really nice with a couple of built-in snug straps.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If this bike rack thing catches on it is going to look like a Beverly Hillbillies reuniion in OKC.

Take all the crap out of the bays you guys are just hauling around that you don't use and stick the bikes in there. We are supposed to be classy folks. For those of you that continue to want to hang the bikes on the back of the bus or the toad, I suggest you stick a map of the US on the bus, and start putting stickers for the states you visited on the map, and then get out the lawn chairs and the aluminum ladder and strap it to the rear of the bus.

Don't forget the Chinese lanterns to hang on the awning when it is open.

I'm joining the prouds if this keeps up. I'm sure they won't mind my jeans at the next dinner.

[phorner]

That brings up a very good question, Jon.

Where in the Prevost database can I find the preferred location for the mounting points for a ladder on the back of an XLV?

I can't believe that this simple convenience has been omitted on such an otherwise excellent coach. Even Winnebago's come from the factory with a ladder!

Seems we're missing an opportunity to free up some bay storage if I can hang a few chairs and a step ladder on the back of the bus!!

[Petervs]

You can already tell that Jon has graduated from the Crap College with high honors!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

I have a holding tank for Crap. So that I can dump that crap there is a valve.

It is a Thetford Pt No ?????? and is beginning to leak.

Is this valve rebuildable? Curb side valve.

Can Parts be bought for this old valve or do I have to change it to something newer.

Does anyone know the model or part number of the valve.

The end piece that the hose connects to also needs to be replaced. I have not found any source for that end piece.

JIM:eek:

[phorner]

Jim,

On the bright side, if it leaks enough, you never have to dump your tank :eek:

I did notice that the hose connection is NOT the standard type and I purchased an extra "spare" from Liberty..... that is the end that is attached to the hose.

This connection looks like a specialty item and you might be better of converting to a more "standard" connection if you end up having to do some plumbing.

By the way, isn't it about time you had that bus out on the road? :)

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

I'll call Liberty tomorrow and see what they say.

Their answer might cause me to say CRAP.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Roger said he had installed a different end on that valve, but it is not there now.

[Jeff Bayley]

Paul-

I too wonder why no ladders. I don't think Judge Jon would object to a ladder if it was stainless would he ? And the luggage things on top that are wheather proof......well those just look like roof airs. I'm mounting Kayaks on my roof and also a couch with a 3 point harness so I can get some extra Hillbillie height and phone the driver when I see brakes lights up ahead or som'in. Gonna put a Keg too. Just have to figure out how to seal the drink and work with a straw at highway speeds is all. I'll have it all figured out by the party.

My point in writing. Go to a search engine and put in "Telescoping Ladder" One of the best tools I ever bought for the bus. Here's the ebay link that came up but there's others.

http://shop.ebay.com/items/telescoping%20ladder?_dmd=1&_sop=12

[rfoster]

Use that telescoping ladder with great caution. I think I may have told some of you folks about the telescoping ladder a long time ago.

Well the rest of the story: While in Myrtle Beach this past week we had a number of very strong thunderstorms and the awning on my front slide got whipped out of alignment and I pullled out my telescoping ladder that I have used many times, extended it and proceeded to climb up it and when I got to the top of the ladder it decided to collaspe. That was Friday am and today the swelling in the left ankle was so bad I finally was forced to visit the Doc. A fractured ankle and will be wearing a walking cast for 4 weeks. Not what I had in mine for the summer.

Make real sure that ladder is locked and I don't know that I can tell you how to do that after this experience.

The awning is corrected now as all I had to do was stand on the ground and using the long rod pull out on the top of the arm of the side that had retracted.

Damn it hurts to break a bone when you are almost as old as Jon.

[dalej]

So sorry to hear that Roger. I never like it when I read those kind of post. Get well soon.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Get well soon Rodge but I know you are gonna play that up some while you can get some mileage out of it:(

Deb says thumbs up on the ladders, solid, permanent mounted stainless:)
4905

I WISH the thing ran up the rear so I did not have to brake it down and store it in a bay. It is bulky and takes up a lot of space.

[hobobimmer]

Roger,

Sorry to hear your story. Hope your ankle feels better soon!

Deb

[GDeen]

Roger, glad to hear it wasn't more than an ankle - hope it is better soon....

Friend of ours fell off a ladder cleaning gutters a while back. He broke both elbows and had surgery and hard casts on both arms. I pointed out to Jennifer that his wife had to perform some real personal daily maintenance for her husband...:eek::eek: (she told me I best not break both arms or plan on hiring a orderly)

[sawdust_128]

Holy crap!! So, let me see if I've got this straight.

Joe wants to see me with some crap.
Peter is the Czar of hanging crap.
Jeff is the Czar of hitching crap.
Paul is the Czar of mounting crap.
Jim is pushing hard to become the Czar of tank crap.
Roger hurts like crap.
Dale is sorry as crap.
Jon has a degree in crap so he's full of crap.

WOW!! That's a lot of crap.

The amazing thing is that I didn't think there would be any interest in dicussing bicycles. Ain't that some crap?

[sawdust_128]

Jeff:

I looked at that rack. It looks promising. A couple of things.

1. It will be on the back of my pickup (toad) not the bus.
2. How do you secure (lock) the bukes into that rack.
3. I am unsure as to it interfering with dropping the tailgate on the truck.
4. I suspect that on or in the truck is where they will end up as we will take them on our excursions away from the coach.

Paul:

I do not have the swinging spare tire on the truck. Do you know if there was an option with your rack to body, bumper or frame mount it? I like the idea of being able to swing away the carier with the bikes mounted.


Thanks.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Ed I think we could make something that swings out and locks that you could attatch the rack to. Powder coat it. There already is a prooduct similar, an arm that goes into a hitch reciever for a gas grill for tailgating. Menards

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Roger,

Bummer. If you don't sue someone over this is it is almost unAmerican. There must be some TV lawyer that can help you.

I hope that cast is on the left ankle otherwise you will be making coffee while Micki drives the bus.

I have some old wire coat hangers for you to open up so you have something to use to scratch the itching inside that cast.

Do you want to borrow my walker? It is made of aircraft grade aluminum.

Get better fast.

[truk4u]

Holly Crap, the King is damaged! :(

Didn't I fix that awning in Spearfish?

Get well soon, your in good hands with Micki....

[phorner]

Roger, sorry to hear about the ankle injury! That's gotta hurt.

Ya know, a break can get an infection, and it's a medical fact that alcohol kills germs, so I'm sure you can figure out a good infection-prevention medication to be taken orally :D

I have used my telescoping ladder only a couple of times and I admit that the whole concept kinda seems like a bad idea. I always figured the most danger was losing a finger when collapsing the thing.

Get well soon!!!

[phorner]

Oh, and by the way, I have seen a Liberty with an actual, converter-installed rear ladder. It was, well....... different. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, this very same Liberty coach had an electric step installed under the entry door.

Ed,

Our bike carrier will only mount to a spare tire. It kind of looks like a back-pack frame with foldable arms that hold the bikes in place. Check out the Thule web site, they probably have a similar set-up for a receiver hitch. I'm sure that you and Joe can engineer something if you can't find what you need commercially.

[Jeff Bayley]

Jeff:

I looked at that rack. It looks promising. A couple of things.

1. It will be on the back of my pickup (toad) not the bus.
2. How do you secure (lock) the bukes into that rack.
3. I am unsure as to it interfering with dropping the tailgate on the truck.
4. I suspect that on or in the truck is where they will end up as we will take them on our excursions away from the coach.

Paul:

I do not have the swinging spare tire on the truck. Do you know if there was an option with your rack to body, bumper or frame mount it? I like the idea of being able to swing away the carrier with the bikes mounted.


Thanks.


First, regarding the ladder, I do remember having some discussion here about it prior and one of the memebers said he bought a cheaper version of the same ladder and wished he'd gotten the better one I wound up with. I don't know which is which. Get the more expensive one I guess. Might be up to $100 difference.

Here's a diagram of the rack. If you look at the first link, I originally posted, you'll see the two 180 degree hooks. Those slide up and down and lock onto the bar of your bike. I don't think this rack swings down to let a truck tailgate down. But the bikes come off so fast, you could then just take the pin out and remove the rack. Thule makes some swing out types. Try "swing out bike rack" in the search engine if you want.

I've never had the roof racks where you remove the wheel and lock it into place but suspect they work best if your under 40 and have a lightweight racing bike. The cruiser types bikes most of us use are lighter than days past but probably a two man job to get up and down. Like I said before, we use the bikes a lot more often when they are so quick to get on and off and no rack could be quicker than that Swagman. I stopped using the water proof bag because it took too long to get on and off. I let the bikes get covered with exhaust and rain and wash them off once and while and WD-40 the crap out of everything. I'll let them go bad from the weather and get two new ones in two years. But at least I'll have used the bikes instead of having them under the wrapper. The optional waterproof bag is good for long trips I guess.

http://www.bikerackshops.com/SGXC2Bike.pdf

This diagram shows the handlebars turned. I don't have to turn mine to get them to both fit. You mount them opposite directions.

[sawdust_128]

Jeff: I appreciate that. My question was about securing (i.e., locking) the bikes and rack so they don't get clipped. What's your advise on that?

[sawdust_128]

I think I may have found a solution. In the posted link, they produce and sell a reticulated, hitch mounted arm. They also sell cargo platforms, storage boxes and yes, a bike rack which mount on it. Looks like a good fit for my crap. I can mount this, rack the bike and other crap and swing all of the crap out of the way when I need to.

Best of all, no $$$crap-fines for Peter, no permits from Paul and most likely incompliance with Jeff's rules and regs on hitched crap.

But we'll have to hold our breath until Jon chimes in on this.

http://www.stowaway2.com/default.aspx

P.S. Joe's comments on the grill (the freedom grill) stimulated my efforts at other search parameters, so I guess Joe is the Czar of Stimulus.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Dusty, the CRAP of your last idea will be when you get a ticket for being over length, if you in fact will be.

JIM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I never thought I would see the day.

Sawdust, you have a freakin H3 with more storage space than the average cargo ship. You tow a damn pickup truck with even more cargo space. To hide the crap you carry or drag you could put a cap on the truck. But instead you already take an overlength vehicle combination and add to its length with a rack that makes the whole rig look like something you would see hauling scrap metal to the recycler.

There is only one thing left for you to do now. Get that orange fiberglass ladder you have strapped to the rear up against the coach and make a 2X4 roof rack on the coach for even more junk on top of the coach. Then get a couple of those blue plastic "tarps" and baling twine to cover up the mess. Be sure to leave about 8 feet of twine to whip in the breeze and make sure the ends of the plastic are allowed to whip in the wind.

That will complete the redneck fashion statement you are trying to make.

I would think the Crap Czar could come up with a sufficiently descriptive title for the southern version of good taste and its purveyor. Do you have the washing machine (in appliance white of course) prominently displayed during your travels?

[rfoster]

Ed: Sounds to me like you need a porch.

[sawdust_128]

I never thought I would see the day.

Sawdust, you have a freakin H3 with more storage space than the average cargo ship. You tow a damn pickup truck with even more cargo space. To hide the crap you carry or drag you could put a cap on the truck. But instead you already take an overlength vehicle combination and add to its length with a rack that makes the whole rig look like something you would see hauling scrap metal to the recycler.




Jon: You are just so damn full of crap. You know damn well that I already have a cap on the truck. It's where I over-winter the mater plants and start the watermellons. You're just jealous you damn TN stainless steel oyster barge pusher. Go buff a slack adjuster.

To the rest of you, Hey ya'll watch this!!!

[sawdust_128]

Ed: Sounds to me like you need a porch.


Bob:


That's why I want to hang out with Joe & Bruce. They have porches on top of their coaches. King, you're getting left in the dirt on that one.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Ordered the Thetford Crap valves from Liberty, 2@$56.00 ea.

When they are installed I will have a new lease on controlling all of my bus crap.

JIM;)

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Ed, with all your mechanical ability, I think you could/would make bike racks incorporating heavy duty drawer slides.
The bikes to stand upright in a bay, clean, secure and ready to go at a moments notice.

JIM

[sawdust_128]

Ed, with all your mechanical ability, I think you could/would make bike racks incorporating heavy duty drawer slides.
The bikes to stand upright in a bay, clean, secure and ready to go at a moments notice.

JIM


Yes. But it anchors them to the bus and I still need to figure a way to transport the bikes when we use the truck and go exploring.

I figured:
- in or on the truck was the real deal,
- like Jeff, if they weren't convenient I was wasting time, they would see zero use,
- When we progress to full time, we will need the bay storage and the truck bed storage for other stuff.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Sorry Ed but as of a few days ago you have no stuff any longer.

It is all crap now:D:rolleyes::eek: Please refer to it correctly.

[sawdust_128]

Joe: until you get confirmation from the Czars of hanging, hitching and mounting crap, as the Czar of stimulus, you don't have crap to say about it. And, even if you did, it wouldn't be worth a crap.:eek::D

[sawdust_128]

Jeff:

A user on another forum suggested ADCO bike covers for keeping them clean, keping dirt and water out of the bearings, and a little less obvious to the casual viewer. I guess based on the nature of this thread, it would help in preventing them from turning to crap.

http://adcoprod.com/

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

All crap is not related to the back end, of the bus, that is.

The other way to go, is via the front.

Read the link and view the video. If you go this route you will be able to see the bikes and keep an eye on them with every driving moment and possibly be able to shield them with "a Clear Plastic Shield"

http://bicycling.511.org/transit.htm

;):D

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Every bus in the city has one of those on it.

[sawdust_128]

Here it is:D

It was easy to assemble, well made, well finished and to less than 5 minutes to install and adjust.

Picture 1 is the new hitch/rack loaded with a bike on the back of the truck

4983

Picture 2 s the rack swung to a 90 degree position

4984

Picture 3 is the truck opened up

4985

Picture 4 is the latch handle and you can see the coated steel bar behind my hand which is a heavy threaded locking bolt to hold it together so that the latch can't become disengaged while traveling

4986

Picture 5 is the swing arm locking pin. This can be engaged in either of the two holes to prevent motion from the closed or 90 degree open position.

4987

This works just like I wanted it to. That's no crap.:D