Personally, I LOVE station wagons .... and I think, cool is what you make it. We've been in various V-Series Volvo wagons for the past 22 years. The only bike that doesn't slide in whole into the back with the rear seats folded down is my wife's ridiculously long Cheviot. For that land yacht, I have to use the roof rack.
It's new car time in our house though ... the current (2007) wagon is getting the boot and currently there's bit of a debate as to whether we're going to switch brands before we're both rolling around in wheelchairs! I don't see a minivan in our future, though (my ego might be too fragile for that) but I also couldn't be less enthused when looking at the current crop of "crossover" SUV's. Most, as noted here already aren't any bigger than our wagons ... most, in fact, are smaller! Unfortunately, true full size wagons are few and far between here in the USA these days. I also haven't had a car without a roof rack in over 25 years now. Practically everything ends up on top at some point: paddle boards, sailboats, skis, bikes, furniture, and of course, christmas trees. I find it funny that most car salesmen aren't prepared for our questions about what will fit and where ... it seems like a lot of folks buy those big ol' SUV's and drive 'em around full of air .... On Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 10:33:51 PM UTC-4, LeRoy wrote: > > When I bought my Clem 59 in the Spring of 2018, I carried it back from New > Jersey to Michigan *inside* a very sub-compact Jeep Renegade, along with > three guys and enough luggage and gear for a long weekend. Granted, the > Clem was reduced to its smallest sub-units: frame, wheels, handlebar, > fenders, seat, racks, etc. But it all fit. Inside. And so did three grown > men + gear. This was all fine for a one-time transport but not conducive to > regularly carting the Clem around. > Earlier this year, I did a trial fit of the Clem in my wife's somewhat > bigger Jeep Compass. With the bike's front wheel removed and the car's > front passenger seat all the way forward, the Clem was a *very* tight > fit. Still indoors, but human occupancy in the front passenger seat wasn't > going to happen. The result was one person and one bike safely on board. > Clearly, I needed a bigger vehicle. > So, as I shopped for a replacement for the Renegade, I figured that moving > up the Jeep food chain one notch - to the Cherokee model - would result in > a better Clem-fit. Nope. Who would have thunk that the > bigger-on-the-outside Cherokee was actually smaller-on-the-inside? It would > *barely* accommodate the Clem! The bike fits less well in the Cherokee > than the Compass. It's certainly more difficult to load and unload. Of > course, discovering this occurred *after* leasing the new Cherokee. > The lesson is, apparently, to take one's bike along when car-shopping. Or > bring the test ride home long enough to test-fit the bike. Or, to borrow > from the old carpenter's adage, measure twice, buy once. > Other than that, I really like both the Clem and the new Cherokee. But the > end result is that the Jeep will be getting a trailer hitch and the Clem > will be riding outdoors, on the back of the Cherokee. > Anyone else run into a similar doesn't-quite-fit dilemma? ...or have a > clever solution that hasn't occurred to me? > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/553a8c94-50f1-4398-b204-072c2e130fe5%40googlegroups.com.
