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Newbie to RRI and RWorld

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by Les3, Aug 23, 2018.  |  Print Topic

  1. Les3

    Les3

    Region:
    Middle
    State/Country:
    MI
    City:
    SANFORD Melbourne FL
    Ride:
    Quest Delta E-Bike
    Name:
    Les
    Newbie, 67 y/o and partner is 66y/0 both new to the bent world. We take possession tomorrow of our new 21 speed True Quest Delta trikes, which we had converted to E-Bikes. We snowbird between Melbourne, FL and Sanford, MI. Both states have great trail systems, can't wait to hit the trails here in Mid-Michigan.In the Fall rwe will be returning to FL, any recommendations for a bumber rack for the two deltas? We have a Chrysler Pacifica van.
     
  2. A.D.

    A.D. #1 Custodian

    Region:
    SouthEast
    State/Country:
    TN
    City:
    Athens
    Ride:
    Reynolds T-Bone
    Name:
    AD
    :welcome11: aboard Les! I had to go find a picture, to better see what you're riding. And my search turned up this...

    TrueQuestBlueSide.jpg

    Good looking bike indeed. However, since delta trikes tend to be higher-up off the ground I can't recall ever seeing two of them being stacked (i.e. atop one another) and carried via a receiver hitch rack. :mmm: That said, two thoughts come to mind...

    The first would be a Draftmaster or HITCHRIDER rack configured to carry both trikes...which could be rather expensive, since they are a very well-made racks. Here is a picture of a van carrying two Tadpole trikes with a DraftMaster and a pair of (merged) pictures of a car carring two tadpole trikes either horizontally or vertically...

    Alpaca-Carrier-01-300257.jpg double-trike-rack.jpg
    <---DraftMaster Rack HitchRider rack--->​

    Personally, I would remove the seats from your trikes for transport and probably lower the handlebars so they were more parallel to the bike frame.

    My second thought, if you are a do-it-yourself type guy, would be to purchase a large, heafty cargo rack that fits into a receiver hitch that is somewhat raised up a bit as the 2" bar exists your hitch.[Realize the higher the trikes ride (from the ground), the less issues you would have in pulling into or out of lower areas during transit.] Similar, to as seen below...

    Screen%20Shot%202018-08-23%20at%202.48.05%20PM.jpg

    The stock weight of your trike is 56 pounds, so a pair would be roughly 115 pounds and there are many cargo carriers that can handle that.(For instance, here.) However, since you have converted them over to E-Bikes, what do they weigh now?

    Per this website your trikes are 73" long, which means if the front wheels were removed from each they would be roughly 63" long. My idea would be to carry both trikes horizontally, side-by-side atop a large cargo carrier that had an added 1" thick plywood top on it the measurements being (roughly) 65" wide x 50" deep.(i.e. front-to-back) One trike would have it's rearwheels on the driver side of the rack, while the other trike has it's rearwheels on the passenger side of the rack. Since the plywood top would hang over the rearmost edge of the cargo carrier so far, I would have a local welding shop add an extension (in parallel to the main support bar) to help support the plywood top at the rear.

    I can't find a 'width' measurement for your trikes, but the maximum depth (i.e. front to back) of the plywood cargo-top would be the width of one trike doubled. The trikes would be mounted sideways, so their wheelbases spanned from one side of the cargo carrier plywood top to the other side. It would seem possible to nest the trikes closer together, if the front fork of one trike came down atop the rearwheel of the other trike. Below is my poor attempt at illustrating the physical layout of the trikes, on the plywood cargo-top...

    Screen%20Shot%202018-08-23%20at%203.37.10%20PM.jpg

    I've seen many people carrying the Hoverround type power chairs on the back of their vehicles nowadays (via a receiver hitch), so there may be better cargo carriers out there to start with for a project like this.
     
  3. A.D.

    A.D. #1 Custodian

    Region:
    SouthEast
    State/Country:
    TN
    City:
    Athens
    Ride:
    Reynolds T-Bone
    Name:
    AD
    transporting_atvsolutions.jpg
    A company called Tilt-A-Rack (products seen here, via Discount Racks), makes larger versions of the simple cargo carriers and (as mentioned above) if the two trikes were somewhat 'nested' when facing one-another they might fit onto one of their racks.

    transporting_tiltarack.jpg
    The pictures in this post are from the Lightfoot Cycles website as seen here.

    Of course the simplest way, is to probably transport both your trikes via a small trailer similar to something this...

    transporting_trailer_gr.jpg
    but then, you asked about bumper mounted carriers didn't you? :wink9:
     
  4. Les3

    Les3

    Region:
    Middle
    State/Country:
    MI
    City:
    SANFORD Melbourne FL
    Ride:
    Quest Delta E-Bike
    Name:
    Les
    A.D. Yes, you have the correct trike picture and specs. They are being purchased and assembled by Jack's Bicycles (AKA Industries Bicycles) in Dearborn, MI. About 2.5 hours south of Sanford, MI.

    The electric motor and battery adds 27 LBS.

    Thanks for all the suggestions of racks for our Delta trikes. When traveling without a load in the van (Chrysler - Pacifica) the two will fit inside, we have already measured. Handlebars and seat lowered. When we go back to FL we will need a rack, carrier, or trailer. My neighbor builts trailers and maybe able to help me out.

    Thanks again for your "complete" research.

    Les Black
     
    A.D. likes this.
  5. Les3

    Les3

    Region:
    Middle
    State/Country:
    MI
    City:
    SANFORD Melbourne FL
    Ride:
    Quest Delta E-Bike
    Name:
    Les
    I found the width on Adult Cycles:

    wheel Base: 56.5″ (143cm)
    Overall Length: 73″ (185cm)
    Width: 30.5″ (77.5cm)
    Seat Height: 22″ (56cm)
    Weight: 56 lbs (plus 27 lbs for Ebike components) = 73 lbs. Heavy!!!
    Weight Limit: 300lbs
    X-seam 32-48″
     
  6. Fuzzy47

    Fuzzy47

    Region:
    SouthEast
    State/Country:
    TN
    City:
    Spring City
    Ride:
    RecumbentUSA Trike-X
    Name:
    Mick
    Check on YouTube .... there used to be a video clip there of a dual-mode home-made rear hitch rack .... on long distance carries, the trikes were mounted side by side vertically .... for local trips they were mounted side by side horizontally facing laterally. The rack was quite simple but ingenious ... made from readily available lumber strips and a receiver insert. I'll see if I can find it again .... came across it when I was looking for ideas for my own home-built unit.

    Fuzzy
     
    A.D. likes this.
  7. Les3

    Les3

    Region:
    Middle
    State/Country:
    MI
    City:
    SANFORD Melbourne FL
    Ride:
    Quest Delta E-Bike
    Name:
    Les
    Fuzzy thanks.
     

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