Carrying a Big Dummy on the roof of my car.,,

[XJaredX]

I'm trying to figure out how to transport my soon-to-be-arriving BD in the event that I need to, which won't be often, but I'm sure will come about. Possibly, getting it home from the LBS (Only like 20 miles but I have a newborn baby so riding time is super non-existent).

I have a both a Thule Sidearm and a Thule Echelon on top of my CR-V. I was thinking of putting the front wheel in one of those (probably the Sidearm) and just kinda pointing the frame towards the other side of the car, so it's kind of diagonal? And then using this?

SeaSucker | Rear Wheel Strap

Does that seem reasonable?


EDIT: I brought the bike home today from the LBS. Used the Seasucker, worked perfectly. The only thing was the bike with the Peapod weighs a ridiculous amount for having to hoist it onto the roof of my car. So it's not something I'd do every day, but it's good to know that if I need to, it works out very well.

[kuan]

If that's all you have then take off both wheels. Pad the tray or bike and get the chain out of the way with zip ties.

If you have two trays you can fit them together to make a long tray and ziptie them. Use a hard foam block under the tray to support the weight.

[Plum]

Not familiar with either of those racks, but if they're fork mount racks, just tie in the fork, then use a toe strap to tie up the rear tire to a crossbar, factory side rail or other.

I use a tandem tray when i need to take the dummy somewhere, have only used it once, but it worked fine on a 1000 mile round trip. I also removed all the racks, bags and platforms. Fenders stayed on.

Plum

[XJaredX]

Bump for pic update. Although once I did this, I realized that my fixed crossbars were spaced just perfectly for me to simply tie the rear wheel to the crossbar in front of it. Oh well!

[intheways]

I thought you supposed to ditch the car when you get a dummy

[PScal]

Your solution looks great. I will post mine up too for informational purposes.

I used 2 bmw brand bike holders to carry my big dummy. I made it to where the arms faced different directions, pointed one toward the front of the car and the other toward the back. Then, I put the front wheel of the bike on one rack, and the rear wheel of the bike on the other rack. The bike was a tad bit crooked but the racks held the bike very well. I've since traded in the 5er for a Honda Element. The bike will (BARELY) fit inside the element with no racks required.


IMG_0800 by pscalfano, on Flickr


2011-10-14 17.13.07 by pscalfano, on Flickr

[XJaredX]

I thought you supposed to ditch the car when you get a dummy

Ha, I wish! My wife requires we live like 20 miles from my work and between children and life in general, I need the car. But I will be using the Big Dummy for grocery store runs, hardware store runs, and just general bumming around with my children- as much as I can get away with it!

[mechantbruce]

Here is another option for the BD. It is a Draftmaster hitch rack (for a tandem). I got it from craigslist. The rack articulates down to the ground for loading and then lifts back up once the bike is on. Its best with 2 people, but I can manage alone if I have to. but Sorry the photo isn't the best; my particular rack can also carry 1 normal bike on either side of the BigDummy.

Heres a direct link to the product; Draftmaster Tandem/LWB Racks

[SRALPH]

Rocky Mounts used to make an "xtra" long tray that xtracycle used to sell on their website. Its gone now but I recall it could still be purchased directly from Rocky Mounts. It requires front wheel removal and hoisting the bike up is, as you say, a lot of weight. On the roof of my Pilot I had to buy a longer rear mounting bolt and fashion a spacer to elevate the rear end so it doesn't touch the hatchback when I open it.