a question from Australia

[oneup]

G'Day, im Jeff from Brisbane Australia, and i have a question for you all.
might seem a bit odd that an Aussie is asking , but My wife and I are planning on touring around the USA in a conversion van. the rough plan is to arrive in Dallas, buy a van, and a Harley. and hit the road.
my first question is..
How tall it the side door opening on conversion vans (floor to top of door gap)
we hope we can pull out the second row seats and fit a winch opposite the door for easy loading, but the bike first needs to fit through the door hight wise.
I assume the big brands, Chev, Ford, dodge are similar door height, but im thinking it might come down to being a make or break thing as to if the bike will actually fit in.
we would be looking at a 90s to early 2000s van.
can anyone measure their door height and post the results along with van type??
Cheers
Jeff

 

[Drifted_Cowboy]

It seems far more odd that your entire question is focused on Australia. When did you move down there? Are the vans there upside down? Find the model and Google the specs. Shop for a replacement door and look at the shipping dimensions. Do math.

Bringing a bike inside a van seems more odd than Australia. They make bike racks of all sorts for exteriors but interior storage usually involves disassembly.

 

[gymrat]

took a quick measure of 2013 chevy 2500 van. the door height about 48" a couple of inches short of height of my 2010 road king ( with windsheild removed). the major problem is the lenght of the bike , almost 9 ft long the width of the van inside 6ft. sorry but i think just about any bike is going to be too long to fit across van. even my suzuki dr650 dual sport is 7ft long, sorry for the bad news

 

[oneup]

I figured that the bike would have to fit on the diagonal, but thought there would be enough room to fit the bike if the second row seats were removed.
the plan was to keep the fold down back seat for sleeping. would that space between the rear seat and front seats be big enough with row 2 removed.

Sounds like the height issue will end that plan anyway.

We live just out of Brisbane. We dont have American Vans Here, only Japanese vans.
Plenty of American cars. ive owned a few myself.
so i cant get any measurements of american van doors.
hope that clarifies things a bit

 

[Donedirtcheap]

It may be far easier to haul a heavy bike like that on a motorcycle trailer.

http://www.discount-trailers.com/port-a-chopper.htm

 

[Spirituallifetime]

It would be better to put the Harley on a trailer and keep the living space in the van clear. It's just not going to fit anyway. You will be more comfortable and enjoy your trip!

 

[Patrick46]

another Harley owner/rider here...

and oh yes, this question has been addressed many, MANY times over the years in my shop.

turns out, the best thing would be to get an enclosed box trailer. You can pick 'em up for $1000 on up.
you won't need to removed anything from the van, and you'll keep the gas smells outta your living room. (especially good when it's raining out!)

or...

...get yourselves a stepvan!

then you'll have a van tall enough to walk around in, will easily haul 2 motorcycles, will get darn near the same gas mileage as a conventional van, the big windshield gives you a spectacular view on the scenery as it goes by,

...and they're more fun than 3 VolksWagons!!!


I'd get me a stepvan!!

 

[MrNoodly]

almost 9 ft long the width of the van inside 6ft.

And the cargo area of most US vans is 10 feet long for standard length and 12 feet for extended vans. I'm not up to speed on the new Ford Transit and Ram Promaster vans and their specs are difficult to wade through. They, along with the MB Sprinter come in extra long versions that MIGHT provide living space with a Harley aboard.

You'd need ramps, of course, to get 800 ponds of bike up into the van, with someone outside pushing and someone inside to catch and pull while bent over. And you'd need secure anchor points and ratchet straps to hold the bike in place. And you'd need room to get around the bike while anchoring it.

I agree with the others that it's best to trailer the bike. That, or a much bigger truck might be your only options.

 

[jonthebru]

Patrick has the right idea. A new trailer is around 5K, used around a thousand. Other things can also be carried within the trailer also. When the bike is inside the trailer it is protected and securely out of sight. The van can be used for the living unit. Take all the seats out if its only the two of you and construct a living interior. Correct me if I'm wrong but the bikes weight is less of a factor being towed than stored inside the van.
There are many here with real experience who will advise you better. You are on the right track though, you will have a blast.

 

[MrNoodly]

Whatever you end up doing, we will be disappointed if it doesn't look like something from "Mad Max."

 

[SternWake]

I occasionally see full size vans that have the roof raised, and the Doors also raised, and would likely accommodate the Cycle.
I think these are used mainly by old folks peoples homes, and also on some Ambulance conversions.

I've never personally seen one for sale. I think the trailer is likely the easiest way to go unless one has a few budget limitations, or lucks out with finding a converted height/door van.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I don't know if you're familiar with cubevans? It's the front of a van with a square body on the back.

Here in America, U-Haul rents a ton of them. U-Haul sells their older ones all the time. They have a website that will give you an idea of the sizes available and the prices they ask for them.

Regards
John

 

[oneup]

thanks to all who replied. looks like a trailer will be the go. we have no drama with towing, towing a trailer carrying a bike will be easier than riding a trike towing a trailer, which is what we did last time. . ive always liked American vans. if the van makes the journey it will be a shame to have to give it away at the end. we cant take it home without the expense of converting it to right hand drive which would be more than its worth.
this is our rig from 2013. a van wins hands down for comfort and space.
we did 13,000 kilometers on that trike in the USA. loved every minute

[/URL]

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Obviously, we have no idea what your financial and time constraints are.

If I were coming halfway around the world, and I had the money and time to do it, I'd do Canada at the same time.

But that got me thinking. Australian passports and drivers license. Vehicles titled, insured, and registered in the USA. Would Canada have any problems with that combo? Would the USA let you back in from Canada once you leave? If you had to go home from, say, Vancouver, can you dispose of American vehicles in Canada?

Clearly, there would have to be a lot of research on all that.

Regards
John

 

[oneup]

i dont think it would be any drama us crossing into canada, but we love the USA. we did cross into mexico on the trike without visas. made it back to the USA safely lol.. Mexico sucked.
managed insurance online through dairyland or dairy farm?? something like that. it worked out fine. travelled on temp tags which a trooper in wyoming was a bit puzzled by, but he was a top bloke.
the bike will get shipped home. the van will have to be given away. heres hoping a van under $4000 will make it. if it does we will give it to a forum member

 

[Patrick46]

you could easily sell the van and trailer at the end of your journey.

a $4000 van should do just fine too!

Sounds like an awesome experience!!!

 

[Duck]

http://kidscantraveltoo.com/


This should answer some of your questions about the motorcycle/van combo on Australian papers
A Kiwi family travelled all over North America with this setup, during the day the trailer held the bike, at night it was a bunk house. 3 kids, 2 adults and a bike with a Dodge Caravan. Sometimes they'd leave the trailer/van as a base camp, and do day trips on the bike(BMW 650 GS). No issues with papers, the bike was Alaskan, the van was from the continental states.
I bought the bike and since BMW made importing to Canada a huge pain, I traded it for a yamaha and imported that.

As an Australian it's actually much easier for you to do than as a Canadian or American, as we can't cross back into our own countries with the alternate country registered vehicle easily, it causes lots of headaches with boats too.
Since you don't have citizenship in either country you avoid the whole mess.