I have got fed up with towing a 2/3 bike trailer and am planning selling it and buying a van.

The  van is to hold 2 trials bikes.

i have a newish Fiat Doblo LWB in mind.

i would welcome comments from owners of small vans , particularly Doblo owners, and smallest feasible engine size.

 

 

Ran two bikes in my old doblo for years, no problem, just turn the front wheels in to the rear footwells, of course mine was a doblo car with rear seats removed, the van may not have rear footwells. 

Like Cabby I have used a Doblo car for years. Carries one bike with the seats folded up or two with back seat removed (I have modified mine to be quickly detachable). Good economy, comfort and general running costs, and being the car version rather than van is not subject to lower speed limits.

Legally can you be stopped from putting a bike in the back of a car ? Good way to get round van speed limits and should also be cheaper on ferries and the tunnel? 

The cars we are talking about are specifically designed to have the seats removed for load-carrying purposes.  What that load should or should not be is not mentioned in the handbook. If adequately secured there should not be a problem.

Have a look on some mountainbike forums to see the surprising number of bikes that can be similarly carried, along with the gear for a fortnight camping abroad, and the riders.

Using the Doblo as example. Can the van be classed as a car by adding windows and then benefiting from cheaper road tax and higher speed limits? 

27 minutes ago, sirdabalot said:

Using the Doblo as example. Can the van be classed as a car by adding windows and then benefiting from cheaper road tax and higher speed limits? 

I don't think you can without changing the type classification & having a vehicle inspection or applying for it to be a Kombi or camper (must have a bed/cooker) have a look at Kombi versions to see for sure or ask a dealer 

As johnnyboxer says, changing classification likely to be costly and not straightforward. Might as well buy the car version in the first place - usually quite a few Doblos/Berlingos around secondhand.

Ta, johnnyboxer and cleanorbust, too many rules and regs as usual

On 4/8/2017 at 1:02 PM, baldilocks said:

Legally can you be stopped from putting a bike in the back of a car ?

Strictly, I suppose you could be liable to an "insecure load", if the bike isn't secured properly. But that would be no different to carrying a load of wood, or boxes, or whatever. I have a Berlingo (same platform) and that has six load-securing points so tying the bike down safely shouldn't be a problem.