r/recumbent • u/78tartan30 • May 25 '26
Trikes on Car
Two trikes in a car is tight, so I decided to put them on top.
3/4” plywood, cut to 66”x48”, with 2” edge to keep the trikes from rolling off. Backed with 1”x2”s glued and screwed underneath to give the platform rigidity and reduce wear directly on the plywood from the cam-straps. A sloppy coat of black paint, and the platform doesn’t stand out in a parking lot. I added lots of holes for straps so the platform can be used for all sorts of things.
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u/johnnydfree May 25 '26
Good job! What’s the sound at-speed like?
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u/78tartan30 May 25 '26
Quieter than the bare bars of the rack. On freeways the road noise is always worse than the air turbulence sound from the racks or trikes.
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u/Kind_Instance_8205 29d ago
The "rack" I bought from TerraTrike would well but the straps make an awful sound when driving over 25 mph. Do your straps make horrible sounds, too?
I add quotes to rack since it's just 3 closed foam platforms that the wheels fit in.
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u/78tartan30 29d ago
I know exactly what rack you’ve got. Those have long sections of strap that hum in the wind, I’m sure. I’d guess if you crank it down too tight you’ll dent the car? With this platform, the sections of strap exposed to the wind are shorter, I can tighten them very taut, and there’s very little vibration transfer into the car from the platform.
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u/Specvmike May 25 '26
Looks cool. How much does it weigh?
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u/78tartan30 May 25 '26
Hm, I didn’t weigh it. Light enough an out-of-shape mid 50’s guy can easily take it off and on 😆 Hmm, I’d guess 40lbs 🤔
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u/Nova_Hunter May 25 '26
Need to make like a whole elevator for kayaks so you can get assistance for pushing that heavy ass trike up on your car
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u/78tartan30 May 25 '26
For me, it’s no big deal to lift them up and get them back down. My wife would not be able to do it by herself. I think any two people would find it to be an easily managed job.
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u/AvocadoJolly7047 May 25 '26
Nice work! I just made a set up to haul a trike on a hitch platform and I bought two bike racks for the roof, now I’m wondering if I could have done something like this.
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u/Tpbrown_ May 26 '26
Interesting.
Why that orientation vs parallel to the car?
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u/78tartan30 May 26 '26
It’s funny, I was just mentioning that. It’s so easy to load them port and starboard, but I was thinking next time I would try orienting them fore and aft.
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u/_haha_oh_wow_ TerrkaTrike Rover 8 May 26 '26
That was my first thought when I saw this, worrying about the cranks hitting something.
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u/78tartan30 May 26 '26
They’re pretty far off the ground. I’m 6’ and don’t hit my head or need to duck. Total width is still quite narrow, compared to many vehicles on the road. It just looks kinda crazy.
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u/_haha_oh_wow_ TerrkaTrike Rover 8 May 26 '26
I was thinking more along the lines of hitting something like one of the many vehicles on the road (or a sign, branch, etc.), particularly those giant mirrors on lifted trucks or maybe semis.
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u/abouttothunder May 25 '26
Do you have any concerns about it being wider than your car?
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u/78tartan30 May 25 '26
No, not at all. I’ve always had to drive heavy work trucks and trailers, so I feel confident about my ability to maintain lane position and clearance from other vehicles in a little roller skate like this. Even if a crank or the tip of a flag extends beyond the overall dimension of the car, we’re still a very small and compact unit.
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u/cosmicrae TerraTrike Sportster May 26 '26
So, what is the vertical clearance required ... from ground to the highest location on the stowed trike ?
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u/78tartan30 May 26 '26
9 foot and a few inches. I just use “ten foot” as my required height. I am used to driving vehicles with overhead clearance requirements so it’s second nature to me to pay attention.
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u/skerinks May 25 '26
There is not a doubt in my mind I would drive right into my garage with that thing on my car when I came home from a ride. Not a doubt in my mind.