Thanks already.

[Ductape]

Signed up to better use the search engine here. Thank you all for shared input.

My sig other and I are traveling the Americas in our van. Currently holed up at a friends rental waiting for the covid to dissipate, borders to re open, and a sense of normalcy return to our world. One of the things we have discovered in our travels is the desire to make short trips into towns, for supplies, information, dinner, or just exploring. This is not an easy task when our vehicle is in camp mode and not ready to move. Our solution was to purchase an E-bike for one of us to run errands on, and or the occasional two up riding. After researching here on EBR, we pulled the trigger and got a bike. Next step will be to determine what my best approach is to mounting the bike to the rear of our van is, and figuring out the most efficient way to charge the battery using our vans house battery. Look forward to sharing our E-bike challenges and adventure.

Somewhere along the Pacific just before things went to heck.

 

[troehrkasse]

Beautiful photo! Welcome aboard What Ebike did you settle on?

 

[Ductape]

Thanks, that was a great evening for taking pictures.

We opted for a Surly Big Easy. Being a cyclist, I am familiar with the brand, it appears well made, and pedal friendly. Although a bit longer than we really need, the payload leaves a good buffer if we choose to ride two up to go find dinner. I was able to buy it from my friends bike shop which is very important to me. There were a few reasons, we only wanted one E-bike at this time.

 

[TMH]

We got our very first e-bikes in 2011 for the exact same reason: Ability to go explore, head to the market, or get some lunch without having to disconnect the RV and break camp. Then one ultimately finds so many more uses for them, including "I don't need much at the store so why am I pulling the car out of the garage", etc.

Welcome to EBR. Your new bike should really make your forced lock-down much more pleasant. Does your Sprinter based rig have a 2" receiver hitch? What class? I think that most hitch rack recommendations will center around platform type racks, instead of ones where the bike is hung. I know that what I have seen of Hollywood racks looks pretty good. But that Surly has one long wheelbase! At least the battery is easily removable to reduce the bike's weight a bit while on the rack.

 

[Mike_V]

Hi DucTape,
That Big Easy looks very robust and useful, what an adventure.
I use a common black steel 2" receiver hitch mount which has adjustable wheel 'drop in' spaces.
It's heavy and cheap, drop shipped free, and rated for a light motorcycle.
Called 'black widow' I believe; because some people might use them to collect someone else's motorcycle from Main Street.
You may need one tough custom tarp to keep it nice, perhaps making one?
Good Luck
Mike