What type of vehicle do you all use to transport your 2M aircraft to and from the flying field, e.g. carryall, car, car with trailer?

This year I used a 1995 Suzuki Swift with the rear seat cushion removed to allow the rear seat back to fold flat forward. Had it tinted to keep it cooler inside during the summer. Cars don't come much smaller than this. The important thing is how the interior can be configured while still meeting your needs for a vehicle.

1995 Saab 9000 2.3 Turbo Auto A/C hatchback.Ditto re rear seat-always folded flat,and that's how I carry my Lurchers in Winter.
The enormous petrol bills are offset by the lowcost 2-stroke model fuel bills(10% nitro OS 160 versus 30% YS),
and my Lurchers used to earn their keep until the s---ing politicians messed everything up.

Subaru Legacy Outback - fairly large estate car so loads of room.

AWD helps in the winter getting on and off the fields too!

James

Used a Toyota Matrix for 3 years, it hauled a lot of planes around and was a good car. You could fit a pair of 2m and two people with luggage if you did it right, travelling alone I could haul 3 2m in it....all fully disassembled though.

The Matrix is now gone though and I am in an '06 Toyota Sienna....I bet I could fit about 12 2 meters in that baby with all the rear seats put away

I have went to a contest in my wife's Toyota Echo Hatchback For those in Europe thats a Yaris.

I have an 03 Pontiac Vibe, based on the Matrix. The interiors are virtualy identical. I bought the car SPECIFICALY for transporting models. Works great.

Ford Econoline E-150<G>

Ferrari F50. <g>

Soccer mom minivan. Ford Freestyle. Had to retire the f-150. anyone who saw it would know why it needed to be retired.
Dennis

Correction Ford Freestar. 58 more payments to go. maybe by then i'll remember what it is. Of course by then i'll be so old won't be able to remember my own name.

Dennis

What's my name again? Oh yeah, Dennis. LOL

Full size Ford van. With the rack in, I can carry 4 2x2 birds or 2 and the floor is still clear for anything else I need.

Of course I only get 12 MPG, but that's the breaks, I use this van for work also.

Ken

my pop drives a small (i sure mean small) honda civic.... just enough to put the arresti and 3 people to sit

94 Winnebago Brave (at least to contests) I can fit 2 planes in the underside bins, and being 30 feet long I can fit a few extra inside if I need to

I have a Dodge Stratus. The front passanger seat comes out in the spring to make room for the 2m bird with stabalizers on. I can fit the bird/wings/radio case up front as well. One kid in a car seat in back. I have the trunk for my support equipment/cooler/kids toys. Perfect

Magnum.......I also have my GS trailer I can put it in.

I made this trailer from a utility chassis from Northen Tool Co and used 3/4 treated ply as a floor and 1/2 ply for the sides. I can get two pattern planes and all my gear in it. Light weight, could pull behind a Honda and easy to move around the house

$450 all up cost

Wayne Galligan

2005 Subaru Outback: Two 2M pattern planes, one on the fold flat floor roughly in the center, one on a rack upside down and off the side. The wings are in wing bags on the rack too. And with 250hp and 250 ft lbs torque, the acceleration to the contest is more F50 like the minivans or the Winnebago. I do have to travel alone though...

The Honda Odyssey has been a great choice for me for the past 4 years. It'll take a 4X8 ft. of plywood or my pattern ships or my 35% Carden Cap. Fuel economy on regular is quite good ( 20 /26), it drives in snow very well -up the 1100 ft. mountain (hill ? ) I live atop and handles fantastic thanks to an Accord like suspension . Go for the LX version and expect to pay around 25K . Not bad , considering the fantastic resale value all Hondas have ;even after you rack up the miles . A comparable Big 3 mini-van cost about 1K-2K less when new , but they have poor resale value (roughly 7K- 8K less ) four years later . And the fit , finish and mechanicals earn an A+ like all Hondas.

OVER MY CAR

Here is a pic of the type of trailer I use. This one belongs to the club pres. of the SO. Indiana RC modelers.
I may be predigest as I build them.
Email me for info
[email protected]

1998 Volvo V70 wagon.

Wow,

I have a Ford Explorer and I can get my Partner in and maybe one person. I'd love to see how you fit an Arresti (I'm assuming you mean the 2 meter version) and three people in a Civic.

This thread is a bit outdated but I thought it would be better to post here than to hijack the subaru thread....

I finally had to replace my 2003 Expedition. Rear differential crapping out for second time. But after 9 years and a ton of miles it served its purpose. I could fit 2 2m planes in it with no sweat and, in my IMAC days, I even fit my 40% dalton 260 AND a 2m pattern plane plus gear. Well, my days of 40% are long gone so I could safely downsize.

Its frustrating that manufacturers don't post the actual cargo length dimensions. So finding a plane hauler is a pain. I searched and searched for a good ride that had tons of room and was V6 powered. Also, no minivans allowed (and no trailer!). I ended up with what I think is a fantastic pattern plane hauler. I got a 2009 Volvo XC90. This thing has tons of room. I can fit two planes without having to move the passenger seat too far forward (have to take off the props). But if you have no front passenger then its no sweat. You can even fold the front passenger seat totally flat.

So, I'm off to go flying and put it to the test.

'94 Ford Aerostar, the long one. It'll hold a ton of models but I've never really tried to get a maximum in it, I would guess probably 10 if done correctly. I set my Osiris right in the middle of the rear deck area with the wings on it. With two ships I take off the wings and three will go in, with seating for five people still.

I bought it used in 2003 for $2700 bucks. It gets 20mpg at 65mph, the little 3.0 will haul it pretty fast if one desires. It's still truckin' at 236,000 miles and I don't see buying anything else in the forseeable future. At 4 bucks a gallon, don't expect to see me at every contest this season!

Chris...

I bought in 2000 a new Eddy Bauer Expedition, saying at the time "This is my last car that I will ever buy". Well now it has 225K miles, never done anything but oil changes, brakes, tires, radiator and transmission flushing, so if it takes the crap I'll get another Expedition, maybe a 2004/5 that has folding rear seats. Hope to get another good one.

Rene