Electric bikes can be a great asset to the camper family but do require careful thought.\u00a0 We bought to decent electric bikes – a Giant and a Haibike – both served us well and still do however the issue of not always being on EHU and not having the same setup as with the Flair charging is more problematic.\u00a0 Weight, range and simplicity are much better these days and will suit many folks.<\/p>\n Moving on – after doing some further investigation I discovered that our Flair could carry 250kgs of payload in the garage and we could fit anything inside that was just over 2mtrs in length. \u00a0 With a door size of 1.4mtrs x 1.2mtrs that gave us the dimensions of our transportation.\u00a0 Deeper investigation\u00a0revealed that there were several quad bikes that would fit inside the garage without overloading the camper.<\/p>\n Enter our next form of transportation – a Kymco MXU\u00a0300 RL\u00a0Quad bike. \u00a0To ease the effort in getting it inside the garage we fitted an electric winch with a remote control. \u00a0This gave us complete control and allowed us to take our time in safety when loading or unloading the quad. \u00a0 We had a Border Collie at the time who travelled with us always so a folding cage was added for him and hey presto we were mobile<\/p>\n We used the quad for around two years and while it served its purpose we never really went too far afield as its limited performance (top speed 50mph) on main roads made us feel nervous.\u00a0 We travelled over 800 miles on it so not too bad and our dog Chase really loved it.<\/p>\n Sadly in 2010 we lost our dog through a mysterious virus.\u00a0 On re-assessing\u00a0our needs again one thing was lacking –\u00a0we either took the quad OR the bicycles not both. \u00a0There were times that we wanted to cycle and times we wanted to go a bit further. \u00a0 \u00a0Again we looked around and noticed there were several scooters that would fit the bill however stability and safety when travelling in the garage became a concern. \u00a0The Piaggio MP3 maxi scooter appeared to fit the bill and would give us the performance we wanted.<\/p>\n \u00a0Peggy – Piaggio MP3 – 250cc<\/strong><\/p>\n This gave us the opportunity to carry the scooter and both bicycles and still remain below our 250kg garage floor limit.\u00a0 Enter Peggy. \u00a0\u00a0Peggy is a 250cc three wheeled Piaggio MP3 scooter with a much better performance than the quad and much better economy and with 3 wheels gave us the stability to get it in the garage still using our winch and use conventional braces and the Oxford straps for securing it inside the garage.<\/p>\n Peggy can carry two up and still hit over 90mph (where permitted) our family just love it as you can see.\u00a0 We are into our third year now with the scooter and have travelled over 2000 miles.\u00a0 We restrict ourselves to a radius of around 75 miles and mainly use her for nipping into the next town or staying longer and visiting places around us.<\/p>\n The Piaggio has a pretty large boot ( over 55ltrs) and we use this space for shopping, trips to the laundry or stashing our helmets and wet weather gear.\u00a0 We incur no additional fees for the tunnel or ferry, it’s secure in the garage when we are travelling and only takes a couple of minutes to take out or put away.\u00a0 I have fitted two D rings in the roof of the garage and two D rings in the floor of the garage.\u00a0 When we had the Quad I\u00a0fitted a 2000kg working load electric winch with remote control to help pull it up the ramp and ease it out. This winch works well with the Piaggio and having 3 wheels with a locking suspension device I can just hook up and winch the scooter in same as the quad.\u00a0 The D rings and straps secure it while we are travelling.<\/p>\n As I mentioned we have enough room in the garage to fit two bicycles, however I do have to remove the pedals and turn the handlebars round 90 degrees.\u00a0 Its a bit fiddly but well worth the hassle. \u00a0This arrangement is our ideal and I can’t foresee us changing anytime soon unless we change the Flair. \u00a0We use our camper all year round and my only criticism is that it can get very cold in winter. \u00a0We don’t mind the rain, in fact we don’t get wet when riding as the leg shields and windscreen keep us reasonably dry. \u00a0But the cold – well that’s a killer. \u00a0I had thought of buying one of these heated covers and a pair of heated gloves but would want a demo before laying out good money.<\/p>\n I do understand that not everyone has a garage that will take a scooter but there are several rackes that can be fitted on the rear of any camper, including a nifty wheeled rack that has one swivelling wheel to support the weight of a motorbike or scooter.\u00a0 The idea is good.\u00a0 The bike still fits across the back of the camper like a bicycle rack so the overall length of the camper is only increased by just over 1 meter.\u00a0 Because\u00a0the wheel is on the ground you are not increasing the overall weight of the camper so the payload is hardly affected.\u00a0 Most of us have plenty of train weight capacity so keeping well within limits and is much cheaper when crossing the channel as many companies have special rates for trailers less than 2 mtrs long.\u00a0 Sea France, before they went bust, even costed it as a bike rack.<\/p>\n Well things move on and we sold our Flair, briefly reverting to a caravan before we got the calling for another camper van.\u00a0 As mentioned on other pages here we now have the Hymer Exsis and all the above rationale came back into play and we have bought a Peugeot Metropolis and Arnitage transverse MP3 trailer (which we are in the process of modifying to suite the Peugeot)<\/p>\n Having collected our trailer I now have to work on how best to modify it to suit our needs.\u00a0 The first pressing problem is loading the Metropolis as the standard Armitage ramp is too short and the trike “bottoms out” when loading.\u00a0 Interestingly several MP3 owners have commented on this and I’m surprised that Armitages charge extra for longer ramps (given that they say it has been designed for the MP3)\u00a0 In the end is was easier than I thought.\u00a0 Using a simple 2 mtr plank of wood down the centre of the original ramp did the trick<\/p>\n The second problem is that the Metropolis front wheels don’t fit into the two retaining scoops on the trailer so I need to cut them down a little.\u00a0 Again much easier than I thought with an axle grinder. I’m not convinced that the mk 2 Armitage trailer is a good answer.\u00a0 They have removed the scoops and fitted a rail across the front but I think the scoops would stop the trike from sliding while moving.<\/p>\n The third problem (and this is my problem not that of original design) is that I would like to be able to load and unload the trike when not connected to the motorhome.\u00a0 This would give me the freedom to manauver the trailer when loaded when at home without running the risk of the trailer tipping over and dumping the trike on the ground.\u00a0 I intend to do this by fitting a second jockey wheel to the rear of the trailer primarily as a stabiliser but also with the ability to move it around as necessary.\u00a0 More later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Each to their own – a statement I keep on saying.\u00a0 In my mind there are two types of camper van owners.\u00a0 There are those that fully embrace the motorhome and its differences and there are those that maybe started … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.vennwood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/electric-bikes.jpg\" "\\"electric")
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