Car to fit two Longboards 9'6
Discussion
Edited for budget adjustment.
Afternoon folks, does anyone have any bright ideas or real world experience on the following brief. I'm looking for a vehicle that I can occasionally fit two longboards in. For the non surfers the longest will be 9'6, 23" wide and 4" thick (in a bag). The boards are normally strapped to the roof but it would be nice to have the option of shoving them in the car for a short run to the beach, or when the car isn't full of other stuff/people.
Tho obvious way that I can think of is a front passenger seat that folds flat - as long as the car/van is wide enough for me to still change gear with the boards in (if they are lying flat).
Options I think might work are a Berlingo type thing as apparently they have a front passenger seat that folds flat, or apparently an Octavia estate has it as an option - not sure there will be enough space to get the boards in though.
I'm trying to avoid the whole van thing if I can and the vehicle needs 5 seats when the boards aren't in it so if an estate would work that would be ideal. A minivan might too if say a VW Touran could do it, or how about a big estate like a Superb/E Class/Passat
Budget is limited - don't really want to spend more than 5k. Does anyone have any wisdom? Oh and probably petrol as it won't do much mileage and I'd like to be able to drive it into Bristol and Bath without paying
Cheers
Afternoon folks, does anyone have any bright ideas or real world experience on the following brief. I'm looking for a vehicle that I can occasionally fit two longboards in. For the non surfers the longest will be 9'6, 23" wide and 4" thick (in a bag). The boards are normally strapped to the roof but it would be nice to have the option of shoving them in the car for a short run to the beach, or when the car isn't full of other stuff/people.
Tho obvious way that I can think of is a front passenger seat that folds flat - as long as the car/van is wide enough for me to still change gear with the boards in (if they are lying flat).
Options I think might work are a Berlingo type thing as apparently they have a front passenger seat that folds flat, or apparently an Octavia estate has it as an option - not sure there will be enough space to get the boards in though.
I'm trying to avoid the whole van thing if I can and the vehicle needs 5 seats when the boards aren't in it so if an estate would work that would be ideal. A minivan might too if say a VW Touran could do it, or how about a big estate like a Superb/E Class/Passat
Budget is limited - don't really want to spend more than 5k. Does anyone have any wisdom? Oh and probably petrol as it won't do much mileage and I'd like to be able to drive it into Bristol and Bath without paying
Cheers
Edited by Johnny Longstaff on Monday 25th September 16:17
I was pretty sure I've have 3.2m lengths in the E Class (S212), so I've just been and measured it. That looks doable, but I've only tested with timber lengths, so the width, depth and stacking two might be tighter. You can just about measure a straight 3.1m from the top of the dash across the top of the front seat and the parcel shelf up to the rear window, so with the extra 20cm to play with I'd imagine you'd be able to juggle it around so it works for your boards. It'll be close though, so probably worth checking before you buy.
I tend to choose a car based on the ease of carrying an 8foot load, longcase (grandfather) clocks in my case.
Doable in a Superb estate, but the passenger seat has to be reclined with the geadrest removed. Easy in a C3 Picasso, as long as it has the fold forward front passenger seat. Same in my current C3 Aircross.
Was more of a struggle in a BMW 5 series E61 estate, and had to lay diagonally in a Touareg.
Fitting something longer will work, on top of the dashboard though. That'll limit the available height, so tricky with 2 boards stacked and a steeply raked windscreen.
My first choice that isn't a van for loads that long would be a Rifter or Berlingo with the folding front seat, in long wheelbase 7 seater format, or a Hyundai i800 with a couple of seats removed (i800 seats aren't easily reconfigurable).
Doable in a Superb estate, but the passenger seat has to be reclined with the geadrest removed. Easy in a C3 Picasso, as long as it has the fold forward front passenger seat. Same in my current C3 Aircross.
Was more of a struggle in a BMW 5 series E61 estate, and had to lay diagonally in a Touareg.
Fitting something longer will work, on top of the dashboard though. That'll limit the available height, so tricky with 2 boards stacked and a steeply raked windscreen.
My first choice that isn't a van for loads that long would be a Rifter or Berlingo with the folding front seat, in long wheelbase 7 seater format, or a Hyundai i800 with a couple of seats removed (i800 seats aren't easily reconfigurable).
I’m going to suggest the Volvo V70 P2. The front passenger seat folds flat very easily (to clips on the rear of the seat base) which allowed me to transport 60 x 8ft floorboards. I can’t recall exactly how far across the front seat they were placed, so it might be possible to get a long board in it.
Johnny Longstaff said:
Thanks for the replies. Not sure the Hyundai comes in Petrol does it? The Berlingo thing looks like a sensible option but the idea of an old Volvo Estate really appeals as I have a soft spot for an old Volvo...
I've just checked my 2014 XC70 (which will be exactly the same as a 2014 V70) and a 9.5ft board would fit in easily for both length and width, and I'd bet my bottom dollar you'd get two in particularly as they're not square. The standard flat-folding passenger seat, 40/20/40 rear seats and totally flat load area mean that that generation of Volvo estates are really good for this sort of thing; no need to muck about removing headrests or anything like that. The only snag may be finding a petrol one - it might be different for V70s but petrol XC70s are rare as hen's teeth.Thanks again folks, I think I might have to forfeit the petrol thing by the looks of it, so I'm going to start looking for V70s. ZX10 I take your point that a Galaxy or i800 would do the job too. If I can make an estate work I'd prefer it as overall it is a smaller box to drive around in, plus when I am strapping boards to the roof it's not as far up.
I've wound the budget in a bit and have a few options I'd appreciate thoughts on. No Volvos sadly. Choices at the moment are things like:
a 2012 £4k Mondeo 2.0 TDCi.
a 2014 £5k Avensis D-4D or a £6k 2011 V4 T Matic Petrol Avensis.
I can't seem to make the links to the actual cars work.
I'd appreciate any thoughts.
a 2012 £4k Mondeo 2.0 TDCi.
a 2014 £5k Avensis D-4D or a £6k 2011 V4 T Matic Petrol Avensis.
I can't seem to make the links to the actual cars work.
I'd appreciate any thoughts.
I've had paddle boards and assemble fishing rods in My Dacia Logan Stepway. It's permanently full of outdoor kit, including a Jay-Be Folding memory foam bed. Got it set up like a mini camber van, For what appears to be a compact estate, it has a huge load bay and is great for carrying large/long items, fence post, timber, extended pole saws etc.
They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
Silvanus said:
I've had paddle boards and assemble fishing rods in My Dacia Logan Stepway. It's permanently full of outdoor kit, including a Jay-Be Folding memory foam bed. Got it set up like a mini camber van, For what appears to be a compact estate, it has a huge load bay and is great for carrying large/long items, fence post, timber, extended pole saws etc.
They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
for 5k ?They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
stevemcs said:
Silvanus said:
I've had paddle boards and assemble fishing rods in My Dacia Logan Stepway. It's permanently full of outdoor kit, including a Jay-Be Folding memory foam bed. Got it set up like a mini camber van, For what appears to be a compact estate, it has a huge load bay and is great for carrying large/long items, fence post, timber, extended pole saws etc.
They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
for 5k ?They can be picked up now for a great price, if the budget can stretch, the new Dacia Jogger is even bigger and more flexible inside, would easily do the job, there is even a hybrid auto. They look pretty cool too
Logan Stepways are easily had under 10k, regular MCVs well under 5k. Unfortunately cheapest Joggers about 14k
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