How To Transport Your Recumbent Trike

How to Transport Your Recumbent Trike

Transporting your recumbent trike can pose an issue because of its size. However, if you’re interested in using your trike in your travels, you want to transport it easily. Here we look at the best ways to transport your recumbent trike so you can get out there and experience trails near and far.  

Choose a Folding Trike

If you’re shopping around for a 3-wheel bike and plan to travel to trails further from home, the folding trike is your best option. Some of the best folding trikes include:

• Terratrike Traveler: If you have a sub-compact car, you can fit two Travelers in the back and still have room for other things. It’s an excellent choice when you trike with a partner.
• Catrike Trail, 5.5.9, & Dumont: This is a great option if you want a foldable, extra comfortable trike. It has plenty of features to make cycling a pleasure including a padded seat, padded wrist rests, and an ergonomic adjustable seatback.
• Greenspeeds: All Greenspeed trikes are designed with a quick-fold feature using a 6mm Allen key to release a single-seat bolt. If you travel to trails often, this is the easiest choice. It basically takes under a minute to release the frame hinge and get it in and out of your vehicle. It’s also ideal if storage at home is an issue.

Whether you’re shopping for your first adult tricycle or find you’re traveling more often, the folding trike offers hassle-free transport.

Trike Ramps

Trike ramps are used outside the vehicle allowing you to roll your trike up into your SUV, minivan or pickup truck storage area. Although most trikes are quite lightweight weighing about 35 pounds, a motorized trike adds another 17 pounds or so. This is getting up there for some people. If you have limitations on how much you can lift, or just find the trike too awkward to handle, the trike ramp is ideal. The ramp is simply two aluminum rails you hook to the trunk and rest on the road. You then remove and store the ramp in your vehicle when you don’t need it. You simply attach the ramp, align the wheels of your trike with the rails, lift the third wheel and roll the trike up into the storage area. This is a convenient, lightweight accessory that is also very affordable.  

Easy Load Ramp System and Trays

If space is an issue in your vehicle, the easy load ramp and tray system are ideal. The tray affixes to the rear of any vehicle offering an easy way to load and transport your trike. Just make sure that if you drive a car, you have at least 16” between the road and the tray to avoid damage if you hit dips. To be safe, you can use an adaptor purchased at an automotive store to reduce the risk of damage for lower vehicles. This raises the tray to the required 16”.

The ELRS-Tray uses a standard 2” receiver hitch on the transporting vehicle and is 48” wide by 40” from the vehicle to the back of the tray. The tray hooks up to your vehicle lights so your brake lights, running lights and turning signal are all in synch with the tray’s lights. The frame is adjustable so you can use it for longer trikes. When not in use, the tray is raised and locked flat against the back of your vehicle. Reflective red and silver safety tape makes it more visible when in the upright position.

The tray stays securely in place with a pin to lock it when not in use. To load your trike, you remove the pin and then fold the tray down. There is a convenient place to store the pin on the rack, so it doesn’t get lost. Two aluminum ramps affix to the tray so the trike can be rolled up to load it. Be sure to center the trike on the tray so it doesn’t stick too far out on one side. This avoids the trike being hit by other vehicles on the road. Lock your brakes to stabilize the trike, remove the ramps and you’re ready to go.

Vehicle Racks

If you own an adult trike that doesn’t fold and you really don’t want to invest in a foldable trike, a vehicle roof rack is an excellent option. Roof racks are ideal for smaller, lower cars and allow you to mount up to two trikes. If your trike seems longer, you can also buy a longer bike tray. The strike is secured by the wheels which affix to the roof rack bars using straps. 

In most cases, you’ll have to remove the trike seat, unless it is a trike where the seat folds down. However, the rack really isn’t an option if you have an SUV. It is close to impossible to safely and easily get the trike up onto the roof.  In this case, you’ll want to go to our next option, the trike/bike ramp.

Trailers

Although you can also consider a trailer towed by a receiver hitch, it is not an affordable option. You’ll need a receiver hitch designed for the year, make and model of your vehicle. You’ll also want to make sure it is installed properly which means having it done at your car dealership if you aren’t very handy. This gets very expensive. When you consider the benefits of a trailer, they match up with a ramp and tray system. It really makes more sense to go with the more affordable, easier fold-up tray option mentioned above.

Transporting your recumbent trike offers you the opportunity to experience new, more challenging trails, whether you are driving to trails an hour away, or in the next state. You can choose the best option to allow you to easily transport your trike suited to your budget, type of vehicle and level of ability to lift and load your trike.