07/03/07

Official Follow Vehicle

Test yourself in  the Hardest and Most Grueling Ultra Marathon event!

Make ------- Chrysler
Model ------ Town & Country minivan
Function --- Official Follow Vehicle
Contents --- Bikes, current rider supplies, next rider up, crew.

Click on each photo to see a larger version

The Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan was perfect for our team. I equipped it with a car-top carrier that stored all the non-essential stuff, like non-cycling clothes, spare wheelsets, redundant items that we brought just in case but not really needed unless an emergency happened.

The Stow-&-Go feature of this minivan is great.

When the 3rd row seat is upright, the compartment for it is deep enough to house my 2 big containers that had all my bike tools, spare tires, spare tubes, cleaning supplies, and First Aid kit. These are items we also do not need, but may require quicker access to than the ones on top of the van. I fabricated a top-lid for this compartment.

On top of the lid, we stacked 4 more containers that housed all of our bike clothes for easy access (2 for me, 2 for Jason). 2 Igloo coolers stored there for our drive to the hotel. But during the race, when only 1 bike and 1 rider was in the rear, both coolers were moved to the middle of the minivan to provide access by the front passengers and resting rider.

With the middle row seats folded down into a nice compartment on the floor, it made for a cavernous flat area in front of the 3rd row seat where the 2 bikes were mounted on a custom bike mounted I made. My wife also made a mini privacy curtain between the front and rear seats. Great for when someone was changing clothes or needed to block the bright sun coming from the front so they can take a shut-eye.