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James and I just wrapped up our time at Sea Otter Classic bicycle festival, outside Monterey California. It’s one of our favorite events of the year, and as always we had a great time. Since Winnebago is one of the event sponsors, they had 6 of their most bicycle-friendly RVs on display in a booth on the fest grounds. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to livestream a walkthrough of all 6 RVs and then compare how the bikes would get stored in each. So, we went live from the booth on Saturday and did just that! If you missed it, you can still watch it here:
The 6 RVs that were on display (and you’ll see in the above video):
1) Sprinter EKKO (the Sprekko!)
Both EKKO models, with their awesome gear garages, are great for cycling enthusiasts— heck, it’s why we got our own EKKO! We can easily fit two bikes in the gear garage, though with some creativity, you could probably get a 3rd in there, especially if you’re ok with popping off the wheels. On the Sprekko in the Winnebago booth, there was also a Saris hitch-mounted bike rack on it. Set up like that, you could haul 4 bikes easily, without them infringing on your living space whatsoever. On an RV that’s under 25’ long, that’s awesome. If you’re curious for a detailed look at the Sprekko, check out our full review HERE!
2) Travato 59G
The Travato is pretty special to us. Lance, our last RV, was a Travato! Although Travatos have changed a lot over the years, one thing that hasn’t changed on the G floorplan is the flip-up murphy bed in the back drivers corner. In ours, James had built a bike gurney that fit perfectly on the floorspace under the bed, and that held our two bikes. But the limitation would be you couldn’t have the bed down for sleeping if you transported your bikes inside that way. There’s also an option to order Travatos with a bike rack. So potentially, you could transport 4 bikes with a Travato, but when it comes time to sleep, you’d have to move the 2 inside bikes outside.
3) Solis Pocket
The Pocket is such a clever use of space for a tiny 17’ van. But! You aren’t getting bikes inside this one, without making the living space inaccessible. With the Pocket, you’d be dependent on an exterior bike rack to transport any bikes.
4) Hike 100 Travel Trailer
This is the first time we took a close look at the Hike 100, and we were impressed with the potential it had to haul a LOT of bikes in such a tiny travel trailer. You could completely remove the two sofas that face each other in the back half of the Hike, and we’re thinking you could get up to 6 bikes in there. Even leaving the sofas right where they are, you can easily transport a couple bikes inside. The bed raises all the way up to the ceiling over that space, so you could set it to a point above your bikes and still be able to sleep with the bikes inside. Check this one out in the video above, there are lots of options for bike transport with the Hike! In the video, we declared it the most bike-friendly of all the RVs on display.
5) Vista Class A
It was great having Kenny & Sabrina from Moving Forward Adventures on hand during our livestream, because they actually own a Winnebago Vista! When we toured this one, Kenny was able to give us some owner perspective. Although unfortunately, there wasn’t a gear garage large enough for bikes in the Vista. You technically would have plenty of space to transport your bikes inside, though they would be infringing on your living space. Still, if you’re in the market for a Class A, it’s certainly one to take a look at.
6) Revel
The Revel is Winnebago’s most off-road and off-grid capable RV, and with its new beefed up battery system, it’s a pretty exciting campervan. On top of all that, you can get 4 bikes inside, and still have room to sleep! If you’re a cyclist with your heart set on a van, the Revel should definitely be on your shortlist. DID YOU SEE JAMES’ MUSICAL REVIEW OF IT YET?!?!? Maybe I’m biased, but I thought it was hilarious, and I’m so surprised it didn’t get a ton of views! (So go watch it)
And there you have it! You’ll see us walk and talk through all 6 of those models in our video above. We even got to chat with show attendees who happened to be touring the RVs as we were filming; that was fun, too. Luckily everyone was nice and didn’t mind being put on the spot.
So! Hopefully you’ll consider attending Sea Otter in the future! RV camping is a huge part of the experience, and even if you just have a mild interest in bikes, it’s a great time. There’s no other event anything like it. Hope we’ll see you there one of these years!
Be well, all!
❤️Stef
Did I hear a story about someone stealing bikes off the back of an RV while stopped in traffic? I wonder if they had a Reverse gear?
Bikes in RVs have come a long way. But still, there is always that compromise between sleeping and carrying bikes inside, To me, it always seems it’s a 1 2 design choice: (1) The bed is here, (2) now how do we fit the bikes in. Maybe repeat a few times, but in the end, the bed wins. (BTW, everything else fits later because of smaller size; easier shapes)
That’s okay, I like to sleep. But if designers want to have bikes in there, it seems that the bed and bikes need to be considered together, as one complex shape. For example, in your Echo, what if one of your longitudinal beds was high (creating a longitudinal bike box) and the the other low? Or, mounting the bikes vertical/sideways on the inside of the back doors (so the bikes are flat against the inside of the door) and fitting the head of the bed around them or just moving it forward.
Cheers,
Don
Is there a particular campsite that you prefer when you attend SO? We plan on attending next year so I’m gathering information
Thanks
Pete
Securing campsites is super competitive so don’t wait! I’m not sure when reservations open for next year, maybe even as early as this summer —- but if you can get into Chaparrel campground, which I believe is called “B” area, that’s the absolute best place to be. The dedicated campground right next to it is second best. And from there, any of the parking lots (dry camping) have great views and are close enough to walk to the fest grounds. Glad you’re thinking about attending! It’s hard to explain what a special event this is; you’ve just got to see it for yourself! 🙂