Filed under: Etc.
Car carrying motor coach debuts in Germany
Have you ever noticed how many Saturns are towed behind motorhomes on our nation's highways? The reason is because most Saturns are part of a small group of vehicles that don't require the installation of a lube pump to circulate the transmission fluid in order to be towed with all four wheels on the ground. The problem is that most people who are wealthy enough to own an upscale RV wouldn't be caught dead in a Saturn under normal circumstances.
German RV manufactuer Volkner Mobile has developed a solution to this problem that's currently being shown off at the International Caravan Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany. The motorcoach on display features a mobile garage situated between the front and rear axles that can stow lower cars like the BMW Z4, MINI Cooper convertible and Mercedes-Benz SLK. The system introduces your vacation cruiser laterally into the RV's belly on a slideout platform and can accomodate vehicles up to five meters in length. No more hauling Saturns or renting Mustang convertibles when you get there. [Source: Daily Times via Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
goat 5:46PM (8/27/2006)
I don't understand why motorhome buyers don't just get a small trailer to put their car on.
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ku 6:07PM (8/27/2006)
family of 3 pictured for a 2-seater car... maybe the kid's got those cool roller shoes so he can just hang on to the bumper...
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GhostDoggy 6:15PM (8/27/2006)
Great, a preggie. Haha. Now that's is amusing. I thought all motorhomers were empty-nesters.
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Jaymez 6:20PM (8/27/2006)
I agree. I'd rather use a trailer than put unneeded miles on my car.
Is this why SUVs with manual transfercases are often towed behind motorhomes as well?
The thought of hitting one bump hard enough being able to damage my car in the belly is enough of a deterant.
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JP Dane-Castro 6:27PM (8/27/2006)
Referring to comment #1- Many motorhomers don't buy a trailer becuase they are extra weight, and what are you supposed to do with it once you park for the night?
To the main post- This may look all fine and dandy on a weblog, but look where that "garage" is located. Instead of having all that space for basement storage, it is being occupied by your sporty little 2 seater. Some coach companies are adopting a mid-engine chassis and are putting the toy hauler in the back of the coach. It is still a pain though because in able to get the space tall enough to fit anything, they have to put the bed very high up and it makes it hard for the older people (the biggest group of motorhomers) to get on it.
All in all you are just better off towing a car that is capable of a 4 wheel on the ground tow. Besides, many cars are now towable, Saturns aren't the most popular anymore, one car that has been gaining in popularity is the Honda CR-V. It will be interesting to see if the new CR-V will be towable.
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Ryan 6:49PM (8/27/2006)
"The problem is that most people who are wealthy enough to own an upscale RV wouldn't be caught dead in a Saturn under normal circumstances."
-I assume I should just be shot if I ever become that stuck up.
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Timothy Auhll 7:13PM (8/27/2006)
In california the speed limit for trailers is 55mph without 65 mph,also carpooling as well. And ATV's I think would fit just fine under there as well.
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cowboy bob 7:51PM (8/27/2006)
It amuses me that people who can afford this are reluctant to just have their jet deposit them at the nearest five star. When I get that wealthy, (in some other life), I will have no desire to drive a bus.
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Mark 9:06PM (8/27/2006)
Cool motorhome. This isn't entirely new, though. There is a current motor home on the market with a built in "garage" in the rear that can fit a Mini.
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DPC car videos 9:08PM (8/27/2006)
first time I have ever seen this, i guess you have to make sure its a small car.
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Slippery Pete 9:14PM (8/27/2006)
It's not arrogance. It's just a simple factual statement that wealthy people wouldn't be caught dead in a Saturn, because they suck. Honda, yes. Saturn? Ha.
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john 9:31PM (8/27/2006)
Slippery Pete thinks Honda is a "car to be seen in". THAT is hilarious!! White trash of a different kind perhaps?
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wes virtue 9:56PM (8/27/2006)
Damn where am I going put the gold cart now!!!
Definitely shortens the the length disposing of the
"dinghy". I would rather have a roadtrek and a motorcycle.
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salguod 10:53PM (8/27/2006)
People tow everyting behind an RV now. I have a relative that has a 32' class C and she tows a late model (2005?) Town and Country minivan behind hers. She had to get a trans pump installed, but it tows just fine.
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GrowUp 12:53AM (8/28/2006)
Ummmm...yeah. Somebody too snooty to be caught in an Ion is going to drive a bus with a sewage pipe they'll have to get out and empty?
Bet that MB will be a hit at the KOA, though.
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darrin 2:33AM (8/28/2006)
Uh, if i do remeber correctly i saw a motorhome already that could carry a mini cooper in the back, it had an elevator system, it was on the travel channel.
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2009 Ford Mustang 2:55AM (8/28/2006)
The idea is pretty cool, although it seems kind of odd that you need to buy a car that will fit inside your motorhome. I've always felt it was much easier to just drive where ever i want to go and then stay in a hotel. Unless you go on vacation all year long for twenty years you'll never make up for the cost of the motorhome, especially one of this caliber. I just couldn't put up with driving this huge things around all of the time while i'm on vacation.
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Howard Kerr 8:13AM (8/28/2006)
"...no more hauling Saturns or renting Mustangs..."
Nope, after driving around all day in their massive motorhomes you wouldn't want folks to be even slightly environmently conscious and renting a car. Although for those very few occasions when you are not near a car rental counter (say, out in the boonies) I realize you will need wheels. But really? isn't a motorhome that is big enough to carry a small car inside it just a bit too big? What next? a collapsible helopad?
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dominick 8:32AM (8/28/2006)
or you could do like my friend is doing hes going to order one of those smart cars which is only 96 inchs long and put it on a lift gate platform on the rear of the motor home
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David 12:55PM (8/28/2006)
New? For a production vehicle, perhaps. Had a family friend who did this back in the late 70's early 80's with a Greyhound bus he purchased, refurbished, and customized (painted it candy-apple green, ugh). He had the lower luggage section slightly modified and put his MG in there (think he may have had the windshield modified to shorten it or something). In any case -- in my observation, the folks who drive these huge things around can afford to charter a plane or fly first class, but choose not to -- that choice is lost on me, but to each their own.
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