06-30-2017, 05:51 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Ocean Springs MS
Posts: 242
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Transporting Two Segways
I guess this is mostly for anyone thinking about buying a new 'travel vehicle' . . . . which is exactly what we did when we bought our Segs - We got tired of lifting them in and out of the back of our Mazda wagon, plus they took up most all of the available room once we got them in there
Picture is of them in our 2014 Ford Transit Connect SWB wagon. There are 4 tie down points in the floor which are exactly where you would want them to strap down a pair of Segs. The front set of tie downs is exactly the width of the Seg wheels from the rear set, so the front strap is installed just like the rear strap. You can cinch them down very tight . . . . to the point that the tires have a flat spot on the bottom and they will not move, even on the roughest of roads We've taken them more than 10,000 miles so far, to glide in cities in half dozen states. It's almost like the designers of the van knew what we wanted it for! Don |
06-30-2017, 06:35 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Vancouver, WA
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Transit Van
Very nice.
My wife asked me to look into one. Edmunds.com noted significant highway noise in the ride compared to other vehicles, what is your experience? Ramps to put them in/out or are you team lifting them? |
06-30-2017, 07:50 PM | #3 |
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Location: Ocean Springs MS
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The Transit Connect is based on the Ford Focus chassis - Same suspension, brakes and 215/55 R16 tires. I would say the ride is a bit more . . . . sporty than any other van I've ridden in. Noise isn't a problem unless you're on pavement which the tires aren't particularly fond of. Many TC's are work vehicles with just the front buckets and a sparse compartment in the back with no interior paneling or insulation - Those are a bit louder, but the 'wagon' version with rear seating have the usual interior headliner, side panels and insulation. They are all made in Europe - Ours was made in Spain
Originally I bought ramps for loading, but they quickly got to be a pain - We gave that up after just a few trips. A Seg without the cargo bars is a bit difficult to pick up by hand, even for two people, but since we added the cargo bars they're both much easier to pick up and to strap down. We're both seniors and she is 5' 3" and we have no problem at all loading them by hand. We set the first one in with both of us standing on either side and then turn it 90 degrees against the wall. For the second one, we set a 12 by 12 inch piece of cardboard on the floor of the van and she sets one wheel on that and gets out of the way and I slide it in with the wheel with the cardboard until it's where it needs to be. If you want/need to pick them up, I highly recommend adding the bars. We would never go back to the ramps The two notched pieces of wood keep them spaced apart, near the sides of the van so they don't come together when we tighten the straps Our TC is a Gen 2, 2014 Short wheelbase model and they come with a 2.5 liter four mated to a 6 speed 'Select Shift' trans and the mileage is nothing short of incredible, IMO. We don't drive it everyday - We have two EV's that we use for daily transportation, so the TC only gets used for trips. For the first 20,000 miles we are averaging 28.4 MPG. Best tank I ever got was 29.8 and that was mostly running roads with 55 mph speed limits, but we were going through several small towns on that tank. Running 70 or 75, the overall 28.4 shown on the computer display will eventually go down a tenth, but then running 55 or 60 for a few hours, it will go back up to 28.4 Overall, we love the van. We take the Segs on almost every trip and with the rear seats either folded up or removed from the van, we have room for all sorts of baggage and a good sized cooler too. The Segs do fit with the rear seats up though - You can carry 5 people and the Segs Don |
07-01-2017, 04:46 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: USA
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Nice way to transport. Secure and out of the weather. The ones I see around my area ride in a tray mounted to the vehicle's hitch.
I was wondering if you used the Segway rental company out there. They mentioned the Eads bridge in their tour. |
07-02-2017, 02:41 PM | #5 |
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Location: Ocean Springs MS
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We've never ran across any places that 'rent' Segs - Perhaps there are such places and we've just not found them? Many cities have guided 'tours' that you can take (we took a 4 hour tour in Nashville before we bought ours) but you go where they lead you and it's over when you get back to the tour office. Are there places where you can just rent a Seg and take it anywhere you want to go . . . . ?
Don |
07-02-2017, 07:06 PM | #6 | |
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Location: USA
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Quote:
There is no place like that around me (tour, rental, or buy a Segway). They had one but it went out of business back in 2012. |
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07-02-2017, 08:03 PM | #7 |
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Location: Ocean Springs MS
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The 4 hour tour included admission tickets to 3 Nashville museums plus the Ryman Auditorium (site of the original Grand Old Opry) so we weren't on the Segs all that time. It was a GREAT tour - If you're ever near Nashville, I highly recommend it. We had never set foot on Segways and they had us up and riding in only 15 or 20 minutes
Don |
07-31-2017, 01:47 AM | #8 |
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Location: Florida
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Sounds like a great tour. We will have to try it when we go to Nashville.
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07-31-2017, 05:10 PM | #9 | |
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Location: eureka -far northern calif
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Quote:
Last edited by rotorblades; 07-31-2017 at 05:16 PM.. |
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07-31-2017, 07:31 PM | #10 |
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Location: Ocean Springs MS
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I considered something like a Segvator for use with our last car - I'm perfectly capable of welding up something similar on my own, but it's not 'right' for the way we use our Segs. An outside carrier would be perfect for short trips around town to and from home on a sunny day, but our trips are sometimes thousands of miles and several days long
We bought the Transit Connect mostly because I have zero interest in transporting the Segs out in the weather, even under a cover, nor would I feel safe parking overnight in a motel with them hanging off the back of the car - I'm sure that eventually we would come out in the morning and find them gone. Locked inside the car and covered up, nobody knows they're there The way we're doing it now is working perfectly, which is why I posted this thread. Load or unload in just 10 minutes or so and no chance of them getting wet or stolen - Since I first posed this a month or so ago, we're now up to more than 15,000 miles and 4 more cities over the past year and we're headed out in the morning on yet another adventure. A 5 day trip to Vicksburg MS where we'll be putting a hundred miles or more on the Segs. We don't use them very much here around home, but we use them a LOT exploring new places and towns, which is exactly why we bought them Don Last edited by Don M; 07-31-2017 at 07:36 PM.. |
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