My Dad bought a bread truck last fall for some reason. As it happens, this truck will make a great way for him to get his motorcycles around for long-distance hauls where he doesn't want to ride. Cool beans.
It turns out that this thing is 81 inches wide at its narrowest which means it's 16 inches wider than my Miata. It also has a gross weight that allows a few hundred pounds over my Miata and gear to reside inside, AND there is plenty of room to center the car over the rear axle with room to spare!
So, what I would like to do is use this truck to haul my Miata around to track days. Securing eye hooks to the floor to secure the car during transport is pretty simple. The real issue is how I get the car over the rectangle wheel wells. Has anybody here tried using an enclosed truck to haul a race car? How did you do it? Do you have pictures or experience to share? Is this technically legal?
If you put a BMW Z3 Breadvan into the Breadvan, then put a shifter cart into the back of the BMW, it would be an automotive Turducken. That is all I have.
JFX001
UltraDork
7/22/14 4:22 p.m.
I sold a number of the ex-FedEx vans to racers, mainly bikes though. If you can ramp it up to the back of the wheel wells and level it off, that might work. Or maybe a rail gate for the back.
The only drawback I can see is possibly the gearing.
JFX001 wrote:
I sold a number of the ex-FedEx vans to racers, mainly bikes though. If you can ramp it up to the back of the wheel wells and level it off, that might work. Or maybe a rail gate for the back.
The only drawback I can see is possibly the gearing.
I just wonder if the wheel well housings (steel) are strong enough to support the weight of the car. I don't know how to find out. If they are strong, then it should be really easy to just buy some ramps that ride up onto the wheel wells. I've been looking on the internet for some pictures for ideas and I've got nothing.
I think you would need to have elevated ramps to get the car higher than the wheel wells. Just getting over them would mean the rockers would be resting on top of the wheel wells and obviously that won't work. Not enough room between the wheel wells huh?
JFX001
UltraDork
7/22/14 4:38 p.m.
Some of the FedEx vans had long aluminum shelves that were hinged, and had legs that folded out on the bottom. If you could make something like that and didn't rest right on the wheel wells, that might work. Sort of like two shelves that folded down from the side just wide enough for the tires, about 20"-24" above the floor (just above the wheel wells),then you could still tie the Miata down to the floor.
Go over? How about drive through... How much of the wheel wells can you trim away for ramps and still allow the doors on the Miata to open? And allow the suspension on the truck to still work...
The car, unfortunately, won't fit between the wheel wells. But the shelf idea sounds pretty awesome. I am sure this whole thing is pretty straight-forward for somebody with fabrication skills. Maybe I can talk to a fabricator...
jstand
Reader
7/22/14 5:02 p.m.
I would look at making runners that angle up to the wheel well, and then level with the top of the wheel wells going forward, and build in drop pockets for the tires.
That would solve the problem of clearing the wheel wells and make it easy to locate the car in the same spot every time.
Don49
HalfDork
7/22/14 8:05 p.m.
I have had one to carry my racecar. As was stated, ramps to the level of the wheel wells, then continuing forward as far as you need to get the car completely in. It worked very well and carried the car for many thousands of miles. I also put in a sleeping platform right behind the cab portion.
I think you may be over thinking this. How wide are the fenders, or more correctly how far from the walls to what would be the inside of the tires? My rough guess is about two 2x8s per side. How tall are the fenders? My guess is about a 2x12 on its side.
So, one 12' 2x12 will give you a brace on either side of the fender plus a couple in front. Four 2x8s the length from the back of the fender to the front of the car, plus four more as ramps from the back of them down to the floor inside the rear doors.
Once you figure out where the car will ride screw down a board to act as a stop, and four more outside each tire to keep the car centered, then beef up the bracing under where the wheels are. Tie down anchors front and rear to the floor of the truck will be the easiest you ever had to hook up.
Bet the whole works takes an hour to install.
SVreX
MegaDork
7/23/14 8:48 a.m.
confuZion3 wrote:
Securing eye hooks to the floor to secure the car during transport is pretty simple.
Don't underestimate this.
They are not "Eye Hooks". They are D-Rings.
And they should not be screwed to the floor. They should be secured to the frame, or at least bolted to the floor with reinforcing plates on the backside.
Ian F
UltimaDork
7/23/14 9:05 a.m.
If you dig through the SCCAforums classifides, there was a box van set up to do what you're describing for sale about 2 years ago. My ex- and I drooled over that. It was cheap too - about $10K - and the owner said it was large enough inside to haul his E39 M5. It was heaviliy modified for the task with a drop tail so the deck behind the wheels was angled towards the ground for a better approach angle for loading.
I've heard hauling a car without a separation between the cargo and passenger areas is not legal, but I've never been able to find documented confirmation.
Ramps don't need to be complicated or expensive.
A pair of 2x8 or 2x10 or 2x12 wood planks works very well.
Just rest them on the wheelhouses, and frame the ends to the floor with 2x4 or 4x4.
SVreX
MegaDork
7/23/14 10:23 a.m.
Ian F wrote:
I've heard hauling a car without a separation between the cargo and passenger areas is not legal, but I've never been able to find documented confirmation.
Pretty sure that is true.
The issue is that you are hauling HazMats. Fumes, fuel, oil, solvents, pressurized vessels, explosives, etc. It would be bad for the driver to be overcome by fumes.
The grey area is probably the registration. If the vehicle is commercially registered, hauling HazMats without proper CDL, etc. is a big no-no. If it is registered personally, and the use is hobby use, it may not be an issue.
I'll let someone else with more knowledge than me chime in.
Assuming it is hobby usage and legal, there are simple things you could do to improve the safety- for example have a door with weatherstripping, and good ventilation.
My dad bought an old breadvan and converted it to a camper back in the early eighties. Had a 454 with a four speed in it.
On topic I would plan on isolating the occupants from the car in some way.
Can you use a pair of steel car ramps so that they allow you to get upon top of the wheel wells? Then in the front of them, a stack of (guessing here) of 6-foot 2x12's on both sides level with top of wheel wells for the car to sit on. Side benefit is the extra room underneath for securing it to the floor.
History: http://www.sccaforums.com/forums/aft/441384
http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/caseystallings/library/?sort=3&page=1
In reply to amg_rx7:
That's very nicely executed.
SVreX
MegaDork
7/23/14 12:45 p.m.
In reply to amg_rx7:
That is well done. I own a similar van (with tool boxes down both sides).
That's not what I think of when someone says "bread van".
That's what I would call a box truck, or cutaway. When I think of bread van, I think stepvan (consider a SWAT, or UPS truck).
The cutaway has a better cab, with more creature comforts. Drives like a van. Usually has a wood floor.
The stepvan has a sparse cab, and drives like a truck. Probably has much lower gearing. Often fully aluminum, including the floor.
Not a major difference, as far as the issue of the ramps and/or putting a car in the passenger compartment.
I think that ramp solution is a very good one.
^Agreed. Someone had mentioned "the thread on the sccaforums" so I got curious and went looking for it. Couldn't find anything on a step van conversion anywhere though... They are indeed used for more than just bread.
Ian F
UltimaDork
7/23/14 2:39 p.m.
In reply to amg_rx7:
Well, I said it was a box van. But yes - that's the hauler I was thinking of.
In reply to Ian F:
step van; box van; bread van...
tomato; tomaatoe; toematoe...
I didn't know the distinction between any of them until this thread.