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Hauling a Harley in the baggage bay in Prevost H3?
Howdy
there are some people out there loading their Harleys into the baggage bay of a Prevost H3, which provides ample room there. My question is now, can anyone tell the exact height the motorcycle may have, which Harley model could fit in this way? and how do they load it into there? Any hints welcome, or maybe why you shouldnt think about it?
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12 Replies
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A very large negative is the weight. I would not do it.
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thanks for your answer
especially the front axle weight might be a concern, so my guess
My thoughts were about a conversion without slide-outs maybe, that could be easier then
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You could very well still run into a weight issue on the front depending on which year you picked and what the axle and tires are rated for. It also depends on how the converter manages the weight distribution during construction and what equipment they install. Things like the number of batteries and inverters, water capacity etc.
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Haul them in a trailer, that’s what I do.
I have known people to haul them in Bay 1. Featherlite built some coaches with that feature. Can’t say whether they are over axle weight or not. But, I would guess they are with slides., and especially if they have Granite floors up front.
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thanks for the answers
Trailer seems to be a better option to transport big bikes of course
it was quite surprising to me, that you can ‘feel’ even a light trailer behind a coach, was quite bumpy behind a Setra, no idea if that would be different with Prevost, depends on the trailer as well i think. Thats why im so intrigued by the idea putting it in the bay
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Before you make a decision get your axle weights as well as the motorcycle weight. As close to the steer axle as the front bay is, the almost total weight of the bike will end up transferred to the steer axle.
It was common to carry a motorcycle in the first by of the H3 at one time, but that was before slides and some other features that added a lot of weight. The downside to a trailer is most RV parks aren’t user friendly if you have a trailer. Some won’t even allow them, others require the trailer parked in a designated area. If you can use the front bay then you can bring the bike and still tow a vehicle 4 wheels down.
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You won’t feel that trailer behind the bus, no way unless you’re talking about a Stacker.
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thanks for the answer, Jon and Di
Maybe a little more detail might help here, its going to be a office/travel conversion, not meant to be used for camping and living in it. A lav, a shower, a fridge, coffee-maker,closet,fold-out couch and a office desk and maybe a nice lounge in the back would do it. Doesn’t need huge batteries, big tanks, big galley nor slide-outs or lots of bling-bling, so weight issue should be manageable.
And it has to have a wheelchair lift.
First idea was a Prevost XL or MCI, maybe a Wanderlodge, but doing a research since weeks i came across the H3 and its capability to carry full size motorcycles. Plus the H3 should be the quietest ride (not sure if thats true) of the equation here, nice to have as well.
Only problem i couldn’t find the usable height of the baggage bay, only a rough guess from me is: floor hight is 63 in, step hight is 14 in, makes 49 in, minus thickness of the floor and some space for wires and lines installed there.
A new Harley is due anyway, wouldn’t like to buy the wrong one. On a trailer that’s no issue, in the H3 a Street Glide with fairing wouldnt fit i think, would like to know the exact numbers what is possible or not.
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If you are starting from a shell, or are gutting a coach and adding a new interior and systems weight and its distribution should be easily managed. Our responses were all likely in the context of a completed motor home conversion. The comments are still valid however if that is the starting point and only the interior gets a little bit of changes and the rest of the coach and its systems is intact.
The bay dimensions are going to be based on the age of the shell. Later model coaches with slides have reinforcing structures that impact the bay dimensions. I don’t know if non-slide shells have impediments in the bay. If you are starting with an existing coach the converter may have done things that also have an impact on bay dimensions or access. Some conversions have systems components mounted from the bay ceilings.
Generally speaking however the first hurdle to address is still the front axle weight.
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thanks for the answer , Tom&Nancy
was looking for trailers as well, found some nice featherlite trailers or ATC, when 7.5 wide it could be towed behind a pick-up as well, something to think about as well, that would be a possible new thread then, if it turns out a trailer should be the way to go
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One thing to consider. A while back we had discussions on the forum prompted by one of our members who was stopped by a state police because they thought he was a commercial operation, but had private tags. He was towing a horse trailer.
As it turns out if we are using our coaches for personal use, and not for business purposes the commercial enforcement guys have no interest in us. But if there is any indication we are using our coaches for business purposes there is a serious change in their posture, and our requirements ramp up considerably. With a lot of entertainers now pulling small trailers to handle equipment that cannot fit in the bay, you might look like a commercial vehicle. If they know your interior is not that of a motor home but is set up as you describe you become a commercial operation subject to all the the applicable registrations.
Maybe that is OK, and maybe you are planning to have a CDL with a current medical, you are planning to register the coach as a commercial vehicle subject to the required inspections and regulations. But if not, at least recognize your entire rig tends to convey to the cops its purpose. They are very smart about recognizing the differences between mom and pop and their motorhome compared to an entertainer coach or another commercial use of a coach. The clues are everywhere from the awnings to the AC systems on the roof to the paint schemes, to the markings on the trailer. They even interpret a race hobbyist with a car trailer loaded with decals as a commercial operation if the races have any kind of purse, which is income, and therefore for profit.
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thanks again Jon and Di, the community here is really awesome
Thats a very good point to consider, haven’t thought about that yet, it’s all in the very beginning here to me
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