While purchasing a treadmill is an arduous task in itself, even transporting it from the place of purchase to your home is nothing less than that. If you do not own a truck, it might need a little planning to safely get your dream treadmill home.
Most treadmills fit into a minivan and do not require a truck always. Fortunately, if you own or have access to a minivan, check out the below tips. Check out the tips below destination.
Can your minivan accommodate your new treadmill for transport?
If the treadmill you purchase or are about to purchase folds flat, then you can comfortably fit in the treadmill. The average length of the treadmill is 81 inches, whereas the back of the minivan with seats adjusted is 96 inches allowing it to fit in easily.
If your treadmill does not fold, you can still fit it, but you need to lay down on its side so that the top part of the treadmill is placed between the two sliding doors. Since the top of a treadmill has an average height of 55 inches, only the place between the sliding doors is ideal for laying it on its side.
If you are a fitness enthusiast and love to work out consistently, having exercise equipment at home allows you to work out without interruption to your fitness goals. When your home gym has a treadmill, you need not wait for your turn or travel long distances to work out.
You can put the saved time to better use when the equipment is within a few minutes of reach. Finally, you did buy the treadmill and are checking for options to bring it home, then your minivan can come in handy.
You can use your minivan or borrow one from a friend and go pick it up. A truck is handier than a minivan, but considering the options, minivan owners are more likely to lend you one than truck owners for various reasons.
Trucks are expensive vehicles, and there are chances of accidental damage, and the owners are not ready to take a chance, or simply the trucks are busy. Since most people own minivans, it should not be an issue for you to borrow one.
Before you try this practice, let me shed some light on few things you should know to implement it hassle-free. After reading those tips, you will learn how to adjust the treadmill into the car, its loading and unloading tips, and what to do and what not to do during this process.
The average weight of a treadmill
A standard motorized treadmill which most home users prefer, weighs around 200 to 220 lbs. On the other hand, few users purchase high-end models or commercial motorized units made for home use, weighing around 300 lbs to 400 lbs. respectively.
The remaining manual treadmill’s part is lighter than the models mentioned above and rarely do you find one that exceeds those weights. Though the weight of manual treadmills varies from brand to brand, they are much easier to handle than their electrical counterparts.
Since the minivan’s capacity is 1200 lbs., you can carry the treadmills of manual type, electrical or commercial style, and still, you do not reach the maximum capacity of the minivan. So, you can safely carry a treadmill on the minivan without worrying about its weight overloading the vehicle.
Weight of a heavy motorized treadmill
Considering that the weight of even a giant treadmill is about 1000 lbs. It still falls within the limit of your minivan’s capacity. There will be no issue regarding weight-bearing ability. However, a treadmill of that heavyweight is a rarity these days, and if you have one from the olden days, your minivan still supports it.
The major issue here would be its hefty size and loading and unloading it to and from the minivan. The size issue can be easily addressed if you can dismantle it, but good luck with that weight and handling loading it into the minivan.
The weight-bearing capacity of your minivan
As already mentioned, the weight-bearing capacity of a minivan is around 1000 to 1200 pounds. So, it would help if you calculated the total weight by adding the passenger’s weight and the machines to check the total weight you are putting on your minivan.
For instance, a passenger and driver are traveling in that minivan, and each of them weighs about 250 lbs. Meaning you have already consumed 500 lbs. of weight capacity. When you subtract that from the 1200 lbs, you are left with 700 lbs, which is ample for your purpose.
Unless it is the gigantic model we discussed above, you should be on the safe side of carrying your treadmill home without any issues. Check the user manual of your minivan to determine its exact weight-bearing capacity, and do the same with the treadmill to know what you’re about to deal with.
Tips to carry a treadmill in your minivan
Both treadmills and minivans are costly investments, and damaging any one of them or both of them can be financially heavy on your pocket. You need to ensure that you’re taking all safety measures in the process of transporting your treadmill in your minivan to avoid any mishaps.
A little planning ahead can go a long way in eliminating any such issues that can damage the machine or the vehicle. The initial step is to get the right measurements of the treadmill in its folded position, and if it can’t, then in its upright position. It would help if you handled a foldable model differently than a non-foldable model as it has two dimensions to take care of, i.e., the height and the length.
On the other hand, if your treadmill is dismantlable, moving it will be easier, but you might face difficulty putting it back together when you are home unless you are adept at it. A foldable model can fit your door without any issues when you are home, as it will be not so wide on at least one side.
However, a non-foldable model’s width and height should fit through the door. Otherwise, you cannot take it into your home. Also, you need a helping hand to carry the treadmill, even if it is a foldable one, to save your treadmill from denting as well as your back from injury.
Carry it with care and caution into your minivan and make it sit properly, ensuring that it does not move even if you have to take sharp turns or sudden stops. Once you get to the destination, take the help of at least another person and carried safely into the home to the place where you plan to set it up.
Reasons to move your treadmill in a Minivan
The major reasons why people choose to move their furniture or treadmill in the back of their minivan are as follows:
- Many of them do not have easy access to a truck but do have a minivan, meaning they need not borrow or pay rent to use one.
- Owners of the minivan need not wait to transport their goods and can do it at their convenience.
- The minivan is enclosed and protects the equipment from harsh weather conditions, which is not the case with the truck.
Summary
Carrying a treadmill in a minivan is easier than you have thought, and all you need is a pair of helping hands and a bit of prior planning. A disassembled treadmill is the easiest to carry, followed by a foldable model and, finally, the non-foldable one.
Good luck with your endeavor and fitness journey that you are about to begin in your home gym once your treadmill is set up!