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Have you found the perfect treadmill for your home or gym? You’re ready to go and get it but you don’t own a truck and the only vehicle you have access to is a minivan.
Will the treadmill that you want to purchase even fit inside of your minivan?
If your treadmill folds flat then it will not have an issue fitting as the average length of the back of a minivan with all the seats down or removed is 96” and the average treadmill is only 81” long.
If your treadmill doesn’t fold up it will still fit however you will have to lay it down on its side with the top portion in between the two sliding doors. The top of a treadmill is typically 55” high which is too wide to lay on its side everywhere except in between the sliding doors where the minivan gets wider.
Are you a fitness lover or simply want to get in better shape?If so, there is no surprise that you do not want to miss your fitness workouts but sometimes leaving your house to head to the gym doesn’t fit your schedule.
That is when using a treadmill to workout comes in handy so being able to buy one and go and pick it up with yours or a friends minivan is a great option.
Borrowing a minivan is often a lot easier than trying to borrow a truck as people with trucks always seem to be busy or don’t want to take a chance on someone accidentally damaging their expensive vehicles. Minivans on the other hand are super common so even if you don’t have one you likely know someone who does and they probably won’t have an issue with loaning it to you.
In the rest of this article I will cover some important factors about treadmills that you need to know before you ever try and put one in your minivan. I will also mention some other tips that will help you when loading and unloading the treadmill.
Although a treadmill will fit inside of a minivan without too much difficulty (especially with minivans that have seats that fold down) unfortunately there is really no good way to transport a treadmill in a car. If you have a folding treadmill that would fit in the trunk but otherwise a traditional treadmill just won’t fit in that small of a vehicle.
What is the average weight of a treadmill?
When you take the case of a standard motorized treadmill, it will weigh around 200-220lbs according to HomeGymResource.com. When you take the case of high-end models meant for home use, they generally weigh around 300lbs and in the case of commercial motorized units, the weight will be more around 400lbs.
Mostly, manual treadmills will be lighter. However, this will differ based on the model and brand you already own or planning to buy. Some manual treadmills weigh more than their electrical counterparts but this is rare.
A minivan can easily carry approximately 1,200lbs so no matter if you are getting the manual, electric, or commercial style treadmill you will still not even be close to maxing out the weight that your minivan can carry.
What if you own a heavy motorized treadmill?
If you own a large motorized treadmill in your home gym, you should consider not just the weight of the unit, but also the capacity of your minivan. If you are good at mechanics, you can just dismantle the unit and can pack it in your minivan for transporting.
However, unless you have a giant one from many years ago that weighs 1,000lbs you shouldn’t have any issue with the minivan holding the weight. Your biggest issue will likely be getting enough help to load that giant treadmill into the minivan!
What is the weight-bearing capacity of your minivan?
In general, the weight-bearing capacity of a minivan will be somewhere around 1,000-1,200 pounds. But, you should reduce the carrying weight of the vehicle by the weight of the passengers that you are carrying.
For example, let’s assume that you have both a driver and passenger that weigh 250lbs each. That means that your minivan can handle a treadmill that weighs up to 700lbs if your minivan’s capacity is 1,200lbs.
So, undoubtedly, your minivan can carry a treadmill without any issues unless for some reason it is an extremely heavy model.
You can get complete details about the weight-bearing capacity of your minivan from your user manual. The same also applies to your treadmill as well as it should have weight information in its user manual.
Tips to carry a treadmill in your minivan
You have likely spent a lot on purchasing your minivan and a treadmill normally doesn’t come very cheap either. So, you will certainly not want to damage either of them.
So, some planning will go a long way in ensuring that you can safely transport your treadmill in your minivan.
You should first get the appropriate measurement of your treadmill in a folded position (assuming it folds) or in the upright position if it doesn’t. Once you fold it, you will have a single dimension that is longer than the length when it’s upright. On the other hand, when you consider a non-folded treadmill, you will have both height and length to manage.
If you could dismantle the treadmill it will make moving it easier although putting it back together once you get to your destination can be difficult.
If you are planning to carry the treadmill folded, you need not have to worry about whether it will fit out of your home. However, if it doesn’t fold then you should get the door measurements as well to make sure that it will fit through them all.
Also, you should have at least two people lift the treadmill even if it is in a folded position. This is the best way to make sure that no one accidentally gets injured.
Carry it safely and place it into your minivan. Make sure that it is sitting properly to ensure that nothing will happen even if the vehicle will have to make any sharp turns or quick stops. Once you reach the destination, carefully get the treadmill out and assemble it or set it back up where you will be using it at.
Why should you move your treadmill in a minivan?
Most people choose to move a treadmill or other furniture in the back of a minivan for one of two reasons.
The first reason is that they don’t have easy access to a truck. This is probably the most common reason that people use a minivan as they simply don’t want to have to wait to borrow one or don’t want to have to pay to rent one.
The second reason that someone might want to move a treadmill with a minivan is that they can do so even if the weather is bad. If it’s snowing or raining out you likely wouldn’t want to haul the treadmill in a truck as it would get wet and possibly become worthless. However since a minivan is enclosed you can easily transport the treadmill with no risk of it getting damaged by the bad weather.
Conclusion
Hopefully by now you have realized that you can actually easily carry a treadmill in a minivan. This will become even easier if you can fold down the top of the treadmill. If you have bought it new and have not assembled it yet, then moving it will not be a problem as it will be in the box folded without anything sticking up to make loading it in the minivan harder.