Hauled many machines in our Escape. Cut a tennis ball to cover the lower center rear door latch post.
6" cardboard tube to roll machines over and in to the cargo space.
Creighton--the tennis ball is a great idea. I hauled many machines in my wife's mini-van and my old Dodge Magnum and hope to haul a few more in my new Dodge Journey. I usually just pad the latch post with a stadium blanket folder over a few times. The Magnum and Journey have a storage area below the rear floor. I keep a 3 foot long piece of 2.5" PVC, work gloves and a couple stadium blankets in there so I am always ready to pick up a machine. That PVC makes single handed loading a breeze!
You do have to be careful though because of the no tie down issue. A few years back after I picked up my Canada Dry VMC 110 (sold to bonovox), some idiot cut me off and I had to jam on the brakes. That machine almost visited me in the front seat.
That would have been an interesting news story: Killed by a vintage vending machine while driving down the road! "We'll miss Tim", said members of the Michigan SMC Mafia, "but thank God that machine came through the wreck in one piece. Restored that thing is worth $5 maybe $6 thousand!"
You guys wouldn't do that would you?
Tim