I havent tryed but depending on how you put them in or how big they are i bet you could get 3 or 4 in. Just dont get boxes for any thing bigger then a 19in frame.

 

Okay, thanks! I test drove an '05 Legacy GT Wagon and they let me try loading some boxes in it. I got 3 in which I thought was great. Unfortunately I don't really have a choice about what size frames they might be! If I need to pick up some large bikes, then I have to pick up some large bikes!!!

Are the seats as easy to fold flat in the Forester? I mean, is it just one button you hit and they fold down - no need to pop the the seat bottom or anything?

Thanks for the help!
-Chris

 

bike boxes are all 1 size, basically. even 24 inch giant boulders and such are in the same size box. generally speaking you shouldnt lay them on their sides as the bikes inside can easily get damaged that way. i dont remeber if you can get them upright but getting 4-5 on their sides wouldnt be unheard of empty.

 

I bet you could stand them up. IIRC it's 36" between the strut towers on my SF. That should be 4 to 5 bike boxes upright. And yes, all boxes are roughly the same size.

I think the flat to roof height of my SF is 36" also, which just happens to be the same as a bike box (again, if memory serves correctly).

You should just be able to fit them in, standing up.

 

You mean those carboard boxes you get when you buy a brand new bike ? If so then yes they fit. I bought a Marin back in Sept , picked it up at the UPS store and it fit down flat no problem with the seats down. I could see 2 being staked on top of one another but with the 3rd it may be high enough that its higher than the seat rest .

 

if you want i can go measure the bike box i have in my garage now.

 

No need!! I have about 50 at work!

Thanks for all the help guys. Certainly MOST boxes are the same size, but in BC we have some pretty big boxes for the huge bikes we sell (Kona Stinky, Rocky Flatline, etc., etc.).

This website says that the height of the rear hatch is 32". That will be a bit tough for some of the large boxes.

I'm a little concerned about two things. 1) The way the seat backs seem to go "up" towards the front - will that reduce the effective "height" of the cargo area towards the front seats? 2) How easily do the seats fold down? The Golf I have currently is a PITA to get the seats folded. First you have to pull the seat bottoms up and forward (which means you can't have anything in the rear foot wells), then you have to take the head rests out because they hit the back of the front seats and interfere with the folded forward seat bottoms. Then you have to pull up the lever to finally fold the seat backs forward. On the legacy I drove, you could literally fold the seat backs forward with one hand and you didn't have to touch the seat bottoms - very nice!

I wish one of the dealers here was closer to me and still had an '08 in stock so I could just try a box in it!!!!!

Thanks again for all the help!
-Chris

 

You have to take the headrests off to lay down the rear seatbacks.

 

I don't take the rear headrests off, just pull the stricker and tilt the backrests forward. My dog rides back there.

Stan