Delusional Dogs
For anyone crazy about dogs
(and some crazy dogs)
Hondenbus - Transporting dogs
This has been an ongoing issue since the early days of this work:
How to get the dogs into the park with ease and safety.
Although in the beginning I did let some dogs jump in my normal bike box it quickly became apparent that a more stable environment was needed.
As such my first bakfiets was purchased.
Hondenbus 1 - The Christiania
Although relatively unheard of outside of the Netherlands, the Bakfiets, is a commonplace item here. So shortly after I pivoted into helping dogs I bought a cheap secondhand 3 wheeler on marketplace for about €250. After a few months I painted it and applied a stencil (poorly - the words were never very clear), although the bright green was a nice sight to see each day. It was small and bumpy, but the dogs generally got along and with some foam the bottom it was acceptable around town. I did have some issues building the fence with about 5 different attempts made before finally buying a cage with the same dimensions and then pulling it apart to build a walk (with doors). Although with a slowly failing tyre that needed to be pumped up each day, the lack of an electric engine made this an exhausting vehicle to ride and I would often fall asleep within minutes of getting home. So after about 2 years of this I made one of the worst mistakes yet.
Hondenbus 2 - The Vogue Troy
Slightly larger than the Christiania the main focus with this version was the electric engine to help push us along. With business picking up you can see that the box was often very full both on love and dogs, some dogs made it full just alone. The vehicle was a terrible choice, poorly made and in need of constant repairs, towards the end it was popping 2-3 spokes every week. Whilst it was a needed stepping stone I do wish I had skipped this one.
Hondenbus 3 - FietsFabriek KDV-XL
By far and above the best of the Bakfiets I have had yet. This durable and comfortable bike had some teething issues, but once we were underway it was pleasant to ride and suffered no mechanical issues in the months I used it other than a flat tyre. This was such an odd situation, having spoken at length with the fabulous people at FietsFabriek about my ongoing repair issues with my Troy we had agreed on a very decent deal where I would pay a small monthly fee to test out the bike to make sure it would work out. This granted me a great deal of experience and confidence in the company and the product, but when time came for me to confirm an order they refused to sell me one. The company had changed hands a few months previously, which had lead to some tension as the new owners didn't know why I had one of their bikes. However the decision to refuse me the purchasing of a vehicle has always baffled me, so with little to no other choice on the market at that time. I went ahead with the Urban Arrow Tender.
Hondenbus 4 - Urban Arrow Tender 1500
This is the current in the line of Hondenbuses, the one that is most well known if only for it's impressive size. It's over 3m long and 1.2m wide, it is quite a ridiculous size for a bike, weighs a lot too. Here we have another electric engine, but a top of the line heavy duty one. With the base selected and secured with the help of Fietslease Holland, now I needed to find a way to carry the dogs. Luckily another canine carer in the area (Jerry) had already had a box made by Kelders Kooien, they agreed to help me build mine.