How do my fellow car-free people deal with moving heavy/bulky items without a car? What are the pros and cons of solutions you've tried?
I'm currently car-free in a city with decent public transportation (by American standards), but things are still very, very car-centric, and also a bit hilly. Living alone, I can manage weekly groceries with a backpack + 1 bag on each shoulder, but it's definitely not my favorite activity. The decent grocery stores are 1 mile (1.6 km) away, so a bit of a hassle to just go to more frequently. For heavy, shelf stable items, I usually try to get those delivered, but it's not always an option.
I also have 2 cats, plus I foster cats/kittens, so I very frequently need to transport animals to/from the vet. I have a backpack style pet carrier, but that doesn't cut it when I have to transport multiple adult cats or a mom + kittens.
I would love to hear other people's experiences, and the pros & cons of various options that you've tried. Some more detailed questions on my mind:
- Do you prefer something you can push or something you can pull?
- How annoying is it to transport when empty?
- How does it hold up to less than ideal weather?
- How does it handle stairs or curbs without a ramp?
- How does it handle poorly maintained sidewalks or unpaved surfaces?
- Is it well made/durable, or something that will probably break in a year?
- If it has pockets or segregated compartments, have those been handy or just annoying?
- Are there any uses that it's not a good fit for?
Edit: any non-bike options? I don't have the space to securely store a bike in my unit, and my building doesn't offer any secure bike storage. Due to all of the hills, I would have to get an electric bike, and was hoping to find some options in the range of $50-$200, maaaaybe $500. For example, I've been looking at collapsible carts/wagons, and pet strollers.
I have a bicycle crate in my rear rack (40L from memory). I can just throw my backpack and/or shopping in there and be on my way. No issues transporting when empty. I avoid riding in the rain but I guess a waterproof bag would help for that. It's durable, the main concern is the rear rack. I had to replace the cheaper rack that I bought last year after the welding snapped in a few places over time (I had it held together with duct tape for a while). My new rack should be much more sturdy this time around.
I have access to borrow a car which I do every few weeks so I don't need to over engineer my bike setup too much.