Will this idea I have work?

[GypsyRR]

I’m still trying to decide between buying a trailer or using a truck bed to transport my bike. Since I decided to sell my ’03 Yamaha FZ1 and slapped the For Sale sign on it today (if interested, send PM or email), using a truck bed is a viable option since I will only need to transport the RR. I will probably be loading and unloading by myself, so I was wondering if this idea I have would work.

Any changes or suggestions or ‘re-working’ of my idea to make it work OR work better would be appreciated.

If I have a truck like this:
(I could either remove the tool box, or leave the tailgate down if I need more length in the truck bed.)



Could I attach one of these to that metal thing behind the cab window?



And then use the winch to pull this:



Up one of these or something similar:



And secure it in a chock like this



WOULD IT WORK? Would I be able to load/unload my bike by myself (female lightweight)?

Suggestions on ramps, winches, chocks, tie downs are appreciated.

Thanks.

[Ves]

Do both your feet touch the ground when you're sitting on the bike? Or are you going to walk it up the ramp and support it from the side? Either way you'll need a winch with a remote control with a really long wire on it. You have to think about how you are going to work the remote control if you're holding the bike up at the same time? I'm sure it could be done.

If you have a nice wide, long, ramp, you should be able to just ride it up with no problem. But I would try it a few times with friends helping so that you know you can do it.

I ride my bike up on a tilted trailer on a regular basis.

When ever I see people load a bike on a truck bed like that they usually have one of those narrow ramps and two or three people to get it up there.

[NHighCotton]

That would work but, I wouldn't want to load my bike in the back of a truck, by myself, with or without a winch.

I'd go for a bike trailer, low to the ground, easy to work around and easy to unload.


my 2 cents.

[socalrob]

A couple of thoughts.

If you attach the winch up high you may need to have some braces bolted on the window "guard" rack or whatever its called so that it does not fold over, not sure how strong it is.

Otherwise, looks pretty doable to me. Walk up the ramp beside the bike with a long wire for the remote, held in one hand as you balance the bike. I might be more worried about backing it down, but looks ok to me.

I put dirt bikes on a trailer, & the hardest part is pushing them up a narrow rail, not balancing them. Just invest in a long wide ramp, like used for ATV's.

Watch the 4x4 trucks or 3/4 ton, as they have higher beds.

Now what would be fun is if you could figure out how to winch the bike in backwards, so you could ride it out. Would look very flashy at the bike gathering.

One good thing about your winch idea is that if you had even one other person, no matter how lightweight or inexperienced, it would be very easy & unlikely to have a disaster. I can't recall ever being around others unloading or unloading myself & not seeing help offered.

I could see riding it up & down a nice wide ramp, but do it enough times the odds may catch up with you. I've heard some pretty funny stories about guys dropping new bikes off of 2x6's. Would not be pretty.

I'm surprised somebody does not make a dolly the bike would be tied down to that would winch into a truck. Seems doable.

[Boxer]

Forget about the winch. That's an accident waiting to happen.

I take my bike in the back of my small Toyota Tacoma and it fits okay with the tailgate down, without one of those wheel chocks. I tie it from each side to the telelever with ratcheting straps, then just lightly tie off the rear wheel to keep the rear end from bouncing around.

With a truck the size of the one in your picture it should be easy. The wide ramp you will need, so you can place both feet on the ramp as you slowly ride it up onto the truck under its own power. The clutch will have to be feathered as you go up, but its a strong clutch and this bit of stress won't matter that much.

Try to back up to an incline so you decrease the ramp angle as much as possible for the loading and unloading procedure.

I've done it alone on mine, and I only have two 2x10 boards. One for the tires and one for my left foot. But You will need the wide ramp!

[NoRRmad]

I agree with Boxer about the winch; controlling it and the bike at the same time would be a problem. Its only advantage is that it (might) be nice and slow. If you can find a ramp that's solid and wide enough to get your feet down, I'd just ride it up, back it down with the engine off and in neutral, backing up against the front brake. Make sure the ramp's long enough so that you don't bottom out as you go over the edge of the truck bed. That holder for the front wheel looks like it would help secure the bike, but it'll require you to be pretty precise to hit it just right. Movable wheel chocks might be enough. You'll need tie-down points installed, and good quality rachet straps. I'd try hard to arrange things so you can raise the tailgate once the bike is secure. Remember, you'll have to stow the ramp somewhere.

[GypsyRR]

This is all beginning to sound too difficult again. Trying to learn to pull/back/handle a trailer doesn't sound much easier either.

Backing the bike down the ramp is what worries me the most. This is a 4X4 F350 - it's a tall truck. I know I couldn't push the bike up the ramp or control it going down. And I've heard horror stories about trying to ride the bike up/down the ramp. Someone ought to invent something that you could put your bike on once you got it in the truck so that after you rode it up the ramp, you could spin it 180 degrees and be ready to ride it down the ramp to offload.

The reason I thought a winch would help is because I can't flat foot the bike and so I thought a winch would power it up and control it down while I walked alongside the bike controlling it that way. But, I've never seen it done, so I didn't know if it was a workable idea. In fact, I don't know a thing about winches. However, I have met a couple of wenches before

Thanks. Back to thinking through options to move this bike.

[jb44]

I don't know what your budget is but these guys, and one or two others like them, are at Daytona Bike Week every year.

http://www.sportslift.com/cycletoylift.html

I've never put a bike in a pickup bed, but to me it's a whole lot scarier than putting one on a low trailer.

jb

[socalrob]

This is a 4X4 F350 - it's a tall truck

You think? That is a tall truck, & one I'm guessing is not going to get more than 11mpg highway. Something to think about with todays gas prices.

JB's link sounds like the deal. Looks fast & easy & safe. The first one (more expensive) looks better for tall trucks in that the bike won't have clearance issues at the high point.

Of course if you are only taking one bike, you could ride it. Between cost of gas & ramps maybe just take an extra day or 2 off work.

[JCsman]

I agree the link JB gave has a pretty trick device if budget isn't a problem. Me, I'm cheap, just ask my kids! So my "solutions" tend to be cheap as well (see below).

Also, I've never known anyone with an F-350 4x4 where it wasn't used (heavily) as a work truck. I suppose there's SOMEBODY out there with a rig like that for just cruisin' but that's one of the few types of insanity I've never encountered.

That loading device looks like a semi-permanent deal to me. At the very least it doesn't look like something you'd want to hoist in and out for every bike hauling trip!

So, unless the bed of your truck isn't used much, I can't see using that device. I've done the two-ramp shuffle as well. But I have a 1/2 ton and a handy spot where I don't have a tall climb. Still a bit dicey, and I'm a pretty big boy. With a ramp wide enough (or three ramps) for two feet down it would be a ton easier/less unnerving.

With that in mind, Gypsy, how about making a couple of raised platforms (say wood with a non-skid paper on top) to place on top of the outer part of your wide ramp. If you're just an inch or so from feet down a single 2x6 (or 8") would do. If 3 inches, a couple screwed together would do the trick. If they could be secured to the ramp so they couldn't move, you'd have the two feet down capability of a wide ramp.

Looks like countersunk bolts/washers and washers/wing nuts on the bottom might work. You'd need four pieces since your ramps have a "bend", but you can miter the edge so you have a pretty good joint if that's even necessary. As wide as the ramp in your picture looks you'd still have the center, wide path for the bike tires so you could maneuver a bit.

It would result in having to haul four 2x6's extra. But I suspect that Ford could handle the extra load!)

If somebody knows why this idea is dangerous, please pass that on, I'd hate for Gypsy to by trapped under her bike cursing me.

Good luck, Gypsy. If you come up with a solution, let us know.

[jb44]

Gypsy,

IMO, you're making this way too complicated.

If you have use of the truck, just rent a small Uhaul and hook it to the hitch on the truck.

Or:

With only the one bike, put a Class II hitch on your Element, get a $500 trailer from Home Depot, Lowes, or Tractor Supply, and you're ready to go.

...or as Rob said, with just the one bike, ride it.

jb

[Dr. Strangelove]

Got to agree with the keep it simple crowd. Trailering is easier than getting 500# of metal edges up and down a ramp. Probably safer, too.

Saw a friend try to ride his Sportster up a ramp into the bed of his truck. The ramp flexed/bent and he started going over. It took 5 guys to keep him and the bike upright. Remember, you have to come down backwards.

Make sure all insurance is up to date


John

[GypsyRR]

\Also, I've never known anyone with an F-350 4x4 where it wasn't used (heavily) as a work truck. I suppose there's SOMEBODY out there with a rig like that for just cruisin' but that's one of the few types of insanity I've never encountered.

This is Texas. This is outside-the-city-limits, Texas. They DO cruise around in trucks like that.

The reason I started thinking about using the truck instead of a trailer was because of the warnings I got about the risk involved in towing and because I've never towed anything.

But JB, you were right when you said that I am making this way too complicated. A wise statement I needed to hear. Thanks. When/If I need to get this bike from one place to another, I will know what to do and how to do it and it will get done. It always works out that way. I just forget sometimes and worry, so thanks for the reminder.

[jb44]

"The reason I started thinking about using the truck instead of a trailer was because of the warnings I got about the risk involved in towing and because I've never towed anything.

Towing a small trailer is no big deal. My wife has towed the trailer I posted the pic of many times from FL to NC, and has also towed a small Uhaul, both with her Toyota Highlander.

If you use that truck, your biggest problem will be remembering that the trailer is back there.

jb

[Just-Beeming]

Gypsy

If I can pull a trailer...you can pull a trailer. It took me about 30 minutes to get it down.
Go to a parking lot and practice turns, backing etc....sort of like when you learned to ride.
If you can figure out the feel and physics of riding...you can pull a trailer.
Easy Cheesy.

Until I got my R, my husband used to have me haul a big travel trailer and he would take his bike...duh...that was dumb. I Sold the trailer, bought a bike of my own now he hauls the tent.

Don't let the trailer intimidate you. You know that you are a totaly capable person.

Carol

[R4R&R]

In the long run, the trailer will be the best option (IMO). They aren't hard to get the hang of, and only there when you need them. Sure, they're dangerous, if not maintained and loaded/driven safely. Consider the MPG difference between the Element and the F350, on top of the up front cost of a new truck. Then there's the driveability - I can assure you that the Element is MUCH easier to park, and probably has a much better ride.

Good luck in your decision and let us know what happens.

[Just-Beeming]

I've never put a bike in a pickup bed, but to me it's a whole lot scarier than putting one on a low trailer.

jb

And scarey things do happen:

My friend Tom almost totaled his CBR at Track day....unloading it out of a pickup bed.

He lost control of it and it is a fairly light bike.

[yjleesvrr]

That's the problem with newer trucks. Their beds are too high. And nowadays, the 4x2s have the same bed height as the 4x4s. My '94 Toyota 4x2 pickup bed on the other hand is low - making loading very easy.

I plan to buy a new pickup in early '08, and it will most likely be either the new Tundra or Silverado. As such, I'm planning to buy a trailer to haul my bikes when hauling is necessary. I would never want to attempt loading my Roadster or Dyna on the bed of these full-size pickups.

[NHighCotton]

FYI - posted on IBMWR,

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Telephone 615-812-5515[/b]