Community Forums

mountainkowboy · 02-26-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by StevePav:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mountainkowboy: So we are looking for one of these to tow with the bike in it. They weigh under 3000#'s and with the right setup could do double duty as a hotrod too.

mountainkowboy,

Looks like an old flat glass Chevy van. Are you looking at one for a toad? Is there anywhere on the web to find their weight? I have a 79 Chevy Van I'd love to use as a toad, but my towing cap is 3500, and I'm told my van, with all its rear seats, is 4000. I am having trouble deciding if I want a bike or a 4-wheeled vehicle as a toad.

Thanks.

Steve </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, I dont know of any published weights on the "earlies", but I know there weight from friends that own them, and yes we are looking for one for a toad. The early vans up untill around 1970 did not have a frame, they were all basically unibody designs. Thats why there so light! The panel vans are the lightest because glass is very heavy as compaired to 16 gauge steel. The lightest being a "no-door" panel at around 2400 pounds.

StevePav · 02-27-2009, 03:41 AM

Thanks for the info Chuck and good luck in your search.

Here's a link to one in Georgia, a 1969, but personally, I think they're asking too much.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1015935247.html

Steve

mountainkowboy · 02-27-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by StevePav:
Thanks for the info Chuck and good luck in your search.

Here's a link to one in Georgia, a 1969, but personally, I think they're asking too much.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1015935247.html

Steve

Thats not a bad price, but a little high for the condition. We are looking for a first generation with the flat windshield, or maybe an Econoline Falcon.

tmar10 · 02-28-2009, 07:07 AM

mountaincowboy, I saw acouple of 64 Falcons on e-bay. I started driving with a 69 Dodge A100, 3-speed with the 318. It was an amazing vehicle for a its time. Loading can be fun, if you drive the bikes up the ramp.

motojavaphil · 02-28-2009, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mountainkowboy:
We're in on the MC and RV thing. We presently put the Road King in the back of the Ranger, but I dont like it in the elements (detailing it take to long)while traveling or at the CG. So we are looking for one of these to tow with the bike in it. They weigh under 3000#'s and with the right setup could do double duty as a hotrod too.

Hey Chuck,
We had an 07 E150 Cargo Van we used for about a year. It weighed about 4800lbs. It worked well enough although as a toad I did not care for it. It came to an end when I decided I wanted a 4X4 and bought a Hummer. It is a trailer with a motor. I was going to do the interior and make it a mini-camper to go into areas where our MoHo would not fit. You will need a driveline disconnect as well as the plate and brakebuddy. I still have it, having made it 4 down towable, but will sell it as we are going to use three receiver hitches with a rail for the bike in the rear and then hook the H3 up to that. The van was a good enough system for lighter MC's and the MoHo did get 1 mpg more when towing the van versus the H3. Guess the aerodynamics were better. If I were riding an XR650 a Ducati Monster or Hypermotard it would have been ideal. Bikes much heavier can be worked with but it can be tricky in the loading department.
I used to have a 65 Econoline back in my hippy dippy days. Sure is a big difference between that old van and the new one.

mountainkowboy · 02-28-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motojavaphil:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mountainkowboy:
We're in on the MC and RV thing. We presently put the Road King in the back of the Ranger, but I dont like it in the elements (detailing it take to long)while traveling or at the CG. So we are looking for one of these to tow with the bike in it. They weigh under 3000#'s and with the right setup could do double duty as a hotrod too.

Hey Chuck,
We had an 07 E150 Cargo Van we used for about a year. It weighed about 4800lbs. It worked well enough although as a toad I did not care for it. It came to an end when I decided I wanted a 4X4 and bought a Hummer. It is a trailer with a motor. I was going to do the interior and make it a mini-camper to go into areas where our MoHo would not fit. You will need a driveline disconnect as well as the plate and brakebuddy. I still have it, having made it 4 down towable, but will sell it as we are going to use three receiver hitches with a rail for the bike in the rear and then hook the H3 up to that. The van was a good enough system for lighter MC's and the MoHo did get 1 mpg more when towing the van versus the H3. Guess the aerodynamics were better. If I were riding an XR650 a Ducati Monster or Hypermotard it would have been ideal. Bikes much heavier can be worked with but it can be tricky in the loading department.
I used to have a 65 Econoline back in my hippy dippy days. Sure is a big difference between that old van and the new one. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The old flatface vans are usually manuals and can be towed 4-down, but that doesnt matter to me as I will convert it to 4x4. I can put the T-Case in neutral to tow and it will have a modern V8 or V6 with an overdrive automatic and all the modern trends.....A/C, PS, PW, PDL, and the such. It will be a resto-mod van when I'm done. I had a 64 no-door, back in the surfing days.

Gotta still be able to go to the hotrod shows!!

bingoldsby · 03-01-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doggy Daddy:
Brian, You said "I can only have one at a time." Do you mean that you can't tow while carrying a bike on the Elec lift at the same time?

Sorry I didn't get back here sooner to see the question. Yes, I cannot tow the car with the scooter lift on the back. I have a 1987 Holiday rambler MH with an add-on receiver hitch welded to the frame. It's not the world's strongest affair. And, the scooter lift/carrier is not made to be in between something - for a couple of reasons. If you want to see what it all looks like go to http://bingoldsby.com/scooter_carrier/

Brian

Doggy Daddy · 03-01-2009, 02:48 PM

I had a bike lift that used 3 receivers and a 4th receiver went below the(center) top and was welded to the frame. The vehicle tow bar with the hitch ball was about 5 ft long and slid into the female receiver (below the top receiver). When ever brakes were applied, the bar did not place forward/backward pressure on the bike rack. The lower bar with the ball did have a support clamp to the bike rack to hold it up, but there was no tongue weight on it because the vehicle was towed 4 wheel down.
Maybe that would work for you.

Roadking · 03-03-2009, 12:59 PM

I've had a lift on the back of my rig since it was new --- 6 years now. I full time and when parked the Harley is the first mode of transporation. We put about 18K miles on the Harley last year.

For a lift, I have a "Toy TRax" which was made in the late 90's for pickup trucks. I bought it on E-bay in 2003 and the company dissappeared about the same time. The lift is similar to the "rampage" lift which is a multi-slide type device. I designed the lower portion that attaches to the MH frame and had a professional welder fabricate it as I didn't trust my welding. Basically the lift is mounted via two receivers attached to the frame. There is a third, center, receiver, however, the center reciever does not carry any weight. The center receiver is a 3ft extension which is used to tow the jeep. This extension is bolted to the lift frame where it receives lateral strength, but as stated, it carries no weight. THe lift and lower frame weight about 250lbs and the Harley is about 750lbs.

The lift adds about 42 inches in length. I've never had any length issues. This big lever does add a lot of weigth on the rear axle and I'm at my rear axle limit of 20K lbs. when the bike is loaded I don't even know the bike is there. The lift is solid and with the rear camera I've never seen the bike move. I tie the bike down around the axles, so as to NOT compress the springs or suspension, or have the tie downs come loose due to suspension bounces.

I love the set up, it takes about 4 minutes to load/unload. A few more minutes to add the extra tie downs. When going down the road I don't even know it's back there.

The only real problem is if the roads are dirty the bike gets dirty. If it rains, or even mists, it really gets dirty. Anyway, it's a riding bike, not a show bike.

mountainkowboy · 03-03-2009, 05:40 PM

Well I found the "van" for my toad and will be picking it up in couple of weeks (have to make arangements). It isnt ready to be put in use, but I will be working furiously this summer to get it ready for our vacation in September. It may not be painted by then but will be mechanically sound. It is a 62 Ford Econoline "no door" which is the lightest panel van made.

tmar10 · 03-03-2009, 05:53 PM

Congrats on the new Harley toad. What type of loading system are you looking at for the bike?

bsavage · 03-03-2009, 08:10 PM

Congrats! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Brenda, of...

StevePav · 03-04-2009, 03:31 AM

Mountainkowboy,

Do you know anyplace online where I can find out the weight of possible toads like the Chevy flat glass or Econline vans? I've Googled to no avail.

Thanks

Steve

motojavaphil · 03-04-2009, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Roadking:
I've had a lift on the back of my rig since it was new --- 6 years now. I full time and when parked the Harley is the first mode of transporation. We put about 18K miles on the Harley last year.

For a lift, I have a "Toy TRax" which was made in the late 90's for pickup trucks. I bought it on E-bay in 2003 and the company dissappeared about the same time. The lift is similar to the "rampage" lift which is a multi-slide type device. I designed the lower portion that attaches to the MH frame and had a professional welder fabricate it as I didn't trust my welding. Basically the lift is mounted via two receivers attached to the frame. There is a third, center, receiver, however, the center reciever does not carry any weight. The center receiver is a 3ft extension which is used to tow the jeep. This extension is bolted to the lift frame where it receives lateral strength, but as stated, it carries no weight. THe lift and lower frame weight about 250lbs and the Harley is about 750lbs.

The lift adds about 42 inches in length. I've never had any length issues. This big lever does add a lot of weigth on the rear axle and I'm at my rear axle limit of 20K lbs. when the bike is loaded I don't even know the bike is there. The lift is solid and with the rear camera I've never seen the bike move. I tie the bike down around the axles, so as to NOT compress the springs or suspension, or have the tie downs come loose due to suspension bounces.

I love the set up, it takes about 4 minutes to load/unload. A few more minutes to add the extra tie downs. When going down the road I don't even know it's back there.

The only real problem is if the roads are dirty the bike gets dirty. If it rains, or even mists, it really gets dirty. Anyway, it's a riding bike, not a show bike.

Does this system work well for you? Got any pics? I want my Hummer and this looks really good. My Beemer weighs 522lbs wet so if your RK is being handled it should fit for me.
Phil