Loading a motorcycle in a Pickup

[clyon51]

I'm 63 and still doing it. If there becomes a time I can't, I'll be on a trike or back in a cage

[DSL417]

Originally Posted by bgholson

by the way, I now have the Big Boy ramp you are looking at. Works well and is light weight. Fits in the bed of the truck after you load the bike.

X2. I have the Big Boy Ramp and an 8 ft bed. the Harley fits with 1/2 inch to spare.

That said, backing it off is a little scary. You MUST tie in the ramps, so they don't slide, going in or coming out. I'd venture a guess that 98% of the bikes dropped loading into a pickup are because the ramps weren't tied in. The other 2% are probably folks without a good sense of balance when stressed (I approach that sometimes), and lose their nerve at the wrong time..halfway in or out....disaster.

It does work for us; however, if it wasn't so expensive, I'd have the mechanical lift, either in the truck or on the back of the coach.

[Triker56]

The safest way is to get them up there is quickly with plenty of centralfugal force.

Are you saying 20 MPH or more as quickly.
Check that brakes are working good before attempt.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Coma

I am considering the loading options to carry a motorcycle in the back of my towed pickup. There are loader options or ramp options. The loaders are easy but more money. The only ramps I would consider are 36-40". Large enough so you wouldn't fall off. Any thoughts or experience would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Coma,
Well, you've been given an array of answers. As usual, there's lots of thoughts and ideas. If anyone wants to handle the weight, especially of a larger, say, 600-900 lb. bike by riding and balancing it up a ramp and then, do the same "BACKWARDS" down the ramp, well, that's most certainly up to them. It's their bikes and their hospital bills if something goes south (no pun intended).

Yes, I did it too back a few dozen years ago with smaller, lighter dirt/combo bikes but, we have a 900 lb. GL 1800 Goldwing and no one could pay me enough to handle that thing up and down a ramp now. So, with that said, the "Rampage" is your best bet. The break over angle doesn't even come into play. It's all taken care of by the automatic system.

Now, I realize the budget thing here. The Rampage is around $2600 to $3000 brand new. But, we scoured the C/L for used ones and found plenty of them for way less than half. We had to travel to pick ours up but, it was well worth it. It was only a year old and had been used twice.

I did the install myself and, I designed and built a cart for the removal of it when the ramp is not needed in between trips. I have the bolts out in about 1-2 minutes and then, grab one end and pull it out about half way and lift just a bit. The wife rolls the cart in and under it and, I lay the ramp on it and, the whole thing is off and in storage in about 3 minutes. It's the same exact time frame when re-installing it.

It's up to you. Drive up ramps are definitely cheaper but, I don't even come close to damaging a $22,000.00 bike or, this worn out old body of mine. Good luck.
Scott

[Redman07]

Coma, in your opening post you asked for 'thoughts and experience'. One more item to consider is length of truck bed verses length of bike. If you have an 8' bed or a short wheelbase bike this is a non-issue. If you have a shorter bed that is common with extended cab trucks, then where does the rear wheel of the bike sit when loaded? Now for a lighter bike this will probably not be much of an issue either. But if you start getting into the larger, heavier bikes it leads one to wonder what stress is being placed on the tailgate. I am not saying the tailgate cannot support the load, just what is the long term (trip) impacts? (Now for the sales pitch ). I have the 6.5' bed and the rear wheel of the Royal Star sets over the tailgate when lodaed, but with the Rampage it does not sit on the tailgate. Just something else to think of.

No, I am not a Rampage saleperson, just a happy owner.

[bgholson]

I have a short bed truck and the Harley back tire just fits on the bed.........but it fits. I take the tailgate off while transporting cause I don't like the idea of the ramps being on the tailgate and supporting the bike weight and mine while loading and unloading. Might be OK but just never tried it.

[papaw.1]

Hi All,
Just my input.I have a Harley Ultra which by its self weighs about 900lbs and I have a voyager trike kit that weighs about 300lbs.I have a set of ramps that locks together which is about 42".They are rated for 1500lbs.Before I put on the trike kit I would ride the bike up the ramps without a problem.Good Luck and be Safe.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Redman07

Coma, in your opening post you asked for 'thoughts and experience'. One more item to consider is length of truck bed verses length of bike. If you have an 8' bed or a short wheelbase bike this is a non-issue. If you have a shorter bed that is common with extended cab trucks, then where does the rear wheel of the bike sit when loaded? Now for a lighter bike this will probably not be much of an issue either. But if you start getting into the larger, heavier bikes it leads one to wonder what stress is being placed on the tailgate. I am not saying the tailgate cannot support the load, just what is the long term (trip) impacts? (Now for the sales pitch ). I have the 6.5' bed and the rear wheel of the Royal Star sets over the tailgate when lodaed, but with the Rampage it does not sit on the tailgate. Just something else to think of.

No, I am not a Rampage saleperson, just a happy owner.

Redman07,
You'll notice in the picture I linked with my bike on the Rampage in the back of our truck, there is no tail gate. There is couple of reasons for this but, the primary one is, for some odd reason, my 2011 GMC Sierra Extended Cab 4x4's tail gate is at a higher horizontal plane, than the level of my bed. In other words, if I left it on there, the Rampage would sit soley on the tail gate at that end. NOT A GOOD THING. And, the second reason it's off is, even if the Rampage did not sit on the gate, I couldn't do anything with the gate while on any of our trips anyway because the Rampage is there and won't let the gate come up anyways. So, we just remove the gate for our trips.

I'm no salesman for Rampage either, a happy customer, yeah, I guess you could say that. I used to have a Hydralift on the back of our coach and really loved that lift. It's far superior to the Rampage in quality but, due to certain circumstances, we sold that Hydralift and purchased the Rampage. A very good move for us.
Scott

[Redman07]

Fire Up,

With my SuperCab F150 I can either leave the tailgate on or take it off. I'm on the fence right now as to which way I will go. I do know that the Fords with the tailgate step have the same issue you do with the high plane. I have read where some placed spacers under the Rampage to clear the tailgate, but then you have the same issue of what good is the tailgate when the Rampage is installed and you are on the road. As you stated you can't close the tailgate. By the same token it can't be lifted and removed or stolen with the Rampage on.

The main thing is we get to take more of our toys with us! No better way to explore new territory than on a bike. Well, maybe not in the big cities during rush hour.

[Brockx]

The ride/loading feat should never include the words "hold my beer and watch this".

Seriously that is some scary stuff, sooner or later it will go bad.

[Coma]

Thanks to all!

The Youtube videos are a hoot, with break over angles and unattached ramps being the common theme.

I will continue to look for a reasonable used loader. In the meantime I will see if I can control the bike while walking it, as a prelude to using a ramp. The Rampage loader and the Bigboy 2 have several good endorsements.

Thanks to all of you who responded!

[M zoll]

I would back down in a ditch or a bank a 3/4 plywood and roll into the bed.
you can always find a bank where your at,or go to a motorcycle shop they will
let you unload or pay them a few dollars and they will do it for you,a lot easer on your body.

[Mitchyb]

Originally Posted by Dog Folks

I speak from the experience of loading two Harleys in the back of our truck every two weeks, for over 5 years. Get a small ATV winch (3500 pound capacity, about $300.00) and mount it in the truck bed, center. Then winch the bikes on and off. Much easier, safer and more in control.

X2 this a great idea!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Coma

Thanks to all!

The Youtube videos are a hoot, with break over angles and unattached ramps being the common theme.

I will continue to look for a reasonable used loader. In the meantime I will see if I can control the bike while walking it, as a prelude to using a ramp. The Rampage loader and the Bigboy 2 have several good endorsements.

Thanks to all of you who responded!

Coma,
First off, I don't know your location and, I don't know how much you've been looking for any of the loaders like the Rampage but, I just did a quick search on the net covering many different parts of the states and yep, at present, the good used deals are scarce. But, I did find this one and it's in the Sacramento C/L :

RAMPAGE MOTORCYCLE LIFT

If anyone's looking, that's a seriously great deal. I got mine for $1500 and thought it was great but, this one beats the heck out of mine.
Scott