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Stonefish · 12-18-2021, 08:05 AM

Morning all,

I have no doubt that this topic has been hashed out before, but since I have yet to pick up our new (used) DP, which will happen this coming March, I have a question that keeps me up at night literally. We have a towable 1/2t truck, and a Harley, with two options to get both where we roam. First is either a Motorhome bike lift, or a truck bed bike lift, and of course all the associated towing components for a toad vehicle. The other I may be leaning towards is a car trailer to fit both truck (or wife's non toad car) and bike on. I have considerable welding/fab skills so fitting up the trailer to accept the bike from either right or left front side of the trailer is doable.
The cost of the bike lifts for either the MH or truck are pretty expensive 5k - 7k, throw in all the toad components for another 3k - 4k?, well the math is easy. or 4k - 7k for a decent trailer plus steel for fabrication for bike. My main question is has, or are any of you folks been in the same predicament? and what did you do? Thanks for pondering my dilemma..lol

Stone

GCSuper · 12-18-2021, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stonefish

Morning all,

I have no doubt that this topic has been hashed out before, but since I have yet to pick up our new (used) DP, which will happen this coming March, I have a question that keeps me up at night literally. We have a towable 1/2t truck, and a Harley, with two options to get both where we roam. First is either a Motorhome bike lift, or a truck bed bike lift, and of course all the associated towing components for a toad vehicle. The other I may be leaning towards is a car trailer to fit both truck (or wife's non toad car) and bike on. I have considerable welding/fab skills so fitting up the trailer to accept the bike from either right or left front side of the trailer is doable.
The cost of the bike lifts for either the MH or truck are pretty expensive 5k - 7k, throw in all the toad components for another 3k - 4k?, well the math is easy. or 4k - 7k for a decent trailer plus steel for fabrication for bike. My main question is has, or are any of you folks been in the same predicament? and what did you do? Thanks for pondering my dilemma..lol

Stone

Part of this depends on if you're staying at one place for the winter, or traveling around and moving frequently.

We had the same situation. We started out with a deck over dolly trailer where the bike goes sideways up front, followed by the car on the dolly. We had a gas coach at the time with a 5K towing limit. We used a Ford Fiesta and our total weight was right at 5K. It towed fine and it was easy to unload the Harley, but I hated the small car.

When we purchased our DP, I decided not to use the deck over dolly, and purchased a Rampage lift for my towable half ton truck. I like this option better since you don't have a trailer to deal with at the camp site.

I still have the deck over dolly, but haven't used it sine we bought our diesel.

Crasher · 12-18-2021, 09:05 AM

Any of your options will work. I started with a Blue OX cycle carrier on the back and towed a car behind. The BO carrier is just a rack mounted on the back of the coach with a ramp to roll the bike up on. I bought a small 3,000# winch that I built a mount for it to pull the bike up the ramp into position. It worked great and less than $1200 for the setup. I have also towed with the deck over dolly with a Goldwing Trike and Escapade trailer on the deck and a Jeep JKU Rubicon on the dolly. That worked great as well. Then we have towed a Jeep and Polaris RZR on a flat bed trailer. That setup was also a success. Now, I mostly just tow an Avalanche 4 down or the off road Jeep/buggy on a trailer. No more bike. Each option can work well. I did not go for the ramp that mounts in the bed of a pickup. It just didn't fit what we needed. If you have another potential use/need for a trailer, that would be the way to go. That allows you to carry a car or the pickup plus the bike. It's simple and no modifying needed. The only draw back is staying at RV parks that can accommodate the trailer. I never had a problem finding a place to stay when I used a trailer. Of all the options, a trailer is the only one that lets you back up when it's the only thing you can do.

bentjm · 12-18-2021, 02:33 PM

Backing up to the trailer, hooking up the trailer, and tying down whatever you are putting in the trailer before you leave.

Unloading everything when you arrive, driving to the trailer storage area (assuming they have a place) , and dropping the trailer.

Rinse and repeat.

I have a couple of cars that would be much more fun to have upon arrival than my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but the hassle of a trailer is not worth it to me.

Do what you want to do, just be eyes open to the effort required.

Crasher · 12-18-2021, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentjm

Backing up to the trailer, hooking up the trailer, and tying down whatever you are putting in the trailer before you leave.

Unloading everything when you arrive, driving to the trailer storage area (assuming they have a place) , and dropping the trailer.

Rinse and repeat.

I have a couple of cars that would be much more fun to have upon arrival than my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but the hassle of a trailer is not worth it to me.

Do what you want to do, just be eyes open to the effort required.

When we traveled with our Jeep and RZR on a trailer, we stopped at parks with 70'+ spaces. Every October, we stop at a State Park in Utah with full hookups and 100' paved sites. Sometimes, private RV parks would give us two back to back lots for the price of one for us to fit. In the four years of that, I never had to unhook the trailer. It took some planning, but it worked for us and our son when we traveled together. It was quick and easy to tie the Jeep down. A car or pickup would take a bit longer unless you modified it with secure tie down points.

Stonefish · 12-19-2021, 02:53 AM

Trailers are a hassle, I get it! Options with one are hard to beat though I guess. The crazy question of "what the hell do I do with this trailer when I get to my site?" and the musical loading and unloading a person will do at a park. and at home does count as cons to that option. Thanks. now I'm leaning back the other way of the toad w/bike lift, I may be back on the trailer side next week...lol

crb478 · 12-19-2021, 06:06 PM

Ok, you are a accomplished welder/fabricator so making a base plate for a toad should not be a real issue. Lots of videos out there showing the installations so if you are comfortable copy the base plate. If you have a pickup then a motorcycle should fit in the back either with a ramp, or one of the custom lifts that will load the motorcycle.

On my TOAD which is a crv and I have about $450.00 in the setup. Tow bar was used, base plate was used, brake buddy was used, wiring harness for light was new. I didn't have to get any of it in a hurry so I looked for bargains.

I am currently keeping my eye out for a 4x4 pickup to tow behind my MH that can hold either my motorcycle or 4 wheeler. If I find what I want I will probably fabricate a loader for the motorcycle, and just use a ramp for the 4 wheeler.

56safari · 12-19-2021, 06:36 PM

Tow a car 4 down for normal trips, but use a trailer so the motorcycle and car can come along for the winter. Where we stay has space to store the trailer so only the hassle of unloading and moving the trailer. Since we stay for four months, the hassle is worth it to have the bike.

There is a motorcycle lift system that can be used for the trailer and for a truck bed, Self contained and only requires a battery operated drill to operate. Check out https://www.neo-dyne.com/