Motorcycle in bed?

[hlenoble]

I am looking to put my motorcycle in the bed of my '04 ST. I will be towing a popup camper so a trailer is not an option.

From the front of the front wheel to the contact point of the rear tire is about 3-4" past the end of the tailgate, so I was thinking of using a motorcycle rail that will extend past the end of the tailgate.

My question is if I can mount the trailer rail directly to the bed, which I know is plastic. There is no real load on the rail, its purpose is the keep the wheels from sliding while traveling.

I will be taking one of two bikes, one weighs about 700 lbs, the other about 500.

I am open to other suggestions as to carry the bike as well.

Thanks,

 

[05dakotatrac]

You see them a lot on fifth wheel but they have trailer hitches for trailers if you get the hitch you can get the bike hitch attachment where it mounds sideways off the back of the pop up

 

[MAS Tequila]

You see them a lot on fifth wheel but they have trailer hitches for trailers if you get the hitch you can get the bike hitch attachment where it mounds sideways off the back of the pop up

Get yourself a 3/4" sheet of plywood and cut it to fit in the bed but extend past the tail gate. The front wheel weight will cantilever the more than enough to support the rear.

What kind of bikes do you have? I have a Kawi Nomad and a 95 1500a model.

MT

 

[MidnightRebel07]

The first thing you need to do is check and see if you can tow (safely turn on tight flat and hills) the trailer with the tailgate down. Not all trailers are the same. Check that first to see if the trailers body/ propane tank/landing gear piston will clear the tailgate. If needed they sell receiver extensions to give some extra distance. Otherwise the only other thing is to install the motorcycle mount to the back of the pop up trailer like 05dakotatrac suggested, I see this all the time.

 

[hlenoble]

I was thinking of the plywood idea and appreciate the confirmation.

I have a Victory V92C and a Suzuki Bandit 1200S

 

[hlenoble]

You see them a lot on fifth wheel but they have trailer hitches for trailers if you get the hitch you can get the bike hitch attachment where it mounds sideways off the back of the pop up

I would be concerned that the weight of the motorcycle would cantilever the trailer and decrease the tongue weight, resulting in unstable stowing.

 

[OffTrac]

I really don't see what the problem is with your original idea...as long as the clearance with the tailgate is confirmed.

 

[Trackerforsport]

if your tongue of the the camper is big enough you might be able to mount a bike platform across the tongue for the bike.. just throwing an idea out there I'm not a towin expert..I've seen it before

 

[05dakotatrac]

500-800 pounds of motorcycle on the back of the trailer will lower tongue weight but you can always load the trailer so the wieght balances

 

[05dakotatrac]

Picture that but on the rear of your camper. go to a RV dealer and they will confirm what I have said. If you can get it with the gate down great if not then across the tongue probably not work either so it reverts to my idea never the less let us know how it turns out

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Putting the motorcycle weight on the rear of the camper won't exactly make it more dangerous to drive, it'll pick up the ass of the truck and make the steer tires grab the road more. The opposite will happen when you have too much weight on the tongue causing the frontend of the truck to lift and reducing the weight of the steer axle.

Trust me I'm a Professional Truck Driver with 26 years of experience driving tractor trailer (I know a thing or two about weight distribution on combination vehicles). Just like 05dakotatrac stated you'll want to load the cargo weight into the nose of the trailer and bed of the truck if you mount the bike to the rear of the trailer to try and even out the weight.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I would think you could mount the bike rail to the bed. All you're doing is holding the rail in place.

With bikes that big and heavy, I'm not sure you have a good option. The weight is one thing, but the overall dimensions are another. If your trailer jack folds up against the trailer frame, you might be able to haul the bike in the truck bed, but I would be concerned about tailgate to trailer contact on turns. If there's any chance they can make contact, sooner or later they will, and then you'll have a damaged tailgate and/or trailer. Clearances will be different as you enter/exit sloped driveways vs flat areas. My enclosed trailer's jack remains vertical at all times. The tailgate clears the jack, but only by 1/4" or less. No way would I tow that trailer with the tailgate down.

Like Midnightrebel said, better to have the rear of the truck a little light as opposed to the front end being light. It's awfully scary, and dangerous, when the front end is too light and you have little control over the steering.

Hope you find what works!

 

[hlenoble]

I picked up the trailer tonight and was happy to see that there is plenty of clearance to turn sharply with the tailgate down. It certainly helps that the jack is the folding type.

 

[05dakotatrac]

Glad to hear your original plan will work

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Good to hear, does it clear on hills and going uphill on sharp turns? That's where you'll need to worry about it jack-knifing. Post some pictures if you can to help others out on this topic.

 

[Csdsm18]

Really old post but I was curious does anyone have any pics of a sport trac with a motorcycle in the back? I know they don't fit but I'm sure people made ways to make them fit.

 

[Csdsm18]

Strange guess no one has ever done that before with a sport trac

 

[koda2000]

Depends on the size of the motorcycle I guess. You don't have much room to work with in the back of a Sport Trac. If it's a small dirt bike you can probably get it in there with the tailgate down and using the bed extender. Even if there's enough length you'd still want something to support the front wheel or it will likely fall over at some point. I have a motorcycle rail I used to use in my '54 F100. Now I have a 5x8 trailer for hauling stuff, which is way more versatile and easier to use.

 

[Csdsm18]

Yea think it may fit looks like from corner to corner it's about 7ft.

 

[Csdsm18]

Well I test fitted my bike in the bed and it surprisingly fit. Not safe as it sits on the tailgate but it fit. Do you know of any company that sells tailgate support braces for our trucks? That's alot of weight on the tailgate would like that extra support from the brace. I know they have them for others never seen them for ours yet? Anybody know of any place that has them? Thanks