Loading trike into pick up truck

[David Gardner]

Going to Arizona in a couple of weeks towing my 26 foot travel trailer. I want to load my GL1800 Motortrike adventure into the back of my 95 Dodge Cummins with 8ft. standard bed. Anyone had any experience doing this? My trike has a 4 1/2 degree rake kit.

[Pegasus1300]

More important than the rake will be the overall length of the trike,will it fit lengthwise in the bed and then what is the overall width,is the bed wide enough. Next is a sturdy enough and long enough ramp available? If you try to climb to steep an angle you will high center and be stuck or damage the bodywork or undercarriage. You might consider putting a hitch on the back of your trailer and towing it down. I have done this in the past with a dune buggy but it has been 20 years.You would have to check the states you are traveling thru on what their length limits are. Hope this helps

[cavie]

If you have an Adventure it is 110" long. Full size truck bed?? Can you trailer with tail gate down?? Remove tailgate?? Adventure is 55" wide. Tailgate is ??? wide?? find a local trucking company with a loading dock??

[pcombe]

Check you local construction company's or trucking company and see if you can find a loading ramp?

[SMSgt]

What has already been written is a good place to start. When I moved from ARK to UT I put a car in the back of a U-Haul. I found an abandoned rail unloading dock and just backed the car out and drove it home.
The bigger question is will it fit in the back of your truck.
Good luck
Kent

[Geezzer Glide]

My thoughts are the first thing you should do is get out your tape measure and see if it will fit. I seriously doubt it will. Measure you trike front to back overall length. Then measure the overall width. Now measure the inside of your box, front to back and side to side.
At best if it will fit length wise the rear would be sitting on the tail gate. Not sure what your GL1800 Motortrike weighs but my Harley Tri Glide weighs about 1200 LB's. That would make for a lot of weight on the tail gate. That will give you the answer your looking for. If it does some how fit what is the weight capacity of your truck ? You would need to figure the tong weight of your trailer plus the weight of your trike to see if you are with in the weight rating of your truck. Now figure the weight of your truck, the weight of your trike, and the weight of you trailer. Are you exciding the overall weight rating of you truck?
As you can see you not only need to figure if it will fit but if you will be with in the overall weight rating for your truck.
Dan

[Rick Kay]

Dave, I am also going to be loading my trike in the back of a Ram with an 8' bed, and will be towing a travel trailer. Here's what I did: I sat the trike on the garage floor. With a plumb bob, I marked the critical measuring points on the floor. I transferred these measurements into the bed of the pickup. I found I have tight clearances with the rear wheels of the trike and the fender well of the truck, but my trike DOES fit into to bed. I have approximately 5" of overhang past the tailgate (trike wheels are in truck bed, though), which will necessitate taking off the tailgate. I recently purchased a set of trike ramps from Discountramps.com. I'm hoping to do a test fit in the next day or so, as weather allows. I'll keep you posted on my results.

[Nana]

My husband carries his Street Glide (2 wheels) in the bed of our Dodge Dakota short bed pickup. Because of the rear wheel sitting on the tailgate he takes the following precautions:

1. A sheet of 3/4" plywood (all-weather quality) cut to fit snugly into the bed and spanning out to the end of the open tailgate to distribute the weight of the bike.
2. Two pieces of steel strapping from Lowes cut to appropriate length. These are perforated to allow a bolt through at both ends. He connects these on either end of the tailgate by removing the bolt holding the "cable" that runs from tailgate to truck, and replacing it with a longer bolt and washer that connects both the steel strap and the cable together onto the tailgate. At the other end he removes the peg that receives the tailgate lock and replaces it with a bolt securing the end of the metal strap directly to the side of the truck bed. With these steel straps at both sides offering support, it still leaves the existing cables for extra safety, but prevents the bike weight from hyperextending the hinges on the tailgate.

With these two precautions taken, we have taken long trips with the bike in the truck without any issues or problems. Obviously, you need a bigger truck bed for your trike, but if you know it will fit, taking similar precautions to support and distribute the weight may help you ease your mind.

[David Gardner]

Thanks to everyone for the replys. Rick keep me posted on your experience loading yours.

[Rick Kay]

Here's a show stopper: I can't get the tailgate off! My problem is I can't disconnect the camera cable at the plug. What's worse, neither can the dealership. And yes, I am shopping for a new dealer... I'm supposed to see them some time next week for a recall, and I'll get to the bottom of the tailgate issue. I will report back then.

[Texas Rider]

Might want to check this out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGMN...layer_embedded

http://www.discountramps.com/big-boy-trike-ramp.htm

[Shimpy]

Next is a sturdy enough and long enough ramp available? If you try to climb to steep an angle you will high center and be stuck or damage the bodywork or undercarriage.

Just a thought.....It would probably help to drive the front wheels of the truck up on ramps to angle the bed making it less of a chance of hitting bottom when you drive off the ramps onto the bed.

[FreeBird]

http://www.powerdecks.com/index.aspx

[Texas Rider]

http://www.powerdecks.com/index.aspx

That's perfect but I bet it's costly.

[Texas Rider]

That's perfect but I bet it's costly.

About $3645.00 not including shipping, tax or install. Probably a good deal for the DIY guys.