how-to pick-up truck it

my plan is to put my bike on the back of a U-Haul Pick-up and go south till I can open the windows, then park the truck and ride the bike for a few days. Might even take a peek at Daytona and all.

There are NO tall curbs near my house. My Q is if there's snow etc. the day I leave Chicago, what's the best technique for getting a bike up to a truck bed? If the driveway's stil icey I'll have to back the truck up to the garage door, get a buddy to help, and then what? I've seen a guy do it almost by himself w/ a good runnng start. We both pushed then he just caught the bumper and stepped right up with the bike. But he'd obviously done it a lot. And he was a biiiig dude. Would something "like" a cinder block as a first step help? Three guys? More liquor?

How have you done it?

Buy a ramp for $100. Get one that's reasonably long, with a slight arch in the middle.

And NO liquor until after the bike is safely tied down!

With a ramp and even a short curb, you ought to be able to do it yourself.

I have my own pick-up, but always found it easier to rent a U-Haul trailer made for motorcycles. They are light, very easy for one person to load, and terribly cheap. I think something in the range of $15/day. Of course, it requires you to have a tow vehicle of your own, so maybe that doesn't work for you.

I'd be afraid to try to load a motorcycle into my truck by myself, but I'm not a "big dude".

Most important is to leave the bike in neutral when tied down, also us correct tie downs and bar extentions tie downs so you don't damage anything with those plastic coated hooks. Of course get help it never goes right with only one person,you'll lose your balance and over goes your baby.

Brett Endress
Altoona Pa

Loading shouldnÔÇÖt be a real problem with a couple of friends to help you. Get the ramp as stated above (may be able to rent one too) better to have one guy in the truck to take bike when two others have pushed it up and into the truck. The transition from ground to back of the truck is very difficult and impossible for one person to manage so your real trouble will be after you get where youÔÇÖre going. If you have a hitch on your personal veh. I would opt to rent a small trailer much easer to get bike in and out (much lower) and with the correct ramp a one person job.

If a trailer isnÔÇÖt possible youÔÇÖll need to find someone to help you unload. You donÔÇÖt want drop your bike trying to do this on your own and damage it or hurt yourself.

Yeah maybe I should just use the trailer that's been kindly offered by CR Krieger as well as my guru more recenly and rent the pick-up with tow hitch. I thought it might save on gas or something if I skipped the trailer and just used the truck. And I didn't want to spring the extra money(about $320 -$340) to install a hitch on either of my old and small cars

Still thinking.

Seriously??? NO liquor? You're kidding....right?

Good morning.

If you've done this a bunch (which you haven't) you can load the bike alone using the engine. This is a good trick wtih a 450 but not a big bike.

Get some friends to help. Preferably at least two if not three. One on each side aft and one in the truck. You will still want a step so you can stay with the bike all the way up. (A big cooler makes a great step) Do it in gear (motor off) so if you need to stop or control the bike you can release the clutch. FWIW whenever I move my bikes around they are in gear so I have an "emergency brake" in my left hand.

When you get the bike into the truck you are going to want to run a strap or rope from the tie down point on one side through and around the front tire and to the other side. This is vital as it will prevent the wheel from turning which it will do if not secured either with a chock or a rope as described above.

Do not use Canyon Dancers or other straps to the bars. With Telelever bikes take a pair of soft ties (looped webbing straps) around the forks just above the telelever attachment points. The beauty here is that as you crank down on the straps you are not compressing the suspension so you can go super tight with no worries.

Put one strap on each side of the rear or to the rear pegs and tighten just enough so the bike won't bounce.

If you have more time and are going on a long haul you can put a chock in a rental by getting a peice of 2" plywood. It needs to be the width of the bed and about three feet wide. Nail down a couple of hunks of 2x4 to chock the wheel.

For unloading you only need one or two helpers, they are there only to spot you. Back the bike down the ramp with the key on (if you have servo brakes), in gear, motor off.

I'd do a little bit of advance planning and consider going to a dealer for the unload, they do it all the time plus they might let you leave the truck there while you ride. BMW Atlanta comes to mind, or find a friend in the Anon book. This is a item that is good to have sorted out before you leave.

I used to do this all the time with a F350 and my various bikes until one day I did an unload alone and dropped my 1150 GS. I turned my ankle stepping down from the step to the pavement and the bike ended up on top of me with the left jug missing my shin by inches. As it was it took two months of PT on the ankle before I could ride again.

I have used the uhaul lawn and garden trailer to move bikes and it works great. If you don't have a tow vehicle it will only add 10 to 15 bucks a day to your bill on teh truck. Depending on how long you'll have it it's cheaper than the ramp and self loading and unloading is a snap.

I have since purchased a used Kendon dual rail trailer from the IBMWR Marketplace and it has paid for itself a few times over in two years.

Ok, here's how I do it, alone. Admittedly, my R52 is easier to manage than a big, modern bike, but it's still 350 lbs. I've done this with my modern bikes as well.



I do use a sloped location to give me an advantage, but even a normal curb is plenty of height. Although you can't really see it, I've already got my tie downs hooked and ready to go.




I bring the bike up on one side of the truck bed and then put the front wheel in the corner, to use instead of a chock.




I like to use the ratcheting tie downs, I've never been able to get the "pull through" style as tight as I like them.

I've taken the R52 across the country in the back of my pick up, and I've taken other bikes across the state for friends. I've even brought two bikes in the back of this truck to a show.

When I used to do this, I would cheat by backing the truck up to the driveway so that its rear wheels were in the gutter. Then the tailgate was only about a foot above the pavement and it was A LOT easier. At the other end I couldn't always find a place like that, but I could usually find someplace where I could drop the rear wheels of the truck into a ditch or dip to lower its rear. Regardless, I definitely needed at least one assistant to get a bike into and out of a pickup.

For me, I found that at least half my energy went into tension worrying about what would happen if I dropped the bike off the side of the ramp onto me. Now I have a little trailer [trailerinabag.com] on which I can load the bike myself:

you mean you guys don't just ride it in?

BubbaZanetti said:

you mean you guys don't just ride it in?

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You clearly haven't experienced the "brakes" on my R52.

DarrylRi said:

You clearly haven't experienced the "brakes" on my R52.

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lol,

i rode a 1970 Suzuki Titan a bit 2 summers ago, i sorta know where you're coming from.


i've personally never done the ride on with anything except a pretty low to the ground trailer. but i've definitely seen people do the short ramp, high truck, big bike ride on. i certainly don't have the confidence to try it. i have used rob's engine technique with my 525 lb R11S when it was just me and my girl friend.

BubbaZanetti said:

you mean you guys don't just ride it in?

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I do. Tri fold ramp with plywood on the center section. I also "ride" it off.

I lived in Chicago for a number of years, I know what it's like to contemplate going for a ride while peering out an iced-rimmed window.

As a long-term investment a hitch and small trailer (like the trailer-in-a-bag or one of the smal folding kits available from Harbor Freight) might make sense. A small trailer has multiple uses; in addition to hauling your bike south you can use it to pick up project bikes or assist your buddies in the unfortunate event that they find themselves stranded, you might even have to rescue yourself, who knows?

Not to mention the expansion of your riding territory. Once you've toured Door County, the Kettle Moraine and followed the alphabet soup route to Galena, wher you going next? Due east is a bit wet and west? Well, once you've crossed the Great Pains once or twice by bike, considering doing it a third time is almost enough to make you stay home. With a trailer you could be in Denver, fresh and relaxed in a day and a half of driving... I've got a small bike trailer I sometimes tow behind my vanagon camper, it's great!

YMMV

Me, too.

jdmetzger said:

I have my own pick-up, but always found it easier to rent a U-Haul trailer made for motorcycles. They are light, very easy for one person to load, and terribly cheap. I think something in the range of $15/day. Of course, it requires you to have a tow vehicle of your own, so maybe that doesn't work for you.

I'd be afraid to try to load a motorcycle into my truck by myself, but I'm not a "big dude".

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I, too, have my own pickup truck, but it's an F150 extended cab 4X4, which is not exactly very low to the ground. With the use of a $50 single track ramp that I picked up at Northern Tool, I and one other person can load my wife's scooter or my RD250 into the back of the truck bed. I back up against the hill of my driveway to minimize the slope.

That said, any time that I want to transport one of my BMW's, I do like Josh; I get the UHAUL trailer designed for bikes. It's inexpensive, it's very easy to load and unload, and just works very well.

A co-worker of mine loaded his bike by himself. The bike fell on his forearm. A few pins and many weeks later, he was okay.

I have a very low trailer and have always had a spotter for on and off that I never needed. Then one day, when I abandoned the bike in a parking lot, I had planned on loading it myself, as spotters help was never needed. Just as I was about to load it, a young man was about to enter a nearby bank. I asked him to spot. Good thing. It was only time that I lost it. Luckily with the kind Samaritan spotting, no damage was inflicted on either me or the bike. My advice is to have a spotter.

SIDBud rides his on and off. I have a friend with a GW 1800. He rides it up and drives it off in reverse off his lift. He has a mirror setup so he can watch the front wheel and chock.

Thanx Interesting stuff!

Thanx, you guys for all the great helpful suggestions. And great photos! Would that I had any slant whatsoever to my driveway, or a curb of any size. The curbs in our 'hood are about an inch and a half high, and just enough crown in the street to make the water run along the side instead of in the middle.

I've looked at that trailer in a bag deal before and have a friend in VA who owns one. Seems nice. I just hate to get a hitch put on a car that I'm not keeping much longer, and the week's rental on a U-haul pick-up truck is about $40 less than buying a hitch. I believe it's do-able. I think I can borrow a friend's ramp, and then make sure I make a date w a couple strong neighborhood friends for the load in. I'm convinced that if I drive far enough south to ride in decent weather, it'll be hilly enough for me to offload by myself or w the help of one local samaritan.

Ive always used a ramp and a helping hand. The trailers may work better but be aware your AAA membership does not include towing a trailer should your vehicle have some type of issue that needs a tow to a dealer. I believe AAA will connect your bike trailer to thier truck for 80.00 hook up and another 3.00 dollars per mile.

Always put your bike in the back of a truck if you can, your friendly AAA auto service then will cover the cost of towing the truck with the bike in the back.

Ditto

CaptainR12C said:

A co-worker of mine loaded his bike by himself. The bike fell on his forearm. A few pins and many weeks later, he was okay.

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I can name two others. One friend dropped his bike and trying to catch it burst a blood vessel and nearly bled to death internally before his wife called the ambulance.
Another friend seriously injured his arm necessitating surgery and and no riding for half the summer.