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Loading motorcycle into toy hauler


chief916

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Has anyone out there got a good way...Safeway....To load a motorcycle..Ie..ultraglide...Safely into the back of a toy hauler.  I can load my DWs 750 no problem BUT the ultra is a horse of a different color.  Having had a neck and a back surgery fusion in the past 5 years...I really would like to be able to load the bike safely without worrying about dropping it.

 

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What problem are you running into? Just the larger size of the bike and heavier weight plus the angle of the ramp? Can you mount some sort of winch in the garage to pull you in? That would be at a very slow controlled speed and you would only need to sit on it and balance it as you pull yourself in?

Edited by BlueLghtning

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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Do a search on YouTube for a Condor cycle loader and see if something like that would help.  I used to know a few guys who used them with tilt and load trucks but I never actually saw one being loaded.

 

Nigel

2006 Volvo VNL 430, 2006 smart cabrio cdi, 2000 Triple E Topaz 30'

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I load my Street Glide (loaded up like an Ultra) in our toy hauler.  The original steep ramp angle was a bit much for my middle aged comfort level.  I could dirt bike it up without too much sweat, but backing out was very hairy as the front tire did not have enough grip to do much but skid down completely locked up.  Those toy hauler doors just really aren't designed for a full dress harley.

I added 10" blocks to the door to elevate it with 3' hinged extensions to effectively lengthen and reduce the angle of the ramp door.  Now, no sweat at all.  I can zing right up with no worries.  Backing out the front wheel will just barely hold it as long as you keep it to creeping speeds, let it get going too fast though and it will still slide.  When backing out I always have it running in gear with the clutch in, If you get a little crooked and have to pull back up it is ready to go.  You'd never be able to start it and get it in gear without losing balance otherwise.

I use Condor aluminum chocks in the trailer, that way you just ride right into the chock and it will hold the bike up while you get off and tie down.  The Condor cycle loader is used to winch a bike onto a rollback wrecker.  Should work in a toyhauler, only thing I can think of that might be a hitch is the huge dip at the top of the door, I doubt the wheels are big enough to navigate that, you'd need something to bridge that gap.  I've seen some race car trailers with a piece of hinged diamond plate there that may do the trick.  Seems like a price way, I'm very comfortable riding mine in/out with the ramp extensions.

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HotRod has some excellent suggestions. If you winch directly to the bike and not to a seperate chock/trolley you need a nice bridle that evens the pull. I think the winch in the image is a Warn portable of some kind.  As you know the trick to unloading down a ramp is to make sure the momentum of the roll-off does not stop with the back wheel off the ramp, front wheel on the ramp, and your feet 24inches off the ground :o... it's one of those Wile E. Coyote "Oh no..." moments... ask me what it musta looked like when I tipped a tall trailie over like that and tumbled off down the little grassy incline into campsite #8 below us ... bike in a heap half upside down off the ramp. I popped up to my feet in #8 and looked to see if Brad was in has lawn chair so I could say "Just dropped in for coffee..." but the playoff hockey game was on so the area was like a ghost town which is why I was going for a ride... I digress...It was a bit of a wrasslin effort to stand the bugger up again...

so if you go mechanical assist you need to make sure the system moves the machine all the way to the ground... or holds the bike upright trolley chock style so you can pull it a bit to get it flat on the ground... try to avoid bolting down toe catching hazards to your ramp or floor... they have a way of interrupting the trajectory of a needed foot placement.... 

the extension and ramp angle reduction method sounds good and simple to start with...

XT17-Portable-Winch-Action2lg.jpg

Edited by noteven

"Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. 

 

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You need to be able to handle that bike under any condition and be comfortable doing it, otherwise the bike is too big. I had the same issue with a Goldwing I used to load on to a swivel trailer attached to my fifth wheel. My concern was if I couldn't handle the Goldwing on a ramp then what would happen at a intersection if the bike fell over? I realized I was exceeding my comfort/safety level and decided to get a smaller VTX1300 that I can man handle with ease now.

Unloading a Goldwing is easy with reverse, the loading is the scary part. Going up the ramp too slow and the bike will stall and you now have to hold onto the brake, put a foot down to steady the bike, and either try to restart or back down the ramp. Going up the ramp too fast or slipping on the throttle and you hit the wheel chock too hard causing the bike to start leaning. Too many close calls with a heavy bike and you realize your luck may run out someday.

Greg

Edited by gjhunter01
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10 hours ago, Hot Rod said:

I load my Street Glide (loaded up like an Ultra) in our toy hauler.  The original steep ramp angle was a bit much for my middle aged comfort level.  I could dirt bike it up without too much sweat, but backing out was very hairy as the front tire did not have enough grip to do much but skid down completely locked up.  Those toy hauler doors just really aren't designed for a full dress harley.

I added 10" blocks to the door to elevate it with 3' hinged extensions to effectively lengthen and reduce the angle of the ramp door.  Now, no sweat at all.  I can zing right up with no worries.  Backing out the front wheel will just barely hold it as long as you keep it to creeping speeds, let it get going too fast though and it will still slide.  When backing out I always have it running in gear with the clutch in, If you get a little crooked and have to pull back up it is ready to go.  You'd never be able to start it and get it in gear without losing balance otherwise.

 

Have you tried backing out in gear with the motor off. That way if the front wheel looses traction, you just let the clutch out in gear to act as a brake. In fact you could use the clutch instead of the front wheel brake and never have a traction issue even if the ramp was at a steeper angle. 

Edited by BlueLghtning

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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21 minutes ago, Ronbo said:

Just a thought. Glue and screw a rubber diamond plate strip to the door. Should give the traction you need. 

When backing down a hill on a motorcycle, especially cruisers as the front wheel is usually raked out more, motorcycles have very little weight and traction on the front wheel. Even my cement driveway which is fairly steep, if I'm backing down and get any kind of speed and grab the front brrake, I'll skid my front tire. You can't really get any better traction than cement and a rubber tire, but it happens.  So while the rubber diamond plate strip might help, it's really not the source of the problem. The main issue is all the weight and most of the traction is on the rear tire in that situation. 

I've learned the trick of using the clutch with the motor off back from my dirt biking days. It was always amazing to watch someone trying a steep hill climb and not make it and as they started sliding backwords, they would be holding in the clutch and grab that front brake but the front wheel would just skid as they would pick up speed backwards. They would be afraid to try to reach the rear brake since it involved lifting your right leg they were trying to balance on, but if they would just pop the clutch and stall the motor, the rear wheel would lock effectively stopping them. 

Edited by BlueLghtning

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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18 hours ago, BlueLghtning said:

What problem are you running into? Just the larger size of the bike and heavier weight plus the angle of the ramp? Can you mount some sort of winch in the garage to pull you in? That would be at a very slow controlled speed and you would only need to sit on it and balance it as you pull yourself in?

I have a 1K lb hand winch that I would like to use but the DW seems to think that because of the steepness of the ramp, at some point I may not be able to have a place to put my feet to keep it steady when the front wheel is up on the ramp and the rear wheel is still on the ground,

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There is a lot of really good info here fella's.  I'm gonna check into the Condor system and the ramps.  I'm also gonna think about the clutch stopping.  I've got some friends that keep their motors running when they back out down hill.  I rode a Goldwing for 22 years and never had a problem cause I always used the reverse gear.  HD don't have them.  at least not yet.  gjhunter01...you are right indeed about feeling comfortable with the bike you ride.  I've had the dresser for 10 years now but never had a clue that 3 yrs ago I would be buying a toybox.  Man...all the good times the DW and I talked about loading those bikes up and hittin the road.  NOW you start to find yourself turning past 60 and medical science can only fix or repair so much age related maladies.  Id rather try to tackle the loading problem with the dresser first and if nothing will work for me...then I guess its back to a smaller weight scooter but I do appreciate what all of you have had to offer.  I'll let you all know how it turns out.

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I have seen flatbed wreckers use a device like this.
They strap the motorcycle to the eye-bolts on the cross piece which holds the bike upright and then winch it onto the flatbed of the tow truck.

 

 

Just looked at the Condor thing...looks real similar ony the Condor looks better built. I'm thinking you could make something like this in your garage.

Edited by Big5er

MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.
~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~

2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission
singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin
2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 

2014 smart Fortwo

 

 
 
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Thanks big5er.  I saw one just like it earlier.  I have something similar that has no wheels that I purchased from harbour freight about 3 years ago.  I may just give it a go at putting wheels on this thing.  It's funny that I look at this thing everytime I go in my shop but it never crossed my peabrain to try to convert it.  Thank you sir.

 

 

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Where there's a will........  I agree on the idea of backing the bike down in gear, motor off.  Our toy hauler has a rather steep ramp.  Last year we took two moderately large bikes (BMW R1100R and R11250RT) with us, and I used that method.  I was pleased with the ease of unloading.  Only possible issue is the aforementioned time at the bottom of the ramp when the feet almost touch . :o

But, since my bride decided the BMW is too big, she got a smaller cruiser style, and hates it.  Sez it handles like a truck.  So we're bike shopping again.;)

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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So the next question is, if the gizmo in the shop works after you add wheels, could you winch yourself back down the ramp too?

MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.
~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~

2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission
singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin
2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 

2014 smart Fortwo

 

 
 
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You guys are making this way too complicated .

Why not simply ride the bike into place , carefully . We know a fellow that loaded a Goldwing into his toyhauler . He made a couple of short 'ramps' for his feet and placed on both sides of the bikes entry path . They gaped the area of where the hauler ramp met the ground . He used those more for unloading than loading . 

Edited by Pat & Pete

Goes around , comes around .

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46 minutes ago, Pat & Pete said:

You guys are making this way too complicated .

Why not simply ride the bike into place , carefully . We know a fellow that loaded a Goldwing into his toyhauler . He made a couple of short 'ramps' for his feet and placed on both sides of the bikes entry path . They gaped the area of where the hauler ramp met the ground . He used those more for unloading than loading . 

From my understanding, it's not so much the loading as it is the unloading, although as mentioned above in either case if you get stopped on the ramp, things can get interesting quick if you start to slide backwards. A Goldwing, although a big bike, makes unloading a breeze because it actually has reverse so it controls your descent speed and it keeps you going backwards once your back wheel hits the ground even if it's uphill. I don't know Chief916 physical attributes or overall health, but it sounds like dropping a full dresser harley on him would cause him some grief as those are not light weight motorcycles. Backing anything that heavy down a ramp and the front wheel starts to skid is a scary situation to be in because it only takes a few seconds for you to lose your balance and have it toppling over on top of you. That's where the clutch trick with the motor off comes in handy to slow your descent. The next part he mentioned is the transition from the ramp to the ground. Depending on your height and your backwards speed, you could end up with a few seconds there where you can't touch the ground on either side of the bike. Using some ramps as you mentioned or small step stools on either side could help, but that just adds another thing that could move on you and you could still fall over. Securing the bike to some sort of device that he can use a winch cable on is probably the safest bet for him.   

Edited by BlueLghtning

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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It only takes one ”oops”

 

MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.
~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~

2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission
singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin
2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 

2014 smart Fortwo

 

 
 
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I've been riding and racing motorcycles for over 40 years. And loading a motorcycle into my toy hauler scared the S out of me . Especially if the road was wet, that front turf hit the tile floor and it was like being on ice! The ramp was way too steep. I modified my ramp with an extension and now loading is a breeze. 

  You can read all about it and see pictures on my web site

www.rvbprecision.com

RoyB

South of Boston

2021 Dodge 2500 - 6.4L

Forest River 19RR Toy Hauler

Roofnest Falcon Rooftop Tent

www.rvbprecision.com

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 I loaded a Goldwing on the bed of my HDT truck for over two years.  I put a 2 X 10 three feet long where the transition from the ramp to the ground is.  That made a big difference in my comfort and being able to keep my feet on a stable service when backing down.  I used a winch to load and unload the bike.

2009 Volvo 780 with Herrin Hauler Bed
2015 Continental Coach
2017 Smart Car Prime

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