Loading A Bike?

[rfh1030]

I think you are worrying about this too much. You are resting a lot of the weight in the bed and a small amount on the tailgate. If it were the other way around, I would be worried too. Just because trucks aren't made like they used to be, does not mean they are not up to the task. I know a lot of people that put heavy bikes in the bed with some having weight on the tailgate and nothing ever happened. I personally wouldn't even think twice about loading that bike, but to each their own.

[Mossyoakglock]

You should have no problem carrying that weight on tailgate. I used to have a 95 S-10 and would carry a Honda Rancher with the rear tires on my tailgate all of the time with no issues what so ever, and those cables were much weaker than the ones on the Silverado I have now. I even carried two dirt bikes the same way with no problems.

 

I would use the plywood just for some added strenght and piece of mind.

 

How far are you hauling the bike anyways?

[MikeNH]

I wouldn't say I'm worried- I just have never moved a bike before, I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

 

Mossyoak- the ride will be mostly highway, about 45 mins or so.

[Nanotech Environmental]

The ramps I have access to are actually my landlords. They're a good bit taller than me so 8' is a reasonable guess. They've easily loaded a John Deere lawn tractor into his Tundra a few times. Not sure of the weight on that though. My bed does have tie down anchors in all 4 corners and the bed is Line-X'd.

Sounds like you should be all set.

One ramp in the center for the bike and one ramp on the left to walk up beside the bike. Start the bike, put in gear and gently use the clutch to ease the bike up the ramp into the truck bed. Have your spotters on either side behind you in case something goes wrong.

 

When unloading do the reverse & use the front brake to control the bike speed.

 

I only recommend all the precautions because you indicated you haven't done this before; better safe than sorry.

 

Some guys ride them up the ramps and that's all well and good, but there's also a zillion youtube videos of when it didn't work so well.........

[MikeNH]

I appreciate the pointers but I don't believe the bike currently runs. So it's going to be interesting loading it. Maybe I'll just tell him to rent a trailer.

[RyanbabZ71]

Ramps work great for loading my mower. The tailgate cap has gotten scraped up from general loading wood and such but the ramps have rubber where they sit on the tailgate.

[pm26]

There is a way to load a bike into a truck without use of ramps. If you have a deep enough swale in front of your house, you can back the truck into the ditch, open the tailgate and then just push the bike into the bed from the street. It is a lot safer, as there is no chance of dropping the bike while pushing it up the ramp.

[Nanotech Environmental]

I appreciate the pointers but I don't believe the bike currently runs. So it's going to be interesting loading it. Maybe I'll just tell him to rent a trailer.

 

Yep if it doesn't run, you'll need a few hands to push it up into the truck..........

[jro909]

unless your putting the whole weight of the bike on the tailgate don't worry about it...each cable is rated for around 500 pounds, if the brunt of the bike's weight is in the bed you have little to worry about...the tailgate and cables are made of metal, not cardboard...and people think i worry too much...shit

[Jeff405]

I've loaded up my 01' GSXR 1000 (just under 400lbs) a few times in mine and havent had any problem. I can still shut the gate though. With the bike not running and even with a good ramp, it's still going to be a hassle to get it up in the back. We almost dropped my dads 800lb Harley pushing it onto my tilt trailer. I'd say rent or borrow a trailer, it would make it much easier loading and unloading and you can be sure you wont do any damage to your truck.

[Garrett Street]

Hardly. There may be plenty of toolbags but there are also plenty of making intelligent posts. I'm looking for input from group 2 but it's inevitable that group one shows up too.

 

Funny you continue bitch at me even though my comment shares the exact same underlying point as everyone else's. You'll be fine.

[MikeInCtown]

Ramps work great for loading my mower. The tailgate cap has gotten scraped up from general loading wood and such but the ramps have rubber where they sit on the tailgate.

 

Yeah, i hav a soid aluminum Harbor Freight ramp I use to load my big snowblower on in the winter. Between me and the snowblower we are talking 500-600 lbs. never give it a second thought. Like you my cap is scratched from the ramp. I figure it is a truck and new caps are like $30 if I ever wanted another. its a truck though.

 

One thing I would do is inspect the cables for fraying or rust. My cables are only a few years old, so I know they were good to go.

[MikeNH]

Move went well. Flat was filled (bike has been sitting for a few years I guess) and I pulled up an incline in the yard to lower the angle of the ramp and it went right in and we got the bike snugged down nicely. Didn't budge over any of the rough highway on the way home. Not being able to drive up an incline at my coworkers house we unloaded it in the street and the bike just barely had enough clearance to go down the ramp. One of the brakes started dragging too so we had to push it down the ramp, which was disconcerning. Truck did well though- rode real nice with the weight out back but you could tell it was there when stopping. Nothing scary, just a bit more force needed.

[brianf60]

My sled is about 500lbs loaded with fuel. And we often load it by hand. That leaves most of the weight on the tailgate for awhile. The only down side is sometimes scraping the pastic cap with the carbides on the skis...

[GPSilverado]

Ramps work great for loading my mower. The tailgate cap has gotten scraped up from general loading wood and such but the ramps have rubber where they sit on the tailgate.

 

Just a suggestion for anyone using ramps to load, please take a tie-down strap and connect from the ramp to the trailer hitch when loading and unloading. All it takes is for the truck to roll slightly, or the ramps to slide backwards slightly, and you have a dented tailgate at best, and a broken piece of equipment possibly. I heard of one guy that broke his neck loading an ATV that kicked the boards out when he was starting into the truck, and the ATV fell of backwards, flipping on him.

 

And BTW, I am always amazed at how clean your truck is Ryan.