Loading A Bike?

[RyanbabZ71]

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.

 

Yea but even if they dont look bad they could be. I was standing on my tailgate on my old 2000 when the cable snapped. That wasnt fun. Luckily I was able to hold my balance. A few months later a recall letter came out on the tailgate cables go figure.

 

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

 

Thanks, its clean most of the time. Being silver it helps as it doesnt show the dirt like my old blue truck did.

[MikeNH]

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.

 

 

 

I used a tie-down about a third of the way up the ramp to one of the chain hook ups on my hitch. Every other ramp set I've seen had one built in and I was surprised these didn't have that, given that they otherwise appeared to be extremely high quality ramps. I had my 03 when GM was denying the problem with the cables and bought a set of old-style steel straps called VR Straps. Big, beefy things. I don't think they exist anymore though otherwise this truck would have a set too. I wish I thought to swap them out when I traded my 03.

[myrt88]

1214823[/url]']

 

Solved

Yea man ull be fine i put my wheeler that 600lbs on the back on my truck all the time nvr had any probs

[jblakeney]

 

be sure to add the "extra support" like this engineer did

 

but in all seriousnes, i would feel comfortable hauling that bike. as stated before, a sheet of plywood could be put down for extra support.

 

I got that in an email several years ago. Died laughing..... I use to have the lawn mower picture on the back of my work station.... , I swear I know a guy that would do something like this....

 

 

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.

 

Ryan, is that a man step??? Come on only Fords should have those............ jk jk jk only in good humor man.

 

Back to the point, if cables are good, and it's not a newer Toyota, your good..........

 

I drove a 2 row seat, 48v golf cart on the back of a 1 ton with the rear axle down in a low spot and a piece of 3/4 ply wood..... It was quite scary halfway up..... Plywood gave alot, and went right on, thou 8ft bed on a GMT400... Tailgate probably said, GET OFF MY BACK when I drove it on but hey it worked.... I figure the golf cart with the batteries probably weighted 800+ lbs... This isn't a regular cart..... it had two rows of seats and a club rack on the back.

 

However, my 1999 GMT 800, the tailgate straps failed with me standing on the tailgate......... Ruined my tailgate and hurt my pride quite a bit, took me a few months at the chiropractor to get over it. Truck was still in the 3/36 at the time..... I purchased a new tailgate and painted it and install two new straps, couple years later, I got a recall notice.

 

If your using ramps do as somebody said on here tie strap the ramp to the bumper or hitch and set the parking brake....... CYA, it pays sometimes.

 

Jbo

[Jackalope]

There's a couple of things you can do. First off, I agree with the advice about using the plywood. Get 3/4" and run forward as much as possible to distribute the weight.

 

Second, if you really have concerns about the tailgate straps, there are reinforcements you can get.

 

 

But I absolutely agree that your problem isn't the truck, it's the ramps. Four-wheelers are stable, they don't tilt over when you're pushing them up the ramps and then you're trying to hold 700 lbs of motorcycle from falling on you. And they're usually better about not pulling loose from the tailgate as you take it up. Good luck.

[trucc_boi]

loaded plenty of shit in my truck

 

make sure you STRAP IT DOWN with the KICKSTAND down..

 

also make if your friend is driving it up the ramp that he doesnt slam into your window/back of your truck.

 

both of these things almost happened.

[MikeNH]

I moved the bike like a week ago guys but thanks for the info still. We didn't use the kickstand, just straps. Bike was rock solid the whole way.

[Jackalope]

I moved the bike like a week ago guys but thanks for the info still. We didn't use the kickstand, just straps. Bike was rock solid the whole way.

 

 

Thanks for the update Mike. Still, it's a good topic that will, no doubt, be searched in the future.

[tbhuge]

Unless it is a ridiculously heavy bike, You will be fine loading and hauling the bike. I use to take my bike back and forth from school to my parents, about 600 miles in my 97 s10 with no issues. It never dented the tailgate or caused any adverse issues. One thing I added to my ramps was I took a piece of large black rubber house and cut a slice into it and fastened it to any areas of the ramp that came into contact with the tailgate. Also the rubber helped keep the ramp from shifting while loading.