ATV In Truck Bed

diyer2 · September 19, 2016

2012 Sierra 1500 6ft 6 box.

Can I safely haul an ATV in my truck without damaging my tail gate? Or should I trailer it.

Looking at a 400, 450 or maybe 500 cc.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · September 19, 2016

I see people haul big hunting 850cc 4 wheelers with no problems. The tailgate shouldn't have a problem, it's not like you're putting all of the weight of the 4 wheeler on the tailgate. Once you start having to haul more than one 4 wheeler or a side by side is when you need to see about a trailer. But just 1 4 wheeler that's not a side by side is fine.

O_J_Simpson · September 19, 2016

Why not? People do it every day.

KMGZ400 · September 19, 2016

If your looking to fit a utility ATV you won't be able to fit it with the tailgate up, unless it's a smaller utility like a bayou or something

WilliamBos · September 19, 2016

You will be fine. My 2012 400HO fits in my 5'8" box, wheels are not on the gate, but I cannot close it.

I prefer it in the box over a trailer.

diyer2 · September 19, 2016

Thanks guys.

I wanted to know if the rear wheels of an ATV sit on the tailgate if that will work?

GPGuy · October 10, 2016

I've actually tried to find a definitive answer on the weight capacity of the tailgates on these trucks and haven't been able to find one. The answers I've seen most often seem to hover around 600 lbs. I've been looking into this too, but for my snowmobile because I've been thinking of using my truck bed instead of the trailer when I just take one sled with me.

sdeeter19555 · October 10, 2016

I'd be more worried about the tailgate cables...

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GPGuy · October 10, 2016

Hearing everything from 600 - 1500 lbs. To me 600 lbs. sounds reasonable but I wouldn't put 1500 lbs. on it. But unfortunately like I said I can't seem to find any specs on this and the ones I seem to find are from about 2005-2006.

LakeSpeed · October 12, 2016

I've had my RZR in the bed for rides through mountains and long highway drives. I laid down 2X10's in the bed and placed the wheels on them. I also backed it in so the weight was in front of the rear axle. 2X10's ran from the bulkhead to the tip of the tail gate. I also had tailgate cable supports (which if you read the fine print are supposed to be used only for loading the atv and not driving with it). I've got a 2500 and the truck drove fine. I am not sure how a 1500 would feel if you raise the center of gravity that high. I have since bought a trailer. It feels more secure. I see people near me all the time with them in the beds. That being said, the cables on the lift gate are not rated for the weight created by the up and down force created while driving. If something were to go bad not sure how insurance of the law would handle it. The reason I went with the trailer was, I don't have a back rack and I was always worried about the brush guard of the rzr hitting my rear window. I put wheel chocks on the 2/x10's but it still worried me. Did not want have to deal with the cost of possibly replacing my rear window. Instead spent the cash on a trailer.

Big Whiskey · October 12, 2016

I haul a 750cc Kawasaki Brute Force in my 6.5 bed quite often. After I stack a few 2x10's in front of the front tires (to keep the ATV's bumper from hitting the bed or back window in a panic stop), I'm not able to close my tailgate. But, all of the ATV's weight is still in the bed. If the back tires were sitting on the tailgate the whole time, I'd be nervous. Those cables just don't look sturdy enough to me. I know guys that haul wheelers with tool boxes in their bed, and they have 2x12 boards running from the back of their tailgate to the front of the box. When they drive the ATV on the boards, it helps distribute some of the load (in theory).

hydroguy · January 8, 2017

I've carried 4 wheelers + snowmachines in my long and shortbox beds for 20 years with no issues. Never broke a tailgate cable. I usually have a large wooden toolbox across the rear of the box, so my rear window is safe, but it puts more weight farther back onto the tailgate. My atv is a large 700 Cat, so lots of weight on the tailgate since my toolbox is 18" deep. My driving then is on logging roads + lake trails, ie very rough, with no incidents to date, knock on wood! You'll be fine even in the rough going.