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Old 08-31-2011, 10:04 AM   #1
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1966 24' Tradewind
1995 34' Excella
Lynchburg , Virginia
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Motorcycles and Airstreams

I would like to report that it is possible to carry a motorcycle in the bed of a truck and tow your Airstream (photos below) and not exceed the weight limits. Now this is no great feat if you have an 8 ft bed and a 3/4 ton truck, but it is an accomplishment when you only have a 1/2 ton truck with a 6.5 ft bed.

I bought my Tundra double cab in 2008 with the idea of carrying my Ducati 750ss (420# wet) in the bed. I recently completed two trips down the Blue Ridge Parkway with my Ducati in the bed and towing my Airstream and both trips were successful. My biggest concern was exceeding the rear axle rating on the Tundra. I was by myself when I weighed as I will probably not bring the motorcycle when my wife is with me. The gas tank was only 1/4 full, but the water tank was full. I could probably travel with full gas and an empty water tank and the results would not change much. Below are the results after a visit to the scales:

ACTUAL WEIGHT WEIGHT RATING MARGIN

FRONT AXLE 3,000 3,900 900

REAR AXLE 3,640 4,100 460

F&R COMBINED 6,640 6,900 260

TRAILER (66TW) 4,420 ?

TRUCK & TRAILER 11,060 16,000 4,940

Looking at the results, I was surprised that I had more margin at the rear axle than for the Tundra Gross Vehicle Weight. I understand that I only had any margin at all because I was carrying a fairly light motorcycle and a light trailer and I was by myself. This works for me though.

Dan
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Old 09-05-2011, 03:26 PM   #2
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I've been wondering about this. I really enjoy touring the back roads on my motorcycle.

Here's what I'm considering:
Pickup Truck motorcycle lift, Pickup Truck motorcycle carrier from Overbilt Lifts
One Person Load/Unload your Motorcycle, ATV, Watercraft etc - prices @ "Discount" RV Marine

Anyone have other options?
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Old 09-06-2011, 06:33 AM   #3
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1966 24' Tradewind
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Lynchburg , Virginia
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Snakyjake

My $50 folding aluminum ramp works well for me, but my motorcycle is not very heavy. I thought that the height of the pick up truck bed was going to be a major problem, but if you fine a drainage ditch next to a small hill, it is pretty easy to load. I load it by myself.

The "Overbuilt" electric lift looks like it will do the job just fine for a heavy motorcycle. Looks like it costs about $2,500. Looks like you will need a full 8 foot bed plus at least a 3/4 ton truck to carry the mc plus tow the trailer. What ever works for you. What would your motorcycle plus the lift weigh?

Dan
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Old 09-06-2011, 08:01 AM   #4
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1999 25' Safari
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I have been towing with a motorcycle in the bed of the truck for several years. The bed on the truck is standard length, 6.5 feet, so the tailgate has to be removed to provide clearance with the LP tanks on front of the trailer. The bike doesn't sit on the tailgate anyway. I use lightweight aluminum ramps to load/unload the bike. With everything loaded and hooked up, the rig has been weighed on a Cat scale and is just under the max combined weight limit. The three bikes I carry (one at a time) weigh between 370 and 500 pounds.

As a side note, the "Overbuilt" electric lift is very heavy, weight that does not need to be involved.
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Old 09-06-2011, 10:26 AM   #5
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1971 31' Sovereign
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I haven't done a lot of hauling yet but did go about 400 miles with my 2 dirt bikes(425 LBS total) using a hitch extender. Used the equalizer to get it level.
http://www.airforums.com/attachments...mall_thumb.jpg

Once I get my unit complete & weighed I may put a rail carrier on the back of the trailer to carry a light scooter of one dirt bike if the math works out.
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Old 10-04-2011, 09:35 PM   #6
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Stockton , Missouri
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lots of solutions

http://www.airforums.com/photos/showimage.php?i=30755&catid=member&orderby=title&d irection=ASC&imageuser=58486&cutoffdate=-1

Great to see people figuring out how to haul the two wheels around. Here was my option. OTD cost of $1800 I can put you in touch if your interested

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Old 10-05-2011, 06:35 AM   #7
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I started carrying a 125cc scooter this last summer. It is a lot of fun to have 2 wheels to sightsee. I also use aluminum ramps. I use 2 because I dont want to try and ride up one and risk falling off. I walk up one and throttle up the scooter (automatic, no clutch) up the other.

My question is....has anyone found a really tidy cleaver way to stow the ramps. They eat up almost as much room in the truck as the scoot.
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Old 10-05-2011, 07:13 AM   #8
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2012 25' FB Eddie Bauer
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Hi,
We have a Chevy truck with the long bed and we carry
a 1000 lb Honda Goldwing MotorTrike in the back.
We use a Amerideck electric/hyd lift platform that sets
on the ground and you strap the bike down and it lifts
it right up into the back of the truck. This was the only
way we could figure out how to carry a 3 wheeler in the
back and get it up on the truck.
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Old 10-05-2011, 12:27 PM   #9
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I can see a lot of good uses for something like Amerideck.
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Old 10-06-2011, 06:09 AM   #10
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1966 24' Tradewind
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dznfOg

How about some pictures of your scooter rig?

If you back up to a slight hill and/or place the rear axle of the TV in a drainage ditch this reduces the angle of the ramp, so that you will only need to carry one ramp to load your scooter. I load my Ducati 750ss this way, bad knees and all. I will post some pictures of this some time when I remember to take them.

Dan
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Old 10-06-2011, 06:44 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TouringDan View Post
dznfOg

How about some pictures of your scooter rig?

If you back up to a slight hill and/or place the rear axle of the TV in a drainage ditch this reduces the angle of the ramp, so that you will only need to carry one ramp to load your scooter. I load my Ducati 750ss this way, bad knees and all. I will post some pictures of this some time when I remember to take them.

Dan
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Old 05-08-2012, 01:05 AM   #12
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2004 16' International CCD
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encino , California
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motorcycle front hitch?

Im towing a 16 ft bambi and I have a shell on the back of my 1500 4x4. Does anyone have experience with putting a motorcycle on the front of the TV? I recently bought a 400LB bike that I would like to put on the front of my rig while im towing? It doesn't appear to exceed weight limits but seems a little sketchy. My local hitch guy says it can handle the weight no problem. I know about obstructing headlights and blinkers and windshield, just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. thanks!
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Old 05-08-2012, 02:41 AM   #13
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up front

We are looking to put a scooter on the front of our truck and have found the the following link. Would love to talk with others who have done it Moto-Tote Motorcycle Carrier Models
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Old 05-08-2012, 06:00 AM   #14
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It looks like those are hitch mounted. So you have to mount a hitch on the front to start with. I have thought of mounting a hitch on the front my Excursion. It should have no problems with a 400lb DR650SE Dual Sport. There is the additional concern that if something breaks that you will run over the bike and probably destroy your tow vehicle and trailer if you run over the fallen bike. I would be in favor of a custom built carrier that used two receivers to mount the carrier. Each receiver would mount on a frame rail. This would eliminate any wobble and instability. A better solution would be to have a pickup with an 8ft bed. The problem is that now days that even a 2WD truck bed is way too high off the ground.

Perry
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Old 05-08-2012, 10:16 PM   #15
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I carry a Honda CT70 on the front of my pickup. Only 164 pounds, so that isn't much of a problem. Also small enough to not obstruct the headlights too much. I built the rack using two receivers, one on each frame rail. Very solid mount and I also incorporated a front center receiver for hooking trailers to the front. Front receiver always stays on and I add two "buckets" for the Honda tires when I need to carry it.
Have used it for 8 years without a problem. I built it to carry the full weight of my pickup, so I don't think the little Honda could tax it at all.
Sam
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Old 03-20-2018, 06:07 AM   #16
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2003 36' Land Yacht XC Diesel 330 hp w/2slides
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Does the Amerideck offer sufficient clearance with the propane tanks? It looks like about a 6 inch overhang at the rear of the truck bed.
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Old 03-20-2018, 07:29 AM   #17
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I'll be carrying a KTM 1190 at 500lbs including luggage racks and riding gear. Two aluminum ramps, one to walk up and one for the bike. The tailgate will close with the bike on an angle. I've done the math and it will be close. If the wife ends up not riding two up, then maybe just throw a dirt bike in there, or just leave the wife at home, and take both.
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Old 03-20-2018, 07:40 AM   #18
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The Amerideck has two large roller wheels at the end of the deck and I'm wondering if I could use a pin set up and remove the wheels from the deck after I get the bike loaded in order to get better clearance.
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Old 03-21-2018, 12:09 AM   #19
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KTM 1190R on a RAM 2500 with my 27FB. No issues. I have an 8’ bed and I use a bed-mounted Condor wheel chock to hold the bike steady. Also use wide Big Boy ramps to load, shown with an MV Agusta F4.Click image for larger version

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Old 03-21-2018, 08:42 AM   #20
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I have been using the Loadall system now for several years. Harley’s are a bit more challenging to load so this system is very nice. I’ll attach a video.

Loadall.com

Video: https://youtu.be/zgrQhVTiDoU

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