Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Is there a way I can load my VFR into my F150 without damaging it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dawson Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Folding ramp and a canyon dancer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Easily done! I park the rear truck wheels in the gutter and place the ramp up the driveway. This levels the ramp a bit and makes running the bike up the ramp easier. To secure I use a chock now and still employ Canyon Dancers .....and a Chevy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2FAST4U Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 If it's something you won't be needing to do very often, rent a motorcycle-specific trailer from U-Haul for $15/day. If your truck doesn't have a hitch, get one (they come in handy). If you don't have tie-downs, get some of those, too (they also come in handy). And yes, get yourself a canyon dancer (I've got one of those, too). All this stuff comes in handy. I guarantee you, you won't be using any of these things just once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Make sure that your ramp is long enough and preferably curved. Otherwise, P.S. Don't let anyone film ya I have THIS one. Never failed me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dawson Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 A ramp that's wide enough for you to walk up beside the bike is really nice. Otherwise, a milk crate/stool/MX stand next to it to help you make the step up to the tailgate really helps. The bars get pretty high pretty fast and make it hard to balance and make a big step up. If you're by yourself, running it in first and feathering the clutch as you walk it up can help a lot. Or run it through the rear window of the truck, or spin the back wheel off the ramp. Practicing with a smaller bike helps if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Easily done! I park the rear truck wheels in the gutter and place the ramp up the driveway. This levels the ramp a bit and makes running the bike up the ramp easier. To secure I use a chock now and still employ Canyon Dancers .....and a Chevy! Might you have a pic of your ramp & how you transport it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 If it's something you won't be needing to do very often, rent a motorcycle-specific trailer from U-Haul for $15/day. If your truck doesn't have a hitch, get one (they come in handy). If you don't have tie-downs, get some of those, too (they also come in handy). And yes, get yourself a canyon dancer (I've got one of those, too). All this stuff comes in handy. I guarantee you, you won't be using any of these things just once. I'd be doing it on a weekly basis to go drag racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Make sure that your ramp is long enough and preferably curved. Otherwise, I have THIS one. Never failed me yet. Very tempting to get one of those ramps. Looks difficult to transport with only one bike. Why is there no tailgate on the truck in the pic? What went wrong in the video? Did it bottom out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Easily done! I park the rear truck wheels in the gutter and place the ramp up the driveway. This levels the ramp a bit and makes running the bike up the ramp easier. To secure I use a chock now and still employ Canyon Dancers .....and a Chevy! Might you have a pic of your ramp & how you transport it? Mine is a foldable "curved" ramp. Sorry about the lousy picture but you can see the Silver back half of one leg on a trip to our launch point for an Alaska adventure with three bikes (two on a trailer...one in the bed). It stores easily as the ramp is not wide enough to walk on. [/url] Here is what I would get now. This ReadyRamp serves two functions namely as a bed extender and a long foldable ramp. Quite a few more pictures on the readyramp.com site to show tips on loading too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Make sure that your ramp is long enough and preferably curved. Otherwise, I have THIS one. Never failed me yet. Very tempting to get one of those ramps. Looks difficult to transport with only one bike. Why is there no tailgate on the truck in the pic? What went wrong in the video? Did it bottom out? The bed is just a bit shorter than the bike. And not sure why it would be more difficult to store the ramp with one bike than with two. Or did I misunderstand your question? And yah. It bottomed out. That ready ramp looks like a great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer V-FORE Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 I have used 14"wide folding ramp to get it out, to get it in I found a ditch and was able to ride the bike straight in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrenk Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I've got a VERY steep driveway down to flat garage floor. Park the truck in the garage, and a 6' 2X12 let me load and unload easily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skymon Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnRS8f9QcrA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2FAST4U Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Here's another option (I once had one of these). It weighs a little over 100 lbs. and can carry a motorcycle weighing up to 600 lbs. My SUV has a Class IV hitch rated for 750 lbs. and so I never had any problems carrying my bike with it. You can even get optional turn signals with it (which I had). Check out versahaul.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer GP Paul Posted March 13, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2015 Note in Rice's post, #5: The ramp is ratchet-strapped to the truck. A great precaution! Those hitch-insert carriers look like the way to go. Princess Auto sells them for under $200 and have capacity of 500 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 14, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 14, 2015 Make sure that your ramp is long enough and preferably curved. Otherwise, I have THIS one. Never failed me yet. Very tempting to get one of those ramps. Looks difficult to transport with only one bike. Why is there no tailgate on the truck in the pic? What went wrong in the video? Did it bottom out? The bed is just a bit shorter than the bike. And not sure why it would be more difficult to store the ramp with one bike than with two. Or did I misunderstand your question? And yah. It bottomed out. That ready ramp looks like a great idea. So I take it that you prefer to remove the tailgate then to leave it down. Just curious. Looks difficult to transport because it's too wide to be able to lay it flat in the bed. Not sure how I could secure it. Sure as heck would not want it falling over on the bike. Being able to put it between two bikes looks easier then figuring out where to put it with one bike. Is the reason for it being arched to prevent the bike from bottoming out? The hitch mounted carriers are probably fine but I couldn't trust one. It's just not mounted to the vehicle securely enough for me. Since I have a truck with an 8' bed, I'd like to make use of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 14, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 14, 2015 Upon reviewing the ebay listing, I see the ramp can be separated into 3 separate ramps which would make transporting it much easier. Leaves me wondering, what's involved in doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted March 14, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 14, 2015 The ramp I use does come with two straps that secure it to the truck while loading and unloading. A must IMHO. I transport the ramp folded on its side leaned to one of the bed sides. Same straps are used to secure the folded ramp to the side of the truck. Zero chance of it moving or falling. It does consist of three pieces, but disassembling it and assembling for transport is not an option. Too much time and effort for no reason. I did consider the hitch carrier, but having somewhat of an engineering background, I just don't trust 5-6 hundred lbs dangling on a stick. The breaking force generated on a bump is just too much for the frame and for the 750lb rated hitch. I mean it probably won't break, but I'd be thinking about it and looking back after every good bump. Not fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FJ12Ryder Posted March 14, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 14, 2015 I had a ramp that consisted of three separate ramps that I bolted up into one ramp when I used it for stability. It worked but took up a lot of room. I also had the one that Rice shows a link to. A very good ramp, and easy to move around since it isn't extremely heavy. Securing the ramp to the vehicle you're going to load the bike into is mandatory unless you want to be on YouTube under "Motorcycle Loading Fails". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted March 15, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2015 I use the steel Harbor Freight ramps like the one > MISUSED < in the video. However, I have one ramp for the bike and one ramp for me to walk up. That guy also has the front wheels of his truck in the gutter which makes the rear even HIGHER. Bass ackward job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CHUCK2 Posted March 15, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2015 The ramp I use does come with two straps that secure it to the truck while loading and unloading. A must IMHO. I transport the ramp folded on its side leaned to one of the bed sides. Same straps are used to secure the folded ramp to the side of the truck. Zero chance of it moving or falling. How do you go about strapping the folded ramp in the bed of your truck? Like what do you attach the straps to? I use the steel Harbor Freight ramps like the one > MISUSED < in the video. However, I have one ramp for the bike and one ramp for me to walk up. That guy also has the front wheels of his truck in the gutter which makes the rear even HIGHER. Bass ackward job! I noticed the same thing in the video. Poor bike was doomed from the get go. I was looking at those ramps also and thinking that since they aren't arched, the bike would bottom out. Apparently you don't have that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rice Posted March 15, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2015 My truck has attachment points in each corner of the bed. It's a Chevy thing ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dawson Posted March 15, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2015 Tacoma has a couple of d rings in the back corners that are handy. If you don't have rings you can clip onto the latch hooks for the tail gate if you need to go over the top of the tailgate, or hook onto the bumper if you can go under. I know there seem to be a lot of videos around of things going wrong, but it's really not that difficult. Just step back and look at your setup for a sec and you'll be able to spot problems. It's pushing on anyway at that point that leads to videos. :o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted March 15, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2015 I know there seem to be a lot of videos around of things going wrong, but it's really not that difficult. Just step back and look at your setup for a sec and you'll be able to spot problems. It's pushing on anyway at that point that leads to videos. :o) You could argue that it is the presence of the video that virtually guarantees epic failure...when was the last time a video of an uneventful loading went viral? I rest my case. Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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