How to carry motorcycle??

[78crewcabjohn]

Is there any good way to carry a motorcycle on a trailmanor? I have an old on/off road bike that weights 280lbs. I tow with an suv now so I have no bed to haul like I used to do in my pickup truck. I have old bumper racks that were used 35 years ago to haul another bike. I had thought about welding these to the back bumper on my trailer. This may be too much weight!!! Any input of your experiences would be great. Thanks JOHN

[PopBeavers]

I have the factory installed rear receiver. It is clearly labeled as 100 pounds max.

I have a similar problem. Though I have a 6.5 foot bed, I want to carry a Yamaha dual sport motorcycle and a 4wd ATV for DW. It doesn't look like I can get them both in the bed of the truck unless I downsize DW's ATV to 2wd. An alternative for me is to load them on top of the bed, as they do make racks for ATV's, but that seems awfully high to suit me.

I have considered putting the motorcycle on the front, via a front hitch receiver, but it looks like blocking the headlights and obstructing the driver's view would be an issue.

No wonder toy haulers are so popular.

[fcatwo]

We spent a couple of weeks in Feb near Grover Beach, Calif which has beach/dune public use areas for ORV/ATVs. People arrived using all manner of carrying schemes so you might look for ideas there if you have a chance. I walked over to the parking lot to look at one truck that had two large 4-wheelers standing upright on their rear wheels in the bed. The PU's nose was raised of course and it looked like the rear axle was down on the stops. No one was around or I would have hung around to see how they got the 4-wheelers out.

As an aside, I don't think the standard scheme of measuring wheel wells and dropping front and back equally would work with that rig if they wanted to add a trailer and WDH. Plenty of trucks came in while we were there however that were both towing and hauling huge loads. Toy-haulers dominated as you would expect but there were a number of different combinations. Sorry but I didn't get pictures.

[78crewcabjohn]

Thanks for the idea.....I'll have to see if my bumper loops for the cycle wheels will work on the suv bumper and still hook up the hitch. Maybe on the front would be better. I hate to block air flow to the radiator in the front. JOHN

[rhmiddl]

A swivel wheel trailer may be a good idea. I've thought of building one myself. This trailer allows back up of a triple tow without jackknifing. Almost all of the weight could be placed on the wheels and little on the tongue. There is debate as to whether this would be considered a trailer or a part of the camper itself. These can be bought ready made or you can build your own. You can read more about it at:

http://www.doublehitch.com/

[larsdennert]

Hanging a motorcycle on the back bumper of a TM is a recipe for disaster IMO. 100lb of bicycles already sways plenty. 3 to 4 times that would be harrowing. Front bumper if the TV can handle the weight.

[Scott O]

Can't think of a single way which is even remotely possible. The only possibility would be in the bed of a truck...

[PopBeavers]

I have considered a hitch receiver for the front of the truck, but I think the motorcycle (WR250R) will block the headlights.

I am also considering a hitch like this:

http://www.torklift.com/p.php?w_page=superhitch

But I am not sure how far back I want to push the TM.

[RogerR]

Is your truck bed high enough that you could just open the back tail gate and let the atv hang out there? Another solution is to move up to a bigger truck.

[wmtire]

I have been looking at the receiver hitch carriers for my Kawasaki dual-sport. I studied the Versa-haul one below, which would also allow you to hook a trailer to it. The literature for it says it can only pull 3,000 lbs.

http://www.versahaul.com/vh55ro.php

I believe you would need a minimum of a class IV receiver (which I do have) on your tow vehicle or one like PopBeavers posted, to even safely consider the combination weight of the bike and the Tmanor's tongue hooked up to it, if anyone went with a rear type receiver like this because of the downsides of having a front mounted one. :rolleyes:

They may build other receiver type hitches that have more towing capacity that you could check into.

In the end, I just decided it wasn't worth the risk of possibly losing my bike and/or trailer, if it broke. Bought a pair of aluminum ramps instead, and just load the bike in the bed of the truck.

Hey PopBeavers, we got to meet up some time and ride/camp together, now that I know you also have a dual-sport.

[PopBeavers]

I think California is a long way from you.

If our son (26), his bride (27) and our daughter (29) go with us, we take two trucks. One tows the TM and the other carries 3 motorcycles and tows an ATV trailer with 2 ATVs on it.

When it is just the two of us, I want to be able to put one ATV in the bed of the truck and then still take my motorcycle. My son and I can load the motorcycle alongside the ATV in the truck, but I can not do that alone. Thus my interest in the carrier.

We added the 2500HD long bed, because the 2 seater ATV is too long to fit in the 1500HD truck with the 6.5 foot bed and still tow the TM.

The hitch system I pointed out is designed to tow a 7,000 pound ski boat behind a truck and camper, where the camper sticks out 4 feet behind the rear bumper of the truck. I only need about 2 feet to carry the motorcycle. I contacted the factory regarding using it on the 1500HD and they advised against it because the 1500HD does not have a strong enough frame. You need a 2500 to use a long extension.

I have been looking at the receiver hitch carriers for my Kawasaki dual-sport. I studied the Versa-haul one below, which would also allow you to hook a trailer to it. The literature for it says it can only pull 3,000 lbs.

http://www.versahaul.com/vh55ro.php

I believe you would need a minimum of a class IV receiver (which I do have) on your tow vehicle or one like PopBeavers posted, to even safely consider the combination weight of the bike and the Tmanor's tongue hooked up to it, if anyone went with a rear type receiver like this because of the downsides of having a front mounted one. :rolleyes:

They may build other receiver type hitches that have more towing capacity that you could check into.

In the end, I just decided it wasn't worth the risk of possibly losing my bike and/or trailer, if it broke. Bought a pair of aluminum ramps instead, and just load the bike in the bed of the truck.

Hey PopBeavers, we got to meet up some time and ride/camp together, now that I know you also have a dual-sport.

[wmtire]

I think California is a long way from you.



As soon as my short term investments (aka the lottery) pays off, I plan to travel all around the US, even California. Ya need to get down here to experience the swamps of LA (that's Louisiana, not Los Angeles).:D

There is a lot of talk of these hitch type carriers on one of the motorcycle forums I frequent. I'll snoop around there and see what all was said about types, brands, etc.....or if there was just some other kind of other option available. If I find anything good, I'll post it here.

[Mike Watters]

I stopped looking seriously at these types of carriers after I double checked the van's manual for their recommended max tongue weight. Doesn't really matter that the hitch is rated for 500 if the vehicle doesn't want you having more than 350 back there.

Given that even a small bike (like a 250-500) is going to weigh something like 350lbs - and the carrier itself is another 100 - you're WAY past the vehicle's limit and nearly to that of the hitch itself. I don't see these as safe or advisable for anything but the smallest of scooters or dirtbikes.

[PopBeavers]

I stopped looking seriously at these types of carriers after I double checked the van's manual for their recommended max tongue weight. Doesn't really matter that the hitch is rated for 500 if the vehicle doesn't want you having more than 350 back there.

Given that even a small bike (like a 250-500) is going to weigh something like 350lbs - and the carrier itself is another 100 - you're WAY past the vehicle's limit and nearly to that of the hitch itself. I don't see these as safe or advisable for anything but the smallest of scooters or dirtbikes.

When I connect the TM to the back of the truck, the truck sags about 5/8 of an inch. I think I can tolerate more sag than that.

My dual sport motorcycle weighs about 290 pounds. I might be able to do it, but I agree with you if you are trying to carry a Harley.