Towing travel trailer with motorcycle in pickup bed

[tylerfoster]

Great forum, so helpful guys, thanks
Next question. Got the travel trailer, 27', decided to go with the diesel truck, looking. Concept was to put motorcycle in pickup bed. Harley road King 800 lbs, 8' long. Not sure if it will even fit in long bed? Has anyone run this kind of rig. If tailgate is down does it hit tt in turns? I have a condor wheel chock I used when I towed a trailer behind rv and it worked great. Please let me know your comments and experiences.
Thanks!!!

 

[Stephen S.]

I believe a trailer converter dolly would be the best way. That would remove the tongue weight from the pickup, allowing you to have the bike in the bed without exceeding the axles weight limit.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

I see it done all over the place in Yuma,  one of the neighbors brought in a Harley Trike in his P/U bed pulling a medium sized TT.  He was driving an F-250 and may have added air bags to help level the bed.  A good sway bar system like Equalizer 4 way system will keep the weight shifted to the front wheels and level the bed too. 

I have thought about doing it and would have a programmable from the cab system to control the air bag lift.

Tom...

 

[grashley]

My F350 SRW Long bed is a full 96" long.  If the bike is really 8'0", you should be fine.  If it is 8'4", parking it on an angle will still provide the needed space..

Make sure your rear axle will carry that much weight, though!

 

[SargeW]

I have a 2008 Ram diesel long bed. It would easily handle the weight of a Harley and a TT. I put air bags on it already when I pulled a 5ver for a while. An 800 pound Harley would be child's play.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

My biggest apprehension over the whole thing is getting a 2 wheel bike up a ramp and back down safely.  I would never expect the tailgate supports to handle the load.  I would also not be able to physically handle the side to side movement of the bike while moving up or down.  At the very least I would expect to back the truck down into a road ditch to get the bed down and closer to the ground and keep the ramp more level. 

 

[Stephen S.]

My biggest apprehension over the whole thing is getting a 2 wheel bike up a ramp and back down safely.  I would never expect the tailgate supports to handle the load.  I would also not be able to physically handle the side to side movement of the bike while moving up or down.  At the very least I would expect to back the truck down into a road ditch to get the bed down and closer to the ground and keep the ramp more level.

That's one of the things that always bothered me about loading ramps for motorcycles. Where are the walking ramps? To get even a lighter dirt bike or dual sport up into a truck bed you need to walk beside it! I have a tough time getting my 250 lbs dual sport up on the bike rack on the back of my RV. If I had a taller bike it would be more difficult to keep steady while loading.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

I do have a tri fold ramp I got for loading my tricycle lawn mower into my truck,  it has a smooth center section for the non drive wheel and cross bars for the drive wheels,  I could put a smooth or diamond plate aluminum sheet on the sides so you could walk on the side,  main problem is its only rated for 600 lbs and a bike and me would be severely over load specs.  Here it is I pop riveted the smooth sheet of aluminum to the center track on mine. I do take my tailgate off and have the ramp directly on the P/U bed.  I do load in a ditch so the ramp is as close to level as possible.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

I just went through all of this a couple months ago,figuring out how to haul my Goldwing as well as pull my 26' trailer.
The bike's wheelbase is shorter than 8 feet, overall length is 8'6" Loaded up,it's about 900#
After much discussion,I decided on a Rampage power lift rather than  a ramp.
http://motorcycletrailer.com/rampage/
I was able to find a good deal on a used lift for 750.00.They are about 3000 new.
It can be used in a short bed truck with the tailgate down,but the tailgate needs to be removed with an 8 foot bed.
I believe the tailgate would hit the trailer if left down.

There are wide ramps available that can handle 1000# for around 800.00

I've loaded it up,but still have yet to take a trip.
My F250,with a max payload of about 3000# will haul the bike and trailer just fine.

 

[tylerfoster]

That looks like the deal. I also like it's got rear wheel support (not tailgate) and not have to have tailgate down which could interfere with tt. Looks like a standard bed 6-6 so would not need a long bed. $750 bam. I'll take one.

 

[edjunior]

I hauled my V-Star all over the place with my trailer.  Not as heavy as your Road King though.  I would consider a F-350/3500 if you do it.  I rode mine up on my folding ramps, over the tailgate and never had an issue.  Of course a 5th wheel changed all that.  Here is a picture of my bike in the bed on one trip.  Towed it from San Antonio TX to Tennessee.  I did have to scoot the rear diagonally, and remove my bags, but it did fit, and towed fine.  It can be done.