Transporting my Big Dog Chopper in my short bed pickup truck.

[WhiteDog]

Hi all.
I would like your opinions on transporting my Chopper.
I plan on going to Florida from Maryland (about a thousand miles) for the winter and I would like to take my bike. I plan on buying a boat while there and towing it back so a bike trailer is out. What I was thinking is that I would put a 8' piece of 3/4" plywood down in the bed as a base with a bed extender to help support the weight on the tailgate. My truck bed is 6' 4" long and the wheelbase of the bike is 77.5". My thoughts were to load the bike backwards at a loading dock so the majority of the weight of the bike will be in front of the rear wheels. Any ideas on my thoughts?

Thanks,
Whitedog

 

[Rottweiler]

Sound pretty good to me. Good luck with the trip.

 

[BWG56]

Hi all.
I would like your opinions on transporting my Chopper.
I plan on going to Florida from Maryland (about a thousand miles) for the winter and I would like to take my bike. I plan on buying a boat while there and towing it back so a bike trailer is out. What I was thinking is that I would put a 8' piece of 3/4" plywood down in the bed as a base with a bed extender to help support the weight on the tailgate. My truck bed is 6' 4" long and the wheelbase of the bike is 77.5". My thoughts were to load the bike backwards at a loading dock so the majority of the weight of the bike will be in front of the rear wheels. Any ideas on my thoughts?

Thanks,
Whitedog

Is the bed 6'-4" with the tail gate or does the tail gate get added to the 6'-4", and ya didn't say what year or type truck you have because the cables on the tail gate should easily support the half of the bike.

 

[WhiteDog]

The bed is 6'4" without the tailgate. It is a 2007 Ram 1500 4x4 with 20" wheels, so it sits pretty high. I wouldn't trust just the tailgate cables, maybe I am being over cautious.

Thanks for the input.

 

[BWG56]

The bed is 6'4" without the tailgate. It is a 2007 Ram 1500 4x4 with 20" wheels, so it sits pretty high. I wouldn't trust just the tailgate cables, maybe I am being over cautious.

Thanks for the input.

After its in the truck you can put blocks under the frame inside the bed before you strap it down, and you have the 4 corner tie down in the bed already.

 

[Hirter6Pack]

Should work out just fine. Ioadind dock of sort, definitely. Now the next concern, how close to the ball is the ratchet for the boat and will you be able to turn. May have to get an extended hitch.
Will be quite the rig.
Be safe.

 

[Th3InfamousI]

After its in the truck you can put blocks under the frame inside the bed before you strap it down, and you have the 4 corner tie down in the bed already.

Yes..definitely block the frame.

Loading it at a dock sounds fine..how the hell you gonna unload it when you get there though??

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[BWG56]

Yes..definitely block the frame.

Loading it at a dock sounds fine..how the hell you gonna unload it when you get there though??

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If he don't use a loading dock down there, all the weight will be on the tailgate and he's going to need 9' or longer ramps to avoid bottoming on the edge of the gate.

 

[Th3InfamousI]

If he don't use a loading dock down there, all the weight will be on the tailgate and he's going to need 9' or longer ramps to avoid bottoming on the edge of the gate.

I think you'll need longer than 9 feet. Especially if the truck is lifted or 4x4. Even in a box truck with a ramp I needed longer than the stock ramp to load the chopper ended up using a sidewalk. I bet that ramp was 9'.

Anyways that's why I'm asking.

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[BWG56]

I don't know what part of Florida he's going to but surely he can find a bank some where to take some of the height off the truck. In Daytona, Perrys has a second floor parking garage and the ramp coming down was perfect, pull down the ramp till the back tires were level and the drive off the truck on my ramps was level.

 

[BWG56]

In


I thought most loading docks were about 4 feet or so for the big rigs to back up to.

The loading docks are adjustable up or down about a foot in each direction, part of the dock is a ramp either up or down depending on the truck

 

[BWG56]

The other thing is I drive my Polaris 850 4x4 up my ramps sitting on the tail gate and never doubted the cables on the tail gate and with me on it, its over 1100#

 

[BWG56]

Chevy had a recall on the tail gate cables awhile back.

I have a Dodge

 

[BWG56]

Chevy had a recall on the tail gate cables awhile back.

And fords have the beds rusting off them also

 

[awg]

I used a U-Haul .

 

[BWG56]

I used a U-Haul .

He's hauling a boat and trailer home

 

[awg]

O boy.

 

[Matheny 514]

You can hook trailers up to uhual trucks. On my last move I had a uhaul full and towing my 6x12 enclosed trailer with the bikes in it. That is, if you want to avoid the stress of it being in the back of your truck.

 

[woodbutcher]

in your OP, you are comparing apples to oranges by saying the bed is 6'4" and the wheelbase is 77.5". sounds like you are forgetting to add half the diameter of the back tire, which would be about another 16".

 

[BWG56]

in your OP, you are comparing apples to oranges by saying the bed is 6'4" and the wheelbase is 77.5". sounds like you are forgetting to add half the diameter of the back tire, which would be about another 16".

Tailgate is another 24"