Best solution for two sports bikes in truck bed?

[D-Zum]

I know the Pit Bull Mafia is gonna refute my claims but let a lazy, cheap man have a say here.

I've been hauling in the bed of a pickup for years. I currently use one non-folding Black Widow 7'11'' long x 15" wide ramp for the bike and I walk up on the left side on a folding 7'6" Yutrax ramp. This usually requires the kindness of track day paddock neighbor pushing the bike from the back.

Once in the bed, the front tire lands in a not so fancy wheel chock similar to the Black Widow 2-piece chock available from Discount Ramps. That wheel chock is not mounted to the bed of the truck, but rather to a length of construction channel from Home Depot. This helps keep the wheel chock from wobbling side to side. One important trick is to use a rag or something to prevent hot tires from sticking to the front portion of the wheel chock. That will make unloading easier.

A canyon dancer strap goes over the grips and that is strapped down with ratchet straps to the front cargo hooks on the truck. Not too loose, not too tight. My rule is, I've strapped the bike down tight enough if when i shake the bike, the truck also shakes. Have not blown a fork seal yet. Have not thrown a bike onto the highway yet.

Now, your 2500 will have a higher loading floor height than my Tundra. That could make a difference in your choice of ramps. Longer will be better...make all the jokes you want now.

Oh yeah, two bikes. That's another benefit of the construction channel. Just get two of the wheel chocks and bolt them to the channel at appropriate distances from each other and the sides of the bed.

As for the tailgate, you can leave that down for the duration of your trip. If you want extra peace of mind, you can run another cargo strap across the back. I swear I have a picture of this setup somewhere....

Navigating up and around the straps while you're loading/unloading....stopping now and again. to check you tie downs, looking for anchor points depeiding on what you're hauling (aka maybe not the same person ride shares with you every time you go and different bikes have different places to attach straps, maybe losing straps are all a complete and utter pain in the ass. I'm too old now to do that limbo/yoga BS. I'm 95% sure I'm just my son's crew chief/mechanic/rig driver now, anyway. It was a good 26 year run though.

Canyon dancers stress your clipons the whole trip. Not a fun thought to have a clip on collapse from stress on you in a fast corner. If I'm still using tie downs, a canyon dancer is the last thing I'm using. I'll use a set of soft ties looped around my bottom triple clamp -> Strap <- anchor point. This keeps the hooks off the strap from touching/scratching your paint and any surfaces on your forks.

 

[D-Zum]

Many folks love the Pitbull system. If you're hauling the same stuff, it is great. I haul al kinds of different stuff, so it doesn't work for me. Straps are easy, cheap, and universal. I've also tripped in the Pitbull system countless times helping others load.

I agree on the bed vs. trailer. I have loved all of my low, light trailers. They'll haul anything, including most of what I need for the track on them or in the back of my tiny wagon. I have also seen guys RIDE their bikes up the single narrow ramp to the truck bed. Yea....no.

You just need to get the adapters for whatever you're hauling...compared to the TRS system, they're worth it. With the TRS, you buy once...and cry once.

 

[bmart]

You just need to get the adapters for whatever you're hauling...compared to the TRS system, they're worth it. With the TRS, you buy once...and cry once.

I wish that were true. I have at least 5 different ones, then I'd have to add my friend's bikes' pins. Then I'd have to move the plates to accommodate on the trailer for long bikes or short bikes with gear/equipment in front of them. I get how it works for folks who pull the same bikes, but it just isn't a good solution for me. I don't know how one could overstress a handlebar. I never have over the decades...despite how I drive. lol! All straps, all of the time for the win!

 

[D-Zum]

I wish that were true. I have at least 5 different ones, then I'd have to add my friend's bikes' pins. Then I'd have to move the plates to accommodate on the trailer for long bikes or short bikes with gear/equipment in front of them. I get how it works for folks who pull the same bikes, but it just isn't a good solution for me. I don't know how one could overstress a handlebar. I never have over the decades...despite how I drive. lol! All straps, all of the time for the win!

I said "you". Not someone riding with you....that's their problem. I'm not buying adapters for a guest rider or ride share.

So they can either provide the TRS and adapters to lock into your rig plates, or tie down their bike. That's all on them as far as I'm concerned.

Clipons are aluminum...it's a soft metal...doesn't take much to stress it. There's also not a lot of torque on the clamp screws or bar screws. I've seen them buckle and collapse in transport during a tie-down check/inspection on a road trip before. ...then the bike's not tied and can fall over in transport. So I use the nylon Figure8 Buddy straps to loop around the lower or upper triple tree, which is stronger than those clipons.

If I remember the conversation I had with him correctly, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, but Emerson's crash this year at Summit was due to a clip-on failure going into T10 at Summit...and he uses TRS to transport his bikes. So if I can do anything to avoid that kind of thing on my son's race bikes...It's a no brainer. In fact, I may make it a winter habit to change his bars out every or every other season. I mean it's $40 for my peace of mind that won't happen to my little semi-annual tax deduction. In fact, that may be what I use as a reminder to swap out his bars.....I get to deduct him this tax year...so new bars.

We share the same goal...helping people avoid unnecessary injuries...that's what truly matters.

 

[rpm894]

I said "you". Not someone riding with you....that's their problem. I'm not buying adapters for a guest rider or ride share.

So they can either provide the TRS and adapters to lock into your rig plates, or tie down their bike. That's all on them as far as I'm concerned.

Clipons are aluminum...it's a soft metal...doesn't take much to stress it. There's also not a lot of torque on the clamp screws or bar screws. I've seen them buckle and collapse in transport during a tie-down check/inspection on a road trip before. ...then the bike's not tied and can fall over in transport. So I use the nylon Figure8 Buddy straps to loop around the lower or upper triple tree, which is stronger than those clipons.

If I remember the conversation I had with him correctly, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, but Emerson's crash this year at Summit was due to a clip-on failure going into T10 at Summit...and he uses TRS to transport his bikes. So if I can do anything to avoid that kind of thing on my son's race bikes...It's a no brainer. In fact, I may make it a winter habit to change his bars out every or every other season. I mean it's $40 for my peace of mind that won't happen to my little semi-annual tax deduction. In fact, that may be what I use as a reminder to swap out his bars.....I get to deduct him this tax year...so new bars.

We share the same goal...helping people avoid unnecessary injuries...that's what truly matters.

It’s really not cool to post online the names and details of conversations you have had with people. It also sounds like you are spinning the details of that conversation or leaving details out to make an argument. Clip-ons fail in many different ways.

 

[D-Zum]

It’s really not cool to post online the names and details of conversations you have had with people. It also sounds like you are spinning the details of that conversation or leaving details out to make an argument. Clip-ons fail in many different ways.

Then we should stop discussing ALL post crash root causes.

I didn’t make any remarks on or about him or how he is doing after that event. That I agree is not cool.

 

[Laszlo]

I use the Aerofast ones, around the triple clamp, for my current bikes (and they worked well w/ the dirt bikes I used to own as well), and a tire chock screwed into a 3’ wide 1”x12” board so I can move it around (the tire chock has an eye bolt at either end that is strapped down). The TRS looks appealing but at least for now the freedom of mobility/modularity of the above systems works well for me (e.g., I can easily move this to use in a van if I don’t want to use a trailer).