D-Zum
My 13 year old is faster than your President
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.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....
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.