Loading a Spyder in the bed of a truck

[Tom in NM]

I didn't mean to sound hard . . . .

What kind of Spyder you have and if it has any mods - like luggage, etc.? None effect this however, highway pegs, exhaust--thats it..

How far/long you want to go with the Spyder in the bed?
Vacation, like a 1,500 mile trip, down load and ride the spyder.

How long you will be there?
Vacation time.

Is this a thing you will be doing alone or will you have help?
Good question, I consider this to be a BY MYSELF method.


What kind of load/unload facilities, if any, you have?
I like the ditch method but I do have a set of ramps.

Have you ever trailered a Spyder?
Yes

What kind of budget you are setting for this?
Couple hundred bucks for something that is removable in easy terms

I will be attempting to equip this in a 05 Dodge 1500 Ram Quad Cab and not the doully.

Thanks for all the info all this is good stuff...
Joe

. . . . I usually only sound grumpy in person.

Good info. The first hurdle is the truck bed and its measurements. As NancysToy mentioned, you will probably have to back the Spyder in. I hope you are better in reverse than I am.

You will probably have to extend the bed like Tomcat (no relation to me) mentioned. Maybe something like the Hitch Hand Truck Bed Extender ( http://atv.off-road.com/atv/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=190525 ) will allow you to build your own. The three things to keep in mind are;
1 Weight Limitations ( your Spyder probably weighs in around 750 lbs. or more )
2 Center of Gravity of the Spyder - I think it is around where the front of seat ends - roughly 60" from the back edge of the brake light. And, I would guess you would want this balance point to be above the rear axle or a little bit forward of that. Others may know better where the center of gravity is from jacking it up.
3) Extending the bed, if that works, may make ditch unloading pretty difficult.

So, if the bed is wide enough (61" will just barely take it with great steering precision) to hold it and deep enough, it could work. Get out that tape measure and see if you are in the ballpark parking lot. Tie downs, loading/unloading really mean anything if the bed won't hold it.

My experience is that 95% of Spyder transport options are just an inch or so too small. So close, yet not a workable option.

There is also something called a Smart Trailer. See the pics below. You may be able to do something like that to extend the bed - maybe you can just get the hitch receiver hardware.

Oh, and I don't recommend the helium weather balloon method of loading and unloading.

Tom

 

[xpeschon]

Well there you have it Tom in NM, now thats some good stuff there,, I may look into this type of deal,, the whole operation makes since to me,, I have a few thoughts in my head but will hold off a bit before I mention them, If it works I will post a couple pictures, it will be a surprise to you all and should not cost but about a 100.00 bucks or so, I am working out the details at this time,,, I am going to wait till after the 4th of July to start the modification, or possible look into the info you sent me.. Thanks and I'm liking it..

Joe

 

[matusky]

Solution for those of us with a long bed full sized truck

Hello all, been a while since I've posted anything, I've been crazy busy lately.

I've never had the need to put my spyder in the back of my truck till recently..... I have a 20 trailer with a rear ramp door, so hauling it usually isn't a problem at all..... of course then I find a scenario where I actually need to put it in the truck!

My dad and I are taking a 30' travel trailer to Ohio.... I have a bunch of gearhead relatives that have heard of the spyder but never had the chance to see one, they've all begged me to bring mine out for them to check it out.... so now I have a dillema

I'm pulling a travel trailer RV..... so I don't have my trailer to put the spyder in, I can't just put the spyder in the bed of the truck for two reasons, ONE.... I'm pulling a trailer, so I can't have the tailgate down.... TWO where am I going to put all the stuff we're bringing since we're picking up the RV 100 miles from home and heading to Ohio from there?

First I should mention I own a metal fabrication company...... I have an engineer that I deal with on a regular basis, I threw this problem at him and gave him the measurements on the truck and spyder, first idea was a no-go..... it was to just put the spyder in the truck, and since I have a 350 dually with a class 5 hitch, I should be able to extend the hitch 16" or so and then I'd have the room to leave the tailgate open...... I wasn't liking that idea too much...... anyways, I've been working on this idea for some time now and a few weeks ago he comes back to me with a set of plans and we applied for a patent which I understand I should have in hand shortly so I feel like it's ok to show you all what we came up with.......

The design puts the spyder on TOP of the bedrail of a full sized truck, it comes with three hinged ramps that fold up and stow underneath in the bed of the truck, the tailgate is totally unaffected and opens and closes with no issue, the clearance from the rear window is approximately 6" and the nose of the spyder hangs over the rear just a few inches which means you can still pull a trailer, your tailgate is closed and you still have the entire bed of the truck for anything you want to haul along with you.

I've had my spyder on the truck for a couple days road testing the first one we built and at this point the only issue I can see is with the bike in that position, on the highway I feel I'll need to either secure the cover on the spyder OR remove the windshield since having it facing backward to the wind is likely to stress it at speeds over 50mph since the height has the windshield over the roofline of the truck.

The nice thing about this design is, the bed is fully accessible from both sides since the only place it goes full width is at the rear, there's openings from front to back on both sides so the bed is unobstructed except where the spyder is actually sitting.

I've received nothing but positive comments on this design thus far, and we have yet to alter this to make it shippable as this first one is a fully welded unit, I would love to hear some feedback from you guys though! I have no idea on pricing, shipping will most likely be an issue, the first one has a footprint of about 90" x 70" on my F350 Dually bed.

I took these pics after dark in the driveway on my iphone but hopefully it'll give you an idea.

 

[DynamoBT]

Quite the set up!! Necessity. The mother of invention!!!

 

[NancysToy]

I took these pics after dark in the driveway on my iphone but hopefully it'll give you an idea.

Man, I applaud your approach to solving a problem. I'd love to see the pictures of this rig, but on my computer they were like looking at an inkblot on a black shirt inside a closed closet. Get that thing out in the daylight......please!
-Scotty

 

[ataDude]

Great innovation. And, daylight pics would be appreciated.

And, don't put the cover on it... remove the shield. The cover will provide you with an endless supply of little scratches as dirt is caught between the cover and the bike.
.

 

[xpeschon]

Well there you have it,, Great Job matusky, so it can be done... I love the idea of still being able to use the bed... The loading and un-loading part is where I'm a bit confussed... Possible you could explain how you do this... I DO again like this brother.... I'd be your first customer for sure..

Joe

 

[spyryder]

Good luck with your patent application, but I think something similar is already on the market.

http://www.discountramps.com/pickup-snowmobile-platform.htm

http://www.monsterhauler.com/

 

[dltang]

This one is already made for the spyder. This is from an old post of bjt's

There is a gentleman who works with (not for) Rampage and he made a Spyder loading / hauling adapter that works with the Rampage hoist. Here is a picture that I'm borrowing from bjeffrey that he took when we met for the Michigan owner's event. Sorry there's not more pics or closeups but you might be able to get the idea.

 

[DannyS]

Tractor Supply has a 5' x 10 foot trailer with a ramp for 850.00 or a 5' x 8' for 699.95 with full with loading ramps. I know 5' is to narrow and 8' is to short. If you look at the way these things are made you will see that you can widen the back end to hold the front of the Spyder. The tongue bolts on so you can get a longer tongue and make a small pad for the rear tire on the tongue . The axles are 1500 and 2000 rated so the weight is not a problem. I know that you stated a couple of hundred dollars but I can't see that happening. They also have a frame and axle only trailer that is 4' X 8' it is 350.00 once again the tongue bolts on ( I once made a sail boat trailer from a cheap freight harbor trailer kit by putting on a longer tongue and build the frame up to accept the hull. These come with the important certificate of manufacture making them easy to license. I bet with the 4x 8 you could build a custom Spyder hauler for 600.00:2thumbs:

 

[xpeschon]

Here is the place to buy a trailer... I just bought the 6 1/2 (I added a $60.00 dollar up grade which makes it a total of 82 inches wide). I bought the tilt bed style.. I am able to put the spyder and my other 2 wheel motorcycle on it, works perfect for me.. I know this don't fit every one cause of location, however DannyS it may work for you, south MO but well worth the drive trust me... The cost, it was $730.00 dollars, built to last as well, again, very nice folks.

www.jerryjamestrailersinc.com/

Joe

 

[DannyS]

Thanks Joe I bookmarked it. I am not thinking of a trailer myself but maybe down the road. They have good prices and some nice options at good prices.:2thumbs:

 

[JimAlpha]

Hold my beer and watch this !!!

:helpsmilie:

 

[vt228]

I have two replys
1, wish you did the photos in day light so we all could see the hole thing and how to tie down .but nice dezion still love it how do you get it up and down ....
2nd with that eazy lift it still sits on tail gate don't like it that way. would wind screen brake from air pulling on it as you drive on highway ????
with all the money you would spend on it I would bye a trailer pull it behind you pice of mind safer I think .....

 

[JimAlpha]

I have two replys
1, wish you did the photos in day light so we all could see the hole thing and how to tie down .but nice dezion still love it how do you get it up and down ....
2nd with that eazy lift it still sits on tail gate don't like it that way. would wind screen brake from air pulling on it as you drive on highway ????
with all the money you would spend on it I would bye a trailer pull it behind you pice of mind safer I think .....

1. One large strap through the back wheel, One strap through each front wheel and one strap through both front wheels to stock anchor points. Holds it in place very well. Check the straps every couple humdred miles and not had a problem.

2. The bike is lifted using a flat bed tow truck as mentioned earlier in this thread. Wind screen is fine, Can not tow a trailer since this Avalanche is pulled behind a 45' motor coach already. Would use a trailer if I had a choice.

 

[SpyderGirl]

I wouldn't trust that tailgate to hold all that weight. My husband had an Avalanche and a Silverado (a 2002 and a 2003 respectively) that had known issues regarding the support cables for the tailgate. The weight and the bouncing around on the road will some some serious stress on those cables. I guarantee they are not rated for that sort of abuse.

I'd be very careful with this set-up -- for long periods of time especially. Might want to consider riding the Spyder on a long trip alongside your motorhome pulling your Avalanche. Just my two cents.