Hi,

Took my Polaris sportsman for its first ride yesterday, what a blast. Unfortunately I don't yet have a trailer so I transport it in the truck bed. It's pretty steep and sketchy with the loading ramps so I would prefer to winch it up to the truck - Any suggestions where/how to secure the winch?

Also, I noticed when I got to the trail head, the ratchet straps have loosened a bit, so maybe I could use a lesson in how to properly secure it, too. Unfortunately the tailgate does not quit close, which is another issue.

 

I've heard of people running a chain across the front corners of the box and hooking the winch to that. With ratchet straps I always tighten them up pretty tight after putting the quad in park and locking the parking brake. I've had one strap come loose in the last decade so it works really well.

 

If your truck has tie downs on the floor at the front corners of the bed, a piece of cable strung tightly would do the trick or a piece of chain like Jumbo mentioned. Another thought is to buy a longer set of ramps to reduce the angle of the climb into and out of the bed.

X2 on what Jumbo said about the ratchet straps. When you are just starting to tighten them, make sure there is no slack in the line. Then start tightening it. I tend to make it so tight that you can hear it hum when you strum it like a guitar string. Have never lost a quad in over 16 years of toting them. If you stop along the way, check them and tighten them a couple notches if needed.

 

A longer set of ramps would be nice but if you cannot afford that. You could put a one of those eye bolts in the front of your box. Just remember to secure it well. They make some that come with extra large washers to spread the load out.

Coming from experience and lots of cheaper tie downs and experimenting several ways from extreme to the basics. Tying the machines down extremely tight is not the answer. Between constantly breaking straps and causing extra damage to my trailer as the machines were so tight that the trailer suspension had to do all the work. I now just use the simple pull strap i spend good money on the KTM straps. Strap them down low as you can and cross strap if you can. On the Cats i have tow points front and rear so it makes it easy. Straps are snug but not over tight so the machines suspension is allowed to work. The machines are now more secure, have not broke any straps, no more damage to my trailer,

 

I bought some Reese brand straps from Walmart for about $20 that I use on my quad when I haul it. I tried to find them on Walmart's website so I could post them here but I didn't see them. They have a 1000lb working load and 3000lb break strength. They work quite well. I have hauled my quad to a riding park 80 miles away and the straps were nice and tight when I got there. I like how you simply push a release button and they automatically retract. Push it again and they release. It does take some force to get them to release so no chance of accidentally having them come loose. Nice solid feel to them, feel very sturdy. My Brute doesn't quite fit in my shortbed Silverado either without putting the tailgate down. The front bumper sticks out too far to fit. I use the parking brake as well. The older Brutes don't have a park position in the transmission, just a manual parking brake. I wish all quads had a manual parking brake. The Grizzly I had before that had park but I could never get it to go into park so I just put it in low and used the strap to tie it down. It did fit just barely in the bed though, even with a winch on the front as the front bumper was more recessed than the Brute. The Brute Force has a much beefier stock front bumper though. The stock Grizzly front bumper isn't even close. The Brute front bumper provides a more solid tie down point as well. I tie it down tight enough to compress the suspension a bit but not too tight. The Silverado has built in tie down points at all 4 corners of the bed, very sturdy for securing a quad with straps. I also several years ago bought a longer set of loading ramps to make the angle not so steep. The old 6ft ramps were just too short. The 7.5 ft long ramps now make a more manageable angle and weren't terribly expensive, about $160 at my local Rural King. I think you can actually find similar ramps less expensive online now. They slide under the quad when hauling as well.

 

Many good suggestions on securing your machine while its in the bed of your truck. So just use a combination that works for you and your driving style to secure your machine.
IRT the ramps though, my suggestion is no matter if you drive it up or winch it up, don't trust that flimsy strap that comes with most to secure the ramps from flying off the tail gate when your driving up. Instead, with the ramps properly set up for your machines tires.. drill 2 holes (per ramp) (1/4" in dia or so) in the lip of the ramp where it covers the tailgate. Drill the holes while the ramps are on the tailgate and drill into the tailgate as well. Now take 2 bolts (per ramp) approximately 1 to 1 1/2" long, tilt the ramp on its side and put them thru the holes in the ramps. Take a matching nut and secure the bolts thru the hole in the ramp. Once their secure, and you can use locktite so they wont come loose, line the bolts that are protruding out the bottom of the lip of the ramp to the holes that you drilled into your tailgate. And you now have ramps that will not slide off the lip of the tailgate no matter how much torque the atv needs to get up. Safe riding!

 

The folding ramp I had had steel cables to hold it to the truck. I put the hooks in the holes the tailgate latches to. I didn't have it long before I got a trailer but it worked well.

 

If you are careful, you can strap to the winch pockets. My Ram has very strong tie downs in each bed corner. I bought a 6x8 trailer from Tractor Supply for $599, so much easier, now. Sometimes I put my AC 400 in the bed and trailer the AC 500 .

 

I guess I've never had an issue with the ramps sliding out under a quad. The ramps I use have a pretty long lip on the front. As I've said before, I don't ride the quad up the ramps ever. I put it in low and 4x4 and stand to the side and use the throttle to walk it up the ramp. If something happens, I'm already off the quad and can easily get out of the way. To unload, I put it in neutral, make sure the handlebars are straight, and just grab the rear rack and roll it out. As long as I have about 20 ft of open space behind the truck to unload, I'm good. Its still possible that eventually I will get knocked over by my quad but seems safer than driving it off as I never have to worry about it falling on top of me. At my local riding area, I unload at exactly the same place everytime. I've dont it so many times that I've dug some ruts that actually makes my truck sink a bit. This actually effectively makes my truck sit lower and reduces the angle of the ramps. If my truck weren't 4x4, I probably would unload somewhere else though. Sometimes I need to use it to get out.

 

Make sure your ramps are attached to the truck and I have seen some folks use a long tent spike to spike the ramp to the ground while loading, this way they cant move while your riding up. I wouldn't screw with the winch just attach the ramps so they cant move. If you have 4wd use it when loading or unloading your atv. If in 2wd and you hit the gas the torque from the tires can slip the ramps out from under you but 4wd lessens that greatly. Just be sure your ramps are fixed to the truck and add a tent spike if you feel the need then you should have no worries.