Hey all. I was looking at the specs on the 2005 Dakota. The truck's bed is 45.2 inches between the wheelwells, 59.6 inches wide total. The 04 sportsman is 46 inches wide. So it may fit between the wells, may not. The truck bed is 78.8 inches long, the sportsman is 81 inches long.

Those are all numbers from the Dodge and Polaris sites.

I am hoping that the tailgate could close, is the 81 inch length measured at the back of the rack or a the back of the tires? I am thinking that the rack hangs over the back of the tires a bit, allowing the quad to fit in the bed.

Anyone every try getting a sportsman into this truck? Or does anyone have any accurate measurements of the sportsman? Also, the Dakota looks like its rated at around 7000 pounds trailer, so I should be able to move all three quads with this instead of just two with the suburban.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

I measured my '05 sportsman - I'm not sure if there's a difference between the two years - and it came out to be 48" wide (even after '05 literature said 46"). I actually did a lot of research on this recently myself as I don't really want a full sized truck. A few things you need to consider here; first, the placement of the wheel humps relative to the wheelbase of the ATV. By this I mean that you need enough clearance in FRONT of the wheel humps in the truck bed to accomodate the front tire and the front overhang of the ATV (I can already tell you the new Tacoma doesn't work). IF that works, then you don't have to worry so much about the bed size. Most smaller trucks aren't going to fit an ATV in the bed length-wise without the tailgate down - even a full size truck with a 6 1/2 ft bed won't hold a 81" ATV (pretty accurate measurement there) as 81" equals 6'9". Yep, that means if you want the tail gate up, you're going to need a full 8' bed which are getting harder and harder to come by these days if you like a little extra cab space.

So that leaves towing the ATV(s) on a trailer. Take this into consideration, any time you see an advertised tow rating it's going to be the absolute highest tow rating that that particular vehicle can attain. For instance, the '05 Dakota Club 4x4 with the 3.55 rear can only tow 5750lbs. With the 3.92 rear end it tows 6950lbs. Most Dakotas you'll see on the lots will have the 3.55 rear end. Oh yeah, upping your cab space to the Quad Cab drops 100lbs off of those tow ratings, too.

At any rate, a tow rating of 5750lbs is more than enough for 3 ATV's depending, of course, on what you're towing them on.

*edit - I found my measurements I took. These weren't exact but they gave me a good idea of what to look for when I checked out the truck beds of mid-sized trucks.

width = 47-48"
length = 81"
inside front tire to front of ATV = 31"
inside rear tire to rear of ATV = 26-27"
between tires = 25"

I was obviously a little off with my measurements or else the last 3 would have added up to 81". It gave me a good idea though, as most trucks I looked at weren't even close.

*edit2 - http://www-5.dodge.com/vehsuite/TowingGuide.jsp

 

Here is a picture of the bed of the Dakota (I think you have to click "Cargo/Trunk"). I think that the 05 sportsman's are 2 inches wider (i think an inch per side?). I don't think that towing would be a problem, I use a covered two-place snowmobile trailer. The suburban pulls it fine, and it has the 5.3 V8 and weighs almost 6000 pounts by itself.

I was looking at the Dakota Laramie Club Cab (2 half doors in the back) with the non-HO V8. I'm not thinking power will be a problem, just size I am looking at. I know that the tow rating is the absoulte max, I forgot the rating for how I had it equipped.
Thanks for that detailed post, I'll take what you said into consideration.

Looking at the picture of the bed above, the wheel humps are right up against the cab. So if the ATV was wide enough to go up on them, the front (or back, whichever fits better) would have to sit a little higher.

t711

 

I don't know the new sizes and specs for 2005, or the old sizes of a 1999 Dakota bed, but I can say that I put my 2002 Sportsman 500 HO in the bed of my 1999 Dakota regular cab and it fit with the tail gate up. It was tight and it pushed in a little on the tires, but it DId fit with the tail gate up!

 

My Scrambler won't fit in the back of my Dak with the tailgate up.

 

Alright guys, thanks. I'll take a tape measure to the dealer today to check it out.

 

I think its do-able. Just drive up over the wheel wells.. There should be enough clearance so that it doesnt scrape the wheel wells when the front tires go down off the wheel wells on the bed. I would measure the height of the wheel wells. You will definately have to leave tailgate down which isnt a biggy. Just use the e-brake, keep it in park, and use a tie strap.

 

Looked at them today. There is enough room in front of the wheel wells to bring the wheels back down, and if I got one, I'd get a bed liner. So looks like I'll be able to do it no problem. Think there is enough clearance between the covered sled trailer and the open tailgate to allow for full turning maneuverability? Never tried to tow anything with a pickup before, so I am not familiar if whether that is a common problem.

 

May I recommend a spray in bedliner?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

How much do those spray-in's cost to get done? The dodge has a non-spray bedliner as an option, and most of the better-equipped 4x4's at the lot have them. So I'm thinking that I would just go with that, its got the Dodge logo on it and some nice portholes over where the drainplugs in the bed are.