Well we picked up our new Bay Hauler BH3360 this weekend. 37'4" with 10' toy box. Got it home and tried to load the quads........uh,oh.they will not fit side by side. The wifes kodiak is not so bad, I can manage to pull it around but the king is a different story. Man, $50,000 for this unit to pull my quads camping and I have problems taking them. Q: Has anyone had this problem and what did you do about it for loading?

Shane

View Toy Hauler Here

 

Yes, that's a pretty common problem with toy haulers. In some areas rigs over 8' wide aren't legal, and even with a 8'6 wide trailer two big quads might not fit side by side if they have lifts or big tires.

Mine also has a 10' garage and is 8' wide on the exterior, which means I also have to turn my machines sideways to get them in there.

The 1st one is easy because it's up on the floor, but the 2nd one is really a bear because with the 1st one already in there it can only be nosed in part way and has to be turned while half on the steep ramp. Patio Haulers are a little different in that they don't use a drop down rear door for a ramp, so it's especially tough (lugs of the quad tires get hooked on the rungs of the ramp).

I just bought one of these:

mini jib type crane thing

The base is currently at a metal shop getting welded to a larger plate of steel, so that the crane can be mounted in the back corner but the load will be on the steel frame of the 5th wheel.

I also have a cheap-o electric winch that a buddy gave me which I might mount on the boom...

P.S. I sure wish toy hauler builders would start making more side door rigs. A friend runs one of the Monster Hauler truck racks and a tow trailer, but I just prefer the floor plans on 5th wheels and how they tow.

 

That stinks[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] Maybe you can use the wheel dollies to put the second quad on so that it rotates better.

car dollies

If you catch them on sale, they are like $39.

 

I thought about that, too, but with my setup the ramp is aluminum with rungs, and also at a steep angle, so that wouldn't work.

I'm thinking this little $100 crane might work well (though the piece of 1/2" plate it is being welded to costs more). With the 2nd machine nosed in, I should be able to hook some straps to the racks, lift it, and just spin it around into position and lower it.

I'll have a couple hundred into it, but if I were to blow a disk in my back trying to wrench a 600+ pound machine around it would cost a whole lot more than that...


With a toyhauler with a flat ramp door, wheel dollies might work. You could use a cheap winch to just pull the quads up the ramp sideways. The only thing is I think I'd want them sitting on the floor (off the dollies) when they get strapped in. I think the tires/parking brake does a lot to help hold them in place and keep them from bashing up the walls in transit... so you'd still end up lifting the machine to get the dollies out.

I also thought about building a gantry style crane with the lift on the trolly, but this little China Harbor Freight pickup crane was cheaper than you could buy the metal for.