Hey all!! I'm looking at putting 2 sport quads in the back of my 05 Ram short bed. I have done a lot of searching and I am really interested in the DiamondBack ATV series. Anybody have any experience with one of these? The only problem with it is the price $2300!!!! Anybody know of any cheaper ways to get the job done. I have looked at The ultimate rack and Bulldog but they are around $1700 I would sooner get the DiamondBack for the extra $$. Any suggestions welcome!

 

Cheaper to get a trailer - easier to load and use. Unless you are also towing something else with the truck, consider a two place trailer.

Jaybee

 

go to your local welding shop and they will build one. my friend is building me one for my 99 gmc sierra 1/2 4wd extended cab truck. materials about 600 and labor im not sure one but still cheaper then 2000

 

Jayb ...I have a trailer and I hate hauling it everywhere and I cant take it anywhere off road like into the woods or dunes. I am also planning on buying a travel trailer so I need my hitch for that.


ccnkm.... You can actually buy something similar to an ultimate rack for around $1000 ... my only problem is that I then loose my whole for hauling gear etc. If you check out the Diamondback it is actually a Tanneau cover that can hold 1600# on top it locks and everything.

Thanks for your opinions

 

The neat thing about the diamondback is that it comes out in sections and can be installed or removed by one person without a hoist.

GF's parents have a Monster Hauler, which is steel. It is really sturdy, especially the ramps, and it puts the weight across the floor of the bed (not on the top rail of the sides of the bed). You see them around used at a good price (around a grand or so), but a person had best have a shop with an overhead hoist to put it in and out. For a long bed, it hauls 2 sideways. I believe it can be reconfigured for a short bed to haul two lengthways.

You could spend less on a trailer, but sometimes it would be really nice not to be pulling one- like if the same trip includes big city downtown shopping, getting in and out of motel parking lots not meant for trailers, and the like. GF's parents went that route in order to also pull a 31' travel trailer, which they snow bird in.

In some ways that setup has advantages over toyhaulers. To get two big 4x4's in most 8' wide seperate garage units you have to turn them sideways. You could probably get two in side by side in a super-widebody, but that can make the trailer tough to get down tight narrow roads- plus bigger tires on the ATV's could mean you have to turn them sideways anyway.

It is also handy for them if they want to take the two ATV's to a trailhead away from their park for a day trip. If I did that with my 5th wheel, I'd have to unhook and drag the 40' 5th wheel there and back...

 

I ordered the Diamondback last week. I got a pretty good deal I got the side load with extension for a short bed for $2100 out the door installed. I will post pics once I've loaded them on!

 

I'm going to Lake Murray in April and plan to take two quads and my boat. Here's what I'm going to do. Weld up an angle iron frame big enough for two that will drop in the stake holes on the pickup rails. Cut two 3/4 sheets of plywood to drop into the angle iron frame. Build or buy and extend ramps to load with. Won't have all the bells and whistles but I doubt that I will have $200 in it ramps and all! I saw the Diamondback and it's pretty. Just don't know how often I'd use it. Sometimes I haul three, one in the bed, two on a trailer. Other times I take the motorhome and haul one or two on the trailer. Sometimes just one in the bed. If I'm just hauling two the trailer is the easiest and fastest to unload/load.

 

Next time I set up a tow vehicle, I might just do a flat bed...

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: mamurray

I'm going to Lake Murray in April and plan to take two quads and my boat. Here's what I'm going to do. Weld up an angle iron frame big enough for two that will drop in the stake holes on the pickup rails. Cut two 3/4 sheets of plywood to drop into the angle iron frame. Build or buy and extend ramps to load with. Won't have all the bells and whistles but I doubt that I will have $200 in it ramps and all! I saw the Diamondback and it's pretty. Just don't know how often I'd use it. Sometimes I haul three, one in the bed, two on a trailer. Other times I take the motorhome and haul one or two on the trailer. Sometimes just one in the bed. If I'm just hauling two the trailer is the easiest and fastest to unload/load.</end quote></div>


It would be a lot stronger if it's set up like a table with legs that sit directly on the truck bed. Stake pockets are not all that strong and any shifting of load or a big bounce could transfer to the sheetmetal of the truckbed.

Jaybee

 

Good idea, I think the plywood will sag without something like that.