Hello all,

I am new member just getting into the quad scene. My issue is transporting my offroad vehicles safely. I have an F250 longbed crew cab truck. Soon I will have a full size sport quad for me and either a dirtbike or a quad for my 12 year old son. I am considering 2 options for transport:

1) Put the big quad in the back of the truck. Put the other quad or dirt bike on a 5x8 trailer. This will require the use of ramps for the big quad. I am looking at a bifold ramp that is 44" wide by 94" long. The tailgate of my truck is about 33" high. Assuming I secure the ramps to the tailgate with safety straps, is loading the quad a risky proposition? If I decide to push it up the ramps instead of drive it, is that a smarter way to go? The quad will weigh, I assume, about 400 lbs. I am a strong 190 lb male, but I have not tried to push one of these machines up a ramp yet.

2) Option two is to get a 5x12 trailer that will fit both quads. This would clearly be easier and safer(?) to load and unload. The problem is length - I have space on my property to park the long trailer but I don't know if there is enough room to get the thing in my driveway because I live on a narrow rural street. The darn truck is long enough as it is, about 22'. I have to be careful backing out of my driveway so I don't back into the property across the street.

I guess the basic question boils down to "how safe are the ramps to use", because I doubt the longer trailer will fit. Your comments and advice are appreciated.

Doug

 

I've used both ramps for loading in a pickup and trailers of various configurations. I have a snowmobile trailer now that is 101"x12'. It holds 3 fullsized quads with ease. I can either use the tilt feature of the trailers or load all three in with a ramp. I think the best trailer for your needs might be one of the drive up one side and drive out the other type trailers. Here is an example: http://www.cargoprotrailers.com/Prod...2&ProductID=50 The nice thing about this particular trailer is that it is very light to push around, so you wouldn't have to back it in. Just unhitch and push. I had one but got the bigger trailer to make carpooling with buddies easier. I don't recommend this trailer if you get one of the longer 2 person machines. Great for regular sized quads though. I got aluminum ramps that are adjustable that fold in the middle. I cut mine down to 6'6" to fit in the bed of my short bed crew cab and they are fine for loading and unloading as long as you use the straps to make sure they don't move. If you go the ramp route get ramps that will hold more weight than you and your quad together and get ramps that have a wide surface on the loading area.

 

I have loaded my 08 Rancher and 07 Foreman many times in the back of our truck with use of a bi-fold ramp. We have a Dodge Ram 1500 and the tailgate is about (only an estimate) 30 or so inches high. I have also loaded it into a Silverado Crew 4X4 using the ramp. No problems at all. I would suggest, however, when using the ramp, don't sit on the quad. One foot on the peg/floorboard and knee on the seat. That way if something happens and it flips off, you can jump. Just a precaution is all.

 

With that length of ramp, I don't think you will have an issue loading the big quad into the pickup. Use safety straps, and wear your helmet.

If you are going to have a trailer anyway, though, I'd consider getting an 8x12 side loader like the Zieman in my gallery, and just trailer both. You would be surprised the places you can get a big trailer, with a little practice.

The other option for two quads would be a diamond back setup, or a Monster Hauler.

GF's parents have a monster hauler. Really solid long ramps, but they are still steep. Drawback is you pretty much have to have an overhead hoist to remove it with one person.

If you don't think you can ride up your ramp, I think you would be better off using a comealong, or a portable winch. Check out the Polaris Versawinch, for example.

 

Either the trailer or the ramps will work, but IMHO the trailer is a MUCH better solution. I drive a GMC 2500 CC long bed - my tailgate is 35" off the road when parked on a level surface. I use a tri-fold ramp that is 76" long so I'm loading to a higher height with a shorter ramp than you. I ALWAYS connect the ramp straps and have never had a problem. If possible, I will load by backing into any slight hill that I can find to lessen the pitch of the ramp. On the flip side, I never set it up so that the ramp is running even further downhill off of level. In reality, I rarely ramp up into the truck as I much prefer to use one of the trailers but I will use the truck for some one-quad trips or to take it in for service. Also, I usually have a full-bed slide out toolbox in my truck that raises the bed by 8". On rare occasions I've loaded on top of the toolbox (43" off the ground) with the same ramp.

In my opinion, you are much better off driving the quad up the ramp as opposed to pushing it up. As long as the ramp is strapped in, then it's not going anywhere. With your ramp length and truck height you are only going up a 20 degree slope. While it may look steep your ATV could load in at twice that angle with no problems so your margin for safety is huge. Much safer to ride up a secure ramp in low gear vs twisting a muscle or slipping off the ramp while trying to muscle a 400 pound quad uphill into the truck.

That said - get a trailer. If you can get your truck with no trailer into your driveway, then you certainly can get it in there with a 12' trailer behind it. Frankly, the turning radius of your truck is much worse than the turning radius of either trailer. I too, live on a narrow country street (If two cars pass both have wheels on the grass). Added to that is the fact that I have two large trees that border my driveway entrance (about 20' apart). I can back in with trailers ranging from my short canoe trailer to my tandem flatbed - 27' long from ball to back end. You'll find that the 12' trailer is much easier to back up and control than the 8' trailer - the problem with short trailers and long wheelbase trucks is that once you reach a certain degree of swing on the trailer you cannot recover without pulling forward. The shorter the distance from the trailer axle to the ball the worse this condition is. Get a trailer that is large enough for your quad and bike (or even better, big enough for two quads when you want to ride with a friend). It may take a little practice to back up with the trailer but it's a good skill to learn. I've been manuvering trailers for 40 years so it's second nature by now.


Advantages to using a trailer:

1. Much easier to load and unload. Especially compared to the quad in the truck and bike on the trailer thing. All you do is park, drop your trailer ramp and drive off - much less time spend unloading that you could be riding. With the truck ramp and trailer you have to park, unload the trailer, disconnect and move the trailer, then connect the ramp to the truck. Then do all that in reverse to load up again. You may be able so save some steps if you can ramp directly into the trailer fromthe truck.

2. You can store your bikes on the trailer if you want. Also makes a good place to clean them.

3. Sooner or later you will get more bikes, or have friends who you want to ride with. With a trailer big enough for 2 ATV's, you can still haul one extra in the truck if needed.

4. Unless you get a really narrow trailer, a 12' to 14' trailer can hold two ATV's plus two dirtbikes next to them if you really had to.

5. Bikes go on the trailer, gear goes into the truck. If need be, you can add a box to the trailer tongue to hold ATV gear.

6. If you keep stuff in your truck bed, you will not have to empty it out each time you load the ATV.

Only real downside to the trailer is that you'll spend more money to get one compared to just buying a ramp. Since you do have a place to park the trailer once you get it down the driveway, then that's not an issue.

 

Man, they have made changes that make it tougher to get to a member's photos...

Anyway, this is a Zieman 8x12. If you can find one, IMHO it is the best setup ATV trailer I have ever seen. Ramps slide out from under the belly, two on each side. Up front is a locking box, and a rack for gas cans that has a locking bar.

ATVConnection.com ATV Enthusiast Community - JeffinTD's Album: JeffinTD - Picture

 

Well a sport machine, which in my experience is a different animal to load into a truck compared to a 4x4 Ute.....You cannot just creep up the ramps as easily, you have to use some momentum. The last thing you want to do is lose traction or stall the machine on the ramps. I've done it myself and its not fun.

And F250, you will want the long ramps. The longer the better. And tri-fold or bi-fold are the best option. I prefer the tri-fold because they are easier to navigate. You don't have to worry about being lined up perfectly.

For the bike, you may want to consider a hitch carrier...... That way you won't need a trailer at all if you don't want it. I used to have one and they work easy enough and the bike is secure to the back of the truck.

 

Ramps are real safe to use, I would get the one peice (two of them) aluminium ramps, they are around $190 or higher. They are arched a little and will support over 1500 lbs, at least mine do. Also you can drive it up easily. Provided your F250 has 4 anchors in the bed, you then strap the atv to each side with the tension cranking straps. You also can get a motorcycle hauler that fits right into your hitch. It's a plug and play type hitch that has a folding ramp, then bingo, you'll be able to transport both machines and not worry about a trailer. Or if you want to get a trailer, I too live on a narrow private road and backing trailer in was a PITA, so I basically made another driveway that connects to the other side of a second driveway i had, put down crushed 3/4" stone as a base and never have to worry about backing it in again.

 

You can also use the winch on your ATV to winch it up the ramps. A friend of mine has a lifted pickup and he uses his winch to drag it up the ramps. He just bolted an attachment point in the back of the bed.

 

Big SD Doug I also have a F250 LB CC (99), lifted almost 10". And My wife has an 08 Tundra. And not having any ATV experience when I bought this unit last summer, its still pretty scary backing out of the bed of the Tundra. And even puttin in the set-up like CaptainQuint's friend has, I bought a new trailer. I thought of getting a remote for the winch since the one I got didn't have it. And having the ATV in the bed of your truck just looks cooler.lol Too scary for me just gettin out of the trucks! Too old for that much excitement. I have yet to not take my trailer out anymore. I thought if I set up the bed of the truck I could leave the trailer at home. Nope. I bought a trailer dolly for my driveway. And use it to put my trailer under the carport.


If you weight it properly you can minimize the tongue weight. I'm happy I got as much trailer, comparitively speaking, as I was willing to invest. This PJ may not be as good a trailer as a Big Tex, but I got a 77"x14' vs a 5'x8'. But if you got the ca hones, the ramps are very safe to use. Hope it helps.