Anyone use a trailer hitch style motorcycle carrier on the back of a truck? If so do you have a photo with the v-strom bike on it? Good idea or stupid?
"Hitch Mounted Aluminum Sport Bike & Motorcycle Carrier with a 600 lb. Capacity and 72" Loading Ramp"
I see these quite often, but they make me nervous. Although slightly less convenient, I will always prefer a pull-behind trailer.
The V-Strom is ~500lbs wet and this carrier is 100lbs... that's 600lbs of weight on your rear end. Make sure your vehicle is okay with that. 600lbs resting on your hitch is different than towing 600lbs.
Dunno about that - one of the reviewers used it for 4000 miles on a Ford Explorer. I have a receiver on the back of my trailer and this would be a perfect way to take the Strom on our wanderings. My only worry would be the weight at the back of the trailer making the front too light. I guess I could try it by lowering the rear stabilizer jacks, loading the bike, lowering the jacks an inch or two and bouncing the trailer a bit to see if the front comes up. Unless, of course, somebody else on here has already tried it and would like to share their experiences?
I have a family vacation in my future. It just hit me that if I had a trailer, I could bring my Strom! But alas I have no trailer (yet). One more farkle to purchase
Craigslist.
People are always having a "why the hell did I purchase this thing" sale on trailers. Most don't realize you have to have somewhere to store them when not in use.
I bought a 6x12 dovetail for $300 and it had <100 miles on it.
I have a steel Rage 600 and always haul my Honda PCX 150 camping. I would be afraid to go much heavier (286 lbs) and the class III tongue limit is only 525 lbs. There are some large bumps out there that could give something heavier real issues.
As a person who has driven with an overweighted tongue on a hitch on several different vehicles, I will advise against it. There is something about having the rear end start swinging back and forth uncontrollably at about 70 mph that I find unnerving... -Don't exceed the loading limit for tongue weight, please.
I'm suprised the LEO's don't pull folks over for using "bumper rail" trailering devices.......typically, the towing vehicle's license plate is not visible (from directly behind). Same goes with those hitch-mounted-platforms for carrying coolers and the like.....most of the time, the tag is obscured when loaded.
That. Looks. Awesome. I have a Harbor Freight trailer (non-folding) decked with 5/4" patio lumber that I tilt up on its side in the garage when not in use, but that little tow bar would make life so much easier!
I had one of the hitch carriers on my Pilot with the KLR, a lighter bike. Yes the hitch itself was very heavy like this one and I never liked the way the pilot handled with the bike on it. I would never do it with the Strom. One more vote for a trailer.
I have a Rage hitch carrier. I have been very happy with it and have logged at least 2000 miles with my CBR 600 on the back. That being said, I don't like it for the v strom due to the weight. First, loading is a royal pain. Second, you are pushing the limit. I did not have any problems once the bike was loaded.
That being said, I drive an F250. I do not have any sway issues, but I am well below the load capacity of my truck. If you have a 1/2 ton, a strom on the back will put you close to the capacity of the vehicle. The weight is centered about 2 feet behind the bumper. This means that the axle is carrying more load than the weight of the bike.
I saw a post on here last month about a folding trailer. StingerTrailer.com - The Stinger Folding Motorcycle Trailer It looks like a good setup. The great part is that it can be put in the back of a SUV or truck when you are out touring with the bike. I would definitely be a 2 person job to get it in the back of a SUV though. I'm looking into this as an option for future travels.
I have one, bought used. It came home folded in the rear of my 1997 Jeep Cherokee. I have put the DL650 onto the Stinger, and tied it down to the trailer, but not yet towed the DL650
I am currently building an elevator style motorcycle lift for the back of my work trailer, the ramp idea appealed to me at first for simplicity of building but the thought of pushing a 500# bike up that thing twice a day doesn't appeal to me. A recipe for injury. I couldn't find anything to purchase that wouldn't have run me less than 3,000 bucks so I'm building my own. More dough than I thought it would be but I'm still saving a good grand (paying for it in sweat and a messy shop).
I'm thinking of building another for the back of the pickup because all the stuff I see on the market is too light duty for hauling the strom, a 600# rating just isn't enough. The weight on the back of the 1/2 ton isn't as big a concern (until winter) as long as your hitch is rated for the weight. I would recommend Timbren springs or air bags for the rear axle and that would eliminate any potential handling issues.
Remember this, the best kill is overkill. My rule of thumb for things like this.
I will be posting pictures of the lift soon, if you want to see what I do have done just pm me and I will email or text photos over
For years I loaded bikes into the back of pickups until I bought one of these. It's very easy and works great with my Wee. I use the two outer "I" bolts to run straps over the tailgate and to the bead hooks for extra security on long trips. On shorter trips I just load it as shown on Amazon. Never had any problems using my 2WD 1500 Silverado and way, way easier than loading into the bed. I've loaded my bike by myself with no problems. It stands up in my garage when not in use and it doesn't take up any more room than a 6 or 7 foot step ladder.
I'm also planning to use a U-Haul motorcycle trailer to haul my DL 650. Can you share any information about what tie-down straps you used. Great pictures BTW.
I like the U-Haul idea. Pretty cool.
I have a hitch mounted carrier for the bike. I have hauled a TL 1000 and my Vee for hundreds of miles using it on the back of my Avalanche 1500 Z71 (4-wheel drive). Hardly noticed it. I also carry them on our motorhome, which has a commercial hitch on it by the previous owner, a truck driver. Same thing, but I need to extend the carrier out another several inches. I hate to think of the leverage on the hitch, but it works. I too am nervous about loading it, so I try to find a place where the driveway rises in back of the rear wheels or where there is a curb or some other higher ground to load from on the side of the vehicle. I don't have a ramp for me, so when the bike gets too high, I start worrying. I did drop it once from the carrier when I attempted to ease off a strap and it gave way too much. Operator error.
I have hauled bikes many different ways. I have a steel hitch carrier (a tilt-a-rack). It is rated for a 500 lb bike but hauling a GS300L (which is under 400 lbs) on the back of my diesel Ram 2500 to northern WI and back made me never want to try the V strom on it. It is pretty steep and high to load and I worry about tying down the tall Strom well enough on the little short cross bars.
I've got a 6x10 Aluma ramp gate flat bed set up for two bikes, way easier to load and pulls nice. It was too big for my Prius so I ended up finding a barely used Trailer-In-a-Bag. It fits in the back of the Prius when disassembled and the 'Strom rides really well on it (and I can still get right at 40 mpg pulling it!). It is low to the ground, easy to load and just works way better than I ever thought it would. Overall it is just awesome. I have to admit I thought it looked really hokey the first time I ever saw one- which was a Corvette towing a Sportster.
For serious hauling (three or four bikes and gear) a 7x16 enclosed with a ramp gate works nice :grin2:
I have used trailers with chocks, a trailer with a Pitbull Trailer Restraint, and I have a chock bolted through a 3x3 piece of plywood that I use in the back of my pickup. I have no trouble using a pair of heavy duty 7' folding aluminum ramps from northern tool to load the bikes in the back of the truck. The one thing I don't like is the rear tire ends up on the tailgate with my 5'6" bed. It's never bothered a bit, but I don't like it.
I'm with Kiwi-Outdoors. I have the Stinger trailer because there are times when towing the bike is necessary. Folds up nice and small, easy to set up. Sorry, no photos. Not the kind of thing I would be interested is taking a pic of.
My wife and I like to camp in the mountains. The mountains are about 3.5 hrs. away and we like a gas bbq. and a 2 burner coleman stove. Camping off a bike won't work so I load my bike and all our camping gear in my Nissan Frontier. You can close the tailgate if you have the bike in the box on a di-angle.
Regarding the U-Haul option, I reserved one of those nifty little trailers to haul my KLR several years ago. Upon arriving at U-Haul, however, I found that they were out of those little trailers and they "upgraded" me to a much larger trailer., I put upgrade in quotes, because that big trailer was a bigger drag on gas mileage than the little trailer I had reserved. Something similar happened recently when I reserved a small truck and I was "upgraded" to a bigger one because they were out of small ones. I don't know how frequent such "upgrades" are, but I'd be happier if I got what I reserved instead of something bigger.
I was very satisfied by the trailer I rented this past week-end. And for the record, I raised the kickstand before going
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