Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Hauling motorcycle with plastic truck bed liner?

I was going to ride to get my motorcycle, but then realized that I don't think I am up to about 10 hours in 1 day. Call me a wimp.
My mother-in-law has a Ford F-150 extended cab with a plastic bed liner in it. It looked like it had "T" looking tie downs where the "D" part usually comes off the bed on the side?
#1 - Is the plastic going to make it too slick?
#2 - I need to make sure the "T" or whatever it has is anchored to the bed - correct?

OR I could rent a 10X6 enclosed trailer with "I" bolts for about $40.

HELP - I don't want to make this joyous occasion a disaster!

I’ve got a Chevy S10 with a plastic bed liner in it. The few times where I’ve put the scooter the bed or towed scooters for Clinton to the bike show up in Baltimore, I’ve never had a problem. However the Chevy S10 has 4 tie down points in the bed side. 2 up front and 2 towards the rear. On shorter trips I’ve only used the 2 up front with no problems. As long as you tighten them down properly you shouldn’t have a problem.

Joshua,
However you decide to secure the bike to the bed it is imperative that you be able to crank the front end "down".
If the anchor points are on top of the side bed this does not happen.
I have hauled mine in the back of my Dodge Dakota with bed liner with good success. I made a 2/4 wood cradle for the front of the bed that lets me center my front tire in it.
I have a bed anchor in each front corner that lets me draw it down and tight.
The back I just use a ratcheting strap on each side of the rear wheel to keep it from walking.
Good Luck!
Also, while loading and unloading.....If you can find a spot to drive the pickup front wheels up a foot or so, it really drops the back end of the bed down. Curbs and small hills do the job fine.

I have a "02 F-150. I believe those tie downs are anchored into the bed, however I have never hauled anything as precious as a Triumph back there. It is also a little high (loading and unloading) That's a nominal cost for a trailer, I would go that route if I wasn't going to ride it home. Best of luck, and enjoy your new Ride!

I think you'd be fine in the truck bed. I have a vinyl/plastic liner in my pickup, w/U-bolt type tie down points in the corners. I just use nylon straps with hooked ends and cinch it down good compressing the front fork springs. I've hauled the bike a number of times, Wisconsin and back two-three times, Georgia and back and it hasn't budged an inch or required re-adjustment. Loading takes longer to describe, than to do it. Having a good, "leveler the better" ramp will help avoid mishaps on loading/unloading, mount/dismount, take-offs/landings. In my truck the bike wheels sit in the bed grooves, so I haven't messed with tire chocks. Sometimes I cinch the rear, sometimes I don't depending on my ambition at the time.

Others will chime in.

Good luck, enjoy the new bike

jh

Does anyone use something to make sure the front tire doesn't move in a truck bed? If they do, can you use something without bolting, etc it down through the bed?
I will look at the truck bed more today to make sure there is a secure place to tie to the bed.
Oh, I found a parking lot that is 2 levels that could work great for unloading - I will size it up with the truck soon.

No problem, done it many times with Jane's little Toyota PU with bedliner. Like said above, just be sure you can crank the front downward to get it snug - and make it level, no kickstand down.

Another S 10 owner here. Bought my bike offa ebay, and transported it 5 hours from the Canadian border to NW CT with no wheel chocks or blocks - just 4 straps.

After 10 hours of driving, my concentration at unloading time was less than stellar, and I made the mistake of popping a front strap without someone to hold the bike upright, and tipped it over in the pickup. Can you say... Dumba$$ ?

No harm done, but a very close call.

Go the trailer route. Sounds lke a good price to rent, and keep the bike protected if you come across nasty weather. Also the low loading height will be alot easier than a tailgate. Just my opinion...

#1 - Is the plastic going to make it too slick?

No.

#2 - I need to make sure the "T" or whatever it has is anchored to the bed - correct?

Yes.

I've hauled tons of bikes in the back of my P/U (Silverado sportside) with bedliner, without a single problem. Heck, I hauled my Ninja from S. Florida to Iowa and back, and that wasn't exactly the smoothest (road wise) trip I've ever had. Got bounced around like on a buck many times and the bike didn't budge. Just get yourself 4 racheting tie-downs and some "soft-ties" or whatever they are called (basically just nylon strap with two loops on each end). Strap onto the tripple tree in front, and shock mounts or anything solid in the back. Jump on the bike to compress the springs and rachet the thing down good and snug. I also like to keep the bike in 1st gear, sort of like a parking brake. After a few miles and bounces down the road, check things to make sure nothing has loosened up, and re-tighten if needed. My current truck has U bolts welded to the side of the bed, but my previous one had those butterfly anchor things that fit into the stake pockets, and those work just fine as well. Just make sure they are tight.

As for loading/unloading, I've always just found whatever I could in the way of a makeshift ramp. Raised landscape 'islands' and beds like those you find at the grocery store and mall, roadside ditches with sufficent depth/pitch, whatever you can find to make your tailgate lineup reasonably well, and maybe use a short piece of wood if needed. I've even resorted to lifting bikes out by hand as long as there were 2-3 other good sized guys handy to help out.



Cheers,
Brad

it's so much earier just calling me up and hiring me ot to the job lol..

OK, I'm going with the truck. The butterfly, or whatever hooks on the side corners seem solid. I found a good spot that I think I won't even need to use a ramp. So - with 4 wrachet straps and my Dad to help out - hopefully everything will go fine. Loading up the Ducati tommorow night, an heading out early Tuesday.

13 years w/ my own moving biz
24 years owning bikes
Keep things square in the box (f-250, s-10, donkey kart, whatever)
Use 2 pair of tie downs 1 as a primary suck the fork tubes down AND square. The other pair as secondary doing the same job as first. Use different mounts with each pair if available ie bars, top tree, lower tree. On bottom... holes in top rail of truck, hooks on side of bed, D rings inside etc.
Don't tarp it, its ****** on paint.
Good luck
Scott