Motorcycle Carrier

Hi HD Sporty,

In the research I did before buying, I found that the Hydralift was the only practical, safe solution for carrying such a heavy bike. We had ours installed in Florida at a dealer that was one of the few competent ones we could find. We are in Black Canyon City, AZ for the winter and would be happy to show you our rig and chat with you about it. Give me a call at 618-364-2528 for more info.

Jim Baird

FIRE UP wrote:

HDSporty wrote:
Hi all. I'm new here ant to RVing. I bought a '15 Fleetwood Expedition 38K. We love it and have taken it out 6-7 times sense we got it. We're taking a longer trip soon and an wondering about the HYDRALIFT. Does anyone have it on a similer RV as mine? Any info or suggestions? Thank you.

Ret. GMC USN

HDSporty,
You have a PM,
Scott

HDSporty wrote:
Hi all. I'm new here ant to RVing. I bought a '15 Fleetwood Expedition 38K. We love it and have taken it out 6-7 times sense we got it. We're taking a longer trip soon and an wondering about the HYDRALIFT. Does anyone have it on a similer RV as mine? Any info or suggestions? Thank you.

Ret. GMC USN

HDSporty,
You have a PM,
Scott

Research the subject here. Plenty of posts. Might even research "Hydralift".

Why not a very light trailer? If you have a backup camera they are a breeze to back up

Hi all. I'm new here ant to RVing. I bought a '15 Fleetwood Expedition 38K. We love it and have taken it out 6-7 times sense we got it. We're taking a longer trip soon and an wondering about the HYDRALIFT. Does anyone have it on a similer RV as mine? Any info or suggestions? Thank you.

Ret. GMC USN

Magilla......I think "Executive" made a good point about your coach and carrying that weight. Actually, if you coach was shorter, it would probably work better. You're looking at adding a lot of weight onto the rear of a long gas coach, with a long overhang, already pushing the limits of the chassis.

Initially you were talking 500-600 pounds plus the hitch, but have revised it a little as many have said that's too much. You need to be honest with yourself.....are you going to really push that much weight, with possibly two smaller bikes or one larger one?

Anything above 200-300 pounds will need some serious added on welding and hitch work. You're also talking about pushing a motorcycle weighing several hundred pounds up a ramp and balancing it. Unless you're really built like Magilla Gorilla, that can be tough.

You might want to buy one of the Harbor Freight rear storage racks (aluminum one) as a cheap experiment and put 500 pounds in it and see how it affects your coach.

You may want to rethink the trailer thing because you're looking at spending a lot of money to put on such a substantial carrier. I bought a folding trailer that stored standing up in my side yard (2' x 5') footprint. It held my 1100 Honda VTX or two smaller bikes. It was easy to maneuver at a campsite. I also set it up so the bike could be loaded on it when not attached to the coach.

Just some thoughts......you're getting into some engineering issues with the size you want to carry.

Hi Scott,

Loading and off loading is a breeze and I notice no difference in the handling of the RV with the HydraLift on the back. Would love to take a ride over to visit you when the weather here in AZ warms up a bit.

Cheers,

Jim

FIRE UP wrote:
Jim,
You're most certainly welcome. Glad you got things done and installed. By the way, if and when you get a chance, PM me with things like, how your coach did with the extra weight on the back, how it handled, steered etc. And, how well you're loading and off loading the bike etc. I'd be interested.
Scott

Overbuilt.com this is the one I have I bought it used and you can flat tow with it also

Jim,
You're most certainly welcome. Glad you got things done and installed. By the way, if and when you get a chance, PM me with things like, how your coach did with the extra weight on the back, how it handled, steered etc. And, how well you're loading and off loading the bike etc. I'd be interested.
Scott

Hi Scott,

Many thanks for your post. I purchased the HydraLift and had it installed at Eagle's Pride in Titusville, FL. They did a great job at a very reasonable price. It was worth the drive there to get it done by a competent dealer. We are spending the winter in Black Canyon City AZ.

Cheers,

Jim

FIRE UP wrote:

ScubaJim wrote:
Read the posts and love the feedback. Have a Honda Goldwing 1800 and also tow a car so am interested in getting a Hydralift installed since a trailer is not practical. Anyone know of any preventative measure to avoid the bike getting all scratched up. Any help would be appreciated.

ScubaJim,
Your 39' coach will have no issues when utilizing a Hydralift for the Wing. As you see in the pics, I did it with a 36' Itasca Horizon. I'm also going to assume you have a CAT in that Discovery until you say otherwise. The primary concern you need to take is, mounting height of the lift itself, on the coach.

The Hydralift is by far, the most superior lift/carrier on the market, without a doubt. But, it's also the costliest. They normally run around $4,500.00 plus or minus, BEFORE tax, shipping and installation. Installation can be anywhere in price. I did mine. I've got a ton of pictures of various stages of the install, if you'd like to see them, PM me and, I'd be glad to share and explain.

The primary concern with mounting the Hydralift is, it needs to be as low mounted as possible but, still allow for good ground clearance when angle of departure is acute. You don't want to scrape that Wing off the back of that coach, that's for sure.

But, when that Hydralift is mounted as low as possible, it allows for the LEAST angle of the lift arms, in relation to the floor of the lift. You see, as you well know, the GL 1800 is WIDE at low points, i.e. the front crash bars and the valve covers. So, the lower the lift is mounted, the less of an angle the lift arms are when lift is at bottom for loading/off loading the Wing.

Obviously, the higher the lift is mounted, the more acute the lift arms are when the lift is in the loading/off loading position and, that means the Wings front crash bars and valve covers are in severe danger of colliding with those lift arms, while you're trying to ride it onto the lift.

Anyway, I'd be glad to help you with questions on the lift, mounting, additional support sub-structure specifically for the Wing tie-down points (front fork) and more. PM me if you'd like to know more. By the way, to answer your original question about not scratching the Wing up either while loading/off loading or, while it's on the lift, You won't. I explained in another thread, the use of an "Ultra-gard" travel cover for it I ordered from Wingstuff.

It fits like a glove. It's about the same density of a Mummy Sleeping bag. It's thick and does not flap around like cheesy bike covers you use in your garage. But, one thing. It's a pain in the a$$ to cinch down, with all the buckles on it, while the bike is on the lift. And, it still allows for some dust and debris to collect in and on, various parts/components of the bike. So, I just write off the fact that it's going to get DIRTY, PERIOD! I take care of that dirt at the next campsite.
Scott