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suprz's avatar
suprz
Explorer
Apr 03, 2018

Towing small truck

With a motorcycle in the bed?. My wife and i were talking about retirement and taking months long trips towing a vehicle. My wife also wants to take her bike which isnt all that big ( 2005 Suzuki Boulevard S40. About 420lbs) so i was thinking about a small truckwith her bike in the back. My one concern is the center of gravity, and the front of the toad being elevated because of the load in the bed. I would be pulling it with our 2006 31ft jayco greyhawk

5 Replies

  • JoeH's avatar
    JoeH
    Explorer III
    I'm the guy Scott mentioned in his post. I used to carry my 1000 lb HD in my Ranger and have also carried my Suzuki S40 ( not at the same time). I use a Rampage. No problems. With the S40 you could just use a folding ramp - just be careful
  • you didnt say if you want new or used, but if used many nice rangers are available with a long bed and they can be had for not a whole lot depending where and what you find. I have a 94 supercab ranger 2wd manual trans and plan to add a ladder rack so we can carry an aluminum boat to take grandkids fishing in. Just be sure to check that it can be towed 4 down. toyotas (new) cannot be as all are automatics (I looked), nissan not sure but other poster said they can. Also be leary of hevy weights, the ranger I have is almost 4000lbs, could be lighter a bit if I had unloaded it before weighing.
  • Well,
    Without going to the extremes of telling you which model is flat towable and which one is not, I'll leave that to you but, putting only a 400 + lb. motorcycle in the bed of any smaller pickup is no big deal. We tow our '11 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 extended cab and, when we think we'll be wanting the bike along, I quickly put in our Rampage lift which takes around 4-5 minutes. That lift then pulls our '08 Honda GL 1800 Goldwing right up and into that bed. A few minutes of adding tie downs and, we're off to have fun.

    He's probably still on here but, there was a member who towed a Ford Ranger with a full sized Harley touring machine in the bed of it. It worked flawless for many, many miles. All he did to compensate for the heavier weight of the Harley was add a couple of air bags to the rear of the truck. When the bike was in and loaded, he just added a few lbs to the bags and, that truck was completely level.

    But, we don't do that with our setup. Yep, ours sags about 2.5" or so but, no big deal. It tows just fine, tracks right behind the coach with no issues, no wandering, nothing. Heck, there's times when we're only going to be in a camping area for a single day so, unloading the bike is not warranted. When that happens, we still drive the truck around WITH THE BIKE in the back and the truck handles flawlessly. Of course I don't go road racing with that load in the back and, am aware of the additional weight so, we're careful.

    But, you'll have no issues with that small load in a smaller truck. Go find the one of your choice and, get the bike in there and have fun. Now, getting that 400+ lb. bike up there, well, you're bordering on DANGER here in the fact that while 400 lbs. on the ground and handling it riding around is nothing at all.

    But, 400 lbs. in the middle of a ramp, 1/2 way up that ramp, is UGLY! I don't care how many say: "It's no big deal, just ride it up the the ramp or, find a dock someplace to back up to" and you'll be fine. If that 400 lbs. falls while trying to load it, it ain't gonna be pretty and, the potential for injury skyrockets. So, however you do it, just do it safely.
    Scott
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    New small pickups that are approved by manufacturer for "recreational towing" (as "toad" in other words) are getting pretty rare. The one people commonly get, is the Colorado/Canyon from Chevy/GMC. By the time you order the "requires xxx" features, it's an expensive package.
    I noticed Nissan Frontier, my daily driver and our RV toad, is absent from MoHo Magazine's towable list BUT I just pulled up the 2018 Owner's Manual and Nissan still OK's it. Another BUT, probably a Bigger But for many of us, the Four-Down "flat tow" Frontiers MUST be Manual Transmission. 2WD is towed in Neutral. 4WD is towed in Neutral with Transfer Case in Two Wheel Drive HIGH Range. No automatics, engine can be 4-cyl or V6.
    We have King (not Crew) Cab, and our Box just closes on Six Feet. For more length, Tailgate Open and there are "Bed Extenders" available that might let you carry two bikes side by side.
    Frontier is a very nice vehicle to own and drive. My biggest gripe is the wide turning circle. Ours is 4-cyl with 5-speed manual, the Cheapest Truck Sold in USA. The interior is very basic but at least to me it doesn't look "cheap."
  • 420 lbs isn't much, and the rear will compress, the front won't elevate. Trucks are light in the rear to start with. Lots of people towing trucks carry cargo in the bed.

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