Any Mountaineer 347THT Owners?

[RK_Hauler]

Picking my 2010 up soon. Plan on putting the Road King in the garage. I am wondering what others who have this model are doing to haul their bikes. Main questions are:

How did you outfit it with a chock?
Are the tie-down points good enough?
Any issues with loading or unloading the bike on the 2 piece ramp?

Thanks for sharing any tricks you've learned and anything to watch out for.

[sniperduce]

We picked up our new 2011 347THT today. The dealer tech showing us the details and training told us they have installed a few Condor chocks in the 347's and they recommend the motorcycle chock be installed centered between the d-rings. They haven't had any issues with floor problems from the weight. They cut the and roll back the plastic underbelly to install the chock and then reinstall the plastic with a metal batten to reseal the cut area. I think that's how I will set ours up.
Good luck.

[RK_Hauler]

Preston E wrote:
RK Hauler if you can access your tie downs,then centering the bike between the existing D-rings does appear to position the bike directly on top of a floor joist.I positioned my ultra more toward the center of the garage area.This equalizes the load and allows me to move around the bike.Also after studying the repair pictures more closely it looks like there is a metal plate under the floor where each D-ring attaches.I think I will remove the three screws on one D-ring and take a look.

I keep looking at those pictures and trying to decide how best to make sure I don't have the same problem. I wonder why they didn't go in from underneath to add the reinforcement? Thanks again for telling your story. - Greg

[D___M_w_Tess___]

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO Hope you have as much fun playing and figuring as we did. We can't wait to get it back out and go some more.
Congrats-----the wait is over.
D & M

[sniperduce]

sniperduce wrote:
Thanks for the pictures. This explains the floor loading concern. Our dealer says our 347 will be coming off the line on the 26th of May or 9 weeks since we ordered it. Looks like the floor framing is centered in the garage area and the if you center your bike in that area & centered it between the d-rings it should be just about over the support member at each end.

I will bolt my condor front wheel chock "clone"(from HF)to the center framing member and add a layer of plywood 24 x 24 maybe under the rear wheel to distribute the rear tire load for our HD Ultra which weighs about 851 lbs dry.

Good luck to all you 347 owners!

Well our 2011 Mountaineer 347 THT arrived yesterday or 9 weeks from our order date. A little later than we expected but all is well now. We get to pick it up this Saturday. We are excited.........

[Preston_E]

RK Hauler if you can access your tie downs,then centering the bike between the existing D-rings does appear to position the bike directly on top of a floor joist.I positioned my ultra more toward the center of the garage area.This equalizes the load and allows me to move around the bike.Also after studying the repair pictures more closely it looks like there is a metal plate under the floor where each D-ring attaches.I think I will remove the three screws on one D-ring and take a look.

[sniperduce]

Thanks for the pictures. This explains the floor loading concern. Our dealer says our 347 will be coming off the line on the 26th of May or 9 weeks since we ordered it. Looks like the floor framing is centered in the garage area and the if you center your bike in that area & centered it between the d-rings it should be just about over the support member at each end.

I will bolt my condor front wheel chock "clone"(from HF)to the center framing member and add a layer of plywood 24 x 24 maybe under the rear wheel to distribute the rear tire load for our HD Ultra which weighs about 851 lbs dry.

Good luck to all you 347 owners!

[chips47]

We ordered one a month ago,will be built the end of June before the July shutdown. Also planning on putting a 2006 Road King Classic in the back. Will use alot of this info you guys are putting out there.We have been looking for 3 yrs. I took the Keystone tour last summer.

[RK_Hauler]

That's not what I expected to see! I thought there would be floor joists in the other direction (like they added). Looks like it's best to put the bike dead center between the D rings eh? Also, the D rings look like they are mounted between floor joists. I wonder what they are bolted to? Thanks much for posting the pictures.

[Preston_E]

I picked up my Mountaineer 347 on Saturday the 15th. Walnut Ridge RV of New Castle did an excellent job on the floor repair.They cut out a rectangular section of the floor,constructed a frame from 2x4 lumber with joists about every 12 inches then screwed this to the aluminum joists which run front to back not side to side as I previously thought.Then they replaced the wood decking and the vinyl floor covering. The vinyl they used is a different pattern than that which originally came in it,they said the original was no longer available.I am still going to install a section of aluminum diamond plate under the rear tire area.

I had to figure out how to add pictures. Here they are:

[RK_Hauler]

Hey Darrell,

Glad to hear the first voyage went well. Still haven't pulled ours out of the spot we parked it nearly 2 months ago. Had planned to take it out this last weekend and that fell through. Oh well, we've got summer ahead. And thanks for posting your tips and tricks. I'm already planning mods like a wet bolt kit and a hard-wired surge protector. We also put on one of those memory foam mattress covers. Felt pretty good but it's hard to tell until we sleep in it. Then today the wife brought home a under-cabinet coffee maker. Had one in our MH, so guess she thought we needed one in the 5er too.

[D___M_w_Tess___]

Hi Pregan59,
I will take some pics and post them---it'll be a week or so. Clearance is close. I positioned the ramp to have 2 breaks--one at the fold out hinge and the other break point entering the trailer. When I positioned the 2 straight (flat), I drug my kickstand upon entry. The block works well for HD. I don't know if a Gold Wing has bare frame that you could set on a block. Seems like the GW has plastic that wraps the frame.
Who ever made the comment about putting the bike in 1st gear when backing out sure helped me make smooth exits. Thanks. Front brake and easing out on the clutch kept the bike well under control and very little front tire skidding.
Later, Darrell

[pregan59]

Can you take a couple pictures and let me see what it looks like with it all set up? I would love to see it so I can get mine started.

[D___M_w_Tess___]

Well, we made our virgin voyage. 10 days out and back and worked out all the little kinks. The pad for the rear tire seemed to work really well. Front wheel is secured in the Bike Pro wheel chock. I used soft ties across the rear wheel and secured it to the D-rings. Nothing moved!!!!!! I don't think it has any up/down movement because the box under the frame keeps the suspension from being totally squased, but everything is so firm--locked in. Seems strange we haven't heard from the guy with the bike that fell through the floor.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Enjoy the ride,
Darrell

[Mainier]

The dent in the floor on mine I guess was from the suspension moving during travel. All I do is run two straps around the rear tire between the two rings to keep the bike from going side to side. Adding the 5/8 inch plywood must help cause it hasn't gotten any worse!

[RK_Hauler]

Mainier wrote:
I have a 2009 model and have noticed my rear tire making a dent in the floor (2007 Road Glide)and have added a 2 by 2 piece of plywood to distribute the weight.

Thanks for the good info Mainier. I wonder, are folks who are seeing dents in the floor pulling the back end down with tie downs? I plan to use soft straps and tie downs on rear tire only to keep the back end from moving side to side, with little downward force. Just thinking...

And on the part about offsetting the load side to side, hope I can find enough weight to put on the other side to even it out. Tools, generator, etc., but don't think that's going to add up to 700 pounds! Not that I really wanted to, but if nothing else, I may end up having to haul some water.