5 foot bed - need to get in bike and haul a trailer

I have a Toyota Tacoma v-6 with the 5 foot bed. You can put a bike in, but the tail gate has to be down. Anybody have an experiences with using a hitch extension or the versyhaul hitch receiver bike rack with the trailer hitch on the back? Any other solutions? The load capacity and hitch weight for the truck are fine with the trailer I'm getting.

The bike is a xt250

So you need to haul the bike and the trailer at the same time, correct?

My concern would be damaging the tailgate when turning too sharply. If the trailer sits low enough to stay under the tailgate, it will be no problem. If you have clearance issues, I would remove the tailgate all together to avoid the possibility. You may have to angle the bike corner to corner in the bed of the truck so the rear tire has something to sit on. The front of the bike will compress as normal, then use 2 more straps to keep the rear of the bike all the way to the side of the bed. The rear straps don't need to be very tight, since they hold almost no load.

Lousy picture, but you get the idea:


The other thing I have seen people do is leave the motorcycle ramp under both tires of the bike, thereby extending off the rear of the truck, and under the rear tire of the bike. You will need more tie downs to keep the whole thing from sliding, though.

I have a versa haul on the suburban and have pulled a lite trailer coupled to it. Everything was fine, but we are talking about a 6x8 trailer with expanded metal floor, sides, and ramp. It had camping gear and such in it.

I believe you could tow a regular 8x16 trailer if you like, but I always worry about the tow vehicle and it's weight too.

Sort of a similar idea: We had a 1 ton dodge with a slide in camper. We towed our 8x16 enclosed trailer behind it using a 4' stinger to clear the camper overhang. That flexed a lot and in the end, we weren't too happy with it.

The Versa Haul is basically the same as the stinger we used, so it really depends on how much your tongue weight is. If you have a 300# bike and another 100#'s on the tongue weight, you would be pushing the limits of the truck/hitch and the Versa Haul despite what the ratings say. If you only have 50#'s of tongue weight, I think you would be fine.

Good luck and hope this helps.

I'm thinking about getting a tear drop trailer - about 1200 pounds max and about 6 X 8.

I'll take a good look at getting the bike in sideways, but I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to lift the front and back to push the bike around - I'll have to go out in the garage and try it out.

Getting a hitch extension was what I was thinking about first, but I was wondering about the side forces - I think I need to measure to see what the minimum length would be that would do the job.

garrr, how to take all of the toys with you without buying a toy hauler!!! Have kayaks too

I've seen pics of tear drop trailers with a small platform(basically a ramp) on the front to haul small bikes. Maybe using the extended trailer for a light support of a top rack for your kayaks

I talked to the teardrop dealer yesterday and he thought he could put a rack on the back of the trailer or on the tongue. I'm going to go down and take a looksie today or Monday. I hope I can work this out - who knew how much trouble a 5 foot bed could cause!

I have had a similar issue with my 2006 Tacoma. What I did was simply remove the tail gate. I pops out in 10 seconds with no tools. Then I just tied things down to prevent them from falling out the open bed. I made an 800 mile round trip and did not loose a thing.

Got home, unloaded the bike and stuff in the truck bed and popped the tail gate back on... -Steve

This is what I'm going to have to do in April when I move out to San Diego. I've got plenty of muscular help here in Denver to help me get it loaded, and then I'll be counting on the kindness of strangers in the scene shop of the company I'll be working for to help me unload. It should be fun going corner to corner with my GS. (I really wish a sarcasm font existed)

Have you considered using a hitch extender? Here's one with a 3500 lb capacity and a 350 lb tongue weight max. The 18" version should put the pivot point of the trailer tongue behind the edge of your open tailgate.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Curt...ch+extension&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products




As someone who has tried all kinds of RV's over the years, and as cute and cool looking as teardrop trailers are, I strongly recommend getting an RV with a bathroom and standing headroom. Have you considered small toy haulers. They come as short as 16 or 17 feet (box length, add four feet for the tongue). Just long enough to stuff a kayak into and will easily accommodate two motorcycles or one ATV. IMHO If you are going to deal with the hassle of parking a trailer, it may as well be one with most of the comforts of home.....

I don't know if you are only interested in a new RV but this is a great time to buy used RV's both due to the time of year and the economy. A small toyhauler can cost substantially less used than a teardrop mostly due to the cool factor of the teardrop.

Does the bike just not fit? I put a KLR in the bed of my Tacoma and I have the 5.5' bed and I cinched it down and went. I have front tie downs though too.

If you removed the front wheel would it then fit in the truck tray? Just measure it .. to see. If that would work consider something like they do for bicycles - use a tube that the front axcel goes through .. and have that weilded to a plate you can bolt to the truck tray ... so the bike mounts there.

there's always this approach

http://thekneeslider.com/vintage-motorcycle-camper-trailer/

I'm going to go out today and make some really careful measurements. I really think the tailgate has to be down for it to fit unless the bike goes sideways. Of course it's hailing right now.... :huh

Pic isn't showing

That's a good idea, but I really like simple. Need an easy button

I know exactly what you mean. I have a 17' trailer, but I want to downsize. I'm finding that the places I want to go these days don't have hookups and I have to pay $65/month for trailer storage. I'd like to get a setup with an attaching tent for a portapotty and cooking in the rain. I did find an outfit that custom builds work camper shells and their prices aren't bad - might be an option. I was also looking at fitting out a cargo trailer as a toy hauler setup, I found another shop that will make them to whatever height you want so I could store it in my garage. I would really dig a toy hauler if I had free storage! The other problem is gas money with my Tacoma pulling a trailer. It's not bad if you're going to stay in one place for a few weeks, but if you're going to be moving around a lot the gas gets really expensive. Sigh, never seems like there's the perfect setup.....

Have you looked at a Flip Pac? Then maybe use a Verashaul or trailer in a bag?

The Flip-Pacs are cool. I also like the auto homes (i think that's the brand). There's a lot of neat stuff out there, but i also have the complication of doggy housing if I'm out playing without them.

Right now I think I might have to suck up the storage fees and go with 2 camping sets ups. The trailer will be for long term stays (like dump it up at Big Bear for the summer) and work on a second setup for the long, keep-moving trips. As soon as I have some cash I'll get a hitch attached to the back of the trailer. I think I'm going to go ahead and pick up a versa haul hitch rack for the back of the truck and go with a camper shell for the doggies and maybe one of those truck/extension tents. I can then sleep with the tail gate down. Probably going to be the best I can do, when I bought the truck I didn't think I'd ever be sleeping in the back of trucks again - didn't worry about the short bed!

We'll see. It was hailing today, I don't camping is going to happen anytime soon.

I think this will solve all of my problems....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32kK7lQZSks

We did this in a short box ram 3500 with the gate closed. This is your best bet.

Worse case as I'de seen in Baja is a sheet of plywood with 2x4 bracing acting a tonneau cover with chocks and the stake pockets as tie downs. Check out Diamond back truck covers for the commercial version of the same idea.

The bonus is you can put your gear underneath