Move a motorcycle in a 22 foot rental truck

[Agent47]

Anyone have experience building a motorcycle support system out of wood? I plan on moving two bike in a 22 foot rental truck along with furniture. Any advice?

[RobotDan]

I moved two bikes in a rental truck with all of our furnature and stuff. EASY, I didn't build anything to protect them.  I just loaded them in first. Side by side, in the front portion of the truck. Then, I used plenty of tiedowns, attached to the forks and then to the sub-frame and where ever else you want to secure them. (not your mirrors ) Make sure that you compress the suspension on the bikes so that they can't loosen themselves up. Also, they should be perfectly upright (no kickstand). Then when you are satisfied that they wont move around, cover them with packing blankets, use lots of them. After that just carefully pack your boxes and furnature around them. I stacked up boxes and stuff in a way that actually protected the bikes from falling boxes or a shift in the load. When I arrived to the destination (portland OR-Los Angeles CA) I just unloaded everything carefully. when I got to the bikes I was happy to find that they were in perfect condition, not even a scratch. Now, if you wanted to be really carefull you can build a box for them. But in my case, all of my gear wouldn't have fit if I did that.  Hope it helps. Cheers,
Dan

[Agent47]

Thanks. Did you have the bikes running length wise from driver to passenger side?

[RobotDan]

no I had them in-line with the truck. That way you have access to the mooring points, also there will be less stress for starts and stops. hop it helps.
Dan

[hydra]

hey agent, what RDan said will work really well as long as you have enough of the heavy duty tie downs. if the rental company doesn't have them, it can cost you some cash to buy them. i'm talking about the tie straps with the mini crank system that tightens them up.

i was going to this myself but have since hadn't the need to do it yet. i might just ship it, but if or when, is still not decided. but a friend of mine suggested that in addition to the straps, one could build a chock around the front wheels to make sure there's no chance of slipping. just some 2x4's and nails. most of the rental trucks have wooden floors that you can nail down the 2x4's. just make sure you use long enough nails on an angle so you can pry them losse later before you return the truck.

it really depends on how far you'll be hauling the bikes. i have to do cross country (NY-CA) so i'd do the chocks. how far are you going, BTW? also remember that weight distribution in a truck is key for the trucks handling.

good luck and let us know how you  made out...

[RobotDan]

chocks are probably a great idea.
Dan

[Agent47]

Great advice guys. I will build the chocks and nail them to the floor; great idea.
I'm actually driving from Chicago to San Diego.

I'm actually trying to get in contact with a friend who owns at dealership to see if I can get an actual shipping box for their Ducati's. Well see.

[Smiling End]

no I had them in-line with the truck. That way you have access to the mooring points, also there will be less stress for starts and stops. hop it helps.
Dan

I did the same thing.  I had only one bike but I put it in first on the side and tied the sh*t out of it.  It didn't go anywhere.  I moved about 40 miles and traveled on highways with the truck too.

[dlearl476]

These things are worth their weight in gold.  (Caution, they ARE pretty heavy.  )


Among their myriad of uses, put them in a truck, park your bike, by a couple of straps from the handle bars to the walls.  Your bike ain't goin' nowhere.

When you get to where you're going, you have a great chock for all kinds of things.  I liked them so much, I binned the wheel vise on my MC lift and bought a second one to use in it's place.

fwiw, the cargo straping system in most rental trucks is calle "E Rail".  Chances are the shipping company won't have a clue, but if you go to a truck stop, or perhaps a big rig maintenance facility you can by some "E Rail to D ring" adaptors which will allow the use of any common type ratchet strap.

One last tip: Don't go all anal on straping down the front end.  It's an easy way to blow fork seals.  You WANT to have some movement, so the bike will move with the road.  You just need to insure the strap won't come off the bar on a big bump.  For that reason, I like straps with either a keeper style clip, or tape the ends.  With a Baxley Chock, you don't need to worry.  I've honestly trucked one of my Vuns home from the track in the back of a Penske with NO straps on it, just locked in the chock.

[hydra]

hey,

how much and where did you get that chock?

when you meved your bike did you drain the fluids first? i might have to move my bike from NY to CA. isn't it against the law to move a vehicle in a truck with gas and oil? the guys working at the penske rental place told me this. true?

[mdriver]

Last year when my buddy moved from New Jersey to Utah the rental box truck didn't have anything particularly secure to tie his bike to. So we took 3 2"x 6"x 4' wood studs and drilled holes to install the metal loop anchors that are meant for the tops of the P/U truck bed rails. They can be found at most hardware stores. Then doubled up the front 2"x 6" to keep the bike from rolling forward, Screwed the 2x6's to the floor of the truck, ratchet strapped down the bike, and screwed down 2 more 2"x 4"s along each side of the front wheel. Bike didn't move an inch throughout the whole trip.

The wood was scrap that I had around and the tie down loops were about $12.

These are like the anchor rings I was referring to.
http://www.cargogear.com/catimages/tttrack4CAT.jpg

[optiato]

I did this this winter actually.  I actually just packed soft stuff around he sides, pushed the bike in so the front wheel was up against the front wall, put my rear stand on, using a cargo strap around the front wheel and the rear stand to keep it from kicking out (probably overkill, but it made me feel batter).  I then used one cargo strap per side looped around the grab handles to the rails on the inner walls of the trailer.  Made it about 400 miles and had no problems at all!

[Agent47]

I just talked to the dealership and their giving me 2 crates that the new bikes come in! Yes!

[Zipper]

Score on the boxes.  In the event others are less fortunate in the future, I moved mine in a U-haul from NH to central NJ.  if you use U-Hual, I was told that you are not permitted to transport a motorcycle inside of their vehicles and need to rent a trailer from them (I'd say use your discretion what you choose to mention to the guy at the desk who hands you the keys.) With that said... I used some heavy tie downs and found plenty of places that I could attach my strap hooks to.  I ran the bike front to back and did not need anything at the base of the wheels (you could not budge it at all.)  Our bikes have plenty of frame spots to tie down to.  I made it across the Mass Pike and the NJTP trouble free.... 

[triangleforge]

+1 on the Chock (and on not mentioning your plans at the rental counter)-- I bought a Baxley Sport Chock (same brand as the yellow one pictured above) and the bike was happy & secure in the back of a U-Haul from Washington DC to central Arizona. It wasn't cheap, but I use it daily ever since; my neighbor offered to let me park in his garage while I'm building one, and the chock gives us both plenty of extra room by standing the Monster up straight instead of leaning over on the sidestand. It also makes it a whole lot easier to work by myself with a rear stand; since the bike's already bolt upright, no need for a helper or other gymnastics to level the bike.

Baxley Sport Chock was what my local shop had (it only works with sport bike-sized front wheels; they make an adjustable for a bit more $$$), but Condor makes good ones too that are lighter, adjustable for multiple wheel sizes & fold -- either is worth the investment.