Hauling A Motorcycle With A Truck Camper

[Motafinga]

Stumbled on this old thread and thought I'd share my solution. I actually carry 2 bikes one front one rear and can access my camper door to boot. For the rear I started with a folding hitch mounted cargo carrier and reinforced the **** out of it and it doubles as a super functional back deck/step for getting in and out of the camper too.
I added a second receiver on one side and a turnbuckle on the other. It is Way solid and has seen thousands of miles including a lot of off-roading.
To fold it I can remove the second receiver and loosen the turnbuckle and it tucks up against the truck to make parking easy when not in use. I never need to pull it off.
The front is a beefed up aluminum ebay 100 dollar special that I installed headlights on to make up for the lights being blocked. Zero cooling issues.

 

[jackattack]

nice rig.

 

[con kso]

Just did three weeks in southern Baja with a DRZ400 mounted on a front rack with a Joe Hauler Cam Lock system. I cannot recommend the Joe Hauler Cam Lock more highly- it's a great design. Tighten up the nut on the front of the hauler and there's very, very little wobble. I even drove 24 dirt road miles from Gonzaga Bay past Coco's Corner to Laguna Chapalla on some bad washboard and nothing was broken or bent. It's a great system. My truck is a 4x4 Tundra and I bolted a front receiver on very easily- the truck never came close to overheating. I would not want to drive with it at night though- there is a small amount of reflected light off the front of the bike from the truck's headlights. It would be do-able for a few miles but it's not something that would be fun. Oh yeah, truck drove on sand with bike on front mount very easily- I could drive across loose sand beaches without a problem.

 

[boxcar1]

The problem as I see it is, approach and departure angles are destroyed with both front or rear carriers.
Rear carriers hinder access to the rear door of the camper. Not to mention, I'd rather not have to climb over the damn thing every time I enter my house.
I'd have to estimate the weight of the unit at 1-200 lbs . Not something I want to have to remove and reinstall to often.
I have used front carriers in the past. Worked great . But were not used on an off road capable rig. The whole approach angle kills the idea for me.
I'll be towing a Snow Bear trailer 4'6" x 8' . It's light , durable , works well off road and can carry 2 bikes and quite a bit of extra cargo all while not adding a bunch to the sprung weight of the truck.

 

[con kso]

The problem as I see it is, approach and departure angles are destroyed with both front or rear carriers.
Rear carriers hinder access to the rear door of the camper. Not to mention, I'd rather not have to climb over the damn thing every time I enter my house.
I'd have to estimate the weight of the unit at 1-200 lbs . Not something I want to have to remove and reinstall to often.
I have used front carriers in the past. Worked great . But were not used on an off road capable rig. The whole approach angle kills the idea for me.
I'll be towing a Snow Bear trailer 4'6" x 8' . It's light , durable , works well off road and can carry 2 bikes and quite a bit of extra cargo all while not adding a bunch to the sprung weight of the truck.

Yep- sure does destroy your approach angle. But then again with a 4x4 Tundra, 8' bed with extracab wheelbase and a Callen on the back I'm not doing anything more formidable than driving out to the point at Punta Rosalilita (there's one descent that's loose and rocky and fairly steep) or across the sand at La Pastora- oh yeah I did drive the Calamajue wash road through the oasis on the Baja 1000 route but I just took the bike and carrier off the truck at the tricky parts and made my brother moto it to Mex. 1 in front of me. For my needs and 4x4 situations it works fine- for 2 bikes I like my three rail trailer, it's done Baja too.

 

[wildorange]

Really interesting how others are tackling this issue of transporting their bikes, I like the old school front mounted chopper which makes me wonder if my KTM 950 (185kg) would be too heavy for most front or rear mounted brackets available.

Also, the wagon in question is likely to be a Land Rover Disco 2

 

[Motafinga]

The problem as I see it is, approach and departure angles are destroyed with both front or rear carriers.
Rear carriers hinder access to the rear door of the camper. Not to mention, I'd rather not have to climb over the damn thing every time I enter my house.
I'd have to estimate the weight of the unit at 1-200 lbs . Not something I want to have to remove and reinstall to often.
I have used front carriers in the past. Worked great . But were not used on an off road capable rig. The whole approach angle kills the idea for me.
I'll be towing a Snow Bear trailer 4'6" x 8' . It's light , durable , works well off road and can carry 2 bikes and quite a bit of extra cargo all while not adding a bunch to the sprung weight of the truck.

Hmm interesting perspective, a big reason I went with front and rear carriers was to avoid the hassle of off-roading with a trailer. I've personally had great luck using my set-up in some pretty nasty, tight stuff (for a camper rig) I couldn't imagine dealing with a trailer through some of the travels I've done with my rig not to mention having to turn around in tight wooded spots and leveling/parking the rig etc.. Departure angles have been fine through just about everything I've done but I'm not trying drive my rig like a jeep either. The rear scrapes occasionally but flexes enough to not be a problem and has never hung me up. I get into the camper just fine with a bike on the back too and can even deploy my awning. The front carrier weighs about 50lbs and has it's own head lights attached so the lighting is great with a bike, the rear weighs about 80 lbs. but folds up so I never pull it off. It's a great compromise for me.

 

[1stDeuce]

Since the wife and I are planning a trip to Baja this spring, I'm starting to figure out front and rear carriers for my truck. Nice to see all these great ideas!!

I'm going to use two receivers on both ends of the truck. The Hi-Lift pockets on the front ARB are perfect for welding in 2" receivers, and I'm designing a "high capacity assault bumper" for the rear with matching dual receivers, a center receiver for towing, tow shackles, license plate light, 7-way trailer connector, and whatever else I can think of. I'm using a HMMWV MK VIII bumper as my inspiration....

Hopefully I can make the rear bumper (And motorcycle rack)fairly stout... I have an 8.5' camper in a shortbox, so the bike will be about 40" behind the bumper!

I'll post pictures on this thread when I get them!

 

[boxcar1]

Hmm interesting perspective, a big reason I went with front and rear carriers was to avoid the hassle of off-roading with a trailer. I've personally had great luck using my set-up in some pretty nasty, tight stuff (for a camper rig) I couldn't imagine dealing with a trailer through some of the travels I've done with my rig not to mention having to turn around in tight wooded spots and leveling/parking the rig etc.. Departure angles have been fine through just about everything I've done but I'm not trying drive my rig like a jeep either. The rear scrapes occasionally but flexes enough to not be a problem and has never hung me up. I get into the camper just fine with a bike on the back too and can even deploy my awning. The front carrier weighs about 50lbs and has it's own head lights attached so the lighting is great with a bike, the rear weighs about 80 lbs. but folds up so I never pull it off. It's a great compromise for me.

I have towed trailers off road quite a bit. Its a hassle at times .....But a hassle well worth the effort compared to being stuck.
Oregon is a bit more vertical I guess.
I tend to wheel all of my rigs the same . If I want to go there , I do. And build accordingly.
I always plan for the worst case scenario.
Things happen on the trail.
So with that in mind , building a rig that is pre destined to hang ups ( long overhangs ) would be something I would not do.... Just me .....

 

[Mick James]

old school front

2 2x2 receivers

 

[yj4roks]

I am just getting into this "game" myself. I am a Jeeper and now have to bring both bike and Jeep to outings as my 15 year old daughter has "stolen" my Jeep. I have put the moto rack on the Jeep, then flat towed the Jeep behind the truck camper. Like others, I have added extra straps to help with wiggling, etc. The only downside has been I have to put my spare tire in the back seat area of the Jeep as I don't want to use an extension to get the bike rack that far out past the tire.

 

[sp6x6]

I tow a built jeep behind my moded F350 w/BFoot camper.I can use my wheeless on truck or tow Jp with Rokon on that with wheeless.Been on many a hunting trip

 

[sampep]

all those options really seem to kill the departure angle :S

 

[IdaSHO]

The one Im currently working on does not.

Designed to work with my custom camper when loaded, will elevate the bike similar to a "CruiserLift"

Just have the lift mechanism to sort out, then the platform for the bike.

 

[boxcar1]

Now that's a cool idea.
It probably weighs less than a small trailer as well.
Hydraulic ?