Better way to get Cricket in/out of truck?

[RackOnInNC]

OK so I know that some of the most inventive and downright weird solutions to RV life challenges come out of this forum, so here's one I thought I'd throw out there. I have a Cricket Golf cart that I haul in the truck bed (approx 300 lbs) when towing my TT, basically for my elderly parents. The problem being that since they are my "assistants" we need the Cricket on the ground when setting up. Of course that is impossible when you have to unhook before you can put the ramps down and get the Cricket out. It would also sometimes be nice to "scout" campsites with the golf cart where there isn't a lot of room to maneuver. Getting hooked up to leave would also be easier if the Cricket was the last thing loaded instead of the first.

So anyone know of any inventive ways to get the Cricket in and out over the side of the truck that don't weigh a ton?

I've given some thought to the whole cargo carrier on the back of the trailer idea, but after watching the golf cart wiggle on the hitch carrier I sometimes use just on their SUV I really don't like the idea of it flapping around back there with the added motion of the trailer thrown into the mix. I wouldn't want $4,000 worth of golf cart to wiggle right off and go splat. And of course there's also the issue of messing up the balance of my trailer. It pulls pretty good the way it is.

Thoughts?

[howie70]

They're expensive, but a buddy at work has a Diamondback bed cover that he hauls 4-wheelers on. They sit on top and can be loaded by ramps on the side.
DiamondBack ATV/UTV Carrier – An ATV or side-by-side hauler *and* a truck bed cover all-in-one.

[RackOnInNC]

Thanks! I'll look into that. Might put the roof up a little higher than is prudent, but I guess I could take it off for travelling.

[thebrakeman]

1. Does a golf cart have enough grunt to get up ramps that steep?
2. Does a golf cart have enough ground clearance to avoid bottoming out at the top of the ramp?


Probably not the choice you would prefer, but a toy-hauler would fit the bill.

[RackOnInNC]

Both questions I've contemplated, but since the Cricket can go up the shorter ramps I use now to get it into the bed I'm fairly certain it can do both. I've taken it both up and down some pretty steep inclines where I expected it to bottom out and it didn't. I did look at toy haulers when I bought my TT, in fact that's what I started out looking for. It occurred to me after looking for a bit at the THs that my Ecoboost could pull that I was losing a lot of floorplan flexibilty and creature comforts just to accommodate a very small golf cart that you can put in the back of an SUV! It works OK the way we do it now, so I'm not sure I want to spend that much on it anyway. Thanks for the input though!

[foretm]

This may be a bit overkill, but you could go with this type of setup..

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FUU8gQodd4oCGg

[RackOnInNC]

That's actually more along the lines of what I was thinking to begin with...something that could lift the golf cart out of the bed and set it on the ground so not as much overkill as you might think! It costs a heck of a lot less than the diamondback too!

[Triple SS]

I have friends who have a cart that disassembles to fit inside their small SUV and reassembles when they arrive at destination. Check with "little pm" on the forums

[RackOnInNC]

The Cricket does that. I could make it a lot smaller, but that doesnt solve the problem of getting it in and out of the truck bed with the trailer hooked up. Still have to load it first and take it off last so I leave it together except for the back footrest.

[DrLewie]

Unhitch, move the truck forward enough to unload the Cricket, then rehitch.

When I read your headline my first thought was that I could understand wanting to get a cricket out of the truck (the chirping would be annoying), but I couldn't understand why you'd want to put one in.

[Triple SS]

Sounds like you need some kind of hoist

[RackOnInNC]

If I was 20 years younger and had a functional back unhooking and rehooking might be an option, but yeah...no thanks. Once is enough when I'm the only one doing it.

[ncebeemer]

for $200 bucks, it beats hitching and unhitching twice every time.

[thebrakeman]

That crane looks pretty sweet. And the 300 lbs cart is light enough to allow using the crane fully extended (500 lbs capacity at full extention). I was wondering if that would give enough height to lift over the side of the bed, but it looks like it has a hydraulic jack unit, to pivot the horizontal up and over. Probably mount it behind driver or passenger seat, as close to the side as possible. Take lots of measurements. I would also want to be sure the pickup bed can handle the side loading. The base plate isn't very big, and with the arm extended, 300 lbs is going to put a lot of torque on the plate bolts, and try to bend the bed floor.

[Iwannacamp]

not to be negative-nelley. Some one who knows algebra/geometry/trig or how to cipher will help I am sure, but I don't see any way you could mount that to the frame of truck and have the arm be long enough to clear?? 48" plus the GC plus the sling and clear cab or RV. Sorry. I think the ramps are about the only bet short of a complete re-mod or a different RV. JMO(just my opinion)

[RackOnInNC]

I have found plenty of very expensive wheelchair scooter lifts that do the same thing, but in a more elegant fashion. So it IS possible. I probably will just keep doing what I'm doing for the time being though