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Old 11-25-2014, 07:52 AM   #1
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Loading Procedure Question

Our 30WRS is our first toy hauler. I'm going to load a Harley trike in the rear. The trike weighs about 1200 pounds. Should I load the trike with the trailer rear stabilizers down? Should the trailer be on the truck hitch? Safety is paramount, so any help is much appreciated.
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Old 11-25-2014, 01:23 PM   #2
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I do both i hook it to my truck and i use my tongue jack to lift the front as high as i can then i put the rear stabilizer jacks down tight and secure then i put the door down and drive the trike in and strap it down tight.
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Old 11-25-2014, 02:08 PM   #3
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I load my wife's Goldwing Trike with the trailer hooked to the truck and the ramp down...no stabilizers. Works fine. We have a Cherokee Wolfpack 27WP. I put my two wheeled Goldwing in front of her Trike.
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Old 11-25-2014, 02:41 PM   #4
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Thank you for the responses. I have enough trouble with mishaps without creating any of my own...

Two fellow trikers respond! How cool is that! Do either of you hang out over at TrikeTalk.com?
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Old 11-25-2014, 07:31 PM   #5
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Valkyrie trike here and no support jacks. But keep in mind its in a different trailer.
Just have it hooked up at least. If not, Support jacks AND chock Blocks!
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Old 11-25-2014, 11:33 PM   #6
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I don't but will go and check it out.


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Old 11-25-2014, 11:56 PM   #7
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Old 11-26-2014, 12:12 AM   #8
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I have a 30WR and I will either have the trailer hooked to the truck or if it's not hooked up I would have the stabilizer jacks down when I load my Ultra Classic... I have the trailer level when I load my bikel. Your trike might run lower so the first time you load up, I would go easy over the threshold from the ramp to the garage and have someone watch to check your ground clearance.
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Old 11-26-2014, 10:26 AM   #9
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Valkyrie trike here and no support jacks. But keep in mind its in a different trailer.
Just have it hooked up at least. If not, Support jacks AND chock Blocks!
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I have a 30WR and I will either have the trailer hooked to the truck or if it's not hooked up I would have the stabilizer jacks down when I load my Ultra Classic... I have the trailer level when I load my bikel. Your trike might run lower so the first time you load up, I would go easy over the threshold from the ramp to the garage and have someone watch to check your ground clearance.
Thanks for the advice. I think for safety's sake, I'll have the trailer on the hitch and the rear stabilizers down. I will start with the trailer level, and go very slowly loading up the first time, and have the wife watch the situation. I can adjust the trailer height if I have clearance issues.
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Old 11-26-2014, 10:27 AM   #10
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Just said hello to you! I'm registered as Rick Kay
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Old 11-27-2014, 02:40 PM   #11
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I load my RZR (1100lbs or so) with the trailer (30WR) just hitched to the truck. No prob. I do back it in to get weight on the tongue. Pulls better backed in.
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Old 01-08-2015, 09:50 PM   #12
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I have a 30WR and I will either have the trailer hooked to the truck or if it's not hooked up I would have the stabilizer jacks down when I load my Ultra Classic... I have the trailer level when I load my bikel. Your trike might run lower so the first time you load up, I would go easy over the threshold from the ramp to the garage and have someone watch to check your ground clearance.
1/243...I also have an Ultra and have yet to load it in my new 27 XLR TH. I measured my garage floor and it is approx 32" off the ground. My ramp door is 84" high (long). Not sure what your rig is, but I'm a bit nervous about bottoming out as I make the transition from the ramp to the flat garage. I tried a little basic trigonometry to determine angles, but it still doesn't give me a warm fuzzy. Do you have any issues with being close to bottoming out as you load your Ultra? Other posts in this thread imply you can raise your tongue but if you are hooked to your TV, that seems like a lot of stress on you tongue jack. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:44 AM   #13
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ZNR the only way your going to find out for sure is with the trailer level ride up the ramp and stop at the threshold and have someone watch to see if your going to hit. Be careful when backing down with a steep ramp the front tire can skid all the way down (at least mine has).

My floor is at 21" high and my ramp is 82" long. When my trailer is level I don't high center at all. I have rubbed once or twice when my trailer was not level the rear was up a bit due to where I was parked. My 2009 Ultra sits a little higher than your 2008 due to the new frame. Unless you have a Dovetail where the floor starts to drop towards the ramp, I would guess with your 32" floor your going to high center at the threashold. You may have to do raise the front or add a ramp extention.

You can raise the front by using your electric tongue jack (get one if you don't have one their nice #4000). You can do this with the trailer still hooked to the truck (within reason) or you can drive the truck up on blocks.

Ramp extention: I just helped a friend add a 3/4" 4'X8' ramp extention to his new Toy Hauler (a whole sheet of plywood). His floor height is about the same as yours. We used 5, 4" hinges. Now, he puts 8 inch blocks under his ramp then drops down the ramp extention and drives right up. The extention did add some weight to his ramp for lifting.
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Old 01-09-2015, 09:09 AM   #14
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I have a 30WR and I will either have the trailer hooked to the truck or if it's not hooked up I would have the stabilizer jacks down when I load my Ultra Classic... I have the trailer level when I load my bikel. Your trike might run lower so the first time you load up, I would go easy over the threshold from the ramp to the garage and have someone watch to check your ground clearance.

Good Advice! The first time I took my Ultra Classic inside I ripped the thresh-hold up (both pieces) and the kickstand spring off & sprung it.
Now I go up much slower with a slight lean to the right..can't do that on a trike I know but for you other first timers....beware.
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Old 01-09-2015, 09:28 AM   #15
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If you're hitched to the truck, I think that's sufficient, nothing's going to move as you load or unload...

Which brings me to my next pointer: unloading is way scarier than loading. For those of us with 2 wheels (and trikes, but you guys don't have to worry about dumping you bikes): bike off, leave the bike in first gear, pull the clutch in to roll backwards and feather both the front brake and the clutch--that way, you'll have both tires trying to stop you instead of just the front one, which (if it's the only tire trying to stop you) can and will skid backward causing you to soil your pants. If it starts getting away, let the clutch out and backward/downward rolling stops. Good luck!
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Old 01-09-2015, 01:14 PM   #16
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Excellent point about backing down with the Bike in gear. I have always left the bike in gear and used the clutch and front brake together to slow the bike when backing off a ramp. The scariest thing is backing off a tow truck flat bed, very steep with a metal floor usually covered with oil.

One other reason for using the clutch to reduce the speed of decent is to protect the rear belt pulley from damage. On Harley's in peticular. The belt has pitch. This forces the belt to ride in toward the rear tire when backing and the belt then rides outward when going forward. The outer ring is cast as part of the pulley, but the inner ring is thin metal and just peened on to the pulley in several spots. Many times I have seen the inner ring on the pulley broken off when someone backs the bike fast down a long ramp. Like when the front tire slides on the ramp surface.
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Old 01-09-2015, 05:37 PM   #17
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1/243, KD1, Taranwanderer, Kaboom...thx to all. Some really good pointers that I will take to heart. Won't be able to practice load for another month or so, but when it's time, think I'll use a combination of raising the tongue slightly and raising the bottom of the ramp with some blocks and extending the ramp with "something" (TBD) so the angle between the ramp and garage floor is reduced. Of course, taking it slow is a given. Don't want to dump the bike. Dumping a bike is bad enough...dumping it on a ramp has got to be a doggone disaster, let alone an opportunity to get hurt. Thx again.
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Old 01-10-2015, 08:01 AM   #18
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Thanks to all for the advice. I appreciate the comments about entry angle. I figured I could use planks to help the entry angle over the base of the ramp. The threshold had me a bit buffaloed, but the technique with the tongue jack would probably rectify the situation. The trike is low, with an extended wheelbase (CSC conversion), and the threshold will most likely be the sticking point, if there is one.
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Old 01-16-2015, 09:02 AM   #19
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I load my RZR (1100lbs or so) with the trailer (30WR) just hitched to the truck. No prob. I do back it in to get weight on the tongue. Pulls better backed in.

What are you pulling your camper with? I have had better luck pulling my RZR in. I'm only pulling with 1/2 ton though.
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Old 01-16-2015, 09:48 AM   #20
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What are you pulling your camper with? I have had better luck pulling my RZR in. I'm only pulling with 1/2 ton though.
6.7 f350 SRW. If I don't keep some tongue weight up she wants to sway pretty bad. I back the rzr in, keep my ice chests under the front bed and carry my two spares tied down on the generator rack. Also carry my gen in the bed of the truck right up against the tailgate. 30wr's gets heavy fast.
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