thanks Yama!! 

anyone else notice that the trucks they were trying to load the bikes into were all 4wd height, yet the ramps MIGHT be long enough for a 2wd pickup?

yeah lol.... and a plain sawn end flat plank is so well known for its grip properties vis a vis truck tailgates too... 

Ahh it makes you feel almost sane doesn't it.

Quote from: Joolstacho on October 29, 2013, 02:33:41 AM
Ahh it makes you feel almost sane doesn't it.

when id use 2x12" timbers, id put 16 penny nails in the bottom with points that go into ground as a brake etc. and had no problems. until I got a proper set of ramps. but I saw fail on all of them because of technique. abrupt starting and stopping. I dropped one bike loading and unloading. never again. I try to load backwards so I can ride off. but if not possible I allow myself an extra piece of ramp for my feet. ( another failure I saw there. no one had a foot board. they were screwed when they had to put a foot down.

I noticed one common failure: ramps were too short. The bike beaches when the front wheel gets to the bed of the truck, then the operator falls over and the bike follows. It's like the bike is punishing them for being stupid.

That $50k custom bike: they got what they deserve for being stupid. Expensive bike... rides it up the ramp.... NO ONE there to help secure the bike... NO ONE thought it could fall over?

Quote from: RossLH on October 29, 2013, 10:44:18 PM
I noticed one common failure: ramps were too short. The bike beaches when the front wheel gets to the bed of the truck, then the operator falls over and the bike follows. It's like the bike is punishing them for being stupid.

exactly. ramps length. hell all of them it seems. were more suited to standard suspension aka 2wd vehicles. yet they were all 4wd height. angle was far to harsh. and yes plenty of ppl around yet none assist

Always load with the truck pointing uphill if you can find a spot where the ground levels off at the tailgate, or on level ground is land starts uphill at the tailgate -reduces the angle.  For instance I would load with my truck in the road with tailgate at the start of my uphill driveway.  Angle is reduced.

Also have some help for crying out loud!  Too many of those videos had people around that could have helped push the bikes up and no chance of an issue.

I have driven my quad up ramps many times.  No issues.  Must stand and lean forward to ensure weight is on the front wheels.

R.I.P Mr thornton. many thanks for the laughs lol.

Quote from: john on October 30, 2013, 08:25:16 AM
Always load with the truck pointing uphill if you can find a spot where the ground levels off at the tailgate, or on level ground is land starts uphill at the tailgate -reduces the angle.  For instance I would load with my truck in the road with tailgate at the start of my uphill driveway.  Angle is reduced.

Also have some help for crying out loud!  Too many of those videos had people around that could have helped push the bikes up and no chance of an issue.

I have driven my quad up ramps many times.  No issues.  Must stand and lean forward to ensure weight is on the front wheels.

Exactly. My driveway is inclined so I park at the bottom of it and drop the tailgate and then put my ramps in place.

Quote from: john on October 30, 2013, 08:25:16 AM
Always load with the truck pointing uphill if you can find a spot where the ground levels off at the tailgate, or on level ground is land starts uphill at the tailgate -reduces the angle.

I load mine up by reversing up to the gutter, the camber of the road combined with the gutter height means the tailgate is nearly at the ground, sometimes I can just use one flat garden brick to halve the height between the ground and tailgate otherwise i'll use a ramp if the distance ends up more than that.

Also the ol' have more than one person pushing it up the ramp seems to help a lot too - since you can get one person to hold it while the other climbs up into the tray to steady it/pull it up.

Quote from: Toiletbooger on November 11, 2013, 07:32:03 PM

Quote from: john on October 30, 2013, 08:25:16 AM
Always load with the truck pointing uphill if you can find a spot where the ground levels off at the tailgate, or on level ground is land starts uphill at the tailgate -reduces the angle.

I load mine up by reversing up to the gutter, the camber of the road combined with the gutter height means the tailgate is nearly at the ground, sometimes I can just use one flat garden brick to halve the height between the ground and tailgate otherwise i'll use a ramp if the distance ends up more than that.

Also the ol' have more than one person pushing it up the ramp seems to help a lot too - since you can get one person to hold it while the other climbs up into the tray to steady it/pull it up.

ive rtied to have 3 ppl. one inside truck. one at bars, and one at back. one inside truck was there to take it.  while the others transitioned into truck.

After watching a friend of mine load my crf150 into my truck by riding up my ramp I thought to myself well hell I can do that. Bent the bed box to the point where it touched the back of the cab and produced a visible bow in the glass the next time I loaded it.

Quote from: Toiletbooger on November 11, 2013, 07:32:03 PM

I load mine up by reversing up to the gutter, the camber of the road combined with the gutter height means the tailgate is nearly at the ground, sometimes I can just use one flat garden brick to halve the height between the ground and tailgate otherwise i'll use a ramp if the distance ends up more than that.

This. In my vulgar, rural upbringing, we called it "the ditch".

One other key suggestion might be to avoid the temptation to record the loading process, as it seems tantamount to declaring, "I would like to become famous on the Intrwebz for failing to succussfully load my powersports equipment due to lack of equipment/manpower,".

besude my DW on either side to left have the marble retaining watt @ 2ft to right is a slight bank about same height. works same. tail gate down. puts lip about an inch below wall/bank height. works great. just have to remember to bring ramps for unloading.  lol