Need advice for loading pickup on a trailer

[bdog]

I want to haul my pickup on my 53' step deck. The trailer has a five foot dovetail and fold over ramps but the deck is 3'6" high and my pickup is long. It is a four wheel drive dually. It climbs the ramps fine and I can get my front tires on the main trailer deck and then the bottom of the frame basically half way between the front and rear tires hits the edge of the trailer right where the dovetail meets the main part of the trailer.

I was able to place some 4x4's on the dovetail and on the main deck lengthwise and was able to get the truck loaded but it was difficult to do and keep the four separate 4x4's aligned and to keep them from moving.

I will be loading and unloading this pickup on a regular basis. Possibly several times a month as my plan is to haul my heavy equipment and my pickup to the jobsites which sometimes are hours away and then unload my my pickup to drive around while there.

I was thinking of building some thing either out of wood or steel that is about 8' long that I could place on the trailer deck directly under the tire paths that was 6" or so tall. This should raise the front end up enough so that the frame won't hit anymore. I am sure I can figure something out but just curious if anyone had any ideas.

 

[Looking4new]

The suspension on the trailer is air ride or spring ride?

 

[bdog]

Air ride and it is dumped when trying to load.

The ramps really are not that steep I just think the pickup is too long.

 

[bcp]

Put airbags on the pickup to lift it a several inches when loading?

Bruce

 

[Looking4new]

Put airbags on the pickup to lift it a several inches when loading?

Bruce

You beat me to it Bruce.

 

[bdog]

That is a good idea. The truck has onboard air it wouldn't be too hard to install. I wonder if it would lift it high enough? I know if I put 4x4's under both the front and back tires it clears. The front or the rear alone it will still hit. Maybe airbags on the truck and then boards under the front.

 

[Looking4new]

Or stick a 4" lift kit in it.

 

[joefromga]

Get some aluminum ramps and put them on the dovetail.

 

[George2615]

don't load it like these guys.


https://youtu.be/vGOqfq1NHHw

 

[JJZ 109]

Put airbags on the pickup to lift it a several inches when loading?

Bruce

Am I missing something? Wouldn't the ground to frame height still be the same? Not criticizing, just curious.
Cancel that thought. I had air bags on an F150 I previously owned. After thinking about this for a time, I see where it could work.

 

[silvertramp]

The ramp on my landscape trailer is too steep to load my motorcycle without high centering. I made an extension out of scrap plywood and 2x4's. I laid the 2x4's on edge and screwed a 2x4 on the flat across one end. When I slid that under the ramp it gave me a lift of 5". I then butted a piece of 3/4" plywood against the ramp and ran it past the 2x4's on the bottom until it contacted the ground. It works perfectly for the bike. I throw the extension in the trailer and away I go. Some sort of heavier duty version might be a simple solution for you.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Go to YOUTUBE and look for "loading fails" to see how not to do it. It might give you some good pointers on hazards to look out for. I like the one where the hinged ramp somehow flips up and destroys the rear fender of a dually.

The motorcycle ones are particularly funny. Like driving up a narrow ramp and stopping half way with no place to step off!

I have a deck-over dump trailer and have the constant problem of loading my wing mower. I need to find uneven grade to make the approach less steep otherwise the front deck catches on the ramps and sometimes gets stuck there..

 

[silvertramp]

Yup. I stopped loading motorcycles into pickup trucks in 1995. TOOO SCARY.

 

[aczlan]

don't load it like these guys.

Beat me to it... Pretty sure the trailer rolled forward because the back axle of the truck came off of the ground and the trailer wasn't chocked.

If 4x4s or will work, I would use lag bolts or carriage bolts to fasten 2-3 together and make a "block pack" that you set on your trailer. You could even pre-drill a 3/4" hole down 3/4 of the way and put a couple of deck screws through the holes.

Aaron Z

 

[Diamondpilot]

Pull the trailer tires into a ditch.

Chris

 

[bdog]

Pull the trailer tires into a ditch.

Chris

While that will work in theory it isn't practical with a 65' long truck and the fact I have spread axles 10' apart. It would also be hard to pull the 70k gross weight out of the ditch once loaded.

Basically I just need to make the places the pickup tires contact when loading a few inches higher than the rest of the trailer.

 

[Egon]

While that will work in theory it isn't practical with a 65' long truck and the fact I have spread axles 10' apart. It would also be hard to pull the 70k gross weight out of the ditch once loaded.

Basically I just need to make the places the pickup tires contact when loading a few inches higher than the rest of the trailer.

If it's only a few inches lay down some 2x8 on the trailer deck where the tire's track.

 

[Egon]

While that will work in theory it isn't practical with a 65' long truck and the fact I have spread axles 10' apart. It would also be hard to pull the 70k gross weight out of the ditch once loaded.

Basically I just need to make the places the pickup tires contact when loading a few inches higher than the rest of the trailer.

If it's only a few inches lay down some 2x8 on the trailer deck where the tire's track.

 

[joefromga]

Use a set of ramps 6ft long to load the truck. It will lift the rear wheel when the fronts are on the trailer and give you the space.

Some ramps are already bent with an arch. I had to get some for my side by side for the same problem.

You only need some that handle half the weight of the truck if you only use on axle at a time.

Easy peezy!





My drawings are crude but the lengths are to scale. Assuming a 12ft wheelbase and the 5ft dovetail and 6ft ramp.

 

[GPintheMitten]

It wouldn't help with unloading at other locations but at home can you build up a loading dock with timbers or concrete block and fill in with soil.