Tips needed for putting sled in pick up

sandmanmike1

sandmanmike1

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Joined
Nov 11, 2004
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847
Age
52
Location
Wyandotte MI
Next time I go sledding I am considering putting my longtrack 94 Vmax 600 ST in the back of my wife's 2008 Dodge Dakota 4 door Laramie. Any tips on getting it in there. Will it fit? How many people are needed to do it? Once it is in there do I put tail gate up or down. Will that bed extender thing work that goes in your receiver for your hitch from harbor freight for rear support. Can I load it using my drive on drive off open trailer. Let's some picks of you hauling sled in the back of a truck.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39168
 

i find a snow bank or i make a snow bank to load a sled into my truck, cant comment on the fit dont really know the length of you're truck.
 
My Avalanche bed is only 5'6"(maybe less) and I put my SRX in the back with the tail gate down and still pull my drive on drive off 2place enclosed.
Like blue missile said, a snowbank is usually the best way to load and unload.
Loading it off your trailer will work, unless its an enclosed. You may not have enough head room.

Also, a sheet of plywood in the bed helps with the process!
 
if your trailer has a removable rear ramp, use it. its an aquired art to run up a ramp into the back of a pickup, but if you ever did it with motorcycles like i did for years, you know what it takes. most of the weight of a sled is in the nose, so if the skis are firmly planted in the box, i wouldnt worry about any extensions. i ran with the endgate down, slid the ramp under the sled, and off we go. dont forget the ratchet straps. also, from the voice of experience, watch that the track doesnt shoot out the ramp from under you in the loading process. makes for a good teeter. been there, done that.
 
I don't think the Dakota will be wide enough between the wheelwells for the skis to fit. My brother borrowed my Mountain Max last year and tried to put it in his Dakota, it was too wide(39" centre to centre on the skies). Scratched up one wheelwell pretty bad with the carbide as well. If it will fit, I'm with the guys above, find a big snowbank.
 
like mentioned^^ one ski will sit on a wheel well on a dakota but that is fine..the problem here is that the quad cab dakotas boxs are very short.it will hang quite a bit of the truck even with the tail gate down...i use a club cab dakota but my box is over a foot bigger.
 
I have 7 foot from front of bed to end of tailgate when opened. sled is 10 feet long end of track is around 9'3" or so. How much is safe to have hang over. I am considering doing something like in the second link posted above.
 
That's fine to hang that much over, like said above the bulk of your weight is in the front. Get it in there and just run ratchet straps from the rear bumper to your tie downs in the bed.
 
it always help to have 2 guys if there is no bank to load off of... me and my friend always just grab a trailing arm each , lift the skis in then pick up on the back and slide er in... then just pull it out and flop it out....
 
In the early 90's I carried my 89 Exciter in the back of my Ford Ranger PU. I made a plywood base which was over my wheel wells. I used the area undernieth for gear and ramp. I did keep the tailgate down and the box ran all the way to back of tailgate. I just kept the box in the entire winter. Made several trips to Colorado, Wyoming, and Michigan that way.
 
I hauled my 500 Indy for years with a flareside F-150 short bed. About a foot of track overhang but not an issue with tie-downs. Also hauled it backwards in the bed but the cover didn't care much for 70 MPH. Loading with a snowbank worked the best and removal was easy. Unstrap, back up at 20 MPH and slam on the brakes. Or pull it out by hand quickly and let the front/rear drop off the tailgate.
 
^^^ i personally dont recommend the brake method to anybody reading this if you care about you sled or vehicle..it may work a few times but eventualy something bad is going to happen.
 
I have a trifold ATV ramp, it had slots in it to slide 1/4" plywood into each section. I rest the ramp on the tailgate, then use a ratchet strap from each side to my hitch just to keep it in place. Easy as can be. I also have 3' wide sheet of plywood on the floor of the truck to protect it from the studs and allow it to slide out easier.

Before that I used the snowbank and pull out and let it drop method...but I have a lifted Silverado, and it started to take a toll on the front end of the sled....things started to seem looser on my old Exciter after the last time I did it...probably stressed some of the balljoints. If you do it, find some deep snow...not the street. ;)
 
Yeah, after writing my reply I had second thoughts about recommending it. Although I never had an issue (lucky perhaps) probably not the best idea.

This reminds me of a guy I met at a local duck swamp that hauled his duck boat in the back of his pick up. He had a long rope tied to the bow, ran the rope through the sliding glass window of his truck. He'd back up and slam the brakes thus launching the boat (minus the outboard). "Been doin' it fer years" he says. Didn't stick around to see how he loaded it.
 
srxbully said:
^^^ i personally dont recommend the brake method to anybody reading this if you care about you sled or vehicle..it may work a few times but eventualy something bad is going to happen.
Click to expand...
lol. I've see the tie the rear sled bumper to something method and drive the truch away version done with great success.
 
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