Zan

Hey!

I bought a truck tuesday. Going to use it for my landscaping business... and I need a vehicle when I'm off at Waterloo. I decided to get this truck off a neighbor across the road from one of the places i work at.

1988 Dodge Dakota
3.9L V6
101 000 km
mint condition.
1500$

what a deal, eh? I'm going to finish getting it certified tomorrow - the front brakes are shot... going to replace 'em during my lunch break. It passed everything else. I can post pics if you want...

Anyways, I was just wondering how I'd get my bikes up to the trail in it. Getting my own bike up is not a problem, but I"m interested in getting like 4 or 5 up to the trails - that way I can bring my buddies along (they'd have to drive 'longside in a car!).

I looked around and found these blockhead things by Yakima. But... at 25$ a piece of the cheap ones, I'm not too interested in dropping 125$+ and ruining my truck. I'm thinking I might be able to build something outta wood, and using threaded rod as a blockhead substitute (make my own blockhead outta threaded rod, wood, and nuts).

What do you guys think of this approach? Anyone done something like this?

Dimensions of the bed:

Width = 58"
Total Length = 72"
Length from front to wheel well = 30"
Wheel bump = 38"
Rest of length = 24"

I'm thinking I might be able to squeeze in 4 bikes horizontally and use the area where the wheels are at to store the front tires...

joetronic

I just got some of these LINK, Like 3 of them, and bolted them to the bed rails. THIS is my next purchase though. Looks very nice. No front wheel removal.

Your idea sounds good, but remember to post pics of the process.

sirtigersalot

people make stuff outta pvc pipe that holds the wheel and then you just use a tie down strap to be sure, problem with threaded rod is the lack of QR, and if your gonna get an axle and a qr and some cone nuts or somthin prolly would cost u enough that u might as well just buy the yakima things and save the hassle.

victim

Dakine blanket (or any old blanket) over the tailgate is the best way to go IMO. Those racks are cool but you have to store it somewhere when not in use. If I go on the highway I ratchet strap em down. Small trips I don't even bother.

dminor 

Ding! Ding!

That's why pickups have beds - - to haul things. Racks were devised for people without pickups to still haul things. Why spend the money adding racking to something that doesn't need it?

Although, a simple rack out of scrap 2x6 can be whipped up easily. I knocked that one together for another truck I had; it's doing garage duty now:

-_RebelRidin'_-

Me and a buddy made a PVC pipe one...

Its light and sturdy and it's removable. he even uses it to hold his bikes upright in the yard and stuff when people are over and he needs room inside his house/shed.

a coupe bungee's and a ratchet strap to hold it in.

Ill see if I can find the website with the plans on it.

enine

https://www.ufpi.com/literature/bikerack-62.pdf
I made something like this one time.

Now I just boutght a Yakami roof rack on craigslist and removed the vehicle specific metal brackets from the bottom and sit it in the truck bed then 4 turnbuckles to hold it to the corner tie downs in the bed.
I'm thinking of getting a tonneau cover and putting the rack above that, bolt 4 sections of square tubing in the stake holes then a couple more peices across and hinge the front and latch the rear so the rack can swing up but still be removable.

Erzulis Boat

When I was in the Army, and we would always have a ton of guys hitting the trails, we purchased those fork holder thingys and bolted them as close as possible to the top lid of a metal toolbox in the back of our trucks. We silicone gooped the fasteners (to weather proof the box), and we could pack a lot of bikes (4 or 5 if I remember correctly).

We would stack the front wheels right below the bikes towards the front. What's nice about those fork holders, is that you can push down the back wheel when you crank down the QR, and it keeps the bike nice and solid. We also made sure that the holders were aligned with the grooves in the bedliner to help out.

Just an idea!

sstorkel

Performance Bike has a cheaper version of the Yakima Blockhead on sale for $10. You can't tell from the picture, but they actually have holes pre-drilled in the base. I use the PB version with my SUV rack and they work fine... as long as all of your bikes use standard 9mm axles.

TechRydr

[QUOTE=enine;9046780
Now I just boutght a Yakami roof rack on craigslist and removed the vehicle specific metal brackets from the bottom and sit it in the truck bed then 4 turnbuckles to hold it to the corner tie downs in the bed.
[/QUOTE]

I've seen that done before - looks real nice and leaves the bed free for other gear.

I have a 07 Ram and just throw the bikes over the back tailgate like VICTIM pointed out, works like a charm. I'm able to load 4 bikes like this...

Good find on the truck btw!

Zan

i was reading 'bout the PVC pipe designs and apparently you have to replace 'em every couple of years 'cause they go brittle in the sun. whether this is true or not, I'm not too sure. I've had experience with PVC, but I like wood.

Not interested in just throwing 4 or 5 bikes into the back of the bed. Things would jostle around and damage would happen. With one or two bikes I could get away with it. Not worth the risk with five bikes, the total value of which being much greater than the vehicle carrying 'em.

I'll take pics as I go along and hook y'all up with the design process.

lapher22

either make two of these so two bikes face forward and two backward or one with 4 bike mounts.

enine

Use the grey electrical conduit, its uv safe

dminor 

Use your tailgate.

never

Just use a Dakine pad, blanket, or old carpet as suggested, throw the bikes over the tailgate, and strap them down if you're really concerned. You should be able to fit 5 bikes relatively comfortably across the back of that truck.