Dirtbike up front?

Doing a lot of pre-emptive researching. I've got a stock DCLB tacoma with a Leer 180 cap. I frequently travel to whitewater kayak and am looking to purchase a small dual sport to assist with performing shuttles, most of the time I would be carrying the bike on a hitch carrier on the back of the truck, and plan to install air bags to help out the back end. I need the cap for storage space, sleeping space, and roof rack space.

The wife also wants to purchase a travel trailer for added comfort and convenience, she's not into sleeping in the back of the truck.

Trying to sort out how I would carry the bike and tow the trailer, I see there are some front-hitch options, with the draw-tite being rated at 500lbs vertical load. I am looking at something like a TW200 which weighs around 300lbs so it would fall within the receiver ratings, however would the truck frame / front axle / front suspension be okay with it?

Adding a way to carry the bike on the tongue of the trailer is another option, provided I've got sufficient room on the tongue & enough steering clearance from the back bumper. I don't think there's any way I'd fit a bike under the cap and would not want to remove it.

 

Second question I guess would be, would carrying a bike up front block the headlights? Or block too much airflow through the grill?

 

you would have to check the alignment for a front mounted carrier... However you could get a hitch mount on your trailer and have the hitch mount bike carrier on the back of the trailer...

 

Front Hidden hitch
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cbi-offroad-hidden-front-hitch-install.129351/
http://www.4xinnovations.com/2005--2015-Tacoma-Front-Hidden-Hitch-Receiver_p_26.html

 

They make some pretty nice Toy Haulers these days with all the comforts of home which how I plan to go about it.

 

I'd look at a toy hauler too. Either enclosed or one with a deck already built in to the trailer

 

That right there is your excuse to buy a toy hauler. Just bear in mind that most of them weigh in around 5-6K pounds with your gear and a bike or two - which is on the upper bound of what the Taco can haul. It'll do it, but the truck will be thirsty - and slow.

If you put a bike on the front, you'll definitely need heavier springs. Toy Hauler is the way to go.

 

Toy haulers get pricey fast. I would just put the bike on the back of the trailer, using the same hitch rack you will use on the rear of the truck.

My winch weighs down the front more than I like, and I have aftermarket springs. I have a front hitch and have thought about putting a shuttle bike up front for short trips. I wouldn't travel with a bike up front though.

 

I paid $5K for my Thor Pak Rat - used, but in great shape. There are deals out there.

Having a shower at camp - heat for the cold nights - and a happy wife - make it worth every penny.

 

modify the trailer toehold the bike

 

You would probably be better off adding a hitch to the travel trailer rather than the front of your Taco.

 

As a ski/ raft (and many other activities) bum, that would be out of my budget. I'd get (and actually have) a trailer for less than $1K with heat and the necessities. Then put a hitch receiver on the back.

He's a river kayaker, his wife can't be too high maintenance, or she wouldn't have stuck around.

 

Maybe it depends on where you live, here in Oregon I've been watching Craigslist pretty close and I've been seeing some pretty nice 18-20 foot toy haulers go for between $8-10k which is right in there with the travel trailers

 

Problem with a hitch on the back of a trailer is you are adding a fair amount weight behind the wheels and reducing the tongue weight. That's a recipe for trailer sway. If that happens you'll need new underwear at the least, and possibly a new truck and trailer at worst.

 

Exactly this.

The trailer were looking at is an Escape 19 foot. fully fiberglass so next to no seams to leak, no wood to rot, they maintain their resale values better than our trucks do! That and just love that their built by a small family owned company who will customise nearly everything for you. the 19 foot is 2900lbs dry with 250lb tongue weight. putting a bike on the back would likely make the nose weightless.

really like the weight and Floorplan of these trailers.

Luckily I'm not your average dirtbag kayaker, I'm an engineer at a nuclear reactor, heh.

 

The other issue with a hitch on the back is that the frame on most trailers aren't designed to take that load. The money he'd spend making it work would quickly eat into the difference in cost between a travel trailer and toy hauler.

 

You say you need the cap for storage space & roof rack space, but with a trailer would that still be the case? Would the trailer be left as a base camp and the truck taken to launch the kayak and locked up with gear in the shell? I wouldn't like a bike on the front of this truck, it's not a 2500 or 3500 domestic truck that wouldn't notice the weight, hell just a plate bumper bottoms out our stock front ends! Putting the hitch carrier on the back of the trailer would be my 2nd choice (after the bed of the truck). Keep in mind the weight you take off the hitch would be replaced by your gear in the trailer, water tanks that get filled, maybe a fuel station if the trailer has it. Anything not bolted to the trailer could be loaded into the nose of it, wouldn't be hard to get the hitch weight back up to where you want it. Usually the rear overhang is shorter than the front, so the same weight on the front will be a heavier load than if it were on the rear (leverage FTW). Lots of variables, lots of homework for you to do. I had a toyhauler, they aren't light because they're meant to haul weight, travel trailer is the way to go with a Tacoma if you can make it work.

 

Perhaps this would work for your needs.
http://www.microlitetrailer.com/

 

You could extend the tongue of the trailer and put a bike tray there.

The only times I've seen a bike on the front of a truck, the trucks were full size.

With the Curt hitch or similar, the bike would be as low as possible. Air flow is not an issue. Visibility might be. I'd also be concerned about a bike blocking the headlights - in addition to it being a shitload of weight for the front of a Taco.

 

something like this is what I'll be going for in the not too distant future.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/rvs/5851244404.html