Short bed with dirt bike

I'm getting my 23 Sport in a couple of weeks and I'm questioning the best way to secure a single full size dirt bike along with a 72" Loading Ramp

Diagonally or straight in?
Should I Diagonally load (front wheel in corner) to keep the rear tire contact point off the tail gate as much as possible? or will that not make much difference?
...not looking to close the gate, just keep the tire off of it

 

You still can’t close the tailgate on a short bed even if you angle the bike so I just go strait in.

 

Thanks, but not looking to close the gate, just keep the tire off or very close to no contact on the gate

 

Keep the tire on the tailgate so it doesnt bounce much. There isnt that much weight on the rear tire of a bike anyways.

 

Thanks guys
Will I still have enough room to tilt up to install and remove the Amp Research bed extender or will the rear tire interfere?

 

Plywood to distribute the weight, strap forward to encourage weight off gate.

I have a family member that does this with a snowmobile, no issues

 

I dont think you can with a short bed with a normal sized bike. There are some pictures in here...

Short beds and dirtbikes. | Tacoma World

The weight on the tailgate is a non issue. Ill regularly load 2 bikes with the tire on the tailgate, no issues. But Ill mention that I dont really trust the side rails. I use the side loops...

2016-toyota-tacoma-bed-jpg.2208740 (1280×960) (twstatic.net)

and I added D-rings to the front bed bolts for carrying more bikes. And when they are snugged down it takes most the weight off of the back wheel.

This short bed is embarrassingly small.

 

I’ve seen people make a channel out of wood to hold the wheels securely-it would extend out the back to support the rear wheel. They had two bikes in the back with two channels. They probably had spacers between them and the sides to keep them from sliding around also.

There’s a member here on TW that posted a really neat one he made out of wood, I’ll try to find it.

 

Someone made this as a home product. Make a back part of the system that is a sheet for the read wheel distributing weight to reduce flexing on the gate hinge, as others said.

 

Push the tire against the front bed wall and strap it down. I've done a few bikes like that. I even took a klr650 in the bed up lobo overlook on wolf creek pass and it didn't move a bit.

 

@RichochetRabbit That’s a nice mount, I like it. I have a trail 90 I could do that with good idea! Only issue is I have a shelll, so it must to go on the back hitch and I bought a carrier for it from HF.

I’m trying to figure out how to put a tandem on mine also, it’s too wide for the back hitch mount, so I leave it inside the bed, but on trips I’d like to hang it diagonally, somehow probably off the back with the front wheel taken off.

 

as a DCSB owner who dirtbikes.

Straight in wherever you want left to right in the bed (personally i prefer to the passenger side as i can walk the bike up the ramp and be on the left which feels more natural). Strap down the front like normal with two straps. If shifted to one side add a third clamshell strap on the side closer to the side of the truck that goes from the top and back. This 3rd strap creates a setup that makes it essentially impossible for the bike to sway. Lift rear tire and slide ramp under rear tire. Use ratchet strap down low on the rear tire wrapped around once on the tire from left to right rear bed D rings to hold it down from bouncing and moving around. This setup you can have a bike that wont even consider moving even with all 4 truck tires in the air.... dont ask me how i know that.

There is literally zero chance of putting a full size 450 dirtbike in the bed with the tailgate closed sideways, even with the front tire on the wheel well.

I have a relentless fab tailgate reinforcement wrap around skin and it made worlds of difference in how strong the tailgate is, literally never worry about weight on the tailgate ever again.

 

I have not put a dirtbike in the Tacoma yet, but I had a Ranger and used to put it diagonally; The front tire in the L shaped corner of the drivers side bed-front tire 45 degree ish either side of the bed frame- slide the rear tire to the adjacent side, close the tailgate. Simple.

This is not a Ranger, just the correct orientation

 

I just figured out this option for when pulling a camper too. Pull tailgate off, takes literally one minute. Harbor Freight ramp used as a channel. Use bed bolts to hold it down. Passenger side so it clears tongue jack, although I pull jack off to be safe (after hitching up). Tongue weight needs to be low ish because a bike + TW needs to be accounted for. I have overload spring to help with sag. Taking tailgate off is a slight reduction in weight at least. Don’t have to worry about rock chips on the gate this way. No camera for hitching up sucks though.

 

I go in slightly diagonal w/ bars turned to left, and I stow/strap my ramp side to side between the wheels. Keeps the weight off the tail as much as possible, though it’s not much of a concern. The bulk of the bike weight is forward, vertically inline with the engine. I suppose I could go a bit more diagonally towards the passenger side and orient the rear tire to sit on top of the ramp, but doing so really seems unnecessary.

 

Some dude managed to get his Kitoom in his shortbed and close his tailgate though, fyi.

 

Diggin the wheels

 

That looks safe.

 

Agreed

 

It’s a 220lb moto. Tied down competently, this orientation is perfectly fine.