Check out my new quad carrier

[MarkyNark]

I had this built so I could take day trips with my DS and EX. The EX fits perfectly on the rack. The only changes I have made after this pic was taken was to have a license plate mount and light at the end of the rack. A fab shop near my hometown put this together after I gave them the specs.

[Glow Plug]

pretty nice but why don't you just put the quad in the bed or does the ds go in there?

[MarkyNark]

Yes, the DS goes there.

[Glow Plug]

awsome do you have any picture of the quads?

[250x#93]

That thing is SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET:devil:

Its cool u have brake lights on it since the quad would block the others:devil: Looks very well built too:D

[chad400ex]

Looks good. Is it just connected to your receiver hitch with the one bar?? If so, I'm hoping there are some good welds on there, because that bar will feel alot of torsion going around corners, and especially on the crappy road to Sand Lake. I'm sure it's built very stout...it sure looks like it is. It's the 4th of July weekend, shouldn't you be out at the dunes chasing the women??

[Ham Sandwich]

how heavy is it with the quad on it?
Will it bend the hitch?
looks pretty cool

[MarkyNark]

Ya, the pics of my quads are on my website at markynark.com (http://www.markynark.com) .

[MarkyNark]

Originally posted by chad400ex
Looks good. Is it just connected to your receiver hitch with the one bar?? If so, I'm hoping there are some good welds on there, because that bar will feel alot of torsion going around corners, and especially on the crappy road to Sand Lake. I'm sure it's built very stout...it sure looks like it is. It's the 4th of July weekend, shouldn't you be out at the dunes chasing the women??

The fab shop, Jeff King Contractor (541) 258-8711, and I decided to hook it up to the hitch receiver, since it had a capacity of 1500 lbs tongue weight. We also used stabilizing straps on each side to keep the receiver play in check. We also made it so that the tailgate could come down without hitting the carrier. I also have since welded in ramp mounts so that my aluminum bi-fold ramp is stored on the carrier but beneath the 400EX. Jeff has made it so it will not bend when carrying the 400EX. I've already taken it on two trips and its totally stout. Its perfect for day trips with two quads, or if I want to stay in a motel. The carrier allows me to keep the tail gate, and lock up the DS via the tail gate lock.

As far as Sand Lake, you know I moved down to Albany. So, although I have two passes to Sand Lake, Today I am going to stay around town and set off some fireworks with my Bro. - He's got some killer ones from one of the Indian Reservations. But tomorrow I am heading to Coos Bay!

[Glow Plug]

Originally posted by Ham Sandwich
Will it bend the hitch?
looks pretty cool

I don't think that it would bend the hitch because isn't the tonge weight like 1500 pounds max?



And sweet ds :D

that trailer is really nice

[CHAUNCY]

Pretty nice set-up man:cool:

[roostin_dale]

cool...i've seen those for bikes but never big enough for quads!

[Nausty]

heres a pic of what my new quad carrier looks like!

http://www.lsracing.com/img/Product57.jpg

[MarkyNark]

Hehehe - Different kind of carrier! Is that a Rad Axle carrier?

[chad400ex]

Marky, I wasn't doubting that it was strong enough...you always seem to get your stuff done right. But, I have seen some of those carriers before that were pretty flimsy...to the point that they were bent after one trip. I've been thinking about building one of those to haul a dirtbike while my quad is in the bed of my truck. (alot less weight, but the same idea).

How much does it weigh?? Can you get it in and out by yourself, or is it a 2 man job?

[CHAUNCY]

Chad400ex- I got one that fits a dirtbike on. We took a old rack off a trailer(the kind that hold 3 dirtbikes in slots). Then welded a bar to fit the hitch, and bars for tie down. It holds any bike with ease and without the hassle of a trailer. I will look for a pic so you can get an idea of what it is if you want:)

[2002_300_EX]

Very nice. But dude. A Ford? WTF!





j/k dude.

[chad400ex]

Out here on the West Coast, Fords are the majority :macho

Chauncy: I was actually thinking about doing exactly what you had described. My buddy just bought a dirtbike, and I'd rather haul him around on that than have to use my trailer. It seems like it would be much less of a hassle. If you find a pic, that would be great. Thanks
:cool:

[CHAUNCY]

Here is a pic. Its the best one I got:( If you have a photo program you can zoom in or download www.irfanview.com and you can use that to zoom in:ermm: Its on the wall in the back

[Chef]

Originally posted by MarkyNark
Hehehe - Different kind of carrier! Is that a Rad Axle carrier?

Its an LSR. Only two things that you can tell by are the Blue flames in the background, and the grease zerk is in the middle. RAD puts their grease zerk on the outside, so you can grease it if you swingarm is closed in the back.:o

[MarkyNark]

Chad,

Its too heavy for one guy to unhook by himself. Usually when I ride two quads, there are two people that go - so thats what I would need until I built a dolly for it. The truck has airbags with an on board pump, so the idea is to raise it up, wheel the dolly underneath, then lower it until the pressure is off the receiver, then wheel it off and store it in my garage. I'll be working on that in the next few weeks. We wanted to make sure it was stout and wouldn't wiggle when traveling. So, it is a little heavy for one guy to unhook. But for now, it have it on all the time. I just have to remember to keep my running lights on because its 4 feet long. Oregon law says I needs lights or a flag if it is!

Marky

[MarkyNark]

Chad

A little more information; the big problem with these carriers is the fact that there is play in the receiver hitch. While this isn't a problem with a trailer, it is with something this short. In order to solve the problem, you'll have to find a way to stabilize the carrier from moving side to side. With my pickup, the bumper has a nice little notch cut out on each end (right and left). It was the perfect place to hook up a 1500 lb test ratchet strap from the end of the carrier to the bumper. The straps restrict the natural side to side play from the receiver. Without the straps, the carrier would oscillate 1-2 inches just driving down the road. With the straps, there is none. I too have seen carriers which get bent. One of the causes was the oscillation with the weight of a quad. If you use ratchet straps, be aware that the ones sold in the motorcycle shops are not strong enough. Believe it or not, you can find much better ratchet straps with ‘load test ratings’, for less money right at Wal-Mart! The 1500 lb was the right one for my application.

As you have probably seen on the internet, you can get 5 foot receiver ‘Truck Bed’ extenders. They have taken care of the oscillation problem by placing a sheet of plywood on the truck bed and out to the end of the extension which has a riser that come up to bed height. The problem with this model is that the whole thing is sort of pieced together when you need it. You need to bolt the plywood onto the truck bed every time. Not to mention they also look dumb. I think they work great for hauling lumber where most of the weight of the lumber is in the bed of the truck. But for hauling two ATVs, its just not practical because its not wide enough for the ATV in the back.

The other way to go was this product ...

http://www.atvramps.com/vh903.jpg

The problem here is that if you have another ATV in the truck, you're screwed because there is no way to get the ATV out of the bed of the truck (no solid surface) - all you have are runners for the quad on the carrier. Plus, the runners are too low and the distance between the open tailgate and the runners is too great for a quad to easily go up the into the bed. So, you'd have to remove that carrier everytime you needed to load or unload a quad in the truck (that would suck!).

With the design I have, you pull your ramp out from underneath the quad sitting on the carrier, and drive it off the side. The tail gate can then come down and I move the ramp to the end of the carrier. I then back out the DS. When you are ready to leave, simiply reverse the process. Plus, as an added benefit, you can lock up the tail gate (on a Ford Truck :D ) to keep it more secure when staying at hotels. The quad on the rack is locked up using a cable and lock. The pin on the receiver hitch is also locking.

I’m heading to Sand Lake today for some riding on the 400EX. Let me know if you are coming and I’d be happy to show you.

[MarkyNark]

Here is what it looks like when its loaded.

[chad400ex]

Tomorrow, I will be up at Longview Motorcycle/ATV park. I saw it while looking at some transmission towers for work the other day. It's got 400 acres of riding, inluding: motocross track, dragstrips (both dirt and sand), trails, hills, etc...

The only downside is there is a $25 admission fee, but I figure I'd spend that much on gas if I drove to the dunes, so it just about breaks even.

I'm still breaking in/fine tuning my "new" motor. I figured dirt riding would help me resist from revving the piss out of it. So far in just some flat riding around the property it is running really strong. Definitely happy with the money I spent.

[250exlogan]

Originally posted by MarkyNark
I had this built so I could take day trips with my DS and EX. The EX fits perfectly on the rack. The only changes I have made after this pic was taken was to have a license plate mount and light at the end of the rack. A fab shop near my hometown put this together after I gave them the specs. I love it!!! i wont one to go on my dad's jeep:D

[250x#93]

You'll be pullin wheelies wit the jeep if its a wrangler:devil: HAHA that would be cool:D

[CowsBitePeople]

Thats Awsome:macho :macho

[CHAUNCY]

Marky-What are the dimensions of the carrier ?

Chad400ex- When a bike is loaded all you have to do is unload it to open the tailgate. Then you just unload the quad or bikes in the bed of the truck. I just thought you might want to know:confused:

[MarkyNark]

Originally posted by CHAUNCY
Marky-What are the dimensions of the carrier ?

Chad400ex- When a bike is loaded all you have to do is unload it to open the tailgate. Then you just unload the quad or bikes in the bed of the truck. I just thought you might want to know:confused:

The length is 4 feet. The width is the width of the truck bumper; which is about right. Oregon law says that the the carrier cant exceed the width of the widest part of your truck excluding the mirrors.

The law also says that if the length is 4 feet or longer, you need a flag or lights on the carrier. I wanted to keep it under 4 feet, but the quad tires worked better by being snug up to the strap riser. So I ended up putting lights on it.