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Two bikes in a Uhaul. Anyone have any ideas?

M

Migglesworth

Can't smeg, won't smeg
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Location
Oakland
Moto(s)
2015 FZ-07
Name
Mark
Hey BARF. I am moving from SC to SF and I am trying to put both my bikes in a 14' Uhaul. I have done it with one which was no problem. Not two though. I have two (non-ratchet) tie down straps which are pretty long but I'm not sure that one would stretch the width of the truck. So any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.
 
Migglesworth said:
Hey BARF. I am moving from SC to SF and I am trying to put both my bikes in a 14' Uhaul. I have done it with one which was no problem. Not two though. I have two (non-ratchet) tie down straps which are pretty long but I'm not sure that one would stretch the width of the truck. So any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.
Click to expand...

Is this an open trailer? Those are easier to deal with two bikes in.

I've hauled two bikes many times in a 5 by 8 foot trailer. You have to arrange the straps on the front forks carefully so that they don't rub on painted parts on either bike. You also need to secure the front wheels of both bikes very tightly against the front rail of the trailer so that they can't turn by accident.

It takes a bit of fiddling, but it's doable.
Oh, fully faired sportbikes might be difficult. I haul vintage bikes, so I don't have a lot of plastic to worry about.

Oh, and you'll need to buy at least four more straps. Ratchet straps are a waste of time. Some strap loops are also very helpful.
You're going to have to use two straps per bike on the front forks, and I like two straps per bike in back to keep them from rolling forward. Even with the forks supposedly tied solidly, they can turn as things bounce around, and then the bikes will get very loose.

Jeez, nevermind. I thought you meant u-haul trailer. If it's a truck, this is completely different, especially if you're putting all your other stuff in with the bikes.

You're better off moving your stuff, then getting a ride back to your old place (twice) and just riding the bikes. You'll have stuff rubbing on the bikes, maybe banging against them. The only way to do it and be sure you don't scuff the paint up is to move the bikes alone.
 
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Well in this case, it is a closed truck. Last time I simply put one tie down on the left handle bar and attached it to the rails on the inside of the uhaul. Than I did the same with the other handlebar. It didn't budge. With two bikes side by side, I am not sure how to go about it. This is what the truck and inside looks like. There is NO bar on the floor in my truck though. What looks like black bumpers are actually rails that can be used to tie down.

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uhaul-01.jpg
 
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Migglesworth said:
Well in this case, it is a closed truck. Last time I simply put one tie down on the left handle bar and attached it to the rails on the inside of the uhaul. Than I did the same with the other handlebar. It didn't budge. With two bikes side by side, I am not sure how to go about it. This is what the truck and inside looks like. There is NO bar on the floor in my truck though. What looks like black bumpers are actually rails that can be used to tie down.
Click to expand...

You could try the way I first suggested. You still need four straps though.
You'll have to play around with routing of the straps to get them to work around both bikes.
You also really need to lock the front wheels so they can't turn.
After you've got the bikes trussed up in there, load the rest of your stuff in, and keep it away from the bikes as much as possible. It might be ok to cram pillows and towels in between, but you've got to keep things from being able to move around and rub against the bikes.
There's another thread that discusses various wheel chock options which you should check out. Better to spend the money on proper equipment than to ruin your plastic or scratch the paint.

The main thing is you absolutely have to be sure the bikes can't move at all, but it is doable.
 
When I moved my two bikes in a 14ft uhaul truck I loaded the truck and left the last 5 feet clear. I went to Home Depot and got 6 eyelet bolts with 1/2 inch diameter shanks and a 2x4

I drilled 1/2 inch holes in the floor and in sections of the lumber. I used a logical stack of nuts and washers through the floor and the lumber to make tiedown points in the floor. You load the bikes perpendicularly at the back. You'll need 8 tiedown straps

I would have to show you or draw a diagram to show you the placement location. I've done it three times. Boise to Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe to Akron, and Akron to SF.

The inspector on the turn in never noticed on the trucks. When I moved from Akron it was with an 8' trailer. The inspector didn't say anything for those either.
 
Get more tie-downs. You should have 4 per bike.
Have the one on the left anchored to the left wall (2 tiedowns) and the front wall towards the right (2 tiedwons)

Symhmetry on teh other side.
 
I smooshed two bikes in the 8ft. trailer from MA to CA. You'll be fine! :thumbup
 
I suggest getting a few ball type boat fenders (bumpers) these will keep the bikes tensioned between themselves but remember when you go over the mountains air expands and contracts.
 
Oh and try not to tie down the bikes as you had done before on the side stand, because of the movement of the trailer and the already increased pressure of tieing down the bike against the side stand you risk actually breaking off the side stand and doing significant damage to the bike. side stands have been known to be engineered poorly because during normal use they only support a fraction of the weight of the bike.
 
I couldn't fit tiedowns through those strips on the side, but it sounds like you found a way.
The advice from the others sounds good.

I'd only add that if it's "SC" as in "out of state" into California, then maybe add something to keep the bars from turning like using a wheel chock in addition to 4 tiedowns. If your moving from Santa Clara,then yeah, just go back & ride them up to SF. It's probably easier & your friends can be unloading the truck while you're riding back :p

PS, the Trackday subforum people are really familar with towing bikes. They'll prolly understand if you post the question there, too.
 
nweaver said:
Get more tie-downs. You should have 4 per bike.
Have the one on the left anchored to the left wall (2 tiedowns) and the front wall towards the right (2 tiedwons)

Symhmetry on teh other side.
Click to expand...

+1. 4 tie downs is cheap insurance. If you only have 2 per bike and one breaks loose you will surely have 2 beat up bikes. If you have 4 per bike then even if one comes loose chances are you'll be ok.
 
get the open trailer. you dont get charged per mile ;)
 
I once packed a GL1000 a KZ400 and a GL500 and everything I owned in a 14ft Isuzu box truck and drove from Chicago to Jacksonville FL.

I tied them to the walls.. One centre one left one right. We left the vacuum cleaner behind.. I just remembered that.. it just wouldn't fit. hahahah.. That truck was defiantly over loaded. Good times.
 
Redline- Good call on my friends unloading whilst I ride back. SC in my case is Santa Cruz.

Puti- Unfortunately the open trailer is $72 bucks one way. I would do in town for cheap but then I have no way of returning the trailer back to SC.

"Friends help you move. Good friends help you move bodies."
 
nweaver said:
Get more tie-downs. You should have 4 per bike.
Have the one on the left anchored to the left wall (2 tiedowns) and the front wall towards the right (2 tiedwons)

Symhmetry on teh other side.
Click to expand...

+1 buy some more straps at Wal Mart, 2 for like $10
 
Is trucking the two bikes up in the back of a friend's truck an option? Then you can load your stuff nice and neat in the Uhaul without the gas smell. ;)
 
If you can borrow or rent a pair of Baxley wheel chocks from someone, your job will be a lot safer / easier.

If you can't and want to make sure the front wheels of the bikes don't turn, you can loop tiedowns around the front wheels and attach them to either side of the trailer. I used to do this a lot in my truck before I set it up with some wheel chocks.
 
If you've got the room, grab an old smallish futon mattress or something, and squeeze it between the bikes.

Dispose of it properly at the end of your trip.

Ghetto, but it does help keep them separated.

And you are going to need more tiedowns.
 
Drilling the floor is tempting, but that could end up costing you a bunch if they notice.

Throw a piece of plywood between the bikes and pad the crap out of them. Wedge them in with sleeping bags, blankets, whatever to keep them in place. Make it like an egg carton in there.

I'd probably back them in with the rear wheel against the front wall so if you slam on the brakes, they won't move.
 
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