Not sure what rental rates are where you are, but I keep a trailer at a nearby storage facility. Outdoor parking, but clean, secure, and fenced in. $60 per month.
It's only 2 miles from my house. When I need it, I just go get it.
Not sure what rental rates are where you are, but I keep a trailer at a nearby storage facility. Outdoor parking, but clean, secure, and fenced in. $60 per month.
It's only 2 miles from my house. When I need it, I just go get it.
In reply to SV reX :
That's a great question. I've been thwarted trying to find cheap storage for project cars, but a spot in an open lot for a trailer might be closer to that ballpark.
ARE (the topper people) make a commercial aluminum topper that is 36" tall above the bed. And I would swear I've seen even taller ones in some commercial applications
I really like vans but that is an option
NCDOT has trucks with 6 foot toppers so I know they exist. Might be based on a service bed though.
In reply to mechanicalmeanderings and buzzboy:
Good to know! So stuff in the ballpark does exist out there...
As the synapses slowly grind, this thread has also given me the bits to chew on to make connections like: If I find a cheap place to store a trailer and get one that works for cars, then I only need the towing capacity I need, and not the rating required by rental places. That would mean towing 7k is plenty. File this plan under "I shouldn't need a trailer that often, try U-Haul 'til my head explodes and then buy the wrong trailer off CL, come back and ask GRM trailer questions..."
In reply to Jesse Ransom :
THAT'S what I was trying to say! (May have sounded confused) 
I've seen the auctioneer toppers and figured they gotta suck driving one down the highway.
In reply to SV reX :
Took me a while, but i got there!
I didn't check where he lives, but in PA, trailers require a title, yearly registration, and yearly inspection (over 1000 lb gtwr). It's not expensive, but it's just more paperwork and hassle. I know some states require insurance and property tax as well. Fortunately, not PA.
I will also say that (aside from something like hauling cow poop fertilizer), my van hauls dirt, gravel, mulch, and everything else just as well as a truck, maybe even better since the cargo area is way bigger. I just lay a heavy tarp, like an old billboard vinyl in it. When I get home, I tie a rope to a couple grommets and drive away leaving my load in the driveway. Sure, I can't just park it under a 3-yard scoop and let them dump, but here's how I see it - If you have a truck, it gets dumped on and you have to shovel it out. If you have a van with a tarp, it gets shoveled in and dumped out. Of course, the best scenario there would be a truck and a tarp. Dump in, dump out.
Many full-size vans in the 3/4 and 1-ton range can easily haul 10k. I had a little over 10k in a 32' enclosed trailer and frequently towed it behind my E250. You'll find that the van versions have nearly identical undercar bits as their truck cousins.
I wouldn't get just a regular van for motorcycles, though. Mine has a clear height of about 4'. I carried some 5x10 foamcore in it and it wouldn't quite stand up straight.
Keep checking auctions like govdeals and ebay for one of these. A lot of them have limited miles, but to me they seem like they hit the sweet spot between big cargo van and easy-to-DD. They're a SRW van with a small box on it, kind of like a non-dually ambulance box. They pop up from time to time. Same footprint as an E150, but plenty of room for bikes or lumber. Easy to hose out after a load of mulch.
For the ultimate in low-bed, van transport, you could consider a small step van. They go dirt cheap if you look hard enough. The noise can be... um... oppressive? But you could build a wall with some insulation between you and the back.
So, I'll admit to not having read all the responses, but I have done both vans and trucks hauling bikes to the track.
Any van with normal door height is going to be a tight fit with a race bike and probably a no-go with a dual sport. My sportbikes just barely fit the door height on a normal E series Ford. The 'Busa was about the tallest bike I could fit. My FJ-09 wasn't even close.
Loading into the pickup bed was always a hassle, especially with lowered drag bikes. I ended up with an 8ft heavy duty ramp that folds out wide enough to ride the bike up. I've gotten a lot of use out of it over the years, but I eventually bought a 6x12 enclosed trailer. They're small enough to tow with a lighter vehicle, though many don't have brakes. Big enough for two bikes. It was definitely the best solution, but has a pretty big footprint for storage. Maybe you could rent something like that?
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I look at the step vans, from time to time. Have a few odd ball custom thoughts.
The ones I see for an affordable price down here, are clapped out trash; one worth owning are asking finished food truck prices, cause they make ok food trucks.
1997 Chevrolet P30 Van | eBay Currently at $2900 but reserve not met. Probably high reserve. He thinks he has something special.
It's interesting to flip through stuff in your area. You aren't kidding. They will advertise nearly anything as "great start for a food truck."
There is some good stuff if you look further away. I know adding a plane ticket to the mix might not be the best idea for something this low-buck, but if you wanted to come to exotic PA...
Shady-ass BHPH dealer, but maybe not a bad deal
Wish I had the magic bullet for you, but at least you have some browsing fodder for when you're poop'n :)
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Sadly, with my life circling the toilet, I had to go back to traveling for work, without my wife. At that , one of them would have made a nice versatile tow pig for a single roadwhore. If you check my "life" thread, it's worse... so not happening. I'm still addicted to modifying dreams!
But we can discuss that on one of mine, and give this back to the op
Definitely cool options for his thoughts.
In reply to 03Panther :
I dunno what I'm doing and got further with this thread than i expected asking about tall campers... I'm all for linking silly vans, though the small-box-on-an-E series is more where I'm leaning.
Curtis, where are you getting those towing numbers? Or is it just that they're capable regardless of rating? All the tow numbers I can find for vans are radically lower than the "equivalent" pickup...
Aside from renting a trailer from a computerized system like u haul uses, tow rating are a complete joke. They under rate some , radically change ratings from one year to the next, despite the vehicle not changing at all, and overrate others.
Had a 2011 F150 rated to tow 12.5K lbs. that's the same as my 96 F350 diesel dually. Anyone that's towed with both, knows there is a flat out lie being told, there.
I totally understand the need to appease u haul.
some will claim the ratings will matter in a liability situation, but I personally have never seen it come up as a problem (and between my own experience and others I know, there have been many times it might. )
Jesse Ransom said:In reply to 03Panther :
I dunno what I'm doing and got further with this thread than i expected asking about tall campers... I'm all for linking silly vans, though the small-box-on-an-E series is more where I'm leaning.
Curtis, where are you getting those towing numbers? Or is it just that they're capable regardless of rating? All the tow numbers I can find for vans are radically lower than the "equivalent" pickup...
My numbers are published manufacturer ratings and were from my vans. 1999 E350 SRW Powerstroke was rated for 10k. Same as my 96 F350 pickup SRW Powerstroke. Current van is an Express 1500 AWD rated for 7000 or 7500 depending on the source you use. I think the RWD were rated at 8000.
I typically use Tow Guide - What trailer can my vehicle tow? | RVUSA.com, but be aware that it does have several errors.
Edit to add... just checked the 3500 versions of my 06 Express van and it tracks. 1-ton passenger is rated to tow 9700, 1-ton cargo is rated for 10k. Those were from towratings.net and camping world
03Panther said:Aside from renting a trailer from a computerized system like u haul uses, tow rating are a complete joke. They under rate some , radically change ratings from one year to the next, despite the vehicle not changing at all, and overrate others.
Had a 2011 F150 rated to tow 12.5K lbs. that's the same as my 96 F350 diesel dually. Anyone that's towed with both, knows there is a flat out lie being told, there.
I totally understand the need to appease u haul.some will claim the ratings will matter in a liability situation, but I personally have never seen it come up as a problem (and between my own experience and others I know, there have been many times it might. )
Much agree. The tow rating is a very BS number. Supposedly, a brand new 3500 dually Duramax can tow something insane like 38,000 lbs. It's a marketing race, and it's based on mathing, not necessarily real-world prowess with a trailer. Once you also factor in the fact that there are a million different types of trailers, and that number looks less and less important.
To put it in GRM terms, it's like asking "how fast will my Miata be at the autocross?" We can quote lateral Gs and horsepower, but it doesn't take into consideration the driver, the tires, the track, the temperature, the configuration, the brake pads, the..... it goes on forever.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks!
Wish I'd kept better notes on where i was seeing the numbers i was (also, why does my phone want to alter everything i type, but thinks "i" on its own never needs capitalizing?), but I saw an awful lot of listings for E250 and E350 vans nowhere near 10k... I mean, I understand that it'll be rated lower with the smallest engine or even just without some kind of tow package...
Anyhow, one step forward, but i made the mistake of sticking "C600" in Marketplace earlier and now i have trouble. I'll get over it, but I'd better not take any actions til I've calmed down.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
Wanted to come back and recognize a couple of useful posts; seeing what a mid-roof Transit walk-in height looks like stacked onto a pickup's load floor... Oof. I think the auctioneer box is pretty much what I had in mind but full of windows, and damn that's awkward.
In reply to Rodan :
That was my previous bike-hauling experience, a standard old-school cargo van. My Aprilia RSV went into the back of the B2500 with little room to spare above the fairing, but the hard part was ducking into that opening while making sure the 400-lb bike didn't lose momentum while much of it was still on the ramp... I carried a couple of cinderblocks for a step, but it was never much fun. Having a van with a taller opening would make it much, much easier. Having a tall opening and a lower floor would be awesome. Maybe I'll cross my fingers that if/when it's time for a trailer I can do an enclosed one for all purposes, even if a car-sized one is bulky for a bike.
Or maybe I'll get a box van with a liftgate. 
I'm a long time forum lurker, and this caught my interest enough that I had to get an account and weigh in:
It sounds like your preferred solution is a high roof/high door van with a 10,000 lb tow rating. This doesn't exist, so my thoughts on your closest alternatives:
- get a high roof transit or similar with the 6k to 7k tow rating, and buy your own car trailer (acknowledging you'd prefer not to have a trailer)
- get a high roof van for bikes and backup daily, keep the F250 for towing only
- negotiate with the trailer rental place, see if they'll let you do some kind of guarantee to not exceed your 6-7k tow rating while using the trailer
Since easier-to-load pickup also seems like a solution you like, here's some options related to that:
- Hitch carrier, like you mentioned: yes all the weight is on the tongue, but it's pretty easy to check the truck's rating. It's also easy to upgrade an existing receiver to something beefier.
- A softopper would solve your cap height issue: fold it out of the way for unlimited head room during loading. It isn't lockable, but that's what an extended or crew cab is for (plus I wouldn't trust truck cap locks to stop anyone but the laziest opportunist anyway)
- as an alternative to ramps and a winch, maybe try a crane to get a bike into the bed? There are both truck bed mounted and receiver hitch mounted options out there.
Are you trying to keep the bike out of the weather , or just move it around on the pick up bed ?
I didn't see a name brand anywhere on it, but this is what I was talking about
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