Surface on ramp door ??? - Dutchmen Owners
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Dutchmen Owners > Dutchmen Brand RVs > Toy Hauler
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-12-2017, 02:11 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Cotopaxi
Posts: 225
Colorado
Surface on ramp door ???

Do any of you motorcycle owners have issues with the ramp door surface not being rough enough ?
When we take our bikes ( Wifes: 2010 Tri Glide and my 2002 Heritage ) I have very little room to load mine since her trike takes up so much of the space. When accelerating up the ramp the rear tire will spin sometimes, but the worst is when unloading and using the front brake the front tire just slides down the ramp which causes the bike to come out faster than is comfortable One of these days it is going to cause me to dump it. I am short and there is that area when the front wheel is still on the ramp and the rear wheel is in the ground that my feet don't touch and is a little scary when I have no control of the speed in which it comes out. My balance isn't what it used to be.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
__________________

__________________
2017 Ram DRW 4x4
2012 Voltage 3600
2015 Road King, 2010 Tri Glide, 2002 Heritage
Sandrooney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 03:27 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
hilbilydavid's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Port Deposit
Posts: 68
Maryland
My Springer does the same thing, front slides. I started leaving the bike in gear and using the clutch to control my speed going down the ramp, sucks to get started moving but safer.
__________________

__________________
2005 Dodge 3500
2014 Voltage V3005
2001 Harley Springer w/120ci motor
hilbilydavid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 03:55 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Roselle
Posts: 1,292
Illinois
I had the same issue. Do a search on this site I'm sure that I read somewhere of a cheap, quick solution I just never got around to it.
Rusty
__________________
2015 Black F-350 Platinum Diesel Dually Crew Cab
2019 Riverstone Legacy 38MB (Full Paint/All Options)
2015 Voltage 3990 (Full Paint, All Options) Sold 6/18
2005 Harley Ultra Classic w/too many miles
lcv800 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 03:57 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
Yep, floor is slick and the bigger the engine the slicker it gets.

Going down with engine off and in first gear helps but not much can be done with the ramp to ground height problem.

I keep the Raider in the shed but I now keep the Vstar, with a smaller engine and lighter and lower in the garage.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	thumbnail_20160423_141115.jpg
Views:	269
Size:	61.1 KB
ID:	4588  
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 04:30 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Cotopaxi
Posts: 225
Colorado
Thanks I will try keeping it in gear. That picture is exactly why I don't even try to load my Road King. The Heritage is a lot lighter and shorter. I am working on a fix if it works I will post some pics. Thanks to all for the help
__________________
2017 Ram DRW 4x4
2012 Voltage 3600
2015 Road King, 2010 Tri Glide, 2002 Heritage
Sandrooney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 04:34 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
sundancer 87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
The bad part about this parking job, I had to swallow my scooter ridin' pride and walk down to the ranch and get one of the cowboys to help me lift it upright.
__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
sundancer 87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 04:36 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Cotopaxi
Posts: 225
Colorado
That to be hard to do. I would have never heard the end of it.
__________________
2017 Ram DRW 4x4
2012 Voltage 3600
2015 Road King, 2010 Tri Glide, 2002 Heritage
Sandrooney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 06:09 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
ATCguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Cody
Posts: 1,764
Wyoming
Almost lost my Goldwing one morning a few years back. Remember it like it was yesterday though...

Cool early morning outside Cooperstown, NY. It had been a good trip. Met up with some of my riding friends for a rally up there, but they were all staying at local hotels. And it was early in the season, so the campground was pretty much empty. I was one of only 2 rigs in the entire place. All grass campsites, and it had rained the previous 2 days straight. Was time to leave, and had to load the bike. Grass was wet, and not a dry-patch area in sight. Rode the bike to the edge of the ramp, all lined up for the chock. Twisted the throttle, passed "no-mans" land, and the wet rear tire engaged the ramp-deck. From there, things slowed down into slo-motion.

With throttle still applied to get her up the ramp, the torqued rear tire decided it wanted to go to the right... and that big 980-lb beast began listing hard to port! Keeping in mind that the bottoms of my boots were wet also, how I managed to get my left foot down, keep traction, and keep the entire thing from falling over is still a mystery to me. And of course, there's NO ONE around to help. I think I held the bike in a 20-degree or so lean for at least a minute while I considered my options: drop it & let it fall with no hope of getting it back up before I left in the limited garage space... or try to somehow right it by myself.

Figuring I had nothing to lose (except a lot of broken tupperware & paint on the bike), I decided to at least try the latter. I'm still straddling the bike, so there's no using the one-man squat-lifting/walking it up method... and I can't reach any of my ratchet-straps to even think about at least holding it in place while I dismount. So after another minute or so of this, with my arms & legs beginning to weaken, I put everything I've got into muscling it upright enough to engage the kickstand. Thankfully, I was able to... but, wow!

While not a real solution to the problem, what I later began doing was extending the front landing gear almost fully before loading the bike. Raising the nose of the rig pivots the rear downward... thus providing a much shallower angle on the ramp for loading/unloading the bike... and that worked well for me. Might help you too.
__________________
Tom
2013 VOLTAGE 3200 (EPIC I & II)
2014 Ford F-450 PLATINUM
2018 BMW R1200GS RALLYE
ATCguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-12-2017, 08:44 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Wesley Chapel
Posts: 3,051
Florida
Quote:
Originally Posted by sundancer 87 View Post
Yep, floor is slick and the bigger the engine the slicker it gets.

Going down with engine off and in first gear helps but not much can be done with the ramp to ground height problem.

I keep the Raider in the shed but I now keep the Vstar, with a smaller engine and lighter and lower in the garage.
oops!
franktafl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2017, 02:47 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Tucson
Posts: 872
Arizona
Yes, the ramp is too slick. It's really bad when wet. Some have added a material that roughens it up. I've started raising the nose up on the trailer to lower the rear and reduce the ramp's angle. I never use the front brake backing out. Slipping the clutch and using the rear brake works great.
__________________
2014 Voltage 3600
2013 Chevy 3500 CC DRW
2019 RZR 1000XP Trails and Rocks Edition
azdryheat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2017, 03:54 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
joebedford's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Quarantine
Posts: 365
Ontario


This is the extension I added to deal with the ramp height.

X2 on using the clutch instead of the brake when coming down.
joebedford is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-15-2017, 07:25 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
donzinger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Memphis
Posts: 1,616
Michigan
Another thing I found useful was to raise the front of the camper as high as possible before loading or unloading a bike - changed the angle of the ramp dramatically. This requires you to unload before leveling and setting up and vice versa after tearing down...
__________________
2019 Ram 3500 Limited w/ Max Tow pkg
2005 Cardinal 33LX
2014-3950, Full Paint, 17.5" tires, 370W solar, 3100W Magnum inverter w/ AGS, 7500w diesel generator, Micro-Air Easy Start 364 (x3) SOLD!
donzinger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2017, 09:18 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Lakewood
Posts: 94
Colorado
X7 on the bike in first gear use the clutch to meter the descent. I regularly load and unload our 800+ lb road king in and out of our 3950 in my flip flop sandals and have never had a "oh ****" moment.
I will move the rig to a better spot if: the grass is wet, the tail is too high, if there is mud.
As others have said raise the front of the TH to lower the rear also helps.
The only other option I have considered is the addition of 3m sticky tape on the dovetail and the ramp

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-4-in-...36NA/100211722
Lilnuts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2017, 03:11 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
snakebitten's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Alvin
Posts: 727
Texas
After many years of hauling my bikes in truckbeds, my little toy hauler ramp is far less intimidating. So I guess it is all relative.

There are many times a small crowd would gather when folks realized I was fixing to load or unload a big beast using a short ramp. When asked if I would need any help, I'd smile and say "Absolutely, if I don't make it!"

__________________
2017 Aerolite 213 RBSL-ND
2018 Wolf Pup 17RP Limited (Tiny THauler)
2018 F150 King Ranch 3.5 Beast
2003 Ram 2500 Cummins (can't kill this beast)
snakebitten is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2017, 10:34 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Roselle
Posts: 1,292
Illinois
That's pretty funny. I'll have to remember that one.
Rusty
__________________
2015 Black F-350 Platinum Diesel Dually Crew Cab
2019 Riverstone Legacy 38MB (Full Paint/All Options)
2015 Voltage 3990 (Full Paint, All Options) Sold 6/18
2005 Harley Ultra Classic w/too many miles
lcv800 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2017, 05:26 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Desert Hot Springs
Posts: 1,761
California
As I ride a scooter I can brake with both ft. & rear brakes so I had no problem going down the ramp. My son with his Victory kept it in 1st gear while backing down.
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMAG0046.jpg
Views:	272
Size:	56.7 KB
ID:	4594
__________________

__________________
Mike
2002 42' Monaco Signature Triple Crown tow 2014 F-150
2014 Voltage V3605 Sold 5/3/17
2012 F-350 6.7l CC 4X4, Sold 10/10/17
DesertRat is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dutchmen RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:30 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2020 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
×