Interstate motorcycle transport

[SuperMax]

As I will be soon moving from Virginia to Texas, I am looking for a cost efficient and secure way of transporting my motorcycle to the destination (some ~1400 miles distance). I will also have to take care of some small pieces of furniture, clothes and other things that I will be taking with me.

The solution I am leaning towards is renting a U-Haul/Penske 15' truck, that I should load my motorcycle into (besides my all other stuff) and attach a trailer to it that should have my SUV on it, as that one can't be towed

Thinking of having a wood pallet with a top deck (like the one in the pic attached), that I can mount a wheel chock on to secure the front wheel and then tie down the bike with straps, and having my bike loaded into the truck using the ramp provided with the truck (I know at least U-Haul does provide one with their 15' trucks).

My question is if anyone has used the same method as the one above and if any floor anchors available in the U-Haul/Penske trucks to secure the wood pallet that I will use my own anchors to be mounted onto it to secure the straps?

Also, any recommendations/suggestions on how to safely load the bike intro the truck using the ramp, considering it's only going to be me and my wife to help me with this job.

I am definitely considering using my current garage inclined ramp to compensate for the inclined ramp I will be using, but I am not yet convinced if using my own muscles to pull the motorcycle up the ramp, while my wife helping me pushing it, will do - as anyhow, the ramp's width won't allow me to walk next to the bike while loading it.

[Heli ATP]

I think if you put the pallet in first you could drive onto it and then secure the motorcycle, maybe even turn it L/R to make more room behind it. Next screw a board to the end of the pallet and secure the top to the sides of the van or side panels to make a divider between you bike and whatever you put behind it.

 

Have you thought about asking the wife to pull a trailer behind the SUV while you ride your bike? 😁

Here is another option...  Uhaul

[keithu]

I don't think I would bother with the pallet and chock. Just put the bike on the center stand and strap it down with at least four straps. Remember to compress the suspension while tightening the straps. Recheck the straps periodically.

 

 

You'll also want to secure other items in the trailer so they don't slide around and hit the bike. Put your clothes and soft items in big garbage bags and place them strategically around the bike as bumpers in case something comes loose.

[SuperMax]

Being a (very) long trip of about 1400 miles, I would still like to play safe and have the bike secured with a wheel chock. Reason for going for the wood pallets is that I don't know where exactly the anchor points would be located in the truck, so I would rather have the flexibility to choose where to place the straps on the pallets.

So far, it looks like getting the motorcycle into the truck remains the biggest challenge

22 hours ago, Heli ATP said:

Have you thought about asking the wife to pull a trailer behind the SUV while you ride your bike? 😁

Here is another option...  Uhaul

Not an option, unfortunately, as I have a lot of stuff to take with me, and we wouldn't be able to tow all of that with my SUV - not to mention that her driving 1400 miles will be too much for her, honestly.

[PhotoAl]

Hummm, make a long ramp and get your wife to video you riding the bike up the ramp :-)     That is 99% chance of failure, if no video is taken then 100% probability of failure.  

Seriously see if you can find somewhere with a loading dock.  When my friend got his Connie we hauled it back in the bed of his pickup, there was a nearby grocery store that had closed so we backed pickup to loading dock and it was close enough in height to just roll off onto the dock which had a ramp to ground level.  Otherwise I would see if the truck rental place would have a spot or could help you load the bike or maybe a motorcycle shop.  Have fun driving that rig!  My son got his first job after 15 years of college (PhD) and I helped them move.  Put his car on a trailer behind a 20' Penskie truck.  That was something to drive - gas stops had to be planned as the truck would not fit a lot of places and was not fun to back up.

[SuperMax]

U-Haul (or any other truck rental company) won't allow you to transport your bike inside the truck (except, maybe, you will empty the tank and disconnect/remove the battery - which is something I want to avoid). Most probably my option will be to get get 1-2 handymen in the complex I live to help push the bike into the truck and that's it

 

[SuperMax]

18 minutes ago, PhotoAl said:

Hummm, make a long ramp and get your wife to video you riding the bike up the ramp 🙂     That is 99% chance of failure, if no video is taken then 100% probability of failure.  

 

Here's that 1% guy that actually made it succesfully (flip flops are a bonus)

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by SuperMax
Forgot to attach link