How To: Make a cheap Track Day Bike Hauler (relatively speaking)

I didn't want to spend $4K on a trailer and another $35K on a SUV to pull it around, so this is what I did to be able to take my bike to track days and on vacations and such.

1) Find a cheap beater full size van like this one I got off of ebay. I spent $600 on the van, $96 to get it to pass inspection, and $45 on a new battery.




2) Throw in a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood and bolt it down so it can't move around. I'm going to put in some 3M skid resistant tape so that if the plywood gets wet, the tires won't slide around.


3) Buy a couple of Wheel Chocks, some ratcheting tie down straps, and I used eye bolts to create mounting points for the tie downs. I went with the removable Pingle wheel chocks. Determine where the chock should go, and bolt down the mouting hardware that comes with the chock. Here is a shot of the mouting hardware:


4) Here is the first Wheel Chock mounted. As you can see, I initally planned on mounting it further to the outside edge of the van, but some beams running under the floor prevented me from being able to mount my eye bolts there, so I had to adjust the position a little further in. No big deal, just wanted to mention it in case anyone was wondering about the other outline.




5) Pull the bike in and put the front wheel into the wheel chock. I used the Canyon Dancer straps on my 1KRR clipons tp secure the front of the bike in the wheel chock. Here is a shot of the Canyon Dancer and securing the front of the bike in the chock.




6) Once the bike is in and standing on it's own in the wheel chock, put some straps on the swing arm and determine where to put a couple of other eye bolts to use as mounting points for these straps. The pingle instructions said to use the rear straps to also pull the bike into the wheel chock. I know some people have the rear straps pulling on the bike away from the front. I went with the wheel chock manufacturers recommendation on this one as it made sense to me to have it pulling the bike into the wheel chock as a back up in case the front straps failed for some reason.




7) Basically do the same thing on the other side for another bike. If you're only going to be hauling one bike, then center the wheel chock instead of putting it on the sides. Keep in mind to check underneath to make sure any holes you are drilling will not hit anyting important and will be easily accessible. I wanted to be able to get my wife's Shadow in the van as well. We're heading to Deals Gap on Thursday, and we're taking both bikes. Here's a shot with the other wheel chock already mounted as well as all strap mounting points and both bikes in the back of the van. As you can see, I put some of the 3M Skid Resistant tape on the aluminum ramp. I was raining this morning when I started and the ramp was pretty slippery when it was wet.




One tip for using the ramp. There are 6 fingers that lay on the floor of the van and chains to keep the ramp from slipping off. The chains didn't seem like they would work very w

that is AWESOME!!! GREAT IDEA!!!!

Great Idea.

The only recommendation/change I would consider is to block the rear wheels (or maybe some more non skid tape) from sliding side to side, my bike had slipped like that before in a trailer and kinda marked up the muffler. Maybe the tires were wet, but the trailer we used had a plywood floor too.

Sweetness! That turned out really well. I also like the ramps you ended up getting. When backing them out are you on it or walking next to it? I didn't think about mounting the chocks on something else, seems much easier than welding in a fixed chock running from side to side.
Makes me want to get a neighborhood cruising van now except I will paint 'free candy' on the sides

How's the fuel mileage in that thing? I've wanted to do that for a while, but I didn't want to spend too much for gas.

quote:

ORIGINAL: fishfryer527

Great Idea.

The only recommendation/change I would consider is to block the rear wheels (or maybe some more non skid tape) from sliding side to side, my bike had slipped like that before in a trailer and kinda marked up the muffler. Maybe the tires were wet, but the trailer we used had a plywood floor too.

We put in the non-skid tape today. My wife put some carpeting down in the front and cleaned it up real good, so it's ready to roll.

quote:

ORIGINAL: dwhite645

Sweetness! That turned out really well. I also like the ramps you ended up getting. When backing them out are you on it or walking next to it? I didn't think about mounting the chocks on something else, seems much easier than welding in a fixed chock running from side to side.
Makes me want to get a neighborhood cruising van now except I will paint 'free candy' on the sides

Thanks Darrell, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I ride the bikes in and out. I have to duck down pretty low, but because the ramp is so wide, it is really easy.

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ORIGINAL: zerochickenstrips

How's the fuel mileage in that thing? I've wanted to do that for a while, but I didn't want to spend too much for gas.

I just checked the mileage for the first time today. I'm getting 15 mpg. That's mostly city type driving. I'll check it on the highway on the way to Deals Gap... I'm hoping maybe I can get 17 mpg or so.

It's a 3/4 ton van with a 5.7 litre V8 with automatic transmission. Is that typical gas mileage or is it low? Does anybody know?

great idea, I would just be alittle nervous about driving a $600 beater ~10hrs away from home, with
both my bikes in it.

other than that, perfect!

quote:

ORIGINAL: krash

great idea, I would just be alittle nervous about driving a $600 beater ~10hrs away from home, with
both my bikes in it.

other than that, perfect!

Well, I'm a risk taker! I did have the mechanic check it over when I had it in for inspection. His opinion was that I got a good deal and the van was in good shape. The engine runs strong and the transmission shifts smoothly. The tires are practically new and it's got a new battery.

Like you said though, if it does break down I'll have my bike with me and can drive to the next town to get some help.

Here are some more pics from today... I put down the 3M non-skid tape. My wife put in some carpeting up front and on the wheel wells and some of the beams so when we loaded the ramp it wouldn't rattle around.

Great job! It was cheaper than a decent utility trailer you can pick up. A 5.7 liter is a 350, my dad has a '93 raised roof conversion van that uses that same engine, has over 150k miles on it and is not the type of guy to do preventive maintence. The best it ever got was 16 around in town and 19 on the freeway. After pulling enclosed car trailer a few thousand miles, the mileage has dropped to maybe 14 in town and at the most 15 on the freeway. BTW, I bought an '81 El camino (Bike hauler, with a low bed!) and put in a fuel injected 350 from an '88 Trans am with OD transmission, it's gotten as high as 17 in town, but I used it to pull a utility trailer with a 4 wheeler on it plus one in the bed and it only got 14 on the freeway. Your mileage sounds about right, not much increases MPG on heavy vehicle with a 350, basic things like clean air filter, fresh oil, make sure all plugs are good and check cap/rotor/wires. If you take decent care of that van, it should last you a long time!

Thanks for the info.

We leave early Thursday morning. I'll take plenty of pics @ Deals Gap and will post back on how the van holds up.

Nicely done Old! Have fun at the gap and definitely get some pix.

We're back and we made it in one peice. I posted in the Rides section if you care to see pics and a brief write-up on our trip.

http://www.cbrforum.com/m_170816/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#170816

You should change the spelling of your handle to: Old Phat Guy. That is a very cool van, and I love the pictures you posted. Is that a Rebel your wife is on? Looks a little bigger that a Rebel, though. Looking into getting my wife something like that.

...just looked at your signature three seconds after I posted and realized I just asked a stupid question!

quote:

ORIGINAL: voodoochyl

You should change the spelling of your handle to: Old Phat Guy. That is a very cool van, and I love the pictures you posted. Is that a Rebel your wife is on? Looks a little bigger that a Rebel, though. Looking into getting my wife something like that.

I like that. Wish I had thought of OldPhatGuy when I signed up.

Yeah, it's a 600 Shadow. We were going to get a Rebel but thought she wouldn't like it for long. She thinks it's powerful and I guess it is compared to the only other bike she rode which was the Rebel in the MSF course.

It will go highway speeds, but I don't like to ride it on the interstate or for her to ride it on the interstate, just not enough power to get you out of bad situations.

Fortunately, she's not interested in that type of riding and prefers the back roads anyway.

wow ur smart.

I have an even better, cheaper way.


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quote:

ORIGINAL: rsp919

I have an even better, cheaper way.


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hahah. .thats SMART!!!!!!!!!

awesome! now just paint "free candy" on the side and it's a winner!

dude that is awsome.. you need some carpet on the walls.. haha

quote:

ORIGINAL: rsp919

I have an even better, cheaper way.


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ROTFLMAO!!!!!! That's an expensive spoiler.

sweet im going to try and make this