^ Similar to my plan. If your box is not structurally substantial enough to hang the brackets off then reverse it and place them below the platform, attach to the chassis rails so that they are in compression.

I think a cantilever type lift which can take 2.5t might be the best solution overall - that's ten times the mass of the bike so even off road it might take the shock loads - needs testing! I saw one on e-bay (used) for £125.

Here's a pic of such an arrangement (not mine).

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nickdisjunkt, I like the idea. I would shorten the tail lift as much as posible, put special valves at the hydraulic / air cilinders (the valves only open when pressure is put on one of the ingoing lines)






I don't know how regulation is where you are but in Holland a bar needs to be mounted at (I beleve) 1m from the back and max 60cm from the floor. This is mounted so when a car hits you from the back it doesn't shoot under until it hits the rear axle.

I might be a bit worried it influences the driving because the front gets a bit light so maybe a testdrive with just a the quad strapped to the back?

regards,

Henk Jan

This is a nice idea but I think than angle that the straight-bar would have to meet the chassis would be too shallow unless a drop down plate was made. This is possible but complicated and I would like to use the end plate or drop-down plate to mount a drawbar hitch for pulling a trailer.

My truck was used to carry cash and bullion and so the construction is fairly solid.


I agree that shortening the tail lift would have its advantage but I also intend to use the tail lift as a kind of deck or veranda so would like to keep it this length unless it is unavoidable.

I like your idea about using valves; this would add a level of reduncy to the system so that should the mechanical pin fail under stress, the valve will prevent the tail lift from descending


This is the same in Britain and was what I talked about in my first post when I referred to the underrun bar. I will have to fabricate something which can attatch to the tail lift or chassis of the truck but I can worry about this later as it shouldn't be too complicated.


Other people have mentioned this to me but it shouldn't be an issue. The overhang on the back of my truck is very small as you can see below, and even with the tail-lift down the overhang will be significantly smaller than many comparable trucks. A 250Kg quad bike is a very small load for an 18 tonne truck, even if it is behind the back axle.




Thank you all for your advice

Aah you've already given it some tought

If you intend to use the quad carrier also as a veranda / deck. You could make an extra hinge, when sitting you can use the whole deck, when driving you swing the last half of the deck vertically, yhat way the quad is protectes and the overhang is minimalized.

Henk Jan

Knowling the design of the front bumper, have you not thought about mounting the bike at the front. I don't belive that it is legal in the UK or Europe but once out of this area no-one else is really going to care. With the size of you truck it probably won't obstruct you view over the bonnet.

I recolection is that there is allready a space betwen the bonnet and bumper where the chassis rails extend to the bumper, just make up a securing bracket and load it with a sand ladder.

Josh.

Hi
I am building a simliar rack on my MAN.
Its Chris Scotts old bus so it already has the tail lift fitted- there were a few phots posted above showing it.
I plan to carry the bike on the BACK of the lift so it can be raised for travel and lowered for putting the bike on the rack. I have adjusted the door so you can still get in and out with the bike on the rack. If staying anywhere for a period of time the bike can be taken off and the lift used as a veranda, or work table etc. The rack is removable- it also fits on another vehicle at the moment on an adjustable tow hitch bracket.The same idea could be used for a spare wheel.
Will get more phots when its finished but heres a few i took today.

will try again with the photos..

This is what I've got back from the fabricator...............thoughts please

Would you need to reinforce inside the body where the mounting are? A plate or something?
Plus, where the post secures to the side of the door, could this form a mounting as well for extra support instead of just a lock. There must be quite a strain on the mountings just on the upright post. The lock/mounting/support obviously being some form of quick release and then the mountings would all form a strong triangle.

Just a thought but I do tend to over-engineer things.

A simple and elegant solution. If the bar & bike can swing out 90 degrees so you can open your rear doors you are sorted! A dangling bike can be difficult to handle in winching it up to the platform but you'll manage. Simplest is always best IMHO.

There is an American company called Hydralift (Hydralift USA ™ Motorcycle Lifts For RV’s) who make exactly what you want but it costs brewsters and is really the same design as a commercial "tuck away" tail loader that you can pick up here cheap and adapt.

I know this is not much use to you but this is how URAL themselves tackle the job. You compromise the departure angle but you could get 2/3 bikes, a quad or even a Smart Car on there. They custom build trucks for any job:

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The frame is designed to be substantial enough to support the bike with the lorry going offroad,

It will have a brace which will lock it out at 45 degrees allowing access to the door easily if required, I think the default positioning of the bike will be off the rack and on the ground and not held out away from the body for any period of time.

They man on the job is confident enough in his design and execution of the rack

I've asked him to price up an electric hoist for it, may as well do it properly


MOT next week

Here's how UNICAT address your problem:

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UNICAT know their stuff - they use what appears to be a simple pillar type tail lift as you can see in this pic:

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I think with unicat the frame behind the white exterior is pre-designed for the bike carrier, so the frame is not bolted to the white plating but to the inside framework wich probably will be reinforced. (I assumed you have a container and want to bolt a carrier to the back)
Bare in mind that most containers do not have a really strong frame and you will probably need to reinforce your containeror use a large surface to bolt your frame.

regards,

Henk Jan

the bike hoist has been finished, just requires painting