Might be worth looking at the Unicat website for some ideas. Most of their trucks I've seen on the road have a bike in the back. They also made a truck that fits a Smart car in the back!

Thanks for all the advice and pointers , loads to take in

many thanks

Neil

Hi

a guy here in Agonda had a a MAN truck with a simple electric winch on a rail/ grirder. The girder somehow extends out from the back (inside of the truck) pushes the bike out then lowers it to the ground. Really easy and simple to use. Will get his email address to you so you can get in touch.

all the best Mark

I'm really interested in seeing more images of similar ideas / systems. I'd really like to get a bike mounted on the back of my mog, but want to do it high (to stop folks messing with it), and still easy / safe to get it up and down from there.

One of my buddies is suggesting a truck lift (like you'd see on the back of a delivery truck) and therefore mounted onto the chassis instead of the body (my camper body is made from 50mm box section covered, so has a steel frame I can work from). Other ideas involve mounting to the camper body.

I'd love to hear from someone who's dont this, and then used it on a long trip with bad roads....

Merv

I have just been to the Allrad show in Bad Kissingen Germany.

I must have seen dozens of systems for lifting a bike into a truck.

My conclusion is that anything hydraulic would usually involve lots of weight so I think I will be opting for the light weight crane arm that lifts the bike off the ground and swings it onto either a platform or into the rear or into the truck..

I would even go as far as suggesting that a hand winch would be best in case you have total power loss ie the batteries are flat. With a hand winch at least you can still get the bike off whereas an electrical or hydraulic system requires electrical power.

Having seen all the trucks at the show and all the complicated sytems I can't help but ask myself, what happens if it goes wrong in middle of nowhere..

My conclusion with this and other problems is keep it simple.

Hand winch and crane arm, how simple is that

Hope this helps

Neil

Totally agree Neil. When everything goes wrong is when you probably need most the bike, so better if you keep it simple and have it easily!

I don't think there's any need for hydraulics or electrics.

I have lifted up my Dr Zed with a couple of dinghy blocks. One double and a single rigged right gives you a 3:1 ratio and that was just about OK.

I’m sure if you made a simple swing-out arm you would manage it with some string and wheels.

Maybe take a look at how tenders are lifted on the back of boats, that’d give you some ideas. Then you just need something a bit like a Dave Cooper trials bike rack to sit the bike on, a few straps and you’re away.

Hi Neil,

I don't know whether the topic is still current (only saw it now), but I can tell you my solution works perfect. A 50 eur electric winch does the job even if the engine is not running. You can see the picture of it here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Cheers,
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