The first run my wife and I went on was at Sunol in the San Fransico bay area.  I had my speeder on an auto trailer.  I told her how more convenient it would be to have the speeder in the back of the truck instead of pulling a trailer.  There are many advantages including,  I can go 70 mph instead of 55, there is less weight to pull ( the trailer is an easy 1500 lbs ),  and it is just plain easier to drive without a trailer.  When we got there a  fellow enthusiast pulled up with one in the back of his truck.  He had a somewhat convoluted system but it gave me some ideas.

Before you get started you will need a full size pickup with enough room in the box to hold a speeder.  The gauge of the wheels on a speeder is 4' 8-1/2 ", so the interior of the box needs to be at least 5 feet, 5 inches.  I used a 1977 Ford.  I used pallet rack standards and 1' square tubing to construct the whole thing. I used a winch to pull it up and let it down so it is an easy one man operation.  I decided to angle the rails because there is tension there for winching the car off for safer unloading ( you don't have to push the car after getting slack on the winch cable.)  

What you will need:

1. Full size pickup
2. 38 feet of pallet rack standard ( or equivalent ) 4 - 8 foot pieces and 1 - 6 foot piece.  ( C-channel can also be used )
3. 8 feet of 1" by 1" square tubing
4. 8 Sheet metal bolts (1/4 inch)
5. 2 Bolts 3/8" by 5"
6. 2 Bolts 3/8" by 7"
7. some 1 1/2" wide flat metal 1/8" thick ( this will become the attachment plates and support bracing ).
8. an electric winch  (optional)

Start by cutting 1" by 1" tubing to the correct lengths.  Two pieces the height of the box, two about 8 inches long.  Then weld attachment plates to the tubing. ( See Diagram's B & C )  Position 1- 8 foot length of pallet rack standard inside the bed of the truck resting on the wheel well top with the back end approximately 6 " off the bed. ( See Diagram A ) Then weld in place against the 1" by 1" tubing.  Next you will weld the bracing from the bottom of the pallet rack to the bottom of the 1" by 1" tubing ( See Diagram's B & C ) Do this on both sides of the truck.

Now you will make the loading ramps for the truck.  Take one of the 8 foot pallet racks and cut a "V" out of the top ( Diagram D ) of the ramp.  Then hammer the sides together so as to create a pointed end.  At the other end of the ramp you will make an angle cut so that when the ramp is put on the ground ( or the railway rails ) it will lie flat.  If you plan to roll your speeder directly onto the rails, it is recommended that you leave one side longer ( Diagram E ) so as to hold the flanges of the railway rails.  Make sure that you cut the other ramp opposite to the first.     Now repeat this with the other ramp.  

If you are using C-channel to make this project, you could use slightly smaller channel for the ramps so you would not have to top cut them.  The ramps would then just slide inside the rails.  You will still have to make angle cuts at the bottom of the ramps to aid in loading / unloading operations.  You will have to drill 3/8 inch holes through the sides of the ramps and rails to bolt them together for loading / unloading.

When connecting the ramps to the rails for loading and unloading you will use your last piece of pallet rack standard as a gauge. About mid way down the ramps you will use the 7 inch bolts to connect these together.

The ramps are bolted to the rails in the box of the truck with the 5 inch bolts.  Once you have loaded or unloaded your speeder, all that is left to do is disassemble the ramps and store them in the box of the truck.  The ramps are less that 8 feet now so there will be plenty of room.

Happy motoring!

[If you have any questions or comments, you can e-mail Tom at:   tomthacher@mediaone.net ] ed.

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