Can you fit a bike in a long bed truck with a cap?

Deployer78
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Deployer78
Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 9:47pm
I'm thinking of purchasing a Dodge Dakota with a long bed and a tall cap on it. Is it possible to fit a dirt bike inside of it? It would be less likely to get stolen and also keep the rain off all your gear. I was just wondering if anybody has used a set-up like this? I feel like most dirt bikes are too tall to fit under a truck cap. Thanks.
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lostboy819 7/26/2011 2:18pm
7/26/2011 2:18pm
Most all caps are to low for a MX bike, but there may be a few tall ones that may work but I haven't seen any many.
aztecmx
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aztecmx 7/26/2011 3:16pm
7/26/2011 3:16pm
Deployer78 wrote:
I'm thinking of purchasing a Dodge Dakota with a long bed and a tall cap on it. Is it possible to fit a dirt bike inside...
I'm thinking of purchasing a Dodge Dakota with a long bed and a tall cap on it. Is it possible to fit a dirt bike inside of it? It would be less likely to get stolen and also keep the rain off all your gear. I was just wondering if anybody has used a set-up like this? I feel like most dirt bikes are too tall to fit under a truck cap. Thanks.
Actually, if you use a front suspension holeshot device to compress the front end (and maybe you will have to rotate the handlebars down) the bike will fit. I actually put a YZ250 (2007) inside a LandRover Disco1 (Disco rear seats removed, front passenger seat all the way forward, extra compression on the front end of the bike with a tie down across the bike seat down to the swingarm compressing the rear suspension). Works for me. If I take out the front passenger seat, the bike fits like it was designed to be there. It's the goofiest thing when folks look over and see the front end of a YZ in the front seat.
mx5471
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mx5471 7/26/2011 3:44pm
7/26/2011 3:44pm
A bike is over 4 and a half feet high and a little over 7 feet long, and not easy to get into a truck with a cap. If you want to use the truck for primary transportation, measure carefully, and or , try before you buy. If it's just to haul the bike to the races, there are other options that are better. If you travel to big races, and stay in a hotel, the bike will gone when you get up in the morning, in that situation. Depends on what you want to go through to transport the bike. Lot of guys at our track just ride there, and race there when we have a race, and just use those trailer hitch things and like them a lot, and very easy to use. It's all about what you need out of the vehicle and what you need to haul the bike. I hate putting a bike in a pick up truck because I'm short, can't do it. So think first.
CR500Rider
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CR500Rider 7/26/2011 4:02pm
7/26/2011 4:02pm
It would be a pain in the butt to get one in that. Vans are perfect.

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Void Main
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Void Main 7/26/2011 4:09pm
7/26/2011 4:09pm
I would think you should be able to even get it in a short bed truck with a cap.

72kiteboarder
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72kiteboarder 7/26/2011 5:07pm
7/26/2011 5:07pm
If you compress the suspension and keep it compressed you may be able to get it in there. Otherwise you will have to lean it over.
70sSuperstar
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70sSuperstar 7/26/2011 6:04pm
7/26/2011 6:04pm
shane templeton had this set up in the early 90s. the truck top was tall and hinged on one side.
Overdrive
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Overdrive 7/26/2011 6:12pm
7/26/2011 6:12pm
Void Main wrote:
I would think you should be able to even get it in a short bed truck with a cap. [img]http://www.bakersauto.net/images/auto/napaTruck.jpg[/img]
I would think you should be able to even get it in a short bed truck with a cap.

ha ha, pretty good.
mxb2
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mxb2 7/26/2011 6:15pm
7/26/2011 6:15pm
Find a cheap enclosed trailer! or a motovan, If you use a pick up truck ,lock it where your at, and if you stay in a hotel, bring it in the room when it gets dark. Make sure you have insurance on the bike.
umagumadog 7/26/2011 6:25pm
7/26/2011 6:25pm
I had a friend that used to use one, he replaced the front wheel with a pw 50 wheel every time he loaded it so the front end would be low enough to fit.
reded
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reded 7/26/2011 6:36pm
7/26/2011 6:36pm
Somehow I could see the holeshot device unlatching at the precise moment that I place my neck between the crossbar and the roof in order to grab a tie-down.
Deployer78
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Deployer78 7/26/2011 6:50pm
7/26/2011 6:50pm
I like the Napa truck idea!!!!! Anyways, thanks for all the info. I was thinking the same thing reded, except I was picturing the bars busting through the top of the truck cap when the holeshot device failed! I just thought the pickup with a cap might be a good idea if it worked. Unless you are in the A Team vans aren't really that cool anymore! You need a Mercedes Sprinter to be cool these days!
grover738
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grover738 7/26/2011 7:37pm
7/26/2011 7:37pm
I've always wondered about toppers - especially the "high rise" toppers you often see on pickups pulling campers, like model 122 on this page:

http://www.leer.com/site/?&ct=51&pt=2&sc=1&pl=4#

Strap the rear end down, engage hole shot device, load it backwards, and it would have to fit if you had an 8 ft. bed, right?
Mike D
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Mike D 7/26/2011 9:14pm
7/26/2011 9:14pm
WTF is a cap?
jasonv43
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jasonv43 7/26/2011 10:11pm
7/26/2011 10:11pm
Here is what I have to run for my bike:





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