Black Widow Ramps
 

I think I posted a thread about this several months ago but here goes again.

I'm planning some RV trips for the summer. The wife won't drive my truck when pulling our 30' RV trailer. She is not comfortable driving it without the trailer and there's no way she's going to drive it with the trailer. I've never hauled my bike anywhere before. But, last summer, I missed having my bike with me everywhere we went. So, I'm hoping to figure out a way to load my bike into the back of my truck so I can take it along when I have to pull the RV. I have ways of loading it into the truck before leaving by using convenient hills and my 5 or 6foot ATV folding ramp. However, there may not always be convenient places for unloading and reloading it when we are away.

I found this ramp and wonder if anyone else uses it and what you think of it. Based on the length and ground clearance of the bike and the height of the bed of my truck, it looks like I could get away with an 8' ramp but the 8' model is actually only 7'10" so I would probably go ahead and buy the 9' model to be safe. Anyway, if you know anything about this or similar ramps, please answer the following questions:

- What is your experience on ease of use and quality?
- Do you know if any chain stores carry it as it costs $55 to ship from Motorcycleramps.com

The ramps are on sale (supposedly) right now online for $299 for the 8' and $339 for the 9'. The truck shown in the ad is the same model and size as mine. It has a 6 1/2' bed and am banking on being able to load the bike straight in without putting it at an angle and, though I know I won't be able to close the tailgate, I'll need to remove the tailgate and still have the bike stable in the bed with a chock and tie downs because I can't tow the RV with the tailgate down.

Any thoughts?



[IMG]local://upfiles/41150/53F9AA514FFC4EFA9CC02CD80D79125D.jpg[/IMG]

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

hey FX....
My wife bought me similiar ramps a few years back when I was hauling around a BMW R1100GS. I've got very mixed emotions about ramps like these. It may be different on a low bike, but here's my thoughts
1. If you've got a 4WD pick-up, definately get the longer ramps. The less the incline, the better.
2. Be absolutly sure, those puppies are triple latched to the bumper. The weight/motion of the bike tends to make them slide around a bit & they can come off. Also make sure you somehow lash them together, you don't want to be halfway up the ramp & have left or right side start moving on you.
3. It help to have two people around when you attempt this, especially the first few times. It's an odd feeling when you hit the apex of the ramp curve, for a second, you want to gun it or brake; neither is right. Trust me on that one.
4. I found when hauling the bike, I could on manage to fit in 1 or 2 of the ramps in tyhe bed, so I always needed help unloading.
5. Walking the bike up the ramps, is fine, but then it kinda defeats the purpose of ride-on ramps.
6. No matter what the mfg says, you get 5-700 lbs of bike on a ramp like this, & it is going to flex; weird feeling first couple of times.
7. I think I've used them more as walk-up ramps at this point than ride on. But maybe thats just me.

I still have mine, they do come in handy. I'm sort of in the same boat as you, we have a big pop-up, & I miss my bike when we go campng, as both me & wife ride bikes. Our solution is too look around for a bike trailer temprorarily, & separate vacations into riding (motels) vs camping (pop-up & bicycles).

Hope this helps, like I say, we're still looking for the best compromise.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

hey FX....
My wife bought me similiar ramps a few years back when I was hauling around a BMW R1100GS. I've got very mixed emotions about ramps like these. It may be different on a low bike, but here's my thoughts
1. If you've got a 4WD pick-up, definately get the longer ramps. The less the incline, the better.
I agree - that's why I'm thinking the 9' ramp.
2. Be absolutly sure, those puppies are triple latched to the bumper. The weight/motion of the bike tends to make them slide around a bit & they can come off. Also make sure you somehow lash them together, you don't want to be halfway up the ramp & have left or right side start moving on you.
According to the add, they can be bolted or strapped together. If bolted, the ramp can only be folded in half but that should be okay for my purposes. I'm familiar with how they move around because I load my ATV and son's dirt bike in my truck all the time.
3. It help to have two people around when you attempt this, especially the first few times. It's an odd feeling when you hit the apex of the ramp curve, for a second, you want to gun it or brake; neither is right. Trust me on that one.
I'd definitely grab a friend and practice loading and unloading before going off and having to do it alone. Wife wouldn't be much help as heavy as the bike is.
4. I found when hauling the bike, I could on manage to fit in 1 or 2 of the ramps in tyhe bed, so I always needed help unloading.
I should be able to bolt the 3 parts together, fold it in half, and store it on one of the beds in the RV while going down the road. Once I get the bike out of the truck, I can throw the ramp back there until it's time to load again.
5. Walking the bike up the ramps, is fine, but then it kinda defeats the purpose of ride-on ramps.
As long as there is a place to put my feet down at all times, riding up should be fine. Walking that heavy thing up is probably more dangerous IMO.
6. No matter what the mfg says, you get 5-700 lbs of bike on a ramp like this, & it is going to flex; weird feeling first couple of times.
Thanks for the warning. I'd get a feel for this when practicing with a friend present.
7. I think I've used them more as walk-up ramps at this point than ride on. But maybe thats just me.
I'd want to ride it up. I know from experience with ATV and dirtbikes that you get butterflies when you do it but you get used to it.

I still have mine, they do come in handy. I'm sort of in the same boat as you, we have a big pop-up, & I miss my bike when we go campng, as both me & wife ride bikes. Our solution is too look around for a bike trailer temprorarily, & separate vacations into riding (motels) vs camping (pop-up & bicycles).
Way too much invested in camping and the RV to take separate bike/motel trips. Plus, wife likes a short ride now and then but she wouldn't be up for traveling on the bike.

Hope this helps, like I say, we're still looking for the best compromise.
Thanks for the info!

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

you can get an extension for your hitch so you dont have to remove your tailgate

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

My suggestion is, are there any bike shows that you'll be attending?
The last two I was at had them for sale there.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

I'm gonna follow this thread - I'm very interested in ramps too.although, I don't have an RV at the present time, I hope one is in my near future.

I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

I just got off the phone witha friend. We are planning to go to the OBX rally later next month. Went for a day last year. Vendors were sparse and I didn't see anything like that for sale. If it's worth it, I'll pay the $55 to ship it. If I bought one at a rally, I wouldn't have my truck and it would probably cost me $50 in gas to go get it and come back anyway. I just didn't know if there were any chain stores that sold them or something very similar.

If they sell them at Rally's, I'm sure they will have them at Myrtle Beach but scheduling conflicts are preventing me from going to that this year.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

I have that exact ramp. I think I bought it from them too. I think I got the 9' one. Overall, I think it is a good ramp. When I used it I kept the three pieces separate becuase it was much easier to manage. With all three pieces together it weighs about 80 lbs. I used the straps with it to strap the three pieces together, then also strapped the ramp to my trailer hitch to keep it from sliding off the tailgate. It is pretty stable this way. Once I got the bike strapped into the truck I was able to fit the middle piece on one side and the two side pieces on the other, so when I got to my destination I had everything I needed to get it out.

It is easily a one person operation. Just take your time and strap it down good. My wife did get a kick out of watching me ride up the ramp though. VMAX is right, it is a little interesting riding up the first time. When you get about halfway up the ramp definitely settles on you. I just tried to go up smoothly without stopping with the whole bike on the ramp. Getting it out is easy. All you have to do is put her in neutral and roll back.

The only issue I had with the ramp itself is that the black "powder coat" flaked off a little around the hinges and the corners, but it's aluminum so it will be fine. Other than that I think it is a good ramp for the money.

I got the ramp because my wife is in the military and we have to move every few years, so I needed relatively inexpensive way to get my bike and my truck somewhere at the same time. It serves this purpose very well.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

Don't forget to factor in the total weight on the back of your truck. You're putting ~700# up there, plus whatever your tongue weight is on your 30' RV (I'm guessing around 800#?). Make sure your truck can handle it; might need to put a distrubiting hitch on the RV to help level the larger load back there.

RE: Black Widow Ramps
 

Thanks, I already have a distribution hitch and we usually put several hundred pounds worth of stuff in the back of the truck already when we go off. That stuff will now need to go inside the RV. My RV is 30' but it's an ultra light model that weighs less than 6000 pounds total, unloaded. I don't think the hitch weight is as much as you'd expect especially when my propane bottles are not full, which they never are. I also don't carryany freshwater in the tankon the RV as we always stay where there are hookups so I don't have that weight to deal with either.

This is all going to hinge on me being able to get the bike in and stable and remove the tailgate though. I haven't tried it but I've measured and it will be close. I'm not going to get any sort of hitch extension to allow me to leave the tailgate on because that is bound to throw everything off as far as hitch weight, etc. I can see that making the hitch look like the bottom of a V going down the road because of the weight on the back of the truck and the weight on the hitch from the RV with so much distance in between.

Oh, and I'm not interested in putting the bike in at an angle either. Makes it much more difficult to get out and I can't count on someone being around to help me when it's time to unload.