I have a 2006 F150 with the 5.5 foot bed. I need to transport my motorcycle in it. If I do the rear tire will rest in the middle of the tailgate. My bike weighs about 800 pounds. I think there would be about 400 to 500 pounds on the tailgate. Is this too much weight for the tailgate?
Thanks,

 

why not catty-corner the bike?

you can fit darn near most bikes inside the bed about 100% if you angle it in there.



a little bit harder to strap down, but doable



btw, I'm almost 300 lbs myself and my truck didn't even notice when I was jumping up/down on it. 400 lbs of static load would be fine IMO, but I'd be scared of the bumps.

 

I doubt your tailgate would have a problem with that much load, however I'd be concerned with the fact that all that weight will be on a very small patch of metal.

I'd suggest putting a small square of 3/4" plywood under the rear wheel to help distribute the load and go for it.

As tylus said, angling the bike in the bed is doable, but I would NEVER, EVER do it with my bike! Much harder to get it tied down right...and you DO NOT want that thing to fall over. Had that happen once...was a smaller bike weighing 450 lbs, and it dented the fuel tank on the bike and put a nice dent in the side of my bed...on a 1-year old pickup. Never again will I ever shortcut something like that again!

 

I have put a snowmobile in the back of my truck and the track was on the tailgate and drove 300 miles round trip and not a problem. I know there isnt alot of weight on the back of a snowmobile but still worked fine. Also put my 4 wheeler in the back and the back tires were on a small part of the tailgate and also drove 400 miles round trip and another time 800 miles round trip and no problems. I would think you should be fine.

 

plywood. tape to your tailgate or mabe use a bungee, something easy that will hold it in place just incase you hit a good bump and the tire looses contact for a second.

 

Per the owners manual 500lbs is the max limit.

 

Would a smallish(4' long) section of half or three quarter inch plywood help distribute the load on the truck bed some? That is what I would be thinking of doing.

I know a buddy of mine was bagging on the Tundra because people where doing the same thing and snapping the tailgates but the F-150 is more suited to be used in such a fashion. Sadly I saw some rocket scientists driving up I-45 with a motorcycle in the back of a truck...guess those straps and things are to expensive since there was a guy sitting on the bike to stabilize it. What aggravated me is that a HPD officer drove past them...not fast like he was going to a call...just slowly passed.

 

I looked in my owners manual, but didn't find where it gave a weight limit on the tailgate. Does anyone one else have this info in their manual?

 

Its in the vehicle loading and capacity section

 

I have had a motorcycle on it the same way. Also a 4 wheeler and never had a problem. From looking at it the plastic on the tailgate kind of distributes the weight around a little bit also. I am 290 and have had two people totaling 500 with me on the tailgate many times. So about 800 pounds. I never thought anything about it. Got me thinking though when it was said 500 was the limit. Glad I don't own a Tundra. I probably could not get one cheek on there without it folding like an accordion.

 

As long as there is no damage to your cables you will be fine. I drove from Delaware to Massachusetts with a 07 Harley street glide, rear tire sitting on the tail gate. I also drive my 350 honda rancher atv up into the back and it also sits on the tail gate. Have a safe trip.

 

I did go back and look in the vehicle loading and capacity section. My book does not list capacities for the tailgate. It does list 500 pounds as the max tongue weight for the hitch. I found where the bed extender is only rated to hold 100 pounds when being used on the tailgate. But still no mention for the tailgate itself.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm going to put the bike in the back and go to Colorado for a ride.

 

Go for it and have FUN!

 

Jus' FYI... sorta...
In my line of work my truck is sometimes loaded and offloaded with manufacturing machine parts, table tops and table bases sometimes weighing upwards of 900-950 # .
Usually I load the things myself and have a bad habit of bringing the forks of the forklift too low. Usually resulting in my truck sinking (sometimes to the bump-stops). I can only assume its putting a brunt 500-1000# just on the tailgate alone.

On a side note:
If you never had any substantial weight in the back of yours. You'll be surprised as to how Smooth of a ride your truck will have after the added weight.