A New Twist on a Smart Loader Concept!

8/2/2015

A New Twist on a Smart Loader Concept!

Can you give me feedback on this crazy idea?

Jim Hicks
13 April 2010
09:31 PM
Ok, guys I am looking for your feedback on a couple of ideas for a Smart loader / Goldwing loader concept I have been thinking about.  I am looking for a way to load a Smart and a Goldwing on the back of an HDT.  Rather than loading the Smart side to side and putting the Goldwing right behind it side to side, I am thinking of a couple of different ideas.

Back in the late 80's when I lived in Idaho, I owned a snowmobile deck that sat on the bed of my pickup truck that would hold two sleds and would rotate like a lazy susan.  The concept allowed you to rotate the lazy susan and drive the sled up on the deck from the side, (Much like many of you are loading SMARTS.)  Once both sleds were loaded I would then swivel the deck 90 degrees so they were pointing fwd.  Imagine loading your SMART sideways, like most of the loaders I have seen on this forum.  Then with the car sitting on an enormous lazy susan you rotate it 90 degrees to point fwd.

I have tried to find an image of this sled deck concept and it seems nobody is making one that rotates any more.

By now, I am sure if you follow what I am trying to say, you are asking yourself, "Why over engineer it and rotate the d$%n thing anyway.  Here is why I am considering this:

1 I want to carry a Smart and a Goldwing.  So the footprint they will take-up is essentially 8 x 8.

2. Rotating them allows me to put the newer "longer" Smart on there without being illegal in width.

3. If constructed correctly I can load/unload from three sides (Driver / Passenger / Rear).

4. Versatility of carrying different configurations of vehicles.  (Bikes / ATV's/Sleds/Cars)

I envision the lazy susan deck being around 8'wide by 9 to 10' long.  I would be square(ish) with the corners cut down a little to minimize the interference when rotating.  It would presumably rotate on a greased pin in the center.  Additional weight concerns during rotation could be accommodated with some Teflon surfaces or wheels close to the perimeter of the lazy susan.  I would rotate by hand, then pin it in place.  It could have a rampage bike loader (or similar) bolted/attached to the surface, adjacent to the parking spot for the Smart.  Three of the four sides have receiver hitch openings to accept a receiver mounted winch to pull the bike / Smart up on the deck.  Ramps would be designed such that they would load from the rear or either side.

My concerns include

1. Costs

2. Overall length of the truck impacting the trailer length I could pull.

3. Finding someone who can build this contraption.

4. Keeping the contraption secure while driving.

Who knows, if it works I can hang a disco ball above it at the campground and it could double as a rotating dance floor.

Here is the other thought.

I could load a Gen 1 Smart sideways (legally), and somehow load the bike above it, thus minimizing the footprint taken on the bed of the truck.  The thought is that the Smart loads inside a cage with a roof on it.  On the roof of the cage a rampage style loader is attached.  To load the cage would be lowered down the ramps, then the bike loaded on top via typical ramp means.  Once loaded, then drive the Smart inside the cage.  Then drag this top heavy cage up on the truck and secure it.

Biggest problems I see with this concept are:

1 Center of Gravity.

2 Real estate needed to load all of this stuff.  (The cage is presumably beside the truck on the ground with 12 foot ramps hanging off of it to load the bike.)

3. Height.  With a car that is 61 inches high and a motorcycle windshield 63 inches high stacked on top on a deck that is ?? high I doubt I could squeeze it under an overpass, much less behind a 770/780 fairing.  (I am thinking creative geometrical loading could allow me to put the front tire of the bike just above the windshield of the car making the entire height of the two somewhere around 112 inches instead of 124"

So what do you guys think?

Does anyone think either of these ideas are feasible?

Does anyone want a little of what I am smokin?

J&V
13 April 2010
09:38 PM
I think Henry (ET Hitch fame) has some considerable experience in this area.
J.W. Morgan
13 April 2010
09:38 PM
Jim,
There is a member here who had something similar built, IIRC
Jim Hicks
13 April 2010
09:43 PM
JW IIRC?  Is that the member name?  A search resulted nothing?  Pardon my ignorance.
Jim
Toterman
13 April 2010
09:44 PM
I think that the system you are referring to almost cost him his Smart .
JMHO
David
Bluenoser
13 April 2010
09:57 PM
Jim,
I am in the planning phase myself for my vehicle and truck bed.  I am not expert BY ANY MEASURE, but I have been thinking a lot about these concepts. I have a few gut reactions to your idea.  Have you evaluated the ability to load the GW under the front of the 5er, or on the end of it in a special rack?  I seem to see plenty of pics of this set-up, and it looks like a great way to preserve bed space for the car.  (But perhaps the GW is too big of a bike).  And my second thought is that if you are going to go with the Smart, it seems like one of the benefits of the Smart Car is the ability to load is sideways and preserve the overall length of the total set-up.  It strikes me that this benefit is one worth preserving if possible.

As far as top-heavy goes, I corresponded with Randy Retired, who has a very high top-load of a Jeep on his Volvo, and he reported a recent trip with 30mph cross winds and he said there were no stability issues at all.  Perhaps you might check with him for additional perspective on that aspect of the design.

Oh well - perhaps that's why they make different flavors of ice cream!
Well, just my $.02.

J.W. Morgan
13 April 2010
10:16 PM

Jim,
Sorry, IIRC= If I remember correctly.  Let me see if I can find it for you.
Link deleted

David,
Was I right and the design went wrong?  Help me out here...

Jim Hicks
13 April 2010
10:27 PM
Blunoser
Thanks for the feedback.  That is just the kind of stuff I am looking for.  I agree with the whole idea of conserving bed space.  Putting the bike behind the truck and under the fiver would be a tight fit for the wing.  I have looked at JAUGERNAUT's setup and he is able to do it by removing his windshield and lowering his handlebars.  My handlebars are a challenge to lower, but this may be an option.  I will look into that further.  (I am thinking of holding that space for bikes as well, but we shall see.)

I had the opportunity to meet with the president of EXCEL fifth wheels last year when looking at his products.  It proved to be a great learning experience.  I asked him about his position regarding mounting a Goldwing behind his trailers.  I made mention of some models they manufactured that specifically said they could accommodate a heavy bike.  He said they had changed their position regarding putting that load back their based on the amount of spring from the lever action of the trailer.  I think if I find the right trailer wit will support the weight, but finding a mfg that will endorse the idea is proving to be a challenge.  I may revisit that idea though.  The bike is big.  It is 845 pounds and 103" long.  The height of the windshield is 63" and the height of the backrest is 52".  Perhaps I should consider trading it in on one of These

Regarding your discussion on top heavy. I think the HDT would be fine with the load.  The concern is dragging a top heavy sled/cage up the ramp with an 850 pound bike on top of it and securing it to the deck.  Once secured I trust it will be fine.  If I drag it up a ramp and it tips while on the ramp then that would make for a bad day.
Thanks.

Toterman
13 April 2010
10:27 PM
I am not sure if it was ever put into use or not, but I do think there was a few engineering issues that needed to be resolved.
David
Bluenoser
13 April 2010
10:34 PM
Well, you have obviously given a great deal of thought ot it already.  All those forces at work, loading a big cage on the truck hurts me head to try and understand it!  If you get it figured out, let me know, as I'm trying to figure out what to do with my plane!
J.W. Morgan
13 April 2010
10:41 PM
Bluenoser,
You fly the plane and have the "RV" driver unload the Jeep to retrieve you from the airport after he/SHE has the 5er setup in the park for you......
Bluenoser
13 April 2010
10:50 PM
Tried that idea out already.  After sleeping on the couch for a week, I came to the revelation that it wasn't such a good idea.
Jim Hicks
13 April 2010
10:54 PM
Thanks JW maybe I can bend his ear.  This looks like the ticket.
Jim
MLC
14 April 2010
08:44 AM
Tried to do search for the fellow that carried three bikes and was a Ford Bronco collector.  He had one bike attached to the rear bumper.  The other two were tucked in on rails between the rear tire and the cab.  The rails were about level with the bottom of the side skirts.  They were sport bikes and smaller than a Goldwing but the vision of the Smart on angled ramps on the bed with the bike sitting under the high end of the ramp popped into my mind.  Does anyone remember who did this?  I thought it was Bronco but search turned up nothing.
Mike
J.W. Morgan
14 April 2010
09:10 AM
I remember it too... I will see if I can find it.
Jack Mayer
14 April 2010
10:37 AM
1) Why use a cage that moves.  Why not use a mini-stacker concept.  Load the bike first onto the upper platform (in its lowered position).  The raise the bike via the stacker, and load the Smart crossways in the normal fashion.  Way simpler.  Still have the height issues.  I have not worked out the measurements....

2) If you build a custom trailer why not build it (lets say) 45' long, but leave the frame extended 5' behind the body (a 39' trailer box on a 45' frame.  That would leave an open frame extension at the back of a convention layout trailer (with nice rear windows).  Mount the Goldwing there and carry the Smart in a normal fashion.  Building a custom trailer should be no issue with the levered weight.  It can be designed into the frame and wheel positioning.  Would make a nice rear deck, too.  I would bet New Horizons would do this for you.  That would give you a high quality custom trailer, with convention inside instead of a toyhauler.  And a nice rear deck that could likely even hold a Smart if you wanted too....they are not that heavy....

Jim Hicks
14 April 2010
01:58 PM
Jack, thanks for the feedback. As I had hoped I am hearing ideas I had not thought of.

Mini Stacker. For some reason when I initially thought of stacking in a cage that was not mobile, I
was hung up on getting the bike that high in the air. It did not dawn on me to do it in the fashion
that you mention and have a upper platform that lowers. I was trying to figure out how to get the
wheels of the bike 9 feet off the ground without hiring a stunt pro to load it. Now I understand.  Genius, I say!  I suppose there is a reason I am “working for the man” while you guys are developing all of these great engineering ideas.  Thanks for the idea.  I will certainly study it.

I am not familiar with the designs to li1 stackers, but would presume that most commercial stackers use hydraulics?  (dunno) Would you recommend Hydraulics, air, or cable and pulleys?  I would think hydraulics may be the most feasible, but also would require the most support.

Custom Trailer: Jack, this is another great Idea that I had not considered.  I really like this idea.  Although I will tell you I have been looking at that used “New Horizons” on their website for some time now with the bike room in the back.  The engineering of the frame, as you discussed makes sense and could certainly handle the weight.  I am pretty sure this idea would be outside of my budget though.  I have a ballpark budget in mind that gives me around 50K for my truck and around 50K for the trailer.  We will be looking at used rigs for our first setup.  I may get closer to 75-80K for my trailer, but that leaves the reserve pool a lot smaller to deal with problems and upgrades.  I would imagine your idea is deep into the six figure budget, and then I wouldn’t have $$ to get a truck.  I will keep in mind though.  With the exception of the length, and cost this seems to make the most sense.  I could also see this one of a kind trailer being hard to sell.  In the event we decide to change some things and get a different trailer.

Now don’t get me wrong.  We plan on doing this for a LONG TIME.  I am smart enough to know that once we start full timing we are going to find some things about our first trailer, that we would “druther” be different.  Much like we learned from all of the houses we have bought and sold.  I think my safest bet may be to get a somewhat conventional trailer to begin with, grow into it, and then think custom lter on, once I am more accustomed to what I would like.  Just my thought.

Thanks for all of the feedback.  I appreciate all of the ideas.
Jim

Jim Hicks
14 April 2010
02:04 PM
Mike
I recall seeing that rig as well.  I was rather intrigued, but discounted the idea based on the height of the Goldwing.  Now that you mention your vision of the Smart at an angle with the bike tucked under it, I think I see what you are saying.  I will see if I can find that thread.
Thanks, Jim
Jim Hicks
14 April 2010
06:56 PM
David, JW
I got some feedback from Skip.  He did tell me about it almost costing him his Smart.  He started with a turntable that catastrophically failed while traveling.  Said it was not pretty.  He has since modified the turntable using teflon sheets and says it works like a champ.  He sent some photos that look promising.  I think this may be the way ahead.  I put the photos in my Picasa album (Link not valid)
J.W. Morgan
14 April 2010
07:08 PM
Jim,
A circle from a road grader is what comes to mind for this type of setup, it is just a rack and pinion in a circle