[FIRE UP]

Gents,
A while ago, I asked how many of you "carry" your Wing on a motor home. Many of you responded with pics etc. Some were not in favor of doing so. Well, in the light of the fact that we're "fair weather riders" and, we've been in the "trailer" mode before, we thought we'd try a different approach and "carry" the Wing and tow our Jeep. This way, if on a trip and we run into some foul weather, we're not acquiring cabin fever 'cause we don't like riding in the rain. I've said before, if we get caught in it, we'll handle that but, we don't intentionally set out in it. So, for those of you that have M/Hs and travel with your Wing in tow or like the short video, on a lift, here's my recent install.
Scott
Just click on the picture to see it work.

​

 

[bryansong]

Nice!

 

[mothership]

I like it,but would like even more to see you wing on it.

 

[txagfan]

Where do you tie bike down? I only see a single grommet and looks a little wimpy.

 

[XCOP]

I like it,but would like even more to see you wing on it.

:agree: Pretty cool for sure. Looks like some good workmanship.

 

[Puzzle-man]

Yup, you've got our interest.

Please post some more pictures.

How is it raised? How do you secure the Wing? When in the up position how far does it stick out the back?

If you tow a Jeep how do you work the hitch arrangement with the Wing on the back?

Thanks,

Bill

 

[ChrisE]

I want to see it with the 'Wing on it.

 

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
First off, thanks for the nice comments. It's been a tad bit of work, just getting it to this point. It has its own small hydraulic pump with a small motor. It's powered on its way up but, for the down, it's gravity. It's temporarily powered by one of those battery jumper packs that you have plugged in and use for Jumping dead car batteries etc. But, once all the critical adjustments and clearances, there aren't many anyway, are made, it gets it power from from the coach batteries.

Now, if you clicked on the picture, you'll see it travels quite high. In the raised position, you'll see the revealed hitch below. The Jeep's tow bar will hook up right there. I just got it on and cleared all the work debris out of the way for the pictures/video and my wife, my son and myself sat on it on the ground and it lifted us right up without a glitch but, we were still somewhere around 250 lbs shy of what a Wing weighs.

As for what and where to tie the Wing down, the picture's not showing all that's there. There are four outriggers that are built into the lift/rail. Only one of which has a 3/8" diameter eye bolt in it at the time and, believe me, that eye bolt is not wimpy. What's missing in the pic is the "loop" type wheel chock that you drive the bike into on approach. It came with the lift but, it's not on right now.

I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to adapt my Condor Wheel chock to the system, although not really needed if the loop is there, it's pretty stout. Yes, I too am anxious to get the bike on it to see how it works and looks. I've seen quite a few Wings moving down the road with the same exact lift so, I know it's been done.

If and when it's not going to be carrying the Wing, the rack is carries in the full up position and, it folds to the vertical to create added clearance between the hood/grill of the towed vehicle and, it's safer that way in case people walk close to it at night, in obscure conditions etc. The hitch system that's built into it is capable of towing 8,000 lbs and, carry the Wing. Now, that Jeep only weighs in at around 4100, plus or minus so, I'm certainly not taxing the system.

As far as how far it protrudes out the back of the coach, I've not measured it just yet but, the rail, for the bike tires is around 30" maybe, when in the fully lifted position. I'll get more accurate measurements in the near future.


So, folks, when it's all said and done, we'll have a nice camping vehicle, our Wing to explore the planet on when we're parked for a while, and the Jeep for foul weather or needs that the Wind can't suffice for. We still like to explore off road stuff to see "where does that dirt road go" type stuff.

For those of you that tow a trailer, camping or not, behind a Wing, you'll certainly have us beat in most situations, like COST per mile, hills, etc, mpg ( 30-40 vs 6-9). But, it's what we want to try. I'm going to try and post more pics. I'll get one with the Wing on it as soon as I get to that point. Thanks again.
Scott

​

 

[FIRE UP]

Well Gang,
Here she is, all mounted. This is a test fit. It's not nearly as stable as it is when I put her in a trailer. The tie down anchors in the trailer are attached to the floor and are farther out so, because of the spread in tie down points, it's a rock. On the lift, it's still a bit tipsy. What's not in the pics is four extra tie downs from the crash bars to the out riggers that are built into the lift and that made it about 50-60% better.

I might be expecting too much. The lift is certainly stout. When it lifts the Wing, it doesn't even hiccup. Fact is, I have to slow it down as it approaches the lock points. Anyway, a bit more tweaking and it will be ready for the road.
Scott

​

 

[jacmar]

Great looking rig. My only thoughts are your coach lights appear to be completely covered by the wing in the full up osition. Are you going to add aux lights or what?

Jack

 

[BIG AL 57]

Great looking rig. My only thoughts are your coach lights appear to be completely covered by the wing in the full up osition. Are you going to add aux lights or what?

Jack

I had to add lamps after some R&D myself....mind you this is the dual bike model...:joke: View attachment 30319

 

[PUCKBUS]

All I can say is WOW! I can monkey almost anything I see but I'm just not creative. WELL DONE! Many good miles ahead.

 

[Section168]

excellent!

Fantastic! Congratulations.

Where there is a will there is a way.

You could even reinforce/back up the up position with some internal coach modifications and tie off via the roof as well and even if you have catastrophic failure with your security locks or completely blew out the seals in the hydraulic motor going down the road
in up position no way things are getting completely out of hand in a worst case scenario situation.

Plus that looks like a back up camera? Correct? You can keep an eye on your Wing even while in jumbo cage rolling down the road. It will drive you crazy knowing you are not on the Wing but will be soon. So very cool!

I might be sending you an email in 10 years or so to get the plans.

Thanks for posting this.

Enjoy all the envious grins you receive while whistling down the hwy.
If I see you out there lunch and dinner is on me if you show me the whole rig.

I will run escort for you till lunch or dinner break even if I see you heading the opposite direction on the slabs or whatever.

You got my envious grin already!

 

[jellyspapa]

That looks scary up there! 4: Great job!

 

[WestFlDon]

:bow: Maybe you CAN have it all.

Ok, so where do you have the boat/jet ski ?

No, wait, don't tell me....

its in the back of the dinghy (towed vehicle):thumbup:

Great build Scott.

Don :doorag:

 

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
Thank you all for the very nice comments. In all reality, all I did was install the Hydralift system. I did not create it. If you click on:
http://www.hydralift-usa.com/

You will see many rigs with many variations of the lift. It's used for Harley's, Wings, VTXs, Burgmans, Quad sand toys, Golf Carts, and many more. Just cruise through their albums of installs and you'll see a lot of them. As for the one who commented on "backing up the UP" position with tying off to the roof etc. I'm pretty sure I would not want to do that, you all know what a Wing weighs, if it fell during travel, and it was tied to the roof or, back end of the coach, it most likely would tear the back of the coach right off.

To the one who commented on covering the tail lights, yep, that's in the general plan. Hydralift has "light kits" that they sell you because they know you'll be covering the coach lights but, and, if you look real close, you'll see just inside each of the 1.3 x 3" tubing, a plate with four pre-drilled holes on each side. Those plates are there to accept their light kits but, really all that's needed is some LED nice bright stop-turn-tail lights installed. That's a piece of cake. Like I first stated earlier, I'm not too happy with the flimsiness of the tie-down situation so, I'm altering what's needed.

I laughed when read the one about "you can have it all". Twice in my travels, we've seen a situation where they "DID" have it all. Both times it was a very expensive Diesel Pusher coach, usually 40' or over, towing a double decker, three axle trailer. Now, here's the scenario. One the bottom deck was a nice boat, and a large M/C, a Harley if I recall, on the top deck, was a smaller Chevy Blazer and another trailer with TWO JET SKI'S on it.

There was some serious mechanism(s) that were put into operation to lower the Blazer and other little trailer so that it could roll off the big trailer and off to the lake. Now that's HAVING IT ALL! I'll be happy if this works and we get to tow the Jeep too. At least that's the plan. I may be seeing some of you in Rockies Gold this time. We'll be at the RV park.

Section 168, By the way, thanks for the offer for Dinner, we'll take you up on it some day. Very nice comment. We'd be glad to show you the whole rig. We're very proud ourselves. We've only had it out on one outing since purchase, about 2 months ago. I've been outfitting all the compartments with tools, camping stuff, etc while she's been masterminding all the inside compartments etc. I'm the kind of guy that likes to look into a compartment and all is organized. I don't want to be looking for can of WD-40 for an hour saying "I know it's in here somewhere".

So, again, thanks for all the nice comments and statements. If any one's thinking of the same approach for your Wing, surely drop me a PM and I'd be glad to assist with the prep.
Scott

 

[springbike]

Your work is so impressive! Man seeing the wing up there makes me qweezie.
Happy trails to you.

 

[All Boots No Saddle]

Doesn't the length of the Wing make your rig too wide to be legal for the road? :shrug:

This issue has come up before and I don't remember the outcome. Perhaps they abandoned their plan, or did it anyway.

 

[Mike Dory]

Bike Lift

WELL DONE, My Friend. Very impressive.... Mike Dory

 

[Daddo]

Keep us posted Scott.

Retirement is creeping up quickly and my wife and I are spending some time out looking at motorhomes. I'd like to hop on our bike and tour North America for a year or more but my wife's arthritis restricts her ability to do that so we are looking at a MH/MC combination. The plan is to set up a base camp and tour an area then move on to another local. That way we can better deal with weather and medical issues as required.

I am considering both a lift, like yours, and a pull behind trailer for the 'wing.

My concerns with the lift are stability while traveling (as you have mentioned), the overhang of the front and back of the 'wing sticking out and the process of getting the 'wing on and off the lift.

I am looking forward to see how you approach the stability issue. A video clip of the rig in motion, taken from a chase vehicle would provide some valuable feedback for you and I certainly would be interested in seeing it if that happens.

How you do get the bike onto the lift? I had a Kendor lift that required the bike being walked up onto its ramp but I was never really comfortable with that process. I then changed to a full table lift with outriggers that allow me to ride-on. If I go with a lift, I think I'd try to rig side boards between the tie-down outriggers to provide foot room and stability for a ride-on. I'd really like to hear how you are dealing with this.

Cool looking rig - I'm envious