I am hoping to purchase a '10 Frontier and have several questions. I would like to carry my wife's motorcycle in the back. The dealer told me that the tie-down hooks have a 250 lb each restriction on them. The bike weighs a little over 500 lbs. Any thoughts. Also, what would the weight restriction on the tail gate be as the rear wheel would be riding on the tail gate.
Tiedown weight restriction
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there are 4 tie downs, in the bed,just dont use one.try the 2 to on the sides to keep it standing and the others from moving forward and back,there are plenty of people here that carry bikes,there are also plenty of people here that carry more than bikes,if we all listen to the sales guy(who probably never lifts anything heaver than a pen nothing would get moved/hauled or lifted)also the rear wheel on the gate should not be a problem.
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8,530 Posts
If you are planning on hauling, make sure you get the utilitrac. This will give you the adjustibility of putting your tie-downs at any point along the rails. As long as you use 4 or more of the cleats, you should be good. Just remember, a couple of extra cleats never killed anyone so I would always use a few more with a few more straps to keep it all safe.
Now to the tailgate. The earlier models have a weaker designed hinge that tended to bend under extreme load. Your '10 will have the new design that is susposed to be able to hold larger loads. The one thing that caused most of the issues was a bouncing load so as long as the bike is secure, you should be good.
Side Note: What is the weight distibution on a bike? Is it more like 60 rear , 40 front or what? Basically would it be worth loading the bike backwards to keep the majority of the weight off the tailgate? this won't work wth large wind screens but if it was small and you wrapped the bike, it may work.
Now to the tailgate. The earlier models have a weaker designed hinge that tended to bend under extreme load. Your '10 will have the new design that is susposed to be able to hold larger loads. The one thing that caused most of the issues was a bouncing load so as long as the bike is secure, you should be good.
Side Note: What is the weight distibution on a bike? Is it more like 60 rear , 40 front or what? Basically would it be worth loading the bike backwards to keep the majority of the weight off the tailgate? this won't work wth large wind screens but if it was small and you wrapped the bike, it may work.
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67 Posts
Holding a bike upright in the bed of the truck will never put 250 pounds of load on the cleats. Even if you were holding 2 or more bikes lashed together in the upright position in the bed you would not put 250# of load on the cleats let alone 1000# on the 4 cleats you'll need to hold the bikes up. The 250# rating is direct load on the cleats. There are almost no situations where you could put 250# direct load on a cleat unless you decided to tow something with one or hook a winch to one to pull a heavy, dead weight load up into the truck.
I used to hold 3 bikes up in the bed of my Chevy truck using ratchet straps hooked to those little unwelded eyes bolted through the bed of the truck on either side of the bikes. I hauled those bikes over some darn rough back country roads and never bent the eyes or had a bike fall. I used to crank the straps down hard enough to depress the suspension of the bikes.
The cleats on my Fronty and the associated mounting hardware look one heck of a lot stronger than those little eyes I used to use. I probably wouldn't be concerned hauling a Harley around using those (if I could fit it in there
)
Larry
I used to hold 3 bikes up in the bed of my Chevy truck using ratchet straps hooked to those little unwelded eyes bolted through the bed of the truck on either side of the bikes. I hauled those bikes over some darn rough back country roads and never bent the eyes or had a bike fall. I used to crank the straps down hard enough to depress the suspension of the bikes.
The cleats on my Fronty and the associated mounting hardware look one heck of a lot stronger than those little eyes I used to use. I probably wouldn't be concerned hauling a Harley around using those (if I could fit it in there
)Larry
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I'll say something that no one seems to ever mention.
The further you get to the ends of the extruded channels the more flex/give there is.
So basically if you are putting a cleat right on the end of the extrusion it will pull more than if you put a cleat in the middle of an extrusion.
Found this out hauling 1,100lbs of hardwood flooring.
I cranked the ratchet straps down about as tight as I could get them and I could see the extrusions on the floor of the bed bowing up.
Everything held for my 1 hour plus trip, but it had me slightly concerned so I drove like it wasn't even strapped down just in case.
Moral of the story is for maximum strength locate cleats right where the extrusions bolt to the bed.
The further you get to the ends of the extruded channels the more flex/give there is.
So basically if you are putting a cleat right on the end of the extrusion it will pull more than if you put a cleat in the middle of an extrusion.
Found this out hauling 1,100lbs of hardwood flooring.
I cranked the ratchet straps down about as tight as I could get them and I could see the extrusions on the floor of the bed bowing up.
Everything held for my 1 hour plus trip, but it had me slightly concerned so I drove like it wasn't even strapped down just in case.
Moral of the story is for maximum strength locate cleats right where the extrusions bolt to the bed.
Also note that with the tailgate down the the side rails near the open end will have diminished capacity and that the floor rails have a lower working capacity than the side rails as per the manual (although I have not read a 2010 manual). As for holding a bike in place, should be a non issue when properly secured and driven reasonably.
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67 Posts
"Moral of the story is for maximum strength locate cleats right where the extrusions bolt to the bed."
Absolutely imperative with heavy loads cranked down hard. Just plain common sense is the rule.
Larry
Absolutely imperative with heavy loads cranked down hard. Just plain common sense is the rule.
Larry
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2,137 Posts
^:wtf:... why did I buy a truck in the 1st place?
One draw back is when friends break down I getta call
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