Installing Hydralift on Maxxum chassis

[jbstok]

Starting to make the new to us 2013 42QD Tour our own, and I want to put a Hydralift motorcycle carrier on it. We live in the boonies and there is no one in the area I can find that has one or has had one installed, much less any shops that have actually installed one. I'm curious whether anyone here has had it done, and if so, how the mounting brackets are attached to this particular chassis. Was the original hitch unbolted and removed, were the brackets bolted to the factory hitch, or were the brackets welded to some sort of fabricated attachment points? I'm fairly sure I want a Hydralift as opposed to a Cruiserlift, but I'm weak on the details of exactly how the mounting is done.

.........JB

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by jbstok

Starting to make the new to us 2013 42QD Tour our own, and I want to put a Hydralift motorcycle carrier on it. We live in the boonies and there is no one in the area I can find that has one or has had one installed, much less any shops that have actually installed one. I'm curious whether anyone here has had it done, and if so, how the mounting brackets are attached to this particular chassis. Was the original hitch unbolted and removed, were the brackets bolted to the factory hitch, or were the brackets welded to some sort of fabricated attachment points? I'm fairly sure I want a Hydralift as opposed to a Cruiserlift, but I'm weak on the details of exactly how the mounting is done.

.........JB

I had a Hydralift installed on my 2007 KSDP 3916 when I purchased the coach last month. It's welded directly onto the frame (mine is a Spartan Mountain Master chassis).

I'm not familiar enough with your coach to say if it could be done, but when I went to pick up mine, the sales guy was telling me about how they had it in the shop for close to 3 days welding it up. I looked at the job they did and it's both clean and looks quite permanent. It replaces your existing hitch and provides its own, allowing up to 5000# to be towed (I believe that's the max).

They installed the hydraulic pump within the engine compartment and it's easily accessible for maintenance.

This work was done at Independence RV in Winter Garden, FL. and they are a Hydralift dealer. I lucked out picking them to buy my coach as they provided the install for the Hydralift and I like the work they did.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by jbstok

Starting to make the new to us 2013 42QD Tour our own, and I want to put a Hydralift motorcycle carrier on it. We live in the boonies and there is no one in the area I can find that has one or has had one installed, much less any shops that have actually installed one. I'm curious whether anyone here has had it done, and if so, how the mounting brackets are attached to this particular chassis. Was the original hitch unbolted and removed, were the brackets bolted to the factory hitch, or were the brackets welded to some sort of fabricated attachment points? I'm fairly sure I want a Hydralift as opposed to a Cruiserlift, but I'm weak on the details of exactly how the mounting is done.

.........JB

JB,
Well Sir, I cannot help you with your particular chassis or coach. But, I can help with certain styles of attaching the Hydralift. We have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 CAT. The install went well. I did remove the factory trailer hitch and used the same existing holes they used for the hitch. What I did was, purchase some 1/2" thick by 4" x 6" x 48" angle iron. Two of them. I then setup the angle so that the short angle was on the top side and marked the holes.

The angle iron protruded through the back of the coach lower body which, I had cut precise slits to accommodate the protrusions. I then attached the special Hydralift CRADLE brackets to the angle iron at the precise height for proper mounting of the Hydralift unit itself. You see, there are specific heights for all these brackets etc. The main reason is because of the angle of lift arms. If the lift arms are at too acute of an angle (Hydralift mounted too high) the lift arms will or, could interfere with the loading of the bike.

Now, first off, what bike are you intending on carrying? I carry a 2008 Honda GL 1800 Goldwing. And, as you more than likely know, that's a seriously WIDE engine and crash bar setup. So, some very careful measurements had to be taken so that I had the precise angle of the lift arms when the lift was lowered to the ground for the loading and off loading of the bike.

Anyway, I won't go into too much more detail here. I'd be very happy to actually talk with you on it. It was fascinating to take on this project. I did all the calculating, work, welding and more.

Now, here's something very important for you, or anyone contemplating a motorcycle lift/carrier to be mounted on the back of a diesel pusher. And that is, SERVICE OF THE ENGINE! I set my Hydralift up so that it could be removed, totally, in about 8 minutes. I also built a trailer hitch system that, when the lift was removed, the hitch system utilized the same cradle brackets the Hydralift did. That way, when we knew we weren't going to use the bike on a trip, we'd drop off the Hydralift and zap on the trailer hitch so we could tow our CRV without the Hydralift on there.

Now, based on the way the Hydralift folds up, you can do the same thing without removing the lift. I created the "quick dismount" because I wanted to and, like stated earlier, so I could service and or, do any work on the back of that engine/radiator without having the lift in the way. I'd be real happy to tell you all about how I made that system removable.

Below are some pics of my installation. Again, I'd be happy to talk with you about it. And, as already described, there's no way I'd weld that unit or, any mounting parts of it, to the existing frame. You can bolt things on and still accomplish what you want to do. PM me if you'd like more info. Be glad to help.
Scott

P.S. The last picture is a video. Just click on the center of it to see how it lifts in action. I did this for a test to see the angles of the lift arms. One more thing. You'll have to determine if, you want to drop the bags (deflate the air suspension) to get the proper loading height and, carrying height. Good luck.

[majfrizz]

FIREUP,

I am looking to have done the same as soon as the winter breaks here. I contacted Hydralift and they send me these fotos of a job that had been completer by one of their dealers. they never told me where.

bob

[jbstok]

Thanks guys. Some good info and pictures here. Very helpful.

[FIRE UP]

Well Gents,
First off, let me say that the Hydralift, is by far, the best lift/carrier on the market, without a doubt. It's the best constructed, the least amount of moving parts, the least potential for break down, (and don't let anyone give you any guff about "hydraulics" being undependable, that's a load of hogwash), it's the most stable (I've tested/moved bikes on other lifts and they moved around a lot).

But, Hydralift is very proud of their product. It's also the most expensive lift on the market too. When the wife and I were looking for one, brand new it was about $4500 and, that's without shipping and tax. That was a while ago, about two years plus or minus some. So, we decide to hunt for a used one. We got lucky. The wife found one on ebay. I won't bother telling the whole story but, we got it for $1800 and, a small road trip from San Diego to Scottsdale AZ to pick it up. No biggie.

I did the install.

With that being said, I would suggest some serious thought going into this project prior to commitment. This is speaking from direct experience, and not just making rash statements based on what someone thinks.

The very first thing I did prior to the beginning of the install was weigh the coach, front, back, the whole thing. The rear axle weight rating on our coach is, 17,500 lbs. The front is, 10,400 lbs. Now, knowing what the lift weighs, around close to 300 lbs. and, knowing just what our '08 Wing weighs, very close to 900 lbs., I pretty much knew that I was going to be over the GAWR of the rear axle. But, I've got quite a bit of experience in frame, axle, weights, suspension, springs, metal strength and more so, I accepted the fact that it was going to be overweight.

After it was all said and done, the lift installed, the bike on the lift, that coach exhibited absolutely NONE of what I was told was going to happen. I was told the back end of the coach would be torn off, yep, that was said. I was told the handling would be seriously effected and in effect, would be dangerous, NOPE, NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER HAPPENED. I had absolutely no ill effects, no handling problems, no wandering, no porpoising, no steering problems, no damage, WHAT SO EVER in over 8,000 miles of carrying that bike and, towing three different toads.

We had so much fun by having that bike along for our trips. I modified both the lift and the bike for special tie down arrangements for the Honda Goldwing's tie down characteristics. I wanted that bike still on there when we reached all destinations. I added specific point/angle tie points and, a substructure for the lift so the front tie downs from the triple tree would work correctly.

And one more thing, I "stole" the "over center" cradle from my CONDOR wheel chock and mounted it in the rail of the lift. That was the best move anyone can make. It allows for you to ride it on to the lift and then, when you hit and activate that over-center cradle, it automatically locks the bike in a straight up and down position so you can step off the bike and begin tying it down. Otherwise, you must put a kick stand down and, based on certain conditions, that could be disastrous. So, needless to say, I make things as easy on myself as possible.

I had it down so that from the time I drove the bike onto the lift, to the time it was fully tied down and ready for accept a toad, was right around 3-4 minutes. And, that's using SIX tie downs.

Anyway, back to the weight thing. What I may suggest is, do what I did and check, if you haven't already, your weight ratings of your axles, and, get your rig weighed. And, don't worry too much about the front axle. There is an effect on it but, not very much. I'll tell you the difference. Prior to the lift install and, loading the bike, the front weighed (ready and loaded for travel and with both of us in it) 9180 lbs. When I weighed the coach with the lift installed, and the bike on it, the front end weighed: 8900 lbs. So, I lost 280 lbs. off the front end. Big deal.

But, it's your rear axle, tires etc. that are the main consideration issues here. As stated, the rear weight, prior to the addition of the lift was, 16,900 lbs. But, after the addition of the lift and, with the bike loaded, it came in at, 20,100 lbs. So, yes, I was overweight. It worked just fine. But, due to many factors, and change of toads, we've elected to remove the lift and, are now carrying the Wing in the back of our new toad, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 Extended cab with what's known as a "Rampage" lift. That's a whole 'nother story.
Scott

[majfrizz]

FIREUP

thanks for the great pictures, you have always been a great person to listen to for advice/suggestions based on your experience.

I had the 2007 Journey 36G just like yours. I did the 4 corner weigh and then did the weight calculation using the blue ox worksheet. The bike weighs about 900, another 350 for the hitch and it ended up adding about 2500 lbs to the rear axle. it put me about 1000 lbs over the limit. I knew it would be ok, but I did alternate plan # 2. When out and ordered a Tour 43ft tag axle. Now I don't have the weight issue. Just trying to justify spending that kind of money for the lift. Hydralift is the choice to go without a doubt. The local price around here is install a new unit on the maxum chassis is about $5500. Both the factory and two shops told me on that frame there is a total of about 12-15 man hours to install it.

Your idea of the truck and the bike in the bed was thought about, but there are times we thougth we might go somewhere with just the bike.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Bob

[FIRE UP]

Bob,
Yep, with your new rig, you'll definitely have more weight carrying capability. The justification of the purchase of the H/L and then, paying to have it installed is of course, up to the individual. As Clint Eastwood would say in one of his "Dirty Harry" movies, "A man's got to know his limitations". So, you've got to determine at what limit you want to go, to have your bike with you.

I loved that lift. I got so many compliments on it and how it worked, how well it held the bike in place and more. I really hated to see it go. But, as stated, I was overweight back there and, while we did run over 8,000 miles with it on there, on some of the nicest roads in the U.S.A. , it did no damage what so ever. We missed our truck when we sold it. We purchased a 2011 Honda CRV EX-L for a run-a-round car and toad.

Well, after about 15 months of that car, we both disliked it. Lots of reasons but, I won't go into those now. We sought another truck. We started thinking of a Ford Ranger but, too small and, I'd have had to install that dumb-a$$ "NTK" kit. What a crock. So, we also wanted a later model Ford but, Ford, in it's infinite wisdom, was too dumb to set their pre-2012 model F-150 4x4 trucks up for flat towing. The 2012s and later, you can tow but, not earlier.

So, we opted for a 2011 GMC Sierra 4x4 Extended Cab. It works flawless for carrying the bike with the "Rampage" lift. I did the install of that lift too. I set it up just like I did the Hydralift on the back of our coach. And that is, to be able to remove that lift in a matter of 1-2 minutes, COMPLETE! I just spin off the 5 bolts that hold the lift in place, un plug the J-50 electrical connector for the winch and, slide the lift out about 1/2 way and lift it. Then, my wife rolls a cart I made especially for that lift, right under it and I lay the lift on it and, we roll that Rampage off to its storage area.

Now, the truck can be used as a truck again. When it comes time to re-install the lift, everything is reversed and, the lift is installed in about, 2.5 minutes. Piece of cake. Good luck with your new rig. Any questions on the install etc. zap me a PM and I'd be glad to tell you how I made that Hydralift removable in about 5 minutes. That way you can get to your engine and service things very easily.
Scott