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Cruiser Caddy Automatic Ramp System
September 23, 2009
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| Editor Ratings * | |||
| Quality |
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8 | |
| Style |
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9 | |
| Portability |
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10 | |
| Convenience |
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9 | |
| Price |
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10 | |
| Value |
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9 | |
| Overall | 9.2 | ||
| Spectacular | |||
| A product that receives a rating in this range scores high on all of its rating criteria. It succeeds at meeting all of its intended users' needs and has no meaningful drawbacks. | |||
| *Out of a possible 10 points | |||
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Introduction
I have been looking for an easy way to load my Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle on to the bed of my truck, so that I could have my bike and tow a travel trailer. After looking around for a while, I decided my options were a ramp or an automatic ramp system. The Cruiser Caddie fit my needs.
My goals were to have an easy to install, quality, affordable, and reliable method of loading and unloading my motorcycle. I also wanted to have the option of removing the system so that I could use the truck bed. This meant the system had to be light weight.
I decided on the Cruiser Caddie from Palladino Metal Fabrication, Pottstown, Pa. The Cruiser Caddie is light weight, requires one-man installation and tear down, and it is affordable ($1,850 plus $275 shipping to Colorado).
First Impression
The Cruiser Caddie is constructed of diamond plate aluminum and built tough. Welds are uniform and applied to add to strength-of-construction.
The Cruiser Caddie weighs in at 172 lbs. and comes in two sections: truck section (at 72 lbs with winch), and ramp section (at 60 lbs.). All parts required to install and operate the Cruiser Caddie are packaged and shipped with the system: wheel carriage unit (at 40 lbs), winch, hold down bars, mini ramp, hold down bars, ratchet straps, hold down straps, bolts, and pins. A complete set of installation and operating instructions are also included with shipment.
For those who care about appearance, we noted that the hold-down bars are yellow, wheel carriage is blue, hold-down straps are red, and of course, the aluminum diamond plate is silver. This color scheme does not factor into the functionality of the Cruiser Caddie, but may distract from the overall appearance. We noted also that the wheel carriage was beginning to show evidence of rust, indicating that it would need to be repainted before long.
Putting this into perspective, all materials and components were constructed of stock sufficient to assure the Cruiser Caddie would last for many uses with proper care and maintenance. One example is the winch, which is of high quality, and designed to be fail-safe. Stability of the motorcycle during loading and unloading, a very important variable for motorcycle owners, is also noted as excellent.
Operation/Application
The Cruiser Caddie is easy to install. It took about 30 minutes to install the system on my truck and required few tools. The only tools needed were a #10 wrench for the winch’s electrical connections, an adjustable wrench to tighten the nuts on the two hold down bars, and to change the carriage to fit my wheel size. I also had to open up the holes in the carriage support bar, because the mounting holes did not match up.
Loading your motorcycle
When the Cruiser Caddy system is installed, secured, and mini ramp in place, you are ready to load your motorcycle. Simply drive your bike into our wheel chock/carriage, apply two safety straps (included), push a button, and your bike will automatically be loaded onto your truck or trailer.
DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE WHEEL CHOCK PINS AND THE MINI RAMP. Once we remembered to remove the carriage locking pins and the mini-ramp, loading the bike took only a couple of minutes.
Secure your bike with tie down straps, place the ramp, mini ramp, and tools in your truck or trailer for transport and you are ready to roll.
Unloading your motorcycle
Here’s what the Assembly Instructions say, “Note: when unloading bike, you must assert pressure back on bike while holding the out button on the winch remote until back wheel of bike is on the down section of the ramp.”
The website calls the Cruiser Caddie an “automatic ramp system”, and “to unload, simply reverse the process.” Truth is, to unload the bike, you need to force the motorcycle backward while reversing the winch. When the rear wheel is on the ramp, and gravity takes effect, the motorcycle will return to the bottom of the ramp under control with the winch.
While the Cruiser Caddie is advertised as “one person to load their cruiser/bike on truck or trailer,” I could not back the bike off the chock without someone giving me a slight pull on the bike. Reason is, at the lowest point of the wheel chock, the front wheel is about 8 inches off the ground. I’m 5’ 10” and could not get enough traction to get the bike off the chock without a little help (see Figure 10). This is the only time I needed help.
Summary
I made a several adjustments and enhancements for my application. 1) I drilled the truck ramp and installed nut sets into the truck bed. This allowed me to have more bed space by eliminating the two hold down bars. 2) I installed brass wing nuts on the winch motor to eliminate the need to wrench the nuts off each time I use the system. 3) I am using a spare toolbox to stow all the small loose items like the straps, pipe supports, the battery/winch electrical cable, and the mini-ramp.
The Cruiser Caddie met all of my goals to have ease of installation, quality, affordable, and reliable method to load and unload my bike. While noted, the system is light weight, so it’s easy to remove anytime I need the truck bed for other uses.
Review of the Cruiser Caddie was completed by Richard Darrow, motorcycle enthusiast and business owner.
Product Review Comments
1/9/2011 7:03 AM
HEY GREAT IDEA!MOUNTING RAIL TO TRUCK BED.I JUST PURCHASED THE CRUISER CADDY AND WANT TO DO SAME THING.WHAT DID U USE ? WHAT SIZE AND WHAT MATERIAL STEEL OR SS WHERE DID YOU GET THE NUT SETS?HOW MANY DID YOU INSERT ? ANY INFO WOULD SURE HELP !HAIRMAN
HEY GREAT IDEA!MOUNTING RAIL TO TRUCK BED.I JUST PURCHASED THE CRUISER CADDY AND WANT TO DO SAME THING.WHAT DID U USE ? WHAT SIZE AND WHAT MATERIAL STEEL OR SS WHERE DID YOU GET THE NUT SETS?HOW MANY DID YOU INSERT ? ANY INFO WOULD SURE HELP !HAIRMAN
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