By Tim Criddle, Calgary, AB, Canada

Due to the fact that I have a Ford F-150 Crew Cab pickup truck with the short 5.5’ box, and own two ATVs, I transport them via a small trailer that I am able to load both units onto. It is a tight fit on the trailer and is quite a load for it. I would prefer to have the ability to haul one ATV in the back of my truck, and another on the trailer when I need both of them. Or, when I am only transporting one ATV, I would prefer to not always have to use my trailer. In the search for an ideal solution, I have experimented with a few ideas.

A few years ago, I had a system fabricated that would enable me to use my 2” hitch receiver and hold down my ATV using a trailer hitch and ball on the back of my ATV.


While this system enabled me to haul my ATV in the back of a short box truck, it still has a few issues that I don’t care for. Firstly, my tailgate has to be on the truck and laying down, leaving it exposed and vulnerable to rocks and other road rash. Secondly, the tailgate is supporting the weight of the rear end of the ATV when it was not designed to be constantly load-bearing. The third drawback to this hitch hold down system is that it ties up the receiver and does not allow for a trailer (with my 2nd ATV) to be hauled behind. Lastly, I was never comfortable with all of this extra “stuff” hanging on out the back of my truck.

Having decided the hitch hold-down system was not the ideal solution for me, my search continued. I have a short list of priorities that my ideal hauling solution has to meet:

1. Be able to utilize my existing trailer without having to up-size (storage space is limited)
2. Be able to use my existing short 5.5’ truck box (or close the tailgate if I had a 6.5’ box)
3. Haul an ATV in my truck without the tailgate on so that I do not damage my tailgate
4. Haul an ATV in the back of my truck with a trailer on the truck hitch to transport my second ATV
5. ATV in the back of the truck must be safe and secured in place
6. I do not want a truck deck as I want to have full use of my truck box when not hauling an ATV (and I don’t have the room to store a truck deck when not in use)

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out a TriWorks Industries ATV Truck Box Riser. In short, I am very happy that I did.

Here is a sequence of photos that show how I installed the Truck Box Riser in my pickup, secured it in place, and loaded / unloaded my KingQuad in the back of my truck. It weighs only 22 lbs and is very rugged and durable.







With a shorter wheelbase ATV, it’s conceivable that you might be able to close the tailgate with the short 5.5’ box. With my KingQuad, had I loaded it into a standard 6.5’ box, I could have very easily closed the tailgate, making the load even that much more secure. Although I am very happy with how it sits in the short 5.5’ box.

Once I had loaded the ATV in the truck and strapped it down, I took it for a drive. I would accelerate quickly, get up a good speed, and hit the brakes…I wanted to see how close to the rear window I could bring the ATV. Nobody wants a smashed in rear window. I cut off the adjustment legs on the ATV Riser to bring the ATV as far into the truck as possible without running the risk of hitting the rear window. My tires rest just touching edge of the truck box, but I have yet had the nose of the ATV come even close enough to the window to cause me any concern.




Each front tire sits in a deep pocket to keep the ATV from rolling. Securing the ATV to the truck was as easy as strapping each front wheel to the truck box hooks. Secured like this, my ATV did not move at all.


No other tie downs, other than on the front two wheels, were necessary.

Because you could actually close the tailgate on a 6.5’ truck box, the ATV would even be more secure in transport.

Here is my complete hauling rig, complete with truck, two atvs, and my trailer, after heading out for a ride. If you were using a regular short box with the 6.5’ bed, you could leave the tailgate on and close it. Note the ramps are able to sit on the bed of the truck, as the ATV Riser leaves plenty of room beneath for such things as spare tire, ramps, tool boxes, coolers, etc… You should have enough room to put a smaller generator (most kinds) in the back of your truck beneath the front of the ATV as well, for safe and secure transport.


Because I am using a trailer for a second ATV, I found it very handy to load and unload the ATV in the back of the truck by driving it on and off via the trailer (which in my case is a tip-deck). I simply drove my KingQuad up onto the trailer, then with the ramps, drove straight into the back of the truck. When unloading, I pulled the Kodiak off the trailer, then set my ramps up and backed my KingQuad off the truck, down the ramps to the trailer, and off.



After my experience with the TriWorks Industries ATV Truck Box Riser, I would recommend this unit to anyone wishing to make safer use of a short box truck for hauling an ATV. If you want more storage capacity in the back of your truck, instead of the ATV taking up all of the room, use the ATV Riser to make extra room for coolers, tools, generators, spare tire, or anything else that you need some extra room for. I loaned it to a friend who wanted to see if his Yamaha EF3000 generator would fit beneath the front of his 700 Grizzly when loaded in the back of his truck. With the ATV Truck Box Riser, he has ample clearance, and is now going to purchase a Riser himself so that he does not have to load his generator in the living space of his RV whenever he goes camping.

It meets my needs in that I can now remove my tailgate instead of pummeling it with rocks and gravel, I can haul one ATV safely and securely in my truck without worrying about taking out my rear window, I can tow my trailer with a second ATV, I have room for coolers, tools, ramps, or spare tire, and it makes loading and unloading my ATVs quick and easy.

At a mere 22 lbs, the ATV riser is very easy to remove and store when you want full use of your truck box.

One word of caution: DO NOT cut off the ATV Rider truck box legs until you have fully determined how far ahead you want your ATV to sit. The ATV can and will move due to it’s front suspension and will come forward towards your truck window, especially when braking. Leave sufficient space between the front of the ATV and the rear window to account for this. My Kodiak’s roller fairlead sticks out further than my KingQuad’s, and as a result, when I loaded my Kodiak in the back of the truck and onto the ATV Riser, the roller fairlead touched the glass of my back window when the front wheels dropped into the deep wheel wells, but thankfully did not break it. If I were to use this for my Kodiak, I would have to put a spacer in the truck box (like a 2x4) and move the ATV Riser back to keep the Kodiak away from the back window. Load the ATV and adjust IF necessary, and you will prevent taking out a back window from creating an improper fit. (this would be the fault of the person installing the ATV Riser and in no way reflects a limitation of the ATV Riser itself).

Currently sells for $445.00 Canadian, taxes paid.

Other related products by TriWorks Industries include:

• ATV Riser Extensions that the rear wheels can sit on if the truck box is too short for the wheels to sit on the bed (with the tailgate removed).
• ATV Arched Folding Loading Ramps, available in 7’10” lengths (12” wide) and 9’ lengths (12” or 17” wide) that fit between the riser frames for transport.
• 10” Big Boy UTV Truck Box Riser for Side by Side UTVs.
• Special Riser Options including Tool Boxs or Fuel Tanks designed to fit between the riser frames.

Cool write-up .... some good info, great pics, & I like the "Word of Caution" too. Sometimes a guy forgets just how much movement the suspension allows a bike to move while travel'in.

if I didn't have a flatbed on my truck, I'd look into this. I think I'll let my Brother know, he may be interested however.

Thanks again for the write-up & pics.

Later ...

I was lucky enough to have the ATV Riser for a couple weeks to test before MeYammy took it on for the long term test. We've been lucky to test some really great products here at ATVF but I can honestly say this is one of the best. Very functional design combined with excellent construction makes this the ideal "accessory" for someone looking improving their ATV hauling abilities (they also make a version for UTVs). What I really like (and MeYammy mentions in his review) is how the Riser really improves the available storage you have in the bed of the truck...generators, fuel storage, tools, camping gear...the extra space under the Riser is very usable. Triworks also offers extensions for 2-up ATVs (like the Outlander MAX) so you can easily haul your 2-up ATV. One last thing I wanted to mention is how light the Riser is...my wife was able to take it out of the back of my Dodge without any help. I will be purchasing the UTV version in the spring when I buy another side/side.

Good write up Tim, the only "minor" drawback I see is the added wind drag as the air flows over the cab of the truck. I have been thinking of buying some of those semi-solid rubber car ramps to achieve a similar solution of being able to close the tailgate during transportation. I only need a few inches of clearance. Although without added customization there would not be any physical stops for the forward momentum of the ATV during braking.
The gravel roads bouncing rocks and tie downs have caused havoc on my tailgate's paint and the box and even the rear window are bent from life's little incidents. Yes proof that glass can be bent without exploding...at least so far!

Great writeup guys! Did we ever get the extensions to try with an Outty Max Thomas?

I've been using the Rhino low-rise car ramps for years to accomplish this. It raises the ATV just high enough to be able to close the gate on my 1999 Dodge Ram (that I just sold). I haven't hauled the ATV in my new Chevy truck, but I think I'm good.

Dave

what does any body think of Polars

Great post. Thanks

Hello guys
I have built something like this product but after installing (Unit sits flush with the top of truck box and tires fall in a small amount) I noticed that the front tires have about 1/2" give or take from the glass this set up alllows me to shut the tail gate on my 04 ram short box the biggest problem was the rear winch on the bike.
Is this going to be an issue for the rear window?