I'm going to be hauling my ATV about 90 miles one way tomorrow and then will need to haul it back as well. It's a royal PITA to get it in and out of my bed so a buddy of mine let me borrow his Versa Haul. It sticks out of the trailer hitch and holds all the weight on the hitch.

My quad weighs 600 pounds wet and apparently the Versa Haul weighs 150 pounds and has a max capacity of 700 pounds. I plan on running straps from the outtermost corners back into my bed to relieve some of the weight but would you trust this setup at all?

Here is the Versa Haul: http://www.versahaul.com/vh90ro.php

and here are pics of my hitch (class 5):

 

I personally wouldn't. I can imagine the tongue weight (cap.) of a class V is pretty hight, but I'd imagine that an astronomical amount of stress being exerted by that load.
...But I am no expert...

 

seems like it would also be a royal pita to get it up on there as well

 

royal pita to get it up on the hitch? muss less of a pita than getting it into the bed...

anywho apparently my hitch, while rated to pull 5000 lbs is only rated at 450 lbs tongue weight and i dont want to be exceeding that by 300 lbs so im going to suck it up and put it in the bed.

 

i think your making the right move. I wouldnt trust the truck being able to handle 750lbs on the tung, let alone only 6 bolts holding it on.

 

time to man up and load the atv into the bed???

 

How do you usually load the ATV into the bed? If you dont have a ramp can you use the versa haul as a ramp? and then just put the empty versa haul on the hitch to transport the versa haul itself?

 

so theres only 2 bolts holding the hitch to the frame ?

 

gotta use ATV ramps. the versa haul sits lower to the ground so it has its own shorter ramps that wont reach the truck at a usable angle

theres 3 bolts holding the hitch to the frame but if you look closely, those 3 bolts go through the frame then through a piece of angle iron for reinforcement. i didnt install the hitch but i have used it to tow over 5000 lbs.



weathers looking nasty this weekend so i may not end up going anyway...nothing like trying to load a wet ATV with wet tires on some slippery wet ramps

 

i always just lifted the ATV or dirtbike up into the bed, get the front up, then get the back up. after doing it a couple times its easy.

 

Perhaps a smaller quad, like my Zuk 230 that only weighs maybe 250lbs. But not a 600lb monster..

 

i always just lifted the ATV or dirtbike up into the bed, get the front up, then get the back up. after doing it a couple times its easy.

 

sorry, repost. comp was screwin up. but yeah i used to lift a honda 350 3wheeler into my bed, then after i crashed it, i would load my buddys 650. talk about a nightmare...

 

ah yeah my quads much too heavy for that. not to mention my bed is 6-7" higher than a normal bed so I don't know if the front wheels would even make it up enough