[nojovo]

Definitely do not do it unless you have experience and the ability! Having said that, it is a lot easier than you are imagining. Being 6’1” helps a lot.

I use a ramp that fits securely on the tailgate corner at the same angle I want the bike. Besides being required to fit the bike, the diagonal position allows more room for me on the bed while loading, compared to a full size truck bed with the bike straight. The Baja’s bed is not much over 2 feet from the ground, so it’s pretty easy to push a motorcycle up the ramp and step up on to the bed during the process. Using the front handbrake can pause the process for any needed re-positioning. Feel awkward? Feather the brake and walk it back down. Once it’s in the bed, drop the kickstand, remove the ramp and strap it securely. I can do it alone but it’s always nice to have a helper. Hundreds of miles around Texas with street, enduro, and dirt bikes and the rear tire has never moved an inch. I have a 3 bike trailer, but for moving a single bike, this is significantly less effort.

Here is a pic the day I bought the Baja. Rode from Houston to Dallas, loaded the bike, and drove back to Houston.

View attachment 730

Thanks for posting this! I'm very curious about the ability to haul an atv in the bed, so this is great to see.

 

[Pilotalan]

FYI, the Santa Cruz will be able to take sheets of plywood. That was a design criteria.
From the designer interview with TFL (Youtube), the tailgate has a "half down" locked position (basically about 45*, unable to find photos or video). At that point, the tailgate edge is exactly even with the wheelwell tops, a sheet goods can rest on the wheelwell tops and on the tailgate edge.

I estimate that the distance from bed front to lip of "half-down" tailgate would be about 5-5.25 feet.

 

[JMII]

FYI, the Santa Cruz will be able to take sheets of plywood.

I always fine it funny when people use the universal PSU (plywood size unit) when talking trucks.

In the 25 years I've driven a pickup or SUV I needed to haul plywood exactly ONCE (for hurricane prep) - and that was using my old Ranger Splash. It had to go in at a slight angle and with the tailgate down because the Splash had a short (5') step side bed so it was "small" yet still worked out with no problems. I find I mostly haul odd shaped items. For example just this weekend I had to haul two tires and 5 gallon fuel jug, both dirty and smelly thus an small open bed would be perfect.

 

[Pilotalan]

I always fine it funny when people use the universal PSU (plywood size unit) when talking trucks.

It is funny how certain things become standards.
In my case, I'm a woodworker, so being able to carry a 4ft wide sheet of various things is actually rather important.
Even more important is being able to carry 8ft long items, or items which are too tall to fit in an SUV of any kind, which means a truck. I actually keep cars in my garage (what a concept!), so a trailer is out.

 

[Pilotalan]

items which are too tall to fit in an SUV

Followup: That's what tore it for me. I have a fullsize SUV and went to pick up a couple of leather chairs for the study. Not particularly large. They were 1/2in too big to fit in the SUV.
Bought a cruiser bike off craigslist. Went to pick it up, had to take off the front wheel and handlebars to get it to fit.
Got a new glass door set for the shower. 1in too wide to fit between the wheelwells. Had to go home and build a lumber support structure for the back of the SUV to be able to load it in without risking shattering it on a bump.

Plus, anything more than 3 feet long requires folding the back seat, which means no passengers.

 

[JMII]

I hated my SUV (a '96 Isuzu Rodeo) for the same reasons as above - anything odd sized didn't fit. Bike? nope, coffee table? no, elliptical machine? no way. The angle of the rear glass really limits you. The back seats or tail gate had to be put down for almost everything. Lastly since the inside is carpeted forget anything dirty or wet unless you have a mat / tray back there. In the end I realized SUVs are only about as useful as a large sedan that has folding rear seats but as a bonus they also come with terrible handling and pathetic gas mileage. Ummm no thanks! A pickup is much better... and a pickup with a rolling and locking bed cover (my Ranger had a Roll-N-Lock) was the ultimate answer since you could leave the bed open or cover up items as needed.

 

[ToadVine]

I drive a Honda Element and have hauled some good-sized stuff in it (including a few lawn tractors.) So, yes, it is sort of a working 'truck.' But, every so often I run into the same thing mentioned by @JMII and @Pilotalan above -- I need just one more little inch of height but there is just no way to do it. Anyone who owns an SUV runs into this sooner or later.

And, even if you don't wrestle alligators for a living, there are times when you need to haul wet, dirty, stinky "stuff." (No, you cannot just rinse out an Element with a garden hose!)

For these reasons, I think this "little Santa Cruz trucklette" is going to be a hit in the 'burbs.

 

[nojovo]

I always fine it funny when people use the universal PSU (plywood size unit) when talking trucks.

In the 25 years I've driven a pickup or SUV I needed to haul plywood exactly ONCE (for hurricane prep) - and that was using my old Ranger Splash. It had to go in at a slight angle and with the tailgate down because the Splash had a short (5') step side bed so it was "small" yet still worked out with no problems. I find I mostly haul odd shaped items. For example just this weekend I had to haul two tires and 5 gallon fuel jug, both dirty and smelly thus an small open bed would be perfect.

I've been thinking the same thing - who are all these people needing to haul sheets of plywood?! I only know I've never needed to do so, and can't foresee ever needing to do so. But I DO sometimes need to haul the odd-size item, like a washing machine or chest of drawers off Nextdoor, where having the unrestricted height of an open bed makes all the difference (even if it's a small bed.

 

[LovinLife]

Hoping someone can forward the following distance / measurement:
Tailgate to tonneau cover (in fully opened position)

Thank you in advance.

 

[monogodo]

Perfect! The only thing I would change with this is that I hope the aftermarket makes a spare delete kit that allows you to install a deeper insulated "tub" in the bed than the one it has. I've never needed a spare tire in my entire life driving, even though I've picked up so many nails and what not. You can usually bandaid anything well enough to limp to a tire shop unless truly going on extended trips into the boonies.

Except for the one time you can't limp it.

Our Veloster doesn't have a spare, and the can of fix-a-flat has long since been used. About 3 years ago we smacked the **** out of a pothole and instaflatted one of the tires. Even if we'd had an inflator (which we didn't), the tire wouldn't have held air. We ended up having to call for a tow, which meant waiting where we were for over an hour. If we'd had a spare tire, I could have changed it in less than half that time, and we'd have been on our way.

I will admit, that's the only time in 9+ years of owning the Veloster that we had it towed anywhere. All the other flats were slow leaks that we were able to limp to the tire shop for repair/replacement.

 

[2b470th]

Likewise. I bought my 2012 Elantra Limited used Nov 2013. The fix a flat kit was not in trunk and so far never had a flat on road. When had 1990 Pontiac Transport, did patch tires frequently in work parking lot since had built-in inflator.

 

[Sparkland]

What's the maximum distance a load can sit out past the folded down tailgate before you are in danger of getting a citation?

 

[monogodo]

What's the maximum distance a load can sit out past the tailgate before you are in danger of getting a citation?

It varies depending on what state you’re in.
In Texas it’s 4 feet.
In Washington it’s 15 feet.
I’m sure other states have other distances.

 

[Sparkland]

It varies depending on what state you’re in.
In Texas it’s 4 feet.
In Washington it’s 15 feet.
I’m sure other states have other distances.

How would you even secure a load that sticks 15 feet further out than the folded down tailgate? I know Seattle is all messed up, but that seems crazy.

 

[monogodo]

How would you even secure a load that sticks 15 feet further out than the folded down tailgate? I know Seattle is all messed up, but that seems crazy.

Yeah, on the site where I found the information, I read that multiple times, to make sure it said "feet" and not "inches."

I found a site that lists Federal limits, and state rules.

• The Federal limits are 3 feet to the front and 4 feet to the rear.
• 24 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) follow the Federal limits, although Kansas allows more overhang when transporting items that cannot be easily dismembered, like poles & pipes.
• Wyoming and Alabama also limit rear overhang to 4 feet, but Wyoming allows 4 feet in the front, and Alabama allows 5 feet in the front.
• Minnesota allows 3 in the front & 5 in the rear.
• Oregon allows 4 in the front and 5 in the rear.
• Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia allow 3 ft in the front and 6 feet in the rear.
• Maine allows 4 ft front, 6 ft rear
• New Mexico is 3 ft front, 7 ft rear
• Louisiana is 4 ft front, 8 ft rear
• Colorado, Hawaii, and Idaho are 4 ft front, 10 ft rear.
• Nevada & North Dakota are 10 ft, both front and rear
• Mississippi and Washington are 3 ft front, and 15 ft rear.
• Michigan and Nebraska are unrestricted, so long as y ou stay within the legal length of your vehicle (not sure what that means)
• Florida has three restrictions, depending on what is doing the hauling, and what is being hauled. All are allowed 3 ft to the front. If it's a truck hauling automobiles or boats, they're allowed 9 feet to the rear. If a truck is hauling trees, they're allowed 10 ft to the rear. All other vehicles, when hauling trees, are allowed 4 ft to the rear. It didn't say anything about other loads than autos, boats, or trees.

Also, some states measure from the furthest back point of the vehicle, while others measure from the center of the last axle. Washington measures from the last axle, so that 15 feet of overhang is actually less than 15 feet beyond the end of the tailgate. Like you, I'd still wonder how one would secure such a load.

The longest item I ever hauled in a vehicle was an Ikea Billy bookcase that was 7' long, and I hauled it in the back of a 2001 VW New Beetle.

 

[ToadVine]

Got ya beat. I brought home a complete double-wide garage door -- four 16-foot door sections, track and motor -- in the back of a 1999 Ford Explorer SUV. Yup, it was every bit as crazy as you imagine it was! The center of balance was about 2 inches forward of the tailgate edge. This was around 9PM and I drove about 25 miles on back streets in a suburban metro area with it to get home.. Sure enough, I came around a curve and there was a cop writing someone up beside the road. He glanced up at me as we passed, straightened up and stared, then kind of shook his head and went back to the bird-in-hand. Made it home without incident.

 

[Sparkland]

Yeah, on the site where I found the information, I read that multiple times, to make sure it said "feet" and not "inches."

I found a site that lists Federal limits, and state rules.

• The Federal limits are 3 feet to the front and 4 feet to the rear.
• 24 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) follow the Federal limits, although Kansas allows more overhang when transporting items that cannot be easily dismembered, like poles & pipes.
• Wyoming and Alabama also limit rear overhang to 4 feet, but Wyoming allows 4 feet in the front, and Alabama allows 5 feet in the front.
• Minnesota allows 3 in the front & 5 in the rear.
• Oregon allows 4 in the front and 5 in the rear.
• Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia allow 3 ft in the front and 6 feet in the rear.
• Maine allows 4 ft front, 6 ft rear
• New Mexico is 3 ft front, 7 ft rear
• Louisiana is 4 ft front, 8 ft rear
• Colorado, Hawaii, and Idaho are 4 ft front, 10 ft rear.
• Nevada & North Dakota are 10 ft, both front and rear
• Mississippi and Washington are 3 ft front, and 15 ft rear.
• Michigan and Nebraska are unrestricted, so long as y ou stay within the legal length of your vehicle (not sure what that means)
• Florida has three restrictions, depending on what is doing the hauling, and what is being hauled. All are allowed 3 ft to the front. If it's a truck hauling automobiles or boats, they're allowed 9 feet to the rear. If a truck is hauling trees, they're allowed 10 ft to the rear. All other vehicles, when hauling trees, are allowed 4 ft to the rear. It didn't say anything about other loads than autos, boats, or trees.

Also, some states measure from the furthest back point of the vehicle, while others measure from the center of the last axle. Washington measures from the last axle, so that 15 feet of overhang is actually less than 15 feet beyond the end of the tailgate. Like you, I'd still wonder how one would secure such a load.

The longest item I ever hauled in a vehicle was an Ikea Billy bookcase that was 7' long, and I hauled it in the back of a 2001 VW New Beetle.

View attachment 1303

Great information. I appreciate you taking the time to share, @monogodo. I hauled 12' lap siding in my Ridgeline. That load stuck out far enough for me. They were actually 16' pieces, but I cut 4' off and used them next to the door area.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

The only thing I can find for Ontario is that if it's over 3' past the back it needs a red flag during the day or a light at night to warn other motorists. So should be just fine with a bed extender. Starting to get anxious for it, with fall coming up, and me finding some new trout lakes I want to drop the kayak into! It'll be a great little road warrior trucklet.

 

[JMII]

Like you, I'd still wonder how one would secure such a load.

This way: Truck Bed Tow Hitch Mount Extender for Ladder, Lumber, Canoe, Kayak, Plywood, and Long Pipes

 

[monogodo]

I've also fit a 40" LCD TV, boxed, in the back of the Beetle, with the hatch closed, and an IKEA KLIPPAN loveseat, with the hatch open.

I can't remember everything that we've hauled in the back of the Veloster.

Can you tell that I have been wanting a truck for a while?