Have you ever been loading your truck up for a weekend excursion and realized you needed a buddy or two to get your ATV or other fun toy into your truck? Or maybe you just ride it up the ramps. The day will come where one of three things happens: you smash into the bulkhead; the ramps slip off while you're throttling up them; or your toy breaks down, leaving you totally out of luck if none of those buddies are handy.
The ToyLoader is a new patent-pending loading system that makes it able to load your toys by yourself, running or not. It serves as both an anchoring and winching system to get your items loaded safely and easily. The lightweight, universal design fits most common trucks and many trailers and works in conjunction with an included Warn 2,000-pound winch and a remote to make things that much easier. Once you perform the initial installation, the winch can be removed for storage or reinstalled in a matter of seconds, and the main bar and brackets can be pulled off with the simple removal of four stainless button heads. Best of all, there's no more riding up ramps, pushing, pulling, or waiting for your buddies to show up, so you can save your favors for better things!
We decided that the ToyLoader would be the perfect addition to our '04 Ford F-250 project, which often has a quad in the back of it when it heads out of town. In about an hour, we were running that quad up and down our ramps effortlessly. Another cool advantage of the ToyLoader bar is that there are accessories available, such as bike mounts to make it as versatile as it is efficient. Check out the install below and look up toyloader.com to get one of your very own.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Toyloader Package
1. The ToyLoader is sold as a complete package, minus a power source. It consists of the main bar (6061T6 aluminum), corner and angle mounting brackets, a detachable center anchor and winch mounting bracket (5052 aluminum), and stainless steel hardware. Although the remote-operated 2,000-pound Warn winch is part of the package, the mount was designed to accommodate most ATV winches with a 2-, 3-, or 4-bolt mounting base.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Ford Super Duty Bed
2. We started with a gently abused Ford Super Duty bed that was coated by Line-X many moons ago.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Toyloader Bar And Brackets
3. The ToyLoader bar and brackets were shipped assembled, so we began by loosening everything up.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Inner Bedrail Positioning
4. To determine the width needed for our truck, we set the system in place and adjusted the ends so the end brackets sit against the inner bedrails. We also made sure the main bar was centered.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Bracket Mounting Points
5. Next, we held the mounting brackets up against the inner bedrails and marked out two holes. Since this is a universal fit, there are many holes to choose from to give you the best fit
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Mounting Point Drilling
6. We drilled right through the plastic caps and through the metal with a 5/16-inch bit.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Mounting Bracket
7. Now we bolted up the mounting brackets with the supplied stainless hardware. The brackets (and everything else) come with rounded edges, are powdercoated, and are generally unobtrusive, so they could easily be left on if the rest of the unit was removed.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Mounting Point Options
8. There are options as to the mounting of the brackets and bars, depending on whether you're going for max height or a low profile. This truck has a shell on it sometimes, so we went for the lowest profile possible to avoid any potential clearance issues.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install End Brackets Install
9. We bolted the end brackets to the mounting brackets, and then tightened down the center bar.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Center Anchor And Winch Mounting Bracket
10. At this point, the center anchor and winch mounting bracket were bolted together, and the rubber stop was adjusted to our bulkhead. A plastic knob attaches to the front for easy adjustment.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Warn 2000 Winch
11. Now the Warn 2000 winch could be bolted to the mount. This will remain as one unit that can be removed or replaced in seconds.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Winch Assembly Install
12. The winch assembly was set in place and locked down with the supplied knobs. It was now time to hook up a power supply.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Optima Red Top Battery
13. Since we knew we would be taking the ToyLoader in and out of the truck regularly, we wanted to do the same with the power source. An Optima Red Top battery did just the trick, and we know it will last a long time, even with draining and recharging with our Optima charger. We used terminals with posts on them so the cables were easily removed. We later decided that the simplest way to mount the battery was to drill two small holes through the bed floor, weld nuts to the underside, and use a couple factory-style hold-downs with wing bolts. With this setup, the entire system can be removed or replaced in about five minutes.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Quad Loading
14. We loaded the truck up with our quad, ramps, and the ToyLoader assembly. It's a tight fit with a shortbed, but it works!
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Warn 2000 Winch
15. After setting up the ramps, we used the remote and dropped the quad right down to the ground, and right back up again.
| 2004 Ford F250 Toyloader Install Quad Loading
16. Even with the relatively high altitude, the winch pulled the quad up the ramps with ease. Mission accomplished!
