How to Load a Trike Into a Pickup Truck: A Morning Ride Through Port Mansfield, Texas

A Morning Ride in Port Mansfield, Texas

Most riding videos start in the same place. The bike is already on the pavement, the rider is already rolling, and the hard part, getting the bike to the ride in the first place, happened somewhere off camera. This one flips that around. A couple brought a trike and a bike out to Port Mansfield, a small fishing town on the bay in South Texas, and filmed the whole day, including the part almost nobody bothers to show: getting a heavy three-wheeler out of a pickup truck bed, and then getting it back in again at the end.

I think that footage is worth more than it looks. Transport is one of the most practical questions anyone thinking about a trike should ask, and it rarely gets the attention it deserves. A trike is wider than a bicycle, it usually weighs more, and it doesn't lean against a wall or hang from a hook the way a two-wheeler does. If your favorite place to ride is a drive away, how you move the trike matters just as much as how it rides once you get there. So I wanted to write this one up properly, step by step, with my own notes added along the way.

She rides the trike. Her husband, David, rides a bike with a camera mounted on the front, which is why most of what you see is from his point of view. She's honest about who carries the load, too. She gives David credit for doing most of the work, and after watching both the unload and the load-up, I'd call that a fair summary. Still, what they show is really a two-person routine, and the way they split up the jobs is the most useful part of the whole video.

The plan for the day was simple. Unload in a parking lot near the water. Ride down to the bay to watch people fishing. Loop over to the marina and the boat launches. Head back to the truck and load up. Along the way they rolled past the town's little airport just as a plane was taking off, passed piers stretching out from the waterfront houses, spotted pelicans hanging around the anglers, and, in the moment that made the video, had a handful of deer cross the street right in front of the trike.

Why a small coastal town suits three wheels

From what you can see in the footage, Port Mansfield is quiet. The streets are calm, the pace is slow, and everything worth seeing sits close together: the water, the marina, the launches, and back again. That's close to an ideal setting for a trike.

Here's why. A trike rewards unhurried riding. It stays upright when you're barely moving, so you can creep along a waterfront, stop to look at something, and start again without ever putting a foot down or worrying about balance. When your attention is out on the water watching pelicans, it's nice to be on something that holds itself up without you thinking about it. On a two-wheeler, that kind of gawking at walking pace takes a little more concentration. On three wheels, you just ride.

It's also a big reason so many riders come back to cycling on a trike after years away. The stability takes the fear out of slow speeds and stops, which happen to be exactly where most of the nerves live. If you're curious about the full range of frame styles, our lineup of electric tricycles covers everything from upright cruisers to recumbents. But whatever three-wheeler you ride, the transport lessons in this video apply the same way.

How I've laid this out

I've followed the same order they filmed in: unloading, the ride down to the water, the marina, the deer, and loading back up. Where it helps, I've added my own thoughts on ramps, straps, and choosing a trike with transport in mind. Their routine is a good one. A few small habits on top of it make it even safer, and they're easy to adopt the very first time you try it yourself.

The first thing you see is David unstrapping everything in the truck bed. It's an easy step to skip past, but it tells you something: the bikes rode out there tied down, not just sitting loose. That's the right way to do it. A trike that shifts around in a truck bed on the highway can scratch paint, bend a fender, or knock into whatever else is back there. Strap it down for the drive, and unstrap it slowly once you're parked, checking that nothing has moved and nothing is going to roll the moment the last strap comes off.

A folding ramp that hooks to the truck

Their key piece of equipment is a ramp they bought that folds up for storage. Unfolded, it bridges the gap from the tailgate down to the pavement, and they use it both to unload and to load. When it's not in use, it folds and rides in the bed with the bikes.

The detail I really like is how they secure it. The ramp hooks to the bottom of the truck for extra security. That might sound like a small thing, but it's the difference between a ramp that stays put and one that can slide or kick out from under a heavy load. The most dangerous moment with any loading ramp is when weight shifts onto it and the ramp moves. If the top end slips off the tailgate halfway through, you've got a trike, a ramp, and a person all headed in different directions. Anchoring the ramp to the truck takes that risk off the table, and it's the first thing I'd tell anyone to copy from this video.

If you're shopping for a ramp of your own, think about three things: whether it's rated for the weight of your trike, whether it's wide enough for a three-wheel footprint, and whether it has a way to attach securely to your vehicle. A ramp that suits a lightweight bicycle may not be the right tool for a heavier trike. Check the rating before you trust it.

One down, one to go

They unload David's bike first. It goes down without any fuss, and then it's time for the trike, which is the part worth watching closely.

For the trike, they add a strap to the back end of the frame. That strap gets used in both directions: to help pull the trike up the ramp when loading, and to lower it down the ramp in a controlled way when unloading. The reason is simple. The trike is a lot heavier than the bike, and on an incline, gravity wants a heavy wheeled object to run away from you. With a strap on the rear of the frame, one person can hold back that weight like a brake while the other guides the front down the ramp.

This is smart for another reason. Without the strap, the person controlling the trike would have to stand downhill of it, on the ramp or at the bottom, trying to hold the full weight with their arms and body. That's exactly where you don't want to be if something slips. The strap lets the person managing the weight stay above and behind the trike, while the person in front only has to steer.

Talking it through

Listen to the audio during the trike unload and you'll hear them checking in with each other before anything moves. One of them pauses to confirm the other has hold of the strap before going any further. That's not wasted time. That's the routine working. Two people moving a heavy trike down a ramp should agree on who's doing what before the wheels roll, and either person should feel free to call a stop. A few extra seconds of talking beats a trike tipping off the side of a ramp.

Then it's done. Both bikes are down off the truck, the ramp is folded, and they're ready to ride.

A few habits I'd add

Their routine already covers the big things. Here are some small additions that I think make it even safer, especially with an electric trike. First, if your trike has a throttle, switch the electric system off before it goes on the ramp. An accidental bump of a trike with throttle control on an incline is the last thing you want, and the motor doesn't need to be on for loading anyway. Second, line the trike up straight before it touches the ramp. Because a trike has two wheels side by side, the footprint is wider than a bicycle's, and a crooked start puts a wheel near the edge.

Third, choose your parking spot with unloading in mind. Flat, solid ground behind the truck makes everything easier, and a little extra space lets you roll the trike clear once it's down. Finally, keep the brakes in mind. Good brakes give the person guiding the front a bit of extra control on the way down, which is one reason I like electric trikes with disc brakes for riders who load and unload often.

With the bikes on the ground, they head toward the water. It's morning, the air looks still, and the first thing you hear on the camera is the town's little airport. A small plane takes off right as they pass, which is a nice reminder of how compact this place is. You can ride from a runway to a fishing pier in a few minutes.

A big fishing area on the Gulf

The water is clearly the main event here. She describes it as a big fishing area down by the Gulf, one of many along this stretch of coast. As they roll up, you can see people out on the water fishing, floats bobbing, and boats sitting out in the bay. If you've never been to a working fishing town, it has a rhythm all its own, and riding through it slowly is a great way to take it in.

Then there are the pelicans. She points them out hanging around the people fishing, and jokes that they might be hoping for a snack or two. She also admits the camera might not pick them up, since it's mounted on the front of David's bike and pointed wherever he happens to be looking. That's one of the charms of this video. It isn't a polished production. It's a couple out for a ride, narrating what they see as they go.

Piers, rental houses, and room to roam

As they ride along the waterfront, they pass a long row of houses with private piers running out over the water. She explains that a lot of these are rental houses. People come out, rent a place, walk out onto the pier, and fish right from their own little dock. It's an easy way to picture a weekend here, and it fits the overall vibe of the town: low key, outdoorsy, and built around the water.

Her own summary is that it's a nice little area, and she suggests checking it out if you're ever in South Texas. Having watched the ride, I'd agree it looks like a great spot for exactly this kind of outing. Short distances, quiet streets, and plenty to look at make it a natural fit for a trike, a cruiser, or any relaxed ride where the scenery matters more than the speed.

If you ride this way often, near water, sand, salt air, and the occasional rough patch of pavement, wider tires are worth a look. Fat tire electric trikes spread the load over more rubber, which helps on loose surfaces and softens bumps. Coastal riders also tend to appreciate a stable, upright position for looking around, which is what a classic trike delivers.

The marina and the boat launches

Next they turn the other way to show the marina and some of the boat launches. She mentions the town has several places where you can launch a boat, and they ride past the main one so you can see it. If you've got anglers in the family, this is clearly where the action starts every morning.

Right as they reach the marina, she reminds herself to slow down, because the speed limit through there is only 20 miles an hour. I love that moment, and not just because it's honest. It's a good habit for any rider. A marina area is busy in ways that aren't always obvious: trucks backing trailers, people walking between docks, gear on the ground, and drivers focused on their boats rather than on a trike rolling by. Posted speed limits apply to you on a bike or trike, and in spots like this the smart move is to ride well under them.

This is also where a trike's stability pays off again. You can drop to a crawl through a crowded launch area, stop for a truck backing a trailer, and pull away again without any wobble. If you ride an electric trike, ease off the assist in areas like this. Lower power at low speed gives you smoother, more predictable control, which matters when people and vehicles are moving around you in every direction.

Why slow riding is the whole point here

Watching this stretch of the video, what stands out is how little of it is about distance or speed. The ride is a tour. Water, birds, boats, piers, launches. It's the kind of outing where the bike is a way to see more than you could on foot, without the isolation of looking at everything through a car window. That's exactly the kind of riding I'd recommend to anyone easing back into cycling, and it's a big part of why trikes have become so popular with riders who want to get outside without feeling rushed.

After the marina, the ride takes a turn into the residential streets, and this is where the video gets its best story. Port Mansfield, as she explains, used to have a lot of deer wandering up among the houses. People would feed them all the time. That's changed. Feeding the deer isn't allowed anymore, so you don't see nearly as many up in the neighborhoods as you used to.

Not as many, but not none. As they ride, she points out a few deer standing right in people's yards. Then they turn around to explore in the other direction, in case they can spot more.

The sign they laughed at

Here's the story she tells. Years ago, when she and her husband first came out to Port Mansfield, they saw a deer crossing sign and laughed about it. Surely, they figured, there weren't going to be deer out here right by the water. And then, probably less than a minute later, deer walked across the street in front of them.

Now here's the part that makes this video worth watching all the way through. As she's finishing that story, on the bike ride, deer cross the street right in front of her. Same town, same kind of road, same surprise. She calls it a deja vu moment, except on a bike this time instead of a car, and you can hear how delighted she is. It's a genuinely lovely little moment, and it's the kind of thing you only get when you're out riding slowly enough to notice.

Sharing the road with wildlife

Moments like this are part of the fun of riding in small towns and near open land, but they're also a good reason to keep your speed in check. Deer don't follow traffic rules, and they rarely travel alone. If one crosses in front of you, there's a good chance another is right behind it. When you see deer near the road, slow down early, give them plenty of room, and don't try to ride around or between them.

A trike handles these surprises well. Because it doesn't need forward momentum to stay balanced, you can brake hard and come to a complete stop without having to catch yourself with a foot. That's a real confidence boost for riders who get nervous about sudden stops. Even so, the best defense is the one she shows on camera: riding at a relaxed pace with enough time to react, and enjoying the view when something unexpected steps into it.

It's also a reminder that the best rides are often the unplanned parts. They came to show unloading and loading. The deer were a bonus. That's how a lot of riding goes when you get out of your usual routine and explore somewhere new, which is exactly why being able to transport your trike opens up so many more places to ride.

Riding a trike for the scenery, not the stopwatch

I talk with a lot of riders about what they actually want from a trike, and the answer usually isn't speed. It's comfort, confidence, and the freedom to go somewhere and enjoy it. This ride is a perfect picture of that. Nobody is chasing a time. Nobody is grinding up hills. It's a morning loop through a fishing town with birds, boats, and deer.

If that sounds like the riding you want to do, it's worth thinking about comfort features as much as motors and batteries. A relaxed seating position, easy controls, and a frame you can get on and off without strain all add up over a morning of stop-and-go sightseeing. For riders where comfort comes first, our most comfortable electric trikes are a good place to start. And for riders who want a frame that's easy to step onto after every stop, our low step-thru e-trikes are built around exactly that.

Seniors in particular tend to love rides like this one. Short, scenic, and low stress. If that's you or someone in your family, our electric trikes for seniors focus on stability, comfortable seating, and easy mounting, which are the features that make a morning like this one easy to say yes to.

Once they've had their fill of the deer, they turn back toward the parking lot. Next up is the part of the routine that takes the most effort: getting the trike back into the truck.

Back at the parking lot, she starts by positioning the trike behind the truck, getting it into the right spot to roll straight onto the ramp. As I mentioned earlier, that setup step matters. A straight approach keeps both rear wheels centered on the ramp and makes everything after it easier.

Step one: rider off, strap on

David grabs the strap and hooks it to the back of the trike's frame, the same strap they used to lower it down earlier. This time it's going to help pull the trike up.

She also gets off the trike before it goes anywhere near the ramp. Her reasoning is practical: it's simply easier to load without someone sitting on it. That's absolutely right, and I'd go further. Nobody should be riding or sitting on a trike while it's pushed up a ramp. It adds weight, raises the center of gravity, and puts a person in harm's way if anything shifts. Rider off, every time.

Step two: one pulls, one guides

Now the jobs split. David uses the strap to pull the trike up the ramp. She stays with it and guides, keeping it headed in the right direction so it goes straight up the ramp and doesn't drift off either side.

This is a smart division of labor. Pulling a heavy trike up an incline takes strength and steady tension, and the strap gives the person pulling a good grip and a safe position. Guiding takes attention more than muscle. With a trike's wider footprint, it doesn't take much of a drift for a wheel to approach the edge of a ramp, and the guide's whole job is to make sure that never happens.

Step three: the lift at the top

Here's a detail that's easy to miss but that anyone loading a trike will run into. When the trike reaches the top of the ramp, where the ramp sits on the tailgate, the bike sits low at that transition point. It needs to be lifted just a little to clear the very top edge of the ramp and get up into the bed. David lifts it over, and it rolls in.

If you try this yourself, expect that bump. It's a natural result of the angle change where the ramp meets the tailgate. Plan for it before you start: know who's lifting, where they'll grip the frame, and that the person on the strap should keep tension through the lift so the trike can't roll back down. A short pause at the top to reset your grip is perfectly fine. Rushing that moment is where things get awkward.

Step four: park it to one side and turn the wheel

Once the trike is in the bed, David guides it over to one side of the truck so there's room for his bike. Then there's one more trick that makes it all fit: turning the trike's front tire. With the front wheel turned, the trike tucks perfectly into the back of their truck. It's a simple adjustment, but it's the kind of thing you'd only learn by doing it a few times.

Finally, his bike goes in, the ramp folds up and goes in the bed too, and the rest of the gear gets loaded. That's the whole routine. They head home.

My quick checklist for hauling a trike in a pickup

Pulling together what they show and the habits I'd add, here's how I'd sum it up.

• Park on flat, solid ground with room to work behind the tailgate.
• Use a ramp rated for your trike's weight, and secure it to the truck so it can't slide or kick out.
• Switch off the electric system before loading or unloading, especially on a trike with a throttle.
• Get the rider off the trike before it goes on the ramp.
• Attach a strap to the rear of the frame so one person can control the weight from above and behind.
• Assign one person to pull or lower and one person to guide the front, and agree on the plan before anything moves.
• Expect the lift where the ramp meets the tailgate, and keep tension on the strap through it.
• Turn the front wheel if you need extra room in the bed, then strap everything down for the drive.

Choosing a trike with transport in mind

If you're still picking out a trike and you know you'll be hauling it to rides like this one, transport deserves a spot on your list right next to comfort and power. A heavier trike can absolutely be moved, as this couple proves, but it takes the right equipment and usually two people. If you'll often be loading on your own, or you'd rather slide a trike into a car than wrestle it up a ramp, a folding electric trike is worth a serious look. Folding frames are designed to get smaller for exactly this kind of trip.

Weight capacity matters too, especially if you'll be carrying gear like fishing tackle or a picnic for a day at the water. Our electric trikes with high weight capacity are built for riders and loads on the heavier side. And if you'd like extra room for whatever you bring along, take a look at our sixthreezero baskets.

Not sure which frame fits your body and the way you ride? That's what our personal fitting is for. Tell us how you ride, where you ride, and how you'll get your trike there, and we'll help you narrow it down. And because every trike feels a little different once you're actually on it, our 30-day test ride gives you time to try yours on your own routes, and in your own truck bed, before you commit.

Watching this couple's morning in Port Mansfield, the takeaway is simple. A little planning, the right ramp, one good strap, and a partner you trust turn hauling a heavy trike into a routine instead of a chore. And once you've got that routine down, a whole lot more places become worth the drive, deer crossing signs included.