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Properly transporting your hunting eBike should be a prioritized task—something well planned in advance.
Simply tossing it in the back of a vehicle with no concern for the potential issues can lead to a laundry list of headaches.
In other words, it's all about planning ahead and taking the best course of action— something you're already used to as a hunter.
What's the best way to store your hunting eBike for transport? Following are seven tips that will help ease the process, allowing you to focus entirely on the hunt.
Say you've got a three-quarter-ton truck with an eight-foot bed. You might be tempted just to toss it in the bed of your truck and call it a day.
Heavy braking and sudden turns will prove that to be a mistake.
Make sure that you keep the eBike secure no matter where you store it. Bungee cords and ratchet straps are your friends.
Even if you're not worried about it banging up the back of your truck, the last thing you want is for your costly new investment to be bent out of shape before the hunt even begins.
There's some argument surrounding whether or not you should remove the battery for transportation. If you don't feel it's essential to do it, stick to your guns. We say it's a good idea to remove it, though.
As you motor along, you're subjecting your eBike to bangs, vibrations, and all sorts of abuse. The electric bicycle battery might be built to withstand the minor beating, but why subject it to it?
Removing the battery takes only a few seconds, and you know that keeping it in the cabin with you eliminates most concerns.
Again, there are arguments against doing so, and we encourage you to read into either and make a decision for yourself, but we say it's better to be safe than sorry.
This is something you've already got in mind, and we admit to going for the low-hanging fruit by adding this to our list of tips. It's crucial, though, so we can't leave it out.
Always be aware of the location of your firearms in relevance to the eBike. Either is expensive and maybe even irreplaceable, and the last thing you want is for the two to collide.
We suggest keeping firearms or any other piece of costly equipment clear of an eBike's path if something were to happen.
We understand that there's little risk, and a hard case for your firearms will eliminate most of your concerns. However, you should treat every firearm as if it's loaded, regardless of the circumstances, and that includes keeping it clear of any potential impacts.
A great way to reduce the overall footprint of your eBike is to remove the front wheel. You may even want to do so if you're working with a folding eBike that already cuts down on room taken up in storage.
The good news is that removing the wheel is simple. All you need are two wrenches to remove the axle nut. That's it. Unless you're working with an AWD eBike, there are no special steps required.
It's a good idea to secure the axle nut to the wheel or the frame, though. It's an excellent way to keep track of it and keep things simple when you're putting it back together, especially if you're hitting the woods before the sun comes up.
Things can happen, especially if you're storing anything near your eBike during transportation. Considering how much you just invested into the eBike, you certainly want to keep scratches and dents at bay. Besides, the sound of things colliding might drive you nuts.
A good way to keep this from happening is by covering the eBike before you head out. There are specialty bags for this, but a moving blanket works just fine and comes at a minimal investment.
One of the best ways to secure an eBike in the bed of your pickup is by standing it upright with the front wheel and handlebars hanging over the tailgate. From there, you can attach some bungee chords and forget all about the possibility of it sliding around on you.
You still have metal-to-metal contact, though. So even if the eBike feels locked in place, the vibrations and slight movements will chew up your bike's frame and the tailgate.
Thankfully, this is easily avoidable with the use of tailgate coverings. Again, there are products made specifically for this, but a moving blanket works well in any case.
What if there just isn't enough room to take the eBike? Maybe you're going for a long weekend in the hatchback. Or perhaps your truck is the chosen horse for you and your buddies for the dream trip. In either case, the gear and potential take will use up any available space you have.
Should the eBike stay behind?
It doesn't have to. Bike racks still work just fine. Of course, you should buy one that can support the additional weight of your bike(s).
About the only time you wouldn't want to consider a bike rack is if you're taking the truck off-road where trees or rocks can cause costly or irreparable damage.
Before we wrap things up, we want to set you up with a bonus tip. That's to go over the hardware on your eBike and make sure everything is snug before you hop on it.
As you probably already know, vibrations loosen up hardware, and that's partially what makes impact tools so effective at tearing your truck down. Well, when the eBike takes a ride in your vehicle, it's subject to all sorts of vibrations.
Take a minute to give all of the hardware a once over. It might seem like a pain, but it can save you some heartache. You'll undoubtedly be cursing yourself for not doing it when the first bump sends the handlebars out of whack, and you have to fix it on the trail.
Did we discuss anything revolutionary? Not really. But still, it’s worth going over.
This way, you can think ahead and bring along everything you need to load it up properly without having to run to and from the supply cabinet fifty times before you head out.
Even if we missed a few details, you'll be fine. A little bit of common sense and a hunter's intuition takes you a long way when it comes to packing up your eBike.
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