AmeriDeck is the motorcycle industry standard for hydraulic truck bed-based motorcycle lifts. These lifts can easily be installed by two people using only basic common tools and can lift two full size touring motorcycles into the average full-size truck bed. Once installed, anyone can easily get their motorcycle into their truck bed all on their own without any help or dangerous ramps.
When it comes to motorcycle hydraulic truck bed lifts (a.k.a. motorcycle loaders) for dealerships and other powersports-related business, AmeriDeck has the market cornered, so we sat down with Josh Oertly from Amerideck to talk about the company, the product, and what’s next.
YouMotorcycle: Hey Josh, thanks for agreeing to do this! Can you please tell us a little about yourself and what you do with AmeriDeck?
Josh: My name’s Josh Oertly. I’m the Channel Development/National Account Manager for the Switch-N-Go and AmeriDeck Divisions of Deist Industries. For AmeriDeck, I manage our current dealer network while I also work on growing it. I also act as a liaison between our customers and our engineering/product development team to implement improvements and new product offerings.
YouMotorcycle: That’s great, because I have a couple ideas I want to pitch to AmeriDeck and now I know who to bring them to! How long has AmeriDeck been building motorcycle loaders?
Josh: Deist Industries acquired/purchased AmeriDeck™ back in 2007. AmeriDeck was originally a Canadian-made product but we purchased the name and all of the company’s inventory. We brought it to the United States, did some slight redesign work, and increased the capacity from 2,000lbs to 2,500lbs.
YouMotorcycle: Nicely done! Did everything start with motorcycles and grow from there, or did a motorcycle-specific product come later?
Josh: There are 4 divisions of Deist industries. First came Bucks Fabricating in 1984. Bucks specializes in roll off dumpsters/containers. Next came Switch-N-Go in 2002. SNG (Switch-N-Go) is an interchangeable truck body system for medium duty work trucks class 4-7. The idea for SNG came from the roll off concept that Bucks was making bodies for. The company saw a need for a detachable/interchangeable system for the class 2 & 3 truck market next which is why they purchased AMD (AmeriDeck). Motorcycle towing/hauling is a huge industry for AmeriDeck but it is not the only one that we sell into. Other markets we serve are landscape, snow & ice, construction, etc.
YouMotorcycle: When it comes to motorcycle-specific application, what separates AmeriDeck from the other loader systems out there?
Josh: AmeriDeck allows 1 person to easily and safely strap down 2 full-size motorcycles at ground level and with the push of the button load them into the bed of your truck. The deck is also detachable and interchangeable which makes your truck very versatile.
YouMotorcycle: Some of the cheaper motorcycle loaders in the market are winch-based, but yours works with a hydraulic system and seems more heavy-duty. What’s the typical maintenance someone should expect with an AmeriDeck – PowerDeck™?
Josh: You’ll want to grease rollers and all grease fittings as needed. You’ll also want to change the hydraulic fluid when needed. That will depend on use and if you get debris in your tank or hoses. Besides that, it’s pretty much just general upkeep.
YouMotorcycle: Is the AmeriDeck PowerDeck™ primarily a business-to-business operation? Do you foresee a “light” option geared specifically to consumers in the future?
Josh: Consumers actually are a large part of our customer base. Yes, we sell to businesses, but we probably do just as much business with consumers. We are always asking for feedback from our customers as well so we can explore new product opportunities.
YouMotorcycle: Oh I’ll be happy to hold you to that! Is the current PowerDeck™ a final product, or will there continue to be evolutions or new generations of it created in the future? What improvements have already happened and what changes do you predict we’ll see in the future?
Josh: We are always looking for ways to improve our product and grow what we have to offer. Shipping rates have always been a pain point for us when shipping a single unit to a customer. Last year we moved from a weld-on bulkhead to a bolt-on bulkhead. This allows us to now ship the systems unassembled in a crate and has significantly reduced shipping costs. We have some plans for future product improvements and even some new decks/bodies for the system in the future.
To learn more about AmeriDeck PowerDeck™, visit their website. If you want to see the hydraulic motorcycle lift I use on my Ford F150 Harley-Davidson Edition, be sure to sign up for the email list (see the pop-up or the sidebar to sign up).
Y. (2020, August 16). An Interview with AmeriDeck’s Josh Oertly. YouMotorcycle. https://www.youmotorcycle.com/an-interview-with-ameridecks-josh-oertly.html