Shane...
I'm the original poster on the thread mentioned -
HERE
...and the guy who also has a Sport Trac. As you will see from the photos in that thread, the TW
will fit in the bed of the Trac with the tailgate down (and you might feel a bit more secure about it if you also have a bed extender "cage" as I have on mine.
That being said, I found loading the TW into the bed a little scary, especially if doing it solo. Unloading... scarier still. Perhaps if you had a full-width ramp it would be no sweat. And maybe if you had lots of practice loading motorcycles into pickups on small ramps, you might wonder what the fuss was. Me...I just figured if I was gonna get hurt with the TW, I'd rather have that happen while riding it instead of loading/unloading it.
Since then, I'm using a receiver carrier (generously loaned by Idaho04). His is a homebuilt model, built like a tank and much more solid than I would expect the store-bought models to be. I've only transported the bike on it once for any distance, but found it to be just the ticket - a snap to load and unload. (I wished he'd sell it to me !
)
As for your thought about if the TW is a good fit for you, I guess I'd say that really depends on how you intend to use the bike. What I like best about it is that it will do just about anything you ask of it and as far as being versatile, I don't know what could beat it in that category. No, it's not the best road bike. It's likely not the best dirt bike either. But as a true "dual-sport", (something that seamlessly can go from pavement to dirt), it's amazing.
If you plan to ride a lot over 50 mph, you might consider something else. I'm not a "go-fast" kinda guy and am most happy at speeds 45 mph and under, so I love the TW for that. Yes, when I'm out on roads where the speed of traffic is 50+, the TW will do it, but I don't like it. It's less that the bike can't do it and more that I just don't like it. I road a Kawasaki KLR 650 when I was shopping for bikes and though it was a bit too much for me as a "newbie", it did feel much more capable in traffic. I wouldn't have even attempted to load it into the bed of the Sport Trac though.
To sum up a long post... were I looking at buying a new bike, I'd go out and by a newer TW. I picked what is a great fit for how I want to ride and what I want to do. As they say though... your mileage may vary. Happy Trails!