I have never shot an elk that has not had to be quartered up. When you see an elk walking around he is huge. When you see him dead weight on the ground he is even bigger. My first I could not beleive how big an elk really was. Depending on how many guys you have around and how close the truck is you may get him loaded full. I have seen many running around town in trucks whole. As I said above I do not know how it is done as I have never had the opportunity to load one whole we have always had to pack them out. Usually takes us about a day and a half to pack them out sometimes. Depending how deep in the backcountry we hunt. And no we don't have horses and 4 wheelers are not allowed in our hunting area. Thank GOD!!!!!