Bought a Kendon Single Rail Trailer

[jeffb502]

TLDR:

• I'm happy I got a new trailer!
• For me buying seemed to be a better alternative to renting.
• I greased the bearings, which seemed to need it!
• I think the tires are 17.5 years old...is that bad?

So my first track day is this Monday. I was thinking of just riding my bike out there since the track is only 114 miles away, but I took some advice and decided to trailer it instead.

I would need the trailer for more than 24 hours, which would turn in to a 2 day rental for a Uhaul trailer. The closest Uhaul with a motorcycle trailer available is 25 miles away, and would require two trips to get the trailer/drop it off, adding 100 miles to my planned 228 mile round trip. With the horrible mileage I get in my Yukon and current gas prices around $4.30/gal the cost and time of the rental trailer was somewhat prohibitive. Also, Uhaul locations have limited hours on Sunday, and being able to pick up a rental trailer Sunday would require I take an extra day off work.

So purchasing seems like less of a problem. If I decide I hate track days (not likely), as long as I can sell it for about what I paid for it the loss (once I add on the title transfer fees) will be somewhere around (and probably less than) what I would have paid for a one day rental.

The vehicle registration fee is $10 for 5 years, and the storage space in the garage is about the same as a queen mattress and box spring when tilted vertical, so when it's not in use it's like it's not there.

The trailer was manufactured in 1997, and bought by the people I bought it from in 2005 or 2007 (I don't remember which). They said they never greased the bearings, but had only used it a total of about 5 times (but at interstate speed across the desert, about 800 miles per trip). Once I got it home I downloaded the manual and saw it's supposed to be greased every 1 year or 2000 miles, whichever comes first, after the initial 1000 mile service when new.

I did additional research and found out greasing it is as easy as removing the dust covers in the middle of the wheel and putting some grease in the zerk fitting inside until it pushes the old grease out around the outer bearing. I did that and found the driver's side bearing had some old whitish/yellowish grease that came out, and the passenger's side was completely dry. Just my new grease started coming out after a while on that side. Both wheels rotate freely in the air with just a little noise and little drag, so hopefully the bearings are alright. Is there any way to further check or test them without taking the hub apart?

I just checked the tire date and it's a 3 digit code, indicating both matching tires with great tread and no apparent weather damage were manufactured in the 51st week of 1996 (see pictures). I'm guessing these are the stock tires. I know motorcycle tires of this age would need to be replaced immediately. Would the same be true for trailer tires if they hold air and are in otherwise good condition? The tire size is "B78-13" which is not even used any more lol, but I found a conversion chart that puts it at 175/80r13.

Tire pictures:

Tire Sidewall.jpg

Date Code.jpg

[NevadaWolf]

What? No pictures of the trailer? Come on!

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

What? No pictures of the trailer? Come on!

Here you go...

My trailer folded up:

Trailer Shiny Side.jpg

Trailer Bottom Side.jpg

(Queen box spring in front for scale)

A guy in RI selling his (to show what it looks like folded out...his doesn't have the optional storage boxes that mine does...they fill in the gaps by the front tie downs.

Kendon Trailer RI.JPG

[jeffb502]

And I got some of these at Home Depot to tie it down...I like they have built in D ring to use them as soft straps on one end (for wrapping around the triple tree I would guess), and the safety hooks mean even if a strap gets loose I don't have to worry about an S hook disengaging from its tie down point. It'll just be holding it a bit more loosely, which might allow some lean, but I could hopefully spot that in the rear view mirror before it loosens itself completely.

Keeper Motorcycle Tie Downs.JPG

[NevadaWolf]

Wicked! Cool trailer!

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Wicked! Cool trailer!

Thanks! I'll try to remember to get some pretty pics with the 300 on the trailer in the daylight before I leave on Sunday.

[b.miller123]

Kendon's are sweet trailers. I missed out on an awesome deal on a two rail one a while back and am still kicking myself over it. The only problem I have with them is that like most motorcycle specific trailers, they can't be used for much else. That's why I went with a folding trailer from HF. Obviously the quality (and price) are much lower, but I need something to serve double duty.

[Alex]

Love our Kendon. We have a 3-rail for the dirtbikes, but it could be used for 2 sportbikes if need be. (and maybe 1 RT. )

Good work on the grease, yes, you've done exactly what you're supposed to. I'd probably get two new tires on it. They aren't terribly expensive, and then it's one less thing that you're worried about. Keep one of the old ones as a spare (if you don't have one already), and then you have some value out of it as well. Check to make sure, but the bolt pattern is pretty standard on these, so you might even be able to find an extremely cheap steel wheel to put the spare on, so you can choose to take it with on longer trips with the trailer if you have the space.

[jeffb502]

Regarding tires...

The spare that's mounted under the trailer is a 12", while the normal use wheels are 13. Is this normal?

I see Wal Mart sells a brand new 175/80r13 ST tire already mounted on a brand new rim for $103. Link Here I guess if I can't find any local 13" trailer wheels I could take the super fancy route and buy two new wheel/tire assemblies and have two spare wheel/tire assemblies to take with me to be super prepared.

So for $206 plus tax I have two new wheels/tires and two old full size wheels/tires. I could try to sell one of the old full size wheels/tires to get back some of the $206, and still have a full size spare. I could even try to sell the 12" spare tire & wheel to somebody that at least needs the wheel. The only problem with the Wal Mart tires is they're bias, not radial. Not sure if that's a big deal with such a small trailer not being used anywhere near its weight limit.

For $133 plus tax ($52/tire plus mounting) I have two new tires on old wheels and only have the 12" spare that came with the trailer. I would have two old tires that I could try to find 13" wheels for, or I could try to sell them to somebody that wanted some old tires (maybe a tire antique collector that likes obsolete sidewall markings). Or I could pay the tire place $2.50/tire to not give them back to me.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by jeffb502

The spare that's mounted under the trailer is a 12", while the normal use wheels are 13. Is this normal?

No idea - the Kendon we have didn't come with a spare, so I need to work it out at some point. Is it a higher profile tire so the outside diameter is similar? If not, it seems like it wouldn't be a great idea to have a smaller tire on just one side...

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by Alex

No idea - the Kendon we have didn't come with a spare, so I need to work it out at some point. Is it a higher profile tire so the outside diameter is similar? If not, it seems like it wouldn't be a great idea to have a smaller tire on just one side...

The spare is a 4.8-12. Visually I can tell it's much smaller than the 13" tires currently in use. A quick tape measure guesstimate shows the current tires at about 24.5" diameter and the spare at about 20.5" diameter. In the current under trailer mount I don't see anything larger fitting, but I have no problem just storing a spare in my Yukon. I too didn't think it would be good to have the load leaning to one side. Also, could it damage the axle to have different size tires spinning at different speeds?

[b.miller123]

Originally Posted by jeffb502

The spare is a 4.8-12. Visually I can tell it's much smaller than the 13" tires currently in use. A quick tape measure guesstimate shows the current tires at about 24.5" diameter and the spare at about 20.5" diameter. In the current under trailer mount I don't see anything larger fitting, but I have no problem just storing a spare in my Yukon. I too didn't think it would be good to have the load leaning to one side. Also, could it damage the axle to have different size tires spinning at different speeds?

Trailer axles don't have a differential, so it won't be an issue. I still wouldn't do it though. Depending on how far away from home you are when you have an issue, it wouldn't be ideal to be riding with the trailer 2 inches lower on one side.

Don't replace the wheels that you already have with some cheap walmart wheels. Just buy new tires from an actual tire place. You don't have to get trailer specific tires either, you can use car tires if you find one that fits.

Since trailer tires are not as common as car/truck tires, a lot of places won't have all of them listed on line. Just call around to your local tire places, or maybe trailer dealers and see what they have.