Small motorcycle trailer

[Reswob]

Looking for a small trailer, basically just big enough for 1 sportbike, maybe a floor to tie down some other junk too. Everything I find online is $2,000+ for $20 worth of metal rails What is everyone using? Post up pics of your trailers!

[tjkamper]

I saw this at costco the other day. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

The trailer is 6' so the 55" wheel base of the 250 should fit. I'd take my own measurments first. It folds up really small for storage. I think is is worth a look see!

[fizzman911]

have yoy tried looking for used ones on craigs list or ebay? i have found some that are very cheap.

[riiken]

Harbor Freight had a nice utility trailer on sale for 299

[2WheelGuy]

I got this trailer for less than $1000 out the door at my local trailer dealer. It is super heavy duty and carries two motorcycles easily. Being a flat bed it does many other duties besides carrying motorcycles. It came with a big loading ramp which I removed to get better mileage. I've put over 75,000 miles on it.



Many people do well with Harbor Freight Trailers. There is also the Trailer-in-a-Bag.

[Reswob]

Holy cow! I guess I should have mentioned the budget is way, way under $1k (for that money I'd just buy a beat up old pickup truck, no trailer needed!). A couple hundred at most.

[noche_caliente]

We got ours at home depot for like $600 - search trailers and you should find some pics of it

[Dano]

cheapest one you are gonna score is from harbor freight, its doable for 1 bike, it has smaller wheels and will need more maintence. You also have to get a 4x8 sheet of plywood i believe to make the floor. I personally would keep looking on craigslist for a cheapie, it may take awhile to get but definatly worth the time spent.

[Snake]

You can also try Lowes or Southerlands.

[lockie]

I got one like Craigs, custom built from local Kawasaki dealer. It included ramps, spare tire and a third wheel attached to the tow bar for raising and lowering the hitch onto the car. 14" wheels made it a breeze to runs and it went more than 1000 km last summer over bad gravel roads. It was pricey....1800 CAD.

[ithaca00]

The 4x8 Harbor freight trailer is definitely a decent trailer with the 12" wheels. You should be able to get it up and running for about $400.

I'm using an old three rail dirt bike trailer which has built in "ramps".

[Sailariel]

Did the same as Kim---Home Depot Landscape trailer. Comes complete with a ramp. You add a sheet of 3/4" plywood, get some large fender washers and the appropriate tie down bolts, make wheel chocks out of a 2x4, and you are home free. The trailer can also be used for other purposes.

[mrlmd]

One thing to watch out for with these trailers is to make sure the trailer tongue hitch connection is attached to the car when you load or unload the trailer, otherwise the rear end on the trailer gets pushed down and the tongue goes up in the air because of the balance on these things. If you ride or push your bike up on the trailer without the trailer being attached to the car or someone sitting on the tongue to weight it down and keep it flat, you and the bike will go down. Ask me how I know that, even with a 6'x10'trailer just like in 2wheelguys photo.
Look in the newspaper and craigslist ads, you will find a good utility trailer cheaper than new and better quality/load handling/heavier duty than Loews and Harbor Freight. Those last two usually have smaller wheels, you need to pay a lot of attention to wheel bearings as the tires rotate a lot faster than the larger trailers (with auto and/or regular trailer size tires), and can't carry as heavy a load or used for other things as easily. I bought mine from a newspaper ad for about $700 and have used it for a variety of things hauling "stuff" around.

[talldrink]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

Did the same as Kim---Home Depot Landscape trailer. Comes complete with a ramp. You add a sheet of 3/4" plywood, get some large fender washers and the appropriate tie down bolts, make wheel chocks out of a 2x4, and you are home free. The trailer can also be used for other purposes.

What size trailer did you get? I see a 4' x 6' and a 5' x 8' landscape trailer on the Lowe's website. They are both have mesh, including the floor - is this why the plywood is needed? How does make the wheel chocks you refer to? Got any pics of your trailer available?

FYI for anyone who cares: the tires are 12" and the prices are $498 for the smaller one and $698 for the larger size.

Do trailers need a license??

[Greg_E]

Depends on the state but in NY they need to be registered and inspected, not sure if they need insurance.

[mrlmd]

I just saw Harbor freight's latest ad. They have a small FOLDABLE trailer (folds in half so it takes up very little storage room), measures 4 x 8'. has 12" wheels, carries up to 1195 lbs., and is on sale for $100 off at $299.99.
Like said above, most if not all of these trailers need to be certified as road ready (lights, etc) and need to be registered with a license plate. You may need a trailer hookup with electrical connection to the car, which is no big deal or expense to install if you don't have one along with the hitch. You get the paperwork from the seller, car insurance usually covers the trailer, check with your agent or company.

[Greg_E]

Look for Harbor Freight 20% off coupons, I think you can use them along with the sale price to get it even cheaper! Forget the plywood and buy some C channel and make rails. Also might want to buy one of the wheel holder things that HF sells while getting the trailer.

[Hadyn]

I saw a guy the other day with a flatbed sidecar attached to his cruiser, on which he had loaded a dirtbike. Googling this proved difficult ("motorcycle motorcycle sidecar" doesn't work very well) so I figured it was a homemade thing. Obviously the solution to your problem is to buy another motorcycle and fashion a side-trailer-car-thingy.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Greg_E]

Hmmm.. That's an interesting thing to think about.

You could just make some attachments to connect two cycles together, kind of like a catamaran.

[anomolli]

Originally Posted by talldrink

What size trailer did you get? I see a 4' x 6' and a 5' x 8' landscape trailer on the Lowe's website. They are both have mesh, including the floor - is this why the plywood is needed? How does make the wheel chocks you refer to? Got any pics of your trailer available?

FYI for anyone who cares: the tires are 12" and the prices are $498 for the smaller one and $698 for the larger size.

Do trailers need a license??

+1 for this. I'm looking at a trailer now from Lowes that's 4x6 mesh with ramp. Kkim/Sailariel, since you both bought from Home Depot, which has a similar trailer, would you give me some more details about your trailer? I'm assuming i'll need to buy a sheet of plywood and straps. I'm also thinking about buying a wheel chock, but i'm uncertain how these things mount? I'm guessing they are all rather generic and would screw into the plywood.

Also, ss it difficult to load the bike using the gate ramp? How steep is the incline? I'm a girl who's 5'4", so i'm wondering if i can actually do this on my own. I'm most concerned with the size. Is it long enough to comfortably fit the ninjette?

Thanks in advance. Here's the link to the exact trailer in case anyone wants to review.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_145557-15476...iler#prod-tabs

[FrugalNinja250]

I found a 20% off coupon in a Hot Rod magazine, then waited until Harbor Freight had their heaviest 4' x 8' trailer with 12" tires on sale for $299. Used the coupon to take the price down to $239. I spent $20 for a nice trailer jack, added some extra lights and reflectors, installed eyelets in the corners for tie downs, and I was ready to go for just $300 or so (I already had a 4x8 sheet of plywood).

A note on the HF trailers: they bolt together from a bazillion (or is that gazillion?) pieces, none of which are longer than 4'. It took me a good solid 8 hours to assemble it, and I had to do some tweaking like cleaning the weld spatter off the axle stubs before installing the hubs. If I were to do it again I'd likely hit all the joints with a welder (and may still do it, though it would have been easier to grind off the paint where the welds would go before assembly).

A dedicated motorcycle trailer would be easier to use, but they're usually fairly expensive for the amount of materials in them and pretty much are only good for hauling motorcycles. My 4'x8' trailer has a 3/4 ton capacity, essentially duplicating the carrying capacity of a full-sized truck without the expense of having an actual truck. I'm going to add stake pockets here in the near future so that I can run sides on it; This will allow me to carry things like soil and compost in bulk instead of in several large trash cans strapped down to the deck.

[mrlmd]

Make sure that trailer from Lowes is wired for connection to the car and has lights on it or it will not be legal for the road and you will have to wire it up. For road use all trailers must be licensed and titled.
It's no big deal to get the bike up the ramp onto the trailer. Just make sure, like I posted before, that the trailer is attached to the car by the hitch, or, as you go up the ramp. the trailer will suddenly dip the rear end, the hitch end suddenly points up to the sky, and you suddenly fall over on the bike, as you weight the rear of the trailer behind the axle. It's no different than riding up a small hill, just ease out the clutch and go slow 'till you get to the end of the trailer. For going down, just pull in the clutch and ease it down using the front brake. But a note of caution in going down - keep the bars steering straight ahead if you apply front brake to slow the bike down the ramp. If the bars are turned to the side and you apply the front brake, it may go down just as it would if you were going forward with the bars turned to the side and you apply the front brake. It takes one or two times going up and down and you will feel secure in doing this, it's quite easy and manageable with little effort. Just hook the trailer up to the car first and you'll be OK.

[johnjohn]

Versa Haul if you have a decent vehicle to handle the 250. I use one on a '05 Ford Freestar, but have air bags in the coil springs. No issues with hauling any distance.

[rwheelz]

Originally Posted by 2WheelGuy

I got this trailer for less than $1000 out the door at my local trailer dealer. It is super heavy duty and carries two motorcycles easily. Being a flat bed it does many other duties besides carrying motorcycles. It came with a big loading ramp which I removed to get better mileage. I've put over 75,000 miles on it.



Many people do well with Harbor Freight Trailers. There is also the Trailer-in-a-Bag.

2WheelGuy any idea what your trailer weighs? I was looking at small trailers to tow two bikes on with my STI and people told me to steer clear, that it was too much weight, etc. How does your WRX do towing it? Are you using a brake controller and trailer brakes? I was looking at small aluminum trailers for this purpose, to keep the weight down. But two bikes plus the trailer is about 1200 lbs, even with a lightweight aluminum trailer that costs upwards of $2000.

[anomolli]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still torn between the Lowes' trailer and the Harbor Freight one. I found a 20% coupon online for HB, so it may be worth investigating. The Lowes trailer i found on craigslist and it already has the DOT approved lights and is titled in MD. Decisions, decisions!

[2WheelGuy]

Originally Posted by rwheelz

2WheelGuy any idea what your trailer weighs? I was looking at small trailers to tow two bikes on with my STI and people told me to steer clear, that it was too much weight, etc. How does your WRX do towing it? Are you using a brake controller and trailer brakes? I was looking at small aluminum trailers for this purpose, to keep the weight down. But two bikes plus the trailer is about 1200 lbs, even with a lightweight aluminum trailer that costs upwards of $2000.

My WRX has a tow rating of 2000lbs with trailer brakes and 1000lbs without, max 300lb tongue weight. My trailer weighs about 500lbs and has no brakes. With two bikes loaded it is slightly over the tow rating. The car pulls the trailer great but I am always conscious of my braking distance. I often carry my 750 or Hayabusa along with a 250.

I've pulled this trailer well over 75,000 miles with my Subaru. I frequently pull it off road, places that would snap a Harbor Freight trailer in two. My trailer may be a little overweight but is built so well that even with two big bikes loaded you can forget that it is back there. I feel it is much safer to tow then most if not all of the lightweight trailers I've seen.

[anomolli]

For those that have added wood flooring to their utility trailer, would you please offer some advice on how to do so? I just bought a 4X6 mesh Carry-On utility trailer and would like to add wood flooring using 2X6 or 2X8 planks. What i don't understand is how I would mount these planks onto the trailer. The trailer has for angled crossbars, but there's no holes to mount the wood planks to the trailer. I thought about drilling holes threw the angle support bars, but something about drilling little holes in my support structure doesn't sit well with me.

So how were you able to mount the floor? Also, when installing the wheel chock, how did you mount the chock onto the floor? I feel like it should be more secure then just mounting it into the wood.

As always, thanks for the advice.

[DaBlue1]

Most people drill holes and bolt the planks to the crossbeams. You wont weaken the metal enough not to be able to carry your bike. Mount your wheel chocks with some long bolts and good size washers thru the wood to the mesh floor. You may have to make washer that will cover enough space and have a right size hole. Since you are putting on a floor, a few eyebolts couldn't hurt.

[mrlmd]

For that size trailer it's much easier to just get a piece of either 1/2" or 3/4" plywood cut to size (it comes in a 4x8 sheet and wherever you buy it will cut it for free). You don't need a wheel chock mounted to the floor, it takes up room so you can't use the trailer for anything else. Just ride the bike up on to the trailer, put down the sidestand and get off the bike, then strap it down vertical with your straps and raise the kickstand. It takes all of 5 min. after you have done it once or twice, and 10 min for the first time. Don't make this any more complicated than you have to.

[dubojr1]

I love my HF trailer and it will in fact haul (2) 250's at least...

Notice the silver piece sticking just barely out the rear... that's a ramp I fabricated to slide under the trailer. Works great!

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by dubojr1

I love my HF trailer and it will in fact haul (2) 250's at least...

Notice the silver piece sticking just barely out the rear... that's a ramp I fabricated to slide under the trailer. Works great!

How is the trailer doing???Can we get a brief report???Thanks...

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by anomolli

For those that have added wood flooring to their utility trailer, would you please offer some advice on how to do so? I just bought a 4X6 mesh Carry-On utility trailer and would like to add wood flooring using 2X6 or 2X8 planks. What i don't understand is how I would mount these planks onto the trailer. The trailer has for angled crossbars, but there's no holes to mount the wood planks to the trailer. I thought about drilling holes threw the angle support bars, but something about drilling little holes in my support structure doesn't sit well with me.

So how were you able to mount the floor? Also, when installing the wheel chock, how did you mount the chock onto the floor? I feel like it should be more secure then just mounting it into the wood.

As always, thanks for the advice.

The 2X's would be overkill for this trailer (I have the same one). Go to Lowes/Home Depot and get a 3/4"X4X8 sheet of plywood and have the store cut off the top 2', so you have a 3/4"X4X6 sheet and a 3/4"X4X2 sheet left over. The 6' sheet will slide under the wire rails which run inside the trailer body. You will need to lower the ramp, in order to slide the sheet into place. Once installed, look from underneath the trailer and find 4 corner points (between the mesh) and mark the points with a big circle. Remove the sheet and drill 1/2" holes (or your choice on the size) and purchase the necessary bolts, fender washers, lock washers, and nuts to attach the sheet.

You can then begin your search for equipment to transport the bike!!

Good Luck!

[tiggen]

Carry-On trailer, 5x8, mesh floor, single 2,000lb axle, 12 in wheels, angle construction.

I had this trailer for three years. If you don't want to spend money on a trailer, this will work. But, you get what you pay for.

My trailer lived inside, and there was still a fair amount of surface rust after three years. Both fenders came off, one on the interstate. Had to replace a hub bearing once too.

For a cheap trailer it did the job well. Towed behind my Toyota Avalon. There was no real weave although the angle construction made it flexy, and it even hauled two bikes a couple of times.

Here's a link:


http://trailers.carry-ontrailer.com/...oor-trailers?#

I bought mine at Tractor Supply. Think I paid $650 or $750 for it, a little more for a jack and a spare, and after three years I sold it for $225.

I'd buy it again if I were on a budget and needed a trailer.

[tiggen]

Originally Posted by johnjohn

Versa Haul if you have a decent vehicle to handle the 250. I use one on a '05 Ford Freestar, but have air bags in the coil springs. No issues with hauling any distance.

I just bought the Moto-tote (similar to Versa Haul) to replace the trailer. Used it last weekend for a race. I am very pleased. It was a little over 100mi each way of interstate and two lane roads, my top speed was about 70-75. Forgot it was back there after the first ten miles. On a big bump you may get an extra bounce, but I never felt that the control of the vehicle was compromised.

You have to think through your loading/unloading process if you're alone, but it can be done. Oh, and I traded the Avalon in for a Dodge Ram 1500 with the factory Class IV hitch.

[dubojr1]

Originally Posted by Yasko

How is the trailer doing???Can we get a brief report???Thanks...

I've had this trailer for a few years now. The only trouble I've had with it was rusting from being stored outside. As you can see, I repainted mine with a black enamel to hopefully slow the rust down. The fenders do bounce by design. I fixed this by adding a couple angle brackets on top to reduce the bounce by 80%. The hubs have grease fitting for maintenance but I have lost the bearings covers a couple time on the same side. Made a mod to a new one sold at the store and no concerns since.

Trailer by design is fold-able but I eliminated that by adding a few extra bolts to the structural angle irons and completed it with the 3/4" treated plywood. I will say too that I originally had 1/2" plywood but the 3/4" has been a nice upgrade. I hope to have a setup similar to this one day for it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MujbcaKO44

Wheel stops are bolted to the plywood along with some "D" rings for ratchet straps.

On a different note... When I bought mine, its intent was to haul supplies so I bought the store model with 12" wheels. To ease loading/unloading of both my street and dirt bikes, I ended up purchasing a set of 8" wheels. The 8" wheels also allow the trailer to travel more level due when pulled behind my car. I quick change of the wheels and it fits the truck quit nicely too.

Trailer probably has a few thousand miles on it. I live in Jax, FL and its been to NC a few times to visit family and to vacation in the mountains. My Acura TL 6-speed pulls it great at highway speeds. No issues in the mountains either.

IMHO... BANG FOR THE BUCK!

Any questions?

[Yasko]

Thanks for the feedback...Very helpful reviews...

[wyckedflesh]

You know it is not that difficult to upgrade from the 12" wheels to 15" wheels on the HF trailers, or any trailers that have bolt on fenders instead of welded on fenders. Just use a matching plate to lift the fender up. The trailer will tow better, and the bearings will last longer.

[Memengkamatis]

Google trailerinabag specially if you have limited storage or live in an apartment.

Meng

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by Memengkamatis

Google trailerinabag specially if you have limited storage or live in an apartment.

Meng

That thing looks really unsafe to me and at $1195 I'd never even consider it.

[min nin]

I built my own trailer.
But for as much as I use it, I would be better off renting one from U haul.
They have nice motorcycle trailers. No maintenance. No storage. no license fees.

Terry