Multiple bikes on a trailer?

[mimico_polak]

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I've got the 4x8 folding trailer and it's great for simply towing 1 bike.

But how do you set it up when you tow 2? I would move the wheel chock to the outside for both bikes and put in tie down points in the middle / outside edge of the trailer.

How about 3 bikes? Would it even fit? Can they be towed sideways or would that be too risky with stops/starts putting a lot of stress on the strapping?

I'm thinking of putting in tie down points down the middle, and on the outsides near the edge for the 1 or 2 bike setup. But not sure how to deal with the 3 bike setup.

For reference, the 3 bikes are (currently): CB500X, CBR250R, Ninja 400R

Or is the 4x8 simply too small for 3 bikes of that size? Weight is close to 1,000lbs for all 3.

 

[GreyGhost]

I wouldn't want them sideways. Slam on the brakes are you are putting a ton of load on the straps.
You might be able to put one in the centre facing backwards to get your third. I am sure some people will speak up shortly that have tried to put three on a 4x8. You could put the outside chocks right at the outside so part of the bike is outside the bed and use an outrigger to get proper strap angles.

 

[mimico_polak]

I wouldn't want them sideways. Slam on the brakes are you are putting a ton of load on the straps.
You might be able to put one in the centre facing backwards to get your third. I am sure some people will speak up shortly that have tried to put three on a 4x8. You could put the outside chocks right at the outside so part of the bike is outside the bed and use an outrigger to get proper strap angles.

I would think the X would be front and centre toward the front...and the other two facing backwards.

If I remove the luggage from the X it SHOULD have enough space to put the other two on.

 

[Lightcycle]

Does the trailer have walls? If so, your biggest worry with a 4' wide trailer is fitting the bikes width-wise and not having the handlebars clash with each other. Either stagger the wheel chocks or have them point at an angle so the bars are slightly turned. Or have one of the bikes backwards. Just remember to remove the windshield if its tall, or it'll catch the air when you drive and rip the screen off.

This is a 5x9, but it'll give you some positioning/tie-down ideas:

If your trailer doesn't have walls, then you're good to go. Just space the chocks wide enough so that the bars don't bash and install tie down points down the centre. The headache here is having the tie-down points too close to the bike so there's inadequate angle and leverage to hold the bike up-right. Some people have solved this by installing a tie-down bar up front that's wider than the trailer to give the tie-downs less of an angle.

4' is really tight for three street bikes, even with the centre one placed backwards. I've seen three dirtbikes in a trailer that small, but they were piled up on top of each other, plastics all a'rubbin' and the tie-down situation was basically so the bikes stayed in the trailer, not for keeping them from tipping over.

 

[Ash]

Two bikes on a 4x8 should be no problem, but you probably won't be able to walk up on the trailer deck when loading one of them (short people problems). You might be able to fit three narrow bikes if you load two of them facing forwards and one of them facing backwards, but I haven't done it myself. If you're serious about trying, 3 strapless PitBull trailer restraint systems will cost a fortune but save you a lot of cursing.

 

[mimico_polak]

Thanks @Lightcycle. No walls on the trailer. I'm going to build them, but they'll only be used for hauling junk, not for motorcycle duty and will be quick release as I can't fold it with the walls up.

The third bike is possibly joining us for Barry's Bay area in July...but not 100% sure yet. 2 bikes are pretty much guaranteed.

 

[mimico_polak]

Two bikes on a 4x8 should be no problem, but you probably won't be able to walk up on the trailer deck when loading one of them (short people problems). You might be able to fit three narrow bikes if you load two of them facing forwards and one of them facing backwards, but I haven't done it myself. If you're serious about trying, 3 strapless PitBull trailer restraint systems will cost a fortune but save you a lot of cursing.

For that price the 3rd guy can ride there.

 

[Scuba Steve]

I had 2 outrigger bars to tie to on the front on my 4 x 8 weld a 2" tube 7' long across the front so the straps are out wide

 

[Ash]

After looking at these pics, I'm going to say there's zero chance of getting three street bikes on a 4x8 unless you're willing to strip all of the fairings off: A Harbor Freight 4'x8' folding trailer will hold 3 full size dirt bikes. (pics)

 

[mimico_polak]

After looking at these pics, I'm going to say there's zero chance of getting three street bikes on a 4x8 unless you're willing to strip all of the fairings off: A Harbor Freight 4'x8' folding trailer will hold 3 full size dirt bikes. (pics)

Was just looking at those pics also during my search. Looks like it may be a no go with 3…without damage anyway.

 

[Lightcycle]

After looking at these pics, I'm going to say there's zero chance of getting three street bikes on a 4x8 unless you're willing to strip all of the fairings off: A Harbor Freight 4'x8' folding trailer will hold 3 full size dirt bikes. (pics)

Good thread.

This is an interesting idea to mount the third bike:

 

[mimico_polak]

Good thread.

This is an interesting idea to mount the third bike:

Haven't considered that...but that would probably overload the hitch max tongue weight rating on an Odyssey.

EDIT: 3500lb tow capacity with a 525lb max tongue weight.

 

[GreyGhost]

After looking at these pics, I'm going to say there's zero chance of getting three street bikes on a 4x8 unless you're willing to strip all of the fairings off: A Harbor Freight 4'x8' folding trailer will hold 3 full size dirt bikes. (pics)

Chocks could be a few inches further out but your conclusion about three street bikes is probably correct.

 

[Lightcycle]

Haven't considered that...but that would probably overload the hitch max tongue weight rating on an Odyssey.

EDIT: 3500lb tow capacity with a 525lb max tongue weight.

You could play around with the positioning of the two motorcycles on the trailer bed so they're further back behind the axle to balance out the weight of a third bike ahead of the bed?

But if that involves extending the tracks, might be too much of a hassle...

 

[GreyGhost]

Good thread.

This is an interesting idea to mount the third bike:

Cool idea. With a street bike I would be worried about snapping the A-frame on a big bump. You have the weight of an entire bike at almost the weakest point.

As for tongue weight, a bit more than half of the sideways bike would be on the ball. You should be easily able to keep tongue weight under 525 (shift bikes on deck back if required). FWIW, I don't trust that trailer design with 500+ lbs tongue weight. I don't think the odyssey will be the failure point.

 

[Lightcycle]

With a street bike I would be worried about snapping the A-frame on a big bump. You have the weight of an entire bike at almost the weakest point.

Good point. Fine for a 200lb dirt bike, maybe not so fine for a 500lb street bike...

 

[ReSTored]

Where are you getting your weight calcs for the bikes? A quick lookup indicates about 1,200 lb. wet for all three. You can pare this down a bit by reducing the amount of gas in the tanks, but this is going to be offset by the weight of the chocks and your trailer spare tire. You are never going to get 3 street bikes properly tied down on a 4 x 8 trailer. Even with just two bikes you're at about 80% of the trailer capacity (assuming it is 1,000 lb) I'd be concerned with overloading the lightweight trailer frame as well as side to side stability on highways.

Pictures are of a 6 x 10 trailer with two 750 lb bikes. The chock was modified to add additional mounting holes so the pivot and the front stop could be moved forward and back to adjust tongue weight for different weight bikes. Trailer, bikes, spare + toolbox were about 2,500 lb and tongue weight was set to 320, about 13%. It pulls perfect in this setup.

I used the bathroom scale figure B method to calculate tongue weight when pulling 2 bikes.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

The setup in post 11 looks like an accident waiting to happen.

 

[mimico_polak]

Where are you getting your weight calcs for the bikes? A quick lookup indicates about 1,200 lb. wet for all three. You can pare this down a bit by reducing the amount of gas in the tanks, but this is going to be offset by the weight of the chocks and your trailer spare tire. You are never going to get 3 street bikes properly tied down on a 4 x 8 trailer. Even with just two bikes you're at about 80% of the trailer capacity (assuming it is 1,000 lb) I'd be concerned with overloading the lightweight trailer frame as well as side to side stability on highways.

Pictures are of a 6 x 10 trailer with two 750 lb bikes. The chock was modified to add additional mounting holes so the pivot and the front stop could be moved forward and back to adjust tongue weight for different weight bikes. Trailer, bikes, spare + toolbox were about 2,500 lb and tongue weight was set to 320, about 13%. It pulls perfect in this setup.

I used the bathroom scale figure B method to calculate tongue weight when pulling 2 bikes.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

The setup in post 11 looks like an accident waiting to happen.

Good call. I just assumed the 250 and 400 would be similar...but turns out the 400 is heavier than the 500.

Thanks for that, I thought it was a long shot and it's confirmed. Not going to happen (safely anyway).

 

[afici0nad0]

Good information here.

Thinking of trailering 3 street bikes next season and will probably go through the same questions here

 

[mimico_polak]

Good information here.

Thinking of trailering 3 street bikes next season and will probably go through the same questions here

Step 1…bigger trailer than a 4x8!

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