Tents and race weekends | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Tents and race weekends

price for keeping it there depends on if you have a permanent site or if you keep it out back and bring it to the pits each race.
I move mine back and forth, I think I paid 350.
Its more than worth it! Beginning and ending of the season is always stupid cold, and wet. I think it was zero at night at practice weekend.
I asked at the track about getting a trailer (they seem to have a bunch of abandoned trailers) but no one seemed to know. If its just you, grab a tent trailer on the cheap and leave it there. If you have family or buddies then grab a small camper and you'll be set.
If the weather is good, Grand Bend hotels book up fast and are pricey.
 
Built 15 years ago by the late, great Adam Bennett, I’ve carried two vintage 750 Ducatis, my EZ-UP, fuel, gear and tools as far as Barber behind my V6 wagon. It draws beautifully and with the low roof line, has a minimal impact on fuel economy on the highway. Lightweight aluminum body, waterproof - and with the pop-top, ramp and low deck height, loading is a piece of cake.

The trailer got a complete overhaul 3 years ago by Malmberg Truck and trailer: new floor, wiring repair, wheel bearings, heavier rivets and a fresh paint job. Wheel bearings were repacked last season.

If you’re not a fan of trucks and you want to haul your stuff to the track in comfort and style, this is the rig for you.

$2,500.00
Steve Munro
sixeronethree-805-5401
steve@loudbike.com

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classified from the VRRA site not mine edit: http://www.vrra.ca/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23401 its been for sale a few weeks now, maybe an offer will buy it..
 
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PrivatePilot said:
I agree that the weight is unlikely to be an issue (our NA tow ratings are indeed pretty laughable compared to the European equivalents), but the wind resistance will astound you. You will not be happy (nor probably feel safe or comfortable) with the results of pulling such a large frontal area trailer with your setup, and as mentioned, it'll be torture on your car. 3000# low profile is one thing, 3000# with 60 or 80 square feet of frontal area on top of it, quite another.
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does a V nose trailer help, or just a gimmick?


I'm starting to lean towards the tent trailer, or equivalent.

It would more than likely just be me spending the weekend, but the odd time the wife as well.
 
Nick_f said:
does a V nose trailer help, or just a gimmick?
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It helps, a lot. So do rounded nose cones you see on some otherwise flat-faced trailers. Neither will completely negate the effect though.

I was reminded of this again just a few weeks ago when I went to pickup a frame in Welland for a motorcycle trailer I'm building. My pickup is off the road for the winter so I used my wife's Chrysler 300 (3.5L 250HP engine) for the trip, borrowing a friends gutted tent trailer not utility trailer "conversion". Problem is he added big tall sides to the trailer so it's about 5' tall all around. Around town it pulled like a dream, but once up over 90K It pulled like a freakin tank and letting off the gas literally felt like someone was mashing the brake pedal. Add another few feet of facial area to that and I trust you see the concern.

One experiment you could do is to go rent one of the big U-haul trailers for the day. You'll probably have to get a friend with a more normal tow vehicle to put it under their vehicle as U-haul won't likely let you rent it under your Jetta's capabilities (their computer will say nope, nope..nope) and then go hook it up and hit the 401. I think you'll see what I mean pretty quickly. Keep in mind the U-hauls are narrower than what you're looking at as well, so the effect will be worse.
 
N3WMAN said:
The weather in Grand Bend never looks great and there are showers at the track.
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Grand Bend has gale force winds in every direction all the time,,,when there is no wind,, tie everything you have down or drive east very fast!
 
Nick_f said:
that is pretty cool

But i think to big for a jetta. lol
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Good idea, they actually make them that way despite this guys home built job, but I'm guessing the first time he hooked it up and discovered his horrible mistake with regards to axle placement he decided to abandon ship.

I'd guess it probably has about 2000 pounds of tongue weight they way he's built it - about 75% of the weight of the camper looks like it's on the tongue, with the trailer axles carrying very little. The idea with a toy hauler is that the weight of the toys offsets tongue weight, however axle placement is still significantly further forward of the center of gravity than this guy has built this one.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I agree that the weight is unlikely to be an issue (our NA tow ratings are indeed pretty laughable compared to the European equivalents), but the wind resistance will astound you. You will not be happy (nor probably feel safe or comfortable) with the results of pulling such a large frontal area trailer with your setup, and as mentioned, it'll be torture on your car. 3000# low profile is one thing, 3000# with 60 or 80 square feet of frontal area on top of it, quite another.
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TDI's are surprisingly forgiving with a manual transmission. I towed the tornado around the province with an old TDI and it is taller than the car and probably weighs ~1500 lbs on the trailer. PS, if anyone wants a Tornado, send me a PM. It's butt-puckering fast. I need a slower boat for the family.
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I think to hit the european tow ratings trailer brakes are required. I would not be happy with a 3000 lb trailer behind a golf with or without trailer brakes.

I agree, keeping the frontal area as low as possible is a good idea though. Pulling an enclosed double snowmobile trailer behind a half ton is worse for fuel milage than a tandem axle dump trailer that is thousands of pounds heavier.
 
Manual transmission, big plus, removes the main issue people experiencing pulling big trailers, heat failure of the transmission.

But from a horsepower perspective I think it'll still struggle at highway speed.

Had to laugh, reminded me of a personal experience. During one of our vacations we had to get the 4 of us plus all our luggage (for a 10 day cruise) into my Aveo for the drive to Buffalo airport where we flew to Florida. For those who know how much cargo space an Aveo hatchback has, you'd understand the struggle. I borrowed a relative's roof-top carrier to have any hope of making it all fit. We got everything in, but just that little roof top carrier created so much drag that I could barely get the car to shift into 4th gear at 100KPH, any sort of hill would have it shifting down into 3rd and screaming, and going over the bridges in Hamilton and St. Kitts it was down into second gear and struggling even more. ;)
 
Nick_f said:
does a V nose trailer help, or just a gimmick?


I'm starting to lean towards the tent trailer, or equivalent.

It would more than likely just be me spending the weekend, but the odd time the wife as well.
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V nose helps a little, more important is the rear of the trailer, drag, that's why you see tractor trailers with plastic fins on the rear doors. The fins help to reduce the vacuum, which causes drag. The main reason tear drop shaped trailers tow well.
 
I towed two bikes on a heavy-duty open trailer with my manual-transmission Jetta TDI routinely, including to Deals Gap and back. Acceleration was leisurely, but once up to speed it stayed there. When heading to Deals Gap, the hill after the Ohio River in Kentucky (just south of Cincinnati) was the first hill going southbound that required 4th gear to go up it.

Landscape trailers with the big ramps on the back are killer for aerodynamics if you have the ramps sitting vertical (normal parked position). Even if they are perforated ... doesn't matter. Those are like dragging a parachute.

I've known people to pull smaller enclosed trailers (5x8 low roof) with a Golf/Jetta diesel. The airflow around an open trailer with bikes on it is "dirty". An enclosed trailer isn't necessarily as much more drag as one might think. Keep the weight and frontal area down. V-nose should help a bit.
 
GreyGhost said:
TDI's are surprisingly forgiving with a manual transmission. I towed the tornado around the province with an old TDI and it is taller than the car and probably weighs ~1500 lbs on the trailer. PS, if anyone wants a Tornado, send me a PM. It's butt-puckering fast. I need a slower boat for the family.
SkUMfqt.jpg


I think to hit the european tow ratings trailer brakes are required. I would not be happy with a 3000 lb trailer behind a golf with or without trailer brakes.

I agree, keeping the frontal area as low as possible is a good idea though. Pulling an enclosed double snowmobile trailer behind a half ton is worse for fuel milage than a tandem axle dump trailer that is thousands of pounds heavier.
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fully rigged a tornado should weigh in at under 500lbs, hulls are 340-360lbs. How much you want for it?
 
crankcall said:
fully rigged a tornado should weigh in at under 500lbs, hulls are 340-360lbs. How much you want for it?
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The trailer is incredibly overbuilt. The main beam is a steel pipe ~6" in diameter. There is also a beach dolly with balloon tires in the box. I'll send you a pm about price.
 
I think i'm going to go with with the buy a trailer and leave it grand bend direction.

Tow the bike up with my snowbear trailer, and set up when i show up on Friday if i'm working day shift, and saturday when i'm working night shift. (the joys of an autoworkers schedule)


Anyone have any experience with a pop up trailer for a SOAR weekend?
 
Popup, as in tent trailer?

Biggest downside of tent trailers is noise - fabric doesn't block much. ;). Bring earplugs.

Second issue is weather - if it rains on your departure day you can't fold them in with the canvas wet as you'll come back to a rotten mildew disaster. They have to be dry before you fold everything in and lower the top - if you have to fold them up wet, you'll need to come back as soon as the weather turns, open it up again and let it dry for a day or so before folding it up again .

If you're just going to leave it there you may want to find A traditional hard side camper instead - old ones can be had cheap, and if it's just basically a sheltered area to sleep in the end, they may prove more suitable for you.
 
Popups are fine. There are a few people that have them at SOAR. I have a hybrid (the ends are tent style and fold up). Give it a wipe down if they're wet, the only issue is end of season. If its away for a little while its not a big deal, I wouldn't want to leave it over winter.
It is louder at night so you just want to be aware of who's around when you set it up. Ear plugs are a must, but thats because the guys I race with snore.
With popups just keep an eye out for what features they have. Most will not have AC some don't have fridges, and those that do have the really small ones.
 
reason i'm thinking pop up tent is price and year.

for $3500 you can get a nice little pop up with kitchen, in great shape. I can easily move it with my Jetta when i get to the race track and when i leave, i can move it as well.

I don't want to be a bother to other people asking if i can borrow there pick up to move my camper back and forth at grand bend.

Also, for my budget of $4000 you get old beat up crap when it comes to a full trailer.
 
Noise and the aforementioned mildew issues are the only reasons I'm not fond of any trailer with fabric bits, however I do totally understand the weight concern, so you're making a wise call from that perspective.

I understand many of the newer pop up tent trailers as well as the hybrids are now using material that is much more tolerant of being stowed away wet, however keep it in mind – many tent trailers have met their doom because of the fabric rotting away, having been stowed wet and then not properly dried out.
 
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