trailer question

Perhaps a bit overkill, but i would use 2x6x8's pressure treated lumber. strong, not terrible heavy as you only need 8 pieces and you can use .50" galvanized i bolts to strap down
 
JZ67 said:
Perhaps a bit overkill, but i would use 2x6x8's pressure treated lumber. strong, not terrible heavy as you only need 8 pieces and you can use .50" galvanized i bolts to strap down
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Would 5/8in pressure treated work ok? 2 4x4 sheets so the trailer can fold still. Would hold at most 2 bikes (about 100-150lb under the max weight rating)
 
Used the same trailer not too long ago, friend of mine owns it, has 3/4 inch plywood for the floor and a wheel chock, which we didn't use as I had strapped into it 2 bikes, FZ750, brought them home with no issues.

It's a folding trailer, but he has never folded it since he put it together.....LOL
 
I have the same trailer and used 3/4 plywood for mine with galvanized hardware. I also got the harbour freight wheel chock, which still requires the forks to be compressed. The only thing I've seen that avoids compressing the forks is the Pitbull restraint, unfortunately it cost as much as the trailer...
http://www.pit-bull.com/trailer-restraint-types.shtml
 
TimJ said:
I have the same trailer and used 3/4 plywood for mine with galvanized hardware. I also got the harbour freight wheel chock, which still requires the forks to be compressed. The only thing I've seen that avoids compressing the forks is the Pitbull restraint, unfortunately it cost as much as the trailer...
http://www.pit-bull.com/trailer-restraint-types.shtml
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Thanks, yeah I looked into those. They don't make them for either of the bikes the trailer would haul :(
 
what bikes are you hauling? If it's either of those in your sig than maybe something similar to this here: http://www.locknloadwheelchocks.com/

Or, something like this if they make them for street bikes: http://www.riskracing.com/pages/Lock_Page.html ( I would be using these but the cost holds me back, and I'm not always carrying just MX bikes)

If you are hauling a dirt bike, get one of those "fork savers" from Royal for like $20. It's a black moulded plastic brace that goes between the front tire and the lower triple clamp and allows the forks to only compress about an inch and have the straps tight... Haven't blown a fork seal since I started using it!
 
being in the plywood business I'd use a 3/4 pressure treated ply, 4x8 would add a bit of rigidity to the trailer, you could use rivet nuts or other quick disassembly fasteners if you wanted to fold the trailer. Difference in weight and price of 5/8 vs 3/4 is nothing and the 3/4 wouyld just hold fasteners better.
You could use a steering stem lift and tie the bike down, then you have no compression on the forks. You'll spend a lot of money to make it work well. I'd be inclined to wheel chock it and tie the front end down and then just release the load on the forks when i got where i was going.
 
crankcall said:
being in the plywood business I'd use a 3/4 pressure treated ply, 4x8 would add a bit of rigidity to the trailer, you could use rivet nuts or other quick disassembly fasteners if you wanted to fold the trailer. Difference in weight and price of 5/8 vs 3/4 is nothing and the 3/4 wouyld just hold fasteners better.
You could use a steering stem lift and tie the bike down, then you have no compression on the forks. You'll spend a lot of money to make it work well. I'd be inclined to wheel chock it and tie the front end down and then just release the load on the forks when i got where i was going.
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I should also mention:

I trailer my FZ6 EVERY weekend to the MX track and then back... so it's strapped in there for damn close to 10 hours PER WEEK using a normal cheap wheel chock.
I use soft loops around the fork tubes just above the lower triple clamps, but I only snug them down so they aren't slack and still firmly holding up the bike (but it can still wiggle a bit).
Then I go to the back, and off the passenger foot peg bracket, I strap it down again to D rings that are about 6" behind the rear tire, and maybe 18" or 2' from the center line of the bike. These are snugged down fairly well, but not anything too crazy.
Once those 4 straps are on, the bike is in there rock solid and I have never had a single issue with it moving or being worried about my fork seals... You should always have the rear strapped down as well.

I don't use ratchet style straps, just the normal pull types as I feel I'm less likely to over tighten them, and they won't bind up. I always tie in a knot with the loose end just above the buckle to prevent the strap from loosening if for some reason the buckle slips.

If you're in an open trailer, wrap up the loose ends. It looks like crap going down the road and if it picks up any debris it will be slapping that debris in to your bike.
 
rmemedic said:
what bikes are you hauling? If it's either of those in your sig than maybe something similar to this here: http://www.locknloadwheelchocks.com/

Or, something like this if they make them for street bikes: http://www.riskracing.com/pages/Lock_Page.html ( I would be using these but the cost holds me back, and I'm not always carrying just MX bikes)

If you are hauling a dirt bike, get one of those "fork savers" from Royal for like $20. It's a black moulded plastic brace that goes between the front tire and the lower triple clamp and allows the forks to only compress about an inch and have the straps tight... Haven't blown a fork seal since I started using it!
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$200 for the first one, wow!

Thanks for the tip on the fork savers, got a pic of it so I can show them exactly what I need? The bikes would be either both VFR's or 1 VFR and a Burgman 650.

An idea I got from researching was to assemble the trailer, mark off connection points, disassemble, grind the paint off, re assemble, then weld the connections. Good idea or a waste of time?
 
have you looked on Kijiji? I personally picked up a 5 year old trailer that was custom built for $350. It is close to the same size has LED lights but is equipped with 15" rim/tire (Better for HWY) and bearing buddies.

If your going to be doing a lot of HWY I wouldn't recommend running a tire as small as what comes on that trailer. To give you a simple description as to what I mean that tire is doing twice the RPM as the ones that came on my trailer. Therefor when my trailer is traveling down the hwy the tire is at 5000rpm yours would be at 10,000rpm. Its very hard on the bearings and more likely to have an issue on a long trip.

Hope that makes sense.
 
rbjeepthing said:
have you looked on Kijiji? I personally picked up a 5 year old trailer that was custom built for $350. It is close to the same size has LED lights but is equipped with 15" rim/tire (Better for HWY) and bearing buddies.

If your going to be doing a lot of HWY I wouldn't recommend running a tire as small as what comes on that trailer. To give you a simple description as to what I mean that tire is doing twice the RPM as the ones that came on my trailer. Therefor when my trailer is traveling down the hwy the tire is at 5000rpm yours would be at 10,000rpm. Its very hard on the bearings and more likely to have an issue on a long trip.

Hope that makes sense.
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Yeah I tried, but needed folding due to small storage space in the garage. Will have to look into upgrading the rims to bigger tires later on, easy job? Fenders would probably need to be modded too.
 
If you buy one, get a spare tire on rim/ spare bearing kit and while your at harbor frt get a wheel wrench that fits the lugs and some pliers and a cresent wrench that fits the bearings and put it in a lockable toolbox and bolt it to the trailer.

If you do this it will never fly apart on a 400 series highways. Or you can join the parade of guys looking for a CTC store at 10pm sunday night.
 
I put casters from PA on the tailgate of mine so I can roll it. Then I just stand it up and roll it to the back of my garage and it only impedes the depth of the garage at about 24". Just trying to give suggestions for people to think out of the box.
 
crankcall said:
If you buy one, get a spare tire on rim/ spare bearing kit and while your at harbor frt get a wheel wrench that fits the lugs and some pliers and a cresent wrench that fits the bearings and put it in a lockable toolbox and bolt it to the trailer.

If you do this it will never fly apart on a 400 series highways. Or you can join the parade of guys looking for a CTC store at 10pm sunday night.
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Will do that, already got the trailer. Have some time to get everything together as it is coming up from Florida in early April (family coming back).

Thanks everyone, will look into upgrading the tires and putting a tool box together before I assemble the trailer. :)
 
silverbullet132 said:
Will do that, already got the trailer. Have some time to get everything together as it is coming up from Florida in early April (family coming back).

Thanks everyone, will look into upgrading the tires and putting a tool box together before I assemble the trailer. :)
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One thing you can do to prolong the life of your wheels is to install a set of bearing buddies (http://www.etrailer.com/Grease-Caps/Bearing-Buddy/BB2441.html). Keeps the grease in contact with the bearings at all times. Got mine from Royal Distributing (see p.286 in the catalogue). Good insurance for 20 bucks!
 
I want a trailer as well....so I can trailer the bike to sunny warm places during the winter.

But I'm always concerned with the loading and unloading of the bike onto these things. Unless you have a long ramp you can walk beside the bike and walk it up, and the trailer isn't too high up.
 
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