Guys that pull trailers with a bike.

Op here. Take your first picture and add a 170lb passenger, that's what I have. Hence the desire for a trailer.

My trailer is still half built, got a bit tied up with work and overtime. We're finishing up sometime this week so hopefully I can get it finished. Its the harbor freight homemade with car topper trailer, so I'll find out just how well it really works. I'll be towing with the road king and may later on add a hitch to the fjr.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

I saw this guys sister at the T,O,T,D a couple years ago.

Here she is on an RC 51
[/IMG]

Here She is again!
[/IMG]
Here she is pulling a trailer
[/IMG]
[/IMG]

Ok, trailer is getting close. Going to finish it up today and start painting.

Just for reference, here's how the bike was packed for 2 up camping, just got home last night. There was nothing, except for a few tools, that didn't get used. Not much that can be trimmed from the load without degrading from the camping experience. Might be able to lose 5 pounds if I tried hard enough.







Here's about where the trailer is at now. It's a bit farther along than it looks, the lack of wheels makes it look like I just threw a box on some parts. Just need to bolt on the swivel hitch adapter, weld on a cooler mount for the tongue, paint, and come up with a plan to secure the box. I think a treated 2x4 would be the best solution, might help with lowering vibration and adding sound deadening somehow. Not sure what I'll use there yet, but it's time to figure it out.

jules,
I have the Harbor Freight version of your trailer for my Ural ( can't tow it yet because it voids the warranty ) and the box is bolted to the frame in four places with big fender washers on the inside.
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pWAIbdfmIm3ucoLcVQ2s2tMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f2Zxcs-j1Lo/Udl9lpShs9I/AAAAAAAAJH0/CobM2coWUDQ/s800/HF%2520trailer%2520.jpg" height="800" width="800" /></a>

Are you sure about that?


It seems to me that for all the time, effort and money you are using to set up and equip your bike and trailer you could have found and purchased some better gear and IMPROVED your camping experience (and saved much more than 5 pounds) without even bothering with a trailer and the increased risk of pulling one.

You have the one I should have bought. Instead I bought the flatbed model from Harbor Freight and a car-top carrier from Sears. I sat and looked it it for a bit longer, I have a good plan now using 2x4's.

My gear is actually pretty good, it's just that there's a lot of it. The most recent trip I brought, not counting what I was wearing:

Rain gear x2
Tent (euraka that packs small)
Sleeping bags X2 (mid grade stuff, packed pretty small)
3 pairs of pants, 2 for her one for me
4 pairs of socks (2 each)
Flip flops X2
4 shirts
Tarp (build a lean-to next to tent. Rained hard both nights, it was worth it)
2 Pocket chairs (I recommend these) http://www.amazon.com/Allstar-Marketing-Group-PC011712-Amazing/dp/B004P33I70
Shower stuff (we shared most of it)
Sleeping pads, the blue things on the saddlebags
Cell phone charging
tools
shorts x2


That's about it off the top of my head. I could have lost the tarp, chairs, and sleeping pads. Without the tarp we would have been huddled in tents rather than all of us enjoying the evening. Chairs pack pretty small (see the link) and were nice to have. Sleeping pads were a luxury. I could get smaller ones, but I doubt i would have saved much.




Truth be told I don't know if I'd have used the trailer here, considering it was only 3 days. Any longer and I would have. Riding solo I wouldn't have needed it at all.

I think you will get better mileage with some tires.
Looks good! I am don't like the swivel hitch but to each his own. The lower you can keep the box to the frame, the better off you will be. I think you can get away with some rubber mats if the box has any reinforcment where the bolt hole are, or, a 1"x3" running from front to back, either painted or use one of the under coat in a spray can. Won't rot or even get soggy and it will give you some strength.
If you haven't gotten the lights yet, LED's are the only way to go. SUPER bright and that is nice on the back of the bike at night.

Are there advantages to a high mounted hitch? For smaller trailers?

Tires... Hmm.... I knew I forgot something.




I was undecided on the swivel hitch. For every person that said it's important another said not to use it. The deciding factor for me was getting the hitch and ball in my hand then looking at the lean angle, it just didn't seem like enough. The farther to the side the ball went the more it got tight and didn't want to move as freely.

LED's are sitting in the garage, tonights project is wiring.


Here's what I came up with to mount the box. There's a 1/2" wood spacer under the 2x4 to keep everything tight. The 2x4 is treated, spacer isn't. I'll have to keep an eye on it. I'm going to try to find some rubber to put between the box and 2x4, but if nothing good comes along it probably won't make much difference.







Tonight is wiring, put the hitch on the bike, road test, and clean the garage. It's had a few back-to-back projects in it, getting pretty rough.

Well, it's kind of done.


I was finishing up the wiring while texting a friend, and told him about how the harley has different wiring than a car so I used different lights for the turn signals and brake lights to keep power from back feeding through the wiring. He then told me about diodes, which is exactly what I need. Oops. Today I'm going to go get plates, I'll work on the wiring some more tonight.

The test ride was about what I expected. Can't tell the trailer is there except for acceleration is worse, and the noise. I'm going to add some rubber to the bottom of the box to try to quiet it down. The other sound is my exhaust note bouncing off the trailer. I have a quiet exhaust though, not a big deal at all.