Here is an updated pic of mine. I really like this setup for hauling riding gear, camping gear, ect...
I'm poor. Harbor Freight special (not bad for $250). Does hold two...well, it held the V-Strom on the haul back from Missouri and my CB750 project was in pieces scattered all around the Strom. If I extended the deck width and braced it, I bet it'll hold two side by side. At least it folds in half and takes up less space in the 1 car garage. It also tilts to help load. Only did that once when I loaded the Strom. About sh*t myself when I passed the tipping point trying to hold the bike.
I JUST bought one of the HF ones this morning. 4'x8' with the 12" wheels. Got it for $231.99 out the door. And in SC you dont have to register/plate utility trailers under 2500 pounds so no title and registration fees I know what my weekend project will be. Got to make a run to Lowes and get a sheet of plywood and some flat bolts nuts and washers.
Anyone seen the airbags for trailers that have a shock inside? Sorta like a hot dog through a donut. Never-mind... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/28967-airbag-shock-combo
16 foot whitewater boat, ninja 500 and bandit 1200. raised bed in back with 4" foam mattress. 14" verticle stowage under bed.
one bike on this one...see the 2x10x8ft on the side? that's the ramp. 8ft is a nice and easy push up the trailer.
Finally got to do a riding trip earlier this fall, hauling my Jumping Jack about 6 hours north. First time hauling it with that much load, for that far, for a proper three-day riding/camping trip. I'm in the mood to post pictures tonight, so I think I'll just do so: Previously I'd only been able to re-post photos of Jumping Jacks from the internet, but I can finally proudly say that this is my own Jumping Jack under tow by my own rather large sedan. Stiff head- and cross-winds and some hilly spots (mostly near Itasca/the Mississippi headwaters area) conspired against my car's tall gearing to deliver only about 12 mpg over the whole trip. Previously, I'd gotten around 16mpg towing this trailer, but not with this much load (details below). Passing power wasn't an issue, so my lack of patience likely contributed to our low mileage performance as much as anything--or so my buddy told me, repeatedly. He also kept reminding me that his Tahoe would've towed the load at 14mpg, but I kind of doubt it in the wind we were in. Our speed average certainly would have been between 5-10mph slower in that case as well. What's our time worth? We estimate the towed load pictured at 2500 lbs, with another couple hundred pounds or so in the trunk: grill, chainsaw in its case, a couple firearms, my tool boxes, my buddy's riding gear bag and cooking gear tote, and some other odds and ends. I like generally keeping the car's cabin free of as much gear as possible, but on this trip a second cooler and the potatoes, buns and bread ended up in the back seat. My lantern always rides up front with me regardless of what we're driving (maybe someday I'll find a proper case for it). One of the black totes on the trailer had my cooking gear, and the other had the camp stove, oils, soda, propane, and water. Basically everything in a bottle or jug went in there, and then one of my buddy's quart bottles of oil sprung a leak inside the tote. Yay. Other than the rest of the obviously visible stuff on the trailer, everything else was stowed inside the trailer (bedding, duffel bags, folding table, camp chairs, EZ-up, my riding gear, etc.). That cooler on the tongue was hastily strapped on last thing before we left, with two of my brand-new blaze orange (that's all they had) 15' ratchet straps. Only one of them survived the trip, but at least we didn't loose the cooler when the strap caught the trailer tire and was ripped off. We both knew better than to strap the cooler that way, but we were in a hurry to leave. Serves us right, I suppose. If you saw my older pictures on the first page of this thread, you'll see basically the same old setup on the deck of this trailer, except that deck area is smaller and it's 15" higher in the air. Loading and unloading bikes is still a bit of a challenge, but it doesn't go too bad with two guys helping each other (as opposed to each loading his own bike). Back at the site we stayed in three years ago. It was just an old disused logging landing that happened to be a nice grassy clearing. The fire ring we made then shows up on Google Earth now. The fire ring didn't get much use this time, because the grass grew to beat heck with all the rain this summer, then it just stopped raining for almost two months leading up to our visit. There were wildfires blazing about an hour away both to the east and to the west of us. Of course nobody really hears about them unless they're in the BWCA, further to the east. Camp set up: The wind was terrible the first day, so we had to bunch everything together to try to keep the grill and stove from blowing out. They did anyway several times, but we were still able to grill some marinated chicken and boil some of Minnesota's state grain, wild rice (produced in California). Unlike the large tent we used to use, the canvas Jumping Jack tent was remarkably quiet in the strong wind. However, unlike in that tent, a restless sleeper (2 out of 3 of us on this trip) now shakes the whole trailer. Looking inside the tent through the door from outside. My friend from the area informed us that the local black bears have been especially problematic this year (he lost his dog to one this summer), hence the 870 loaded up with slugs lying on the floor. That's his bag on the floor lying kitty corner. I don't know why he put it that way, but he got clobbered the first night each time either of us on the bunks got up to water the grass. The second night, he laid straight with the world, and it was much easier to step over him in the dark with a full bladder. My buddy skipped the bunk mattress on his side and just used his air mattress. He lucked out that the mattress and his suitcase were just the right length for the Jumping Jack's bunk (about 8' long), making his side of the tent very tidy. Well, you'll just have to take my word for it that it was before he started urgently digging for his first aid kit. My dad bought a 7'x14' enclosed trailer around the same time I bought this Jumping Jack trailer. He's suggested that I borrow it for a riding trip, but I haven't felt like taking him up on it. I do like the idea of everything being inside and out of sight and the elements, but other than that, I think I still like my setup better. If I still had to pitch a tent on the ground, I might be of a different mind, but I do know that camping inside an enclosed cargo trailer has it's own set of problems to overcome.
A 7X14 R&R aluminum quad trailer with 5 locking bike shoes. We could have squeezed 6 shoes on, But we can only seat 5 in the truck so 5 bikes was the way to go. We run one long strap across the tops of the back tires and that the only strap we use. The bikes are amazingly stable mounted on an angle like this.
Background: I've owned and operated several compact cars in my 30 years on the earth. Shortly after I began motorcycling I decided to pick up..a pick up. It was a cheap 4 cyl. dodge dakota 5 speed. It's a good truck, however, I recently decided to get back to what I enjoy more, small 4 cylinder econo box. The dakota is actually for sale right now if you're interested Anyway, I recently picked up an 05 Low miles Dodge Neon. I am pretty familiar with the neon. I owned 2 while in college and they were my work horses. I moved out of multiple apartments with a neon and a trailer. So, I was on the look out for a light trailer to use for bike hauling duties. I found just what I was looking for and picked it up today: It's an older snowmobile trailer that a local kid bought and fixed up, replaced lights, he replaced wheel bearings, cleaned and painted up, beefed up the metal under the decking, replace coupler, decking, and built a nice railing around the front part of the trailer. This one really caught my eye because of the railing. It gives me the almost perfect spot to mount the track for mirage truck rack that I used on the dakota: So I'm pretty pysched. I am thinking that it will be used to haul bikes when I need to (for repair, or long distance with the KLX, or vacation w/ wife) and it can be a nice kayak hauler. My whole family is into kayaking, so I'm thinking with the rack, we could haul a whole pile of boats with this trailer. I am also thinking that it would be a good spot to pitch a tent on in rainy conditions, so if my wife and I take the bikes somewhere, we could pitch a tent on the trailer and throw a tarp over the rack above for some extra rain protection. :)
Here's my setup. Hauling just the bikes: Hauling 2 ATVs, 2 kayaks and 2 bikes: Love the quality of the trailer. Light weight, and yet well built. Trailers very nicely behind the Nissan Frontier, even with the heavier load.
After the trailer came home, I took some time to mock up the rack. It's a little short for the bikes to be under it, unless the handlebars could be pointing out the back of the trailer...out from under the rack. I need to research other strapping techniques.
The trailer deck is made of newer treated lumber. I pulled the screws out of it and where the screws were contacting the wood, they are rusting. So to protect my trailer from the treated lumber, I decided to paint the top/bottom/sides. I think I'm going to go get some counter sunk stainless screws to screw down the decking. No sense in letting the steel ones rust and break at some inopportune moment when trailering some precious cargo.
your screws may be rusting due to the chemicals used in the marine or pressure treated wood. spend the money and use galvanized, or stainless steel carriage bolts if you have the space to reach under the deck.
