Let's see those open bike trailers

[Steverino]

Originally Posted by bump

Is that tailgate more bleacher aluminum?

yes it is perfect for trailer decks.

[barnyard]

I know my mission for Tuesday........

I am pretty sure that I have the same trailer. The grating is too light for a road bike. Not terrible for dirtbikes, but I need it stronger for a heavier road bike.

I have to go to Mpls for a Doctor's appt Tuesday, should be able to find some of that decking somewhere in the cities.

Thanks for the pics Steve.

Awesome.

[Steverino]

Originally Posted by barnyard

I know my mission for Tuesday........

I am pretty sure that I have the same trailer. The grating is too light for a road bike. Not terrible for dirtbikes, but I need it stronger for a heavier road bike.

I have to go to Mpls for a Doctor's appt Tuesday, should be able to find some of that decking somewhere in the cities.

Thanks for the pics Steve.

Awesome.

Same reason I changed mine. The expanded metal crap was failing. What I used is a 13" interlocking bleacher planking. Sort of like tongue and groove flooring. Tried to find a detail at the website of the company that installed the bleachers at the stadium I just finished, but there was not one on their site.

I removed all the rust from mine, and then rattle canned bed liner on all the steel parts. Then added the box, and the chocks, and the tailgate. Scope creep almost got out of control.

Good luck finding it.

[5OUTTA6]

Thanks for info on chocks. Im probably going to go w/ 36" apart on my crappy HF trailer. I have a 2x6 PT deck so Im not worried there. It hauls two trail 90's fine or one KLR so it should be able to haul two KLR's w/o any problems once a retrofit work is done......

[stinkfinger]

Standard 5x8 mesh bottom with some added 2x12's and paint/stain.
Put some ramp attachment points across the back and just use
the rear gate for my ramp, that way i always have a ramp with me
and if someone steals it, it can be replaced for 10 bucks. The ramp (top)
lays flush and locks to trailer when in position so no humps to get
over or ramp movement. Double sided tractor taillights throw
a lot of light forward to keep the trailer lit and i never have to
wonder if the lights are working when goin down the road.
Moved the axle back 9" to counter the weight of the wood
and now it pulls straight as an arrow(loaded or unloaded).
275/60/15's on 10" american racing rims
With all the wood its got some extra weight, but solid as hell.
Just need to come up with some fenders, need 12" wide and
trailer fenders are only sold up to 10" wide.

Tony

[stinkfinger]

Tony

[stinkfinger]

T

[garfey]

Used to borrow this 5x8 Aluma (they're really 4'6" x 8') from a friend up the road but he sold it and I bought a Featherlite thru the FM here (Thanks, flan8tive!) and, the timing being serendipitous, did Daytona Half-a-Bike-Week, got my KTM cap signed by Willie G, and had lunch with more ADVRiders at the Outback Crab Shack inland from St. Aug. The F'lite is built a bit heavier and has larger tires than the Aluma but the weight difference is insignificant. Unloaded, the tongue is a one-finger lift and it can be pulled around the yard easily, one-handed.

The only problem with little flatbed trailers, IMO, is that, when hauling more than one bike, the outboard tie-down leads go almost straight down - not good! - so I've had a couple of 42" lengths of 2x2 box-section steel cut to bolt on athwartships, underneath the deck, at the leading edge of the bed, with eye-bolts to mount at the outboard ends to provide a good tie-down angle. (42" takes 'em out to the width of the fenders.) I also have Pingel chocks to mount (Thanks, krautbikeman!), a 6"-er on C/L, another 6"-er to the right, and a 3"-er to the left. If hauling a skinny-tire bike in a 6" chock, I use lengths of 1x3 oak to keep the front tire centered in the chock; a couple of bungee cords would do as well.

Hint: A Kryptonite cable, looped around the trailer tongue and padlocked (visible in the pic), makes a great attachment point for the inboard tie-down strap hooks when hauling two bikes.

[garfey]

"5x8" is also handy as a rolling shop for tire changes, maintenance, and repairs on friends' bikes.

[bump]

One of my favorite sites for seeing the possibilities is the Expedition Portal site. Here's their section on trailers. The more I look into my trailer project the more I think I might end up building an independent suspension for it with airbags and shocks. The reason is that as I plan out what I want the trailer to do I see the weight can really change from a day trip solo to a four day hell run deep into the Dez with a buddy or two. Leaf springs really fail at that range of weight. Plus the axle is the one thing holding back the travel offroad behind the 4Runner. Ideally, the new trailer will have the same ground clearance as the 4Runner. And as one very wise poster pointed out, ideally the trailer can hold stuff securely without beating it to death via no damping on the suspension.

So I might do the trailer in two stages. I've found alot of interesting information about doing a independent setup and will post soon as I make sense of all of it.

More later...

http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ition-Trailers

[K7MDL]

I found this unique trailer built by Xtra Mile 2 years ago. It is about 12 years old. Only a few of them were built by an Oregon boat builder I was told. The welding and wiring underneath is top notch and very beefy aluminum tube and C channel stock. The main deck was a fiberglass clad deck material, but I replaced it with diamond deck. It uses a torsion axle and trailer tires with nice cast/machined aluminum wheels common on boat trailers and . Good for 2,000 lb working load. It tows super nice, and rides well over potholes and washboard too.

Trailer 2
Trailer 3
Trailer 4
Storage Box


It has a nice locking box integrated as part of a rock shield up front. There is a light inside and it is carpeted which is nice. A very wide ramp is mounted on the back deck. It has a small hole that slips over the rear tiedown eyebolt for secure storage. The front secures with rubber boat hatch/window T handles. 2 straight pins at the front hold it onto the rear deck lip when loading.

An interesting feature is the 6 stake pockets along the 2 outside edges of the main deck (6'x8') just inside the wheels. This easily loads (ride on) and hauls 2 big street bikes or 3 dirt bikes, or hauls "stuff" with the sides on, or make tall side posts for a canoe/kayak carrier or top box or tent platform as described in this thread.

[aaronrkelly]

Just a cheap POS trailer I bought of Craigslist for $375.



I think its a little bigger then 5x10.

Added a cheap homemade box on the tongue for tie downs and such. Have a wheel chock dead center in the front (I usually only carry one bike). I have a strip of e-track going straight down the center to make it easier to tie down the ass end of bikes and quads. The left side of the trailer (side closest in the picture) has had the railing cut and hinged so I can side load a quad in the front.....beats the hell out of grabbing ahold of a big 4x4 quad and "sliding" it around sideways.

Those three "pillars" in the front are an ingenious idea a friend of mine had. I have a boat hand winch welded to a piece of pipe that slips down over those. I store it in the box. When something is "disabled" I can slide it over one of those pillars and winch it up on the trailer. Used it on a big touring bike recently. One person to steady the bike....another cranks and this way no real chance of dropping the bike or anyone pulling a muscle rolling the big bitch up on the trailer.

Best damn $375 I ever spent. One of the axles is "slightly" bent....it eats a tire every other season......but I got a stack of used tires so eh....fuck if Im going to fix it.

[Twohondas]

Originally Posted by bump

..................... Ideally, the new trailer will have the same ground clearance as the 4Runner.

One of the negatives of my Kendon is that the ground clearance is not great for pulling your bikes into the boonies to set up a base camp.



I have also towed my Wing on a smooth dirt road but ........not something I want to do again.

[mike1952]

Originally Posted by Twohondas

One of the negatives of my Kendon is that the ground clearance is not great for pulling your bikes into the boonies to set up a base camp.



I have also towed my Wing on a smooth dirt road but ........not something I want to do again.

why would you not want to tow it again? I plan on getting a Concours or similar bike and tow it to a base camp and do day trips from there.

[Twohondas]

The Kendon tows fine with the Wing...............I just do not want to tow on a dirt road again unless there is no option. The trailer gives you a great option to set up a comfortable base camp and importantly makes for comfortable desert crossings in the summer.




The trouble with dirt roads is they are not consistent and have some bad patches. This road is in Idaho. Did about 40 miles in dirt.............slow.

Putting on a center rail and truck mud guards helps with flotsam and jetsam but the lack of ground clearance complicates matters.