Motorcycle Cargo Trailer

[mrfuni]

If found a hitch provider, now a decision needs to be made on the cost of a hitch and trailer verses the amount of trips I'd take where a trailer is desireable......For most trips, the saddlebags and t-bags do the trick...

[oldbikers]

Even Honda says that you cannot pull a trailer with the Goldwing and I see a lot of people pay attention to them I had a very nice trailer but I sold it with my wing so I built one with the harbor freight and a large plastic truck box from Wal-mart and a 4' X 4' piece of aluminum diamond plate. Pulls great and don't look bad about $250.00 bought the trailer on sale for $139.00

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by oldbikers

Even Honda says that you cannot pull a trailer with the Goldwing and I see a lot of people pay attention to them I had a very nice trailer but I sold it with my wing so I built one with the harbor freight and a large plastic truck box from Wal-mart and a 4' X 4' piece of aluminum diamond plate. Pulls great and don't look bad about $250.00 bought the trailer on sale for $139.00

And I'm waiting for the little Harbor Freight trailer to go on sale and I'll get one myself!

[cactusjack]

I found this picture of a very unique homemade trailer on another site. Thought I'd share it here...

[justbrian]

Sorry folks i said earlier that i would post some pics of my trailer but i don't own a camera i have to use the one at work. I grab it this weekend seeing that no one will be working

[csguru]

I found this page which has a bunch of links on cycle trailering, thought others might want to check it out:
http://www.rcmedic.com/trailers.asp

Also, I confirmed that http://hitchdoc.com/ has a hitch for 06' 1600 Nomad. Here is the just of the email:

First of all, I want to thank you for your recent inquiry concerning our hitches! We design the hitches to fit stock therefore; our hitch will not fit with the chromed fender tip and must be taken off in order for the hitch to work. The Vulcan Nomad 1600 hitch is a receiver hitch where the ball and tongue drop out when it is not in use! The main part of the hitch is powder coated black and the ball and tongue are chromed. The price of the hitch is $245 (part number 15525). Enclosed is a picture of the Vulcan Nomad 1500 hitch installed on the bike so that you have an idea what it looks like on the bike (we do not have a picture of the Nomad 1600 hitch as of yet). Installation instructions come with the hitch and it would take on average 1-2 hours to install. We recommend that you have a friend help you so that you don’t scratch the bike. The shipping and handling ranges from $20-$30 within the US by UPS ground. Once you place your order, the shipment would take 7-10 working days. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-446-8222 Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm CST.

I'm fairly confident this is where I'll get my hitch from

Good Luck

[justbrian]

I took the trailer to work so i could get photos so as mentioned here it is, I got side tracked from this project ive yet to paint it. Just going to use spray paint from hardware store.

[cactusjack]

Justbrian, where did you obtain the cargo box? What brand is it? Couldn't read it in the pictures.

[misunderstood]

Looks like an X Cargo from Sears. :)

[justbrian]

Cactusjack,
Yeah misunderstood was right its a sears xcargo. i walked in they had it on sale for 100.00. even though somone had one for sale 2 hrs away for 65 dollars used. i did not feel like spending the money on gas to get a used box. it probally weighs like 20lbs. a sinch to put togeather. new it has 1 year warenty and for the most part its very water "resistant" Excuse my spelling the computer has been drinkning

[coacha]

justbrian, how long did it take you to put it together? Did you lengthen the tongue at all? Any mods to the trailer? Is it the 12" tire or 8" tire type? What type of wiring harness are you using, 4, 5 or 6 pin?

I know, a lot of questions.

[justbrian]

coacha,
Folks here said to lenghten the toung and some folks said they did not. I have pulled it loaded i can see why folks have said to legnthen the toung however its seems to tow fine at posted speed limits. i have an american standard 4 pin pig tail with an additional wire for the break lights. just put a bullet conector zipped tied to the pig tail. instead of getting the hoppy converter i just added more break lights. Now as far as trailer tire size i just kept the stock wheels. I think they are 8 inch rims with a 10" tireI have not done any really long trips with the trailer just a few hundred miles to and from place here in carolina. i put this trailer togeath in give or take 6 hrs total. The assembly of the cargo carier and the trailer were very simple. Oh and for the trailer deck i used 3/4" marine grade ply so i would not have to worry about water rot.

[coacha]

thanks for the answers.

I'm just terrified of the wiring of the harness from the bike end. I have a camping trailer I have to wire for too but I'm a big chicken when it comes to wiring.

[justbrian]

Coacha,
The way i did it, and im open to everyone to tell me if this is not the way to do it or the right way, inside the rear fender is a compartment with the brake, run, and turn lights. In that compartment is where i tapped in to the wire harness. I used a test light and a help from my lady at the controlls i figured wich wires went to wich lights. Now it wasent all smooth operations. My auxillary lights drew power from the running lights wich i forgot about and after a few minutes blew a fuse and i had no lights at all. So i just grabbed power for the aux lights elsewhere. Now i cant say this is the right way to do this, but i can say it has worked fine for me ever sense. Im open to other suggestions from some of the more seasoned electricians. hope this helps ya Coacha.
brian

[macmac]

You guys need this link. http://www.gadgetjq.com/trailer.htm
Really consider getting a hoppy converter.. These do more than just conver Euro lamps to American, like protect the bike's wiring from a dead short that could fry the charging system. The hoppy induces voltage from the bikes power to itself and send out a like signal. This means uses very little power from the bike's resorces.

Brian use Krylon for plastic, even if you don't like the color. Then after you have used that you can use another enamel over that...

Get the box clean as it is slimey with mold release.