Anyone pulling a larger trailer with the 1700?

[0vationdave]

I am thinking of maybe building a larger teardrop trailer that can be used for a small camper as well as moving my model (R/C) airplanes around. I had a small trailer before for camping gear, but I am thinking of going a bit bigger and putting a mattress in it now........forget the tent. Anyone else doing this now? Wondering how it is pulling a ~4x8 trailer with a bike?

Dave

[0vationdave]

If your wondering, look at this simple one http://gizmoplans.com/motorcycle-teardrop-plans

[george james]

I tow a trailer and for me it would be beyond the trailer bike weight ratio, width and length that I `d be comfortable with. With a 8 ft bed your total length would exceed that of your bike, if you use the recommended tongue length your total would be excessive. Just my 2¢, good luck with the project and I'd like to get updates. Thx

[0vationdave]

Gotcha. I am kind of thinking the same thing, which is the reason I posted the question. I am thinking about maybe something much lower, minimal even that allows me to sleep while using the smaller frame from Harbor Freight. I used one of those small trailers before and it towed really well, but I only had a car-top carrier mounted on it, not a frame. I will make another trailer, if nothing else, a small teardrop, just thought about a (little) bigger one to sleep in. All input and thoughts welcome.

Dave

Originally Posted by george james

I tow a trailer and for me it would be beyond the trailer bike weight ratio, width and length that I `d be comfortable with. With a 8 ft bed your total length would exceed that of your bike, if you use the recommended tongue length your total would be excessive. Just my 2¢, good luck with the project and I'd like to get updates. Thx

[george james]

If you're mechanical and somewhat a fabricator I bet you could plan and build one that could fold out to accommodate sleeping quarters but not be so bulky to tow.....think transformers. My thoughts is for it to be just a little wider than the widest part of your bike and not much longer than your bike and less than half the weight. Good luck and keep us posted on your results.

[0vationdave]

I'm with ya, but every time I picture "fold-out" I think canvas, and that means $$, and a lot more screwing around. My other thought was to make a trailer that would basically be the kitchen stuff in the rear and straight storage in the front for a tent and such. That way you don't have to set up/tear down and pack all of the utensils, pots, pans, silverware, grill, etc.. Its all right there, I could get there, set up the tent and sleeping area, and be done.

Anyway, just throwing out thoughts, there are tons of ideas out there, just have to think about what I want.

[george james]

I really am interested in what you end up with because in the back of my mind there is a spot that has been toying around with this sorta trailer.

[Bud2rat]

George, if anybody could build one, it would be you. So, build us one and let us know of the outcome.

[smokey]

I tow this one, not mine in the pics but the same model http://paulmeyers.smugmug.com/Travel...7618&k=6F96cNs

[1oldtimer]

Damn Smokey, that's one nice trailer. Let me know if you ever want to lose it

[napom]

So your initial plan is to build something similar to this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Small-Lightw...item1c2cf5da60

I'm no engineer or fabricator, but looking at the structure in the last pic of the listing, I could see lowering the height of the trailer easily (Making the roof line at the top of the forward most vertical beam) and cutting a foot off the length if desired -

Have you contacted any manufacturers to ask about the concerns raised in post #3?

[smokey]

Originally Posted by 1oldtimer

Damn Smokey, that's one nice trailer. Let me know if you ever want to lose it

Hey $4000 can buy anything, on mine I have it color matched to the red/black, that alone was a $1000 but it sure looks nice.

[old dog]

I just bought the little tag along from harbor freight. A friend and I made a hitch for the Vaquero. Will try tenting for the first time this summer. I will use it as cargo trailer also. To much crap to haul on the bike. Anyone use a air mattress? These new ones are like 16 inches thick. Going to give it a try before I get to old.

[0vationdave]

Sweet trailer Smokey. But with 2 kids in college, a bit out of my price range. Napom, the trailer in your link is close to what I was thinking, not sure though.

My other thought is to come up with something like a Hi-lo trailer. So, build a frame put a box on it with an open top, then make the top of the box able to slide up/down with some scissor jacks on each side. That would provide interior height, while maintaining a low profile for towing. I need to start sketching soon, and see what I can come up with.

Dave

[0vationdave]

One other thought came to me that would much easier to set up then a high-low. If you had a box on the bottom, and another box on top that was cut from (for instance) the top front corner to the bottom rear corner, it would for a type of wedge. Then if you hinged it at the front, you could lift the rear up and have it lock forming a kind of wedge shape. This would be much easier to set up for one person. Again, I will sketch up some stuff and post some ideas in a few days (I hope).

Dave