Custom Made Pull Behind Trailer

Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
A long, long time ago (back in the 80s), I used to have a 1200 Goldwing. I used to be a "money is no object" sort of guy, and I wanted a trailer, so I went out and purchase a brand new Escapade trailer all chromed out with a cooler rack, bra, independent suspension, etc... This was a beautiful trailer, but it cost me like $2,600 (and this was in the 80s), and it was very heavy.

Here I am now, 20 years older, 20 times more careful about my spending and 20 times poorer. I have been wanting a trailer to pull behind the ST (and a Burgman if I can ever get one for a descent price), that is lightweight, very functional (carry cargo, bicycles, bags of sand or a tree if I need to), inexpensive and still look good.

Guess what.....there is nothing out there. I have looked everywhere. This has lead me to where I am now....learning to weld. I have designed (in the vast emptiness of my head of course) a plan for the weight that I want it to be, the price and what I want it to look like.

Most of the parts have been ordered, and a couple of pieces have arrived, and I'm starting to get quite excited. I have a bit of experience with wood, but have never built anything out of steel, or anything that required a registration to travel down the road. If I can do this, not only will I have exactly what I wanted, but I will be able to do it at a reasonable price, and be extremely proud of what I have done (priceless....is this a Discover Card commercial?)

So here are the features of my trailer:

- High Polished Diamond Plate Flatbed
- Removable Cargo Box
- (2) Bicycle Mounts
- Independent Suspension
- Swivel Tongue Coupler
- LED Turn Signals, Running Lights and Brake Lights
- Less than 100 lbs total weight
- Less than $1K total cost

I am also going to design my own hitch. I will not be using the typical tongue coupler with 1 & 7/8" ball. That is over-kill and too heavy. I am not towing 7,000 lbs, so I am coming up with a small, lightweight swivel system that will also be lockable (if they want it, then they are going to have to take the bike too....its insured). I will take my time building it, as I want it to be perfect. I expect it to take me a couple of months between the trailer and the hitch for the ST. Of course once I finish, I will post pictures.

So I am interested in seeing other people's tow-behind trailer creations. How are they built, and what made you decide to build it the way you did?

Texas :06biker:
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
161
Location
Maryland Eastern Shore
Bike
ST 1300
STOC #
7450
You guys are reading my mind...or maybe I'm reading yours.

I checked the local HF outlet today and their little trailer with 12" wheels is on sale for about $190 until 11 Aug 08 and I just missed the X Cargo sale at Sears for the 20 CF car top box. Still...parts are under $500 for the trailer. I was going to go with rubber torsion bar independent suspension until I saw the HF trailer today and I think the springs less on leaf will handle things just fine.

George,

What kind of weight do you think your hitch will handle? I'm thinking of something very similar, but a bit heavier. Is that solid material or tubing?

Joe
 
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
522
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57
Location
Lebanon, CT.
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5130
it's solid material. I can tweek it a little, with somme muscle, but it's pretty solid. Solid enough for as much weight as I'll ever tow with this trailer.
BTW, I used the 8" wheels and have about 10,000 miles so far on this trailer without issues. I also narrowed the harbor freight frame by 17 inches so that it's not so wide. Now it's about 34" wide... just about the same as the bike.
 
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OP
OP
Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
George,

You went with the same hubcaps that I am going with. Those hubcaps I believe are made for Golf Carts, and I believe they are made to fit a deeper wheel. Did you have to modify them at all? I see your 8" wheels are 4-bolt. I am looking at going with 5-bolt because I should hopefully be able to hide the bolts behind the hubcap's 5 spokes. What do you think? If you did modify the hubcaps, what did you have to do to them?

By the way, good job on the hitch. Your tongue coupler is very simular to what I am doing. Much, much lighter than a traditional coupler. What size of flat bar did you use for the rear support of the hitch (thickness x width)? I assume you used a U-Bolt at the top to attach it to the frame?

Texas
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
I just missed the X Cargo sale at Sears for the 20 CF car top box.

I am still looking for a good deal on a cargo box. At this point, it is not a "must have right now". Even with a flatbed, I will be able to haul several dufflebags, but once I can find a great deal on a cargo box (hopefully the same one George has), I will be buying it.

Texas
 
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
522
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Location
Lebanon, CT.
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5130
George,

You went with the same hubcaps that I am going with. Those hubcaps I believe are made for Golf Carts, and I believe they are made to fit a deeper wheel. Did you have to modify them at all? I see your 8" wheels are 4-bolt. I am looking at going with 5-bolt because I should hopefully be able to hide the bolts behind the hubcap's 5 spokes. What do you think? If you did modify the hubcaps, what did you have to do to them?

By the way, good job on the hitch. Your tongue coupler is very simular to what I am doing. Much, much lighter than a traditional coupler. What size of flat bar did you use for the rear support of the hitch (thickness x width)? I assume you used a U-Bolt at the top to attach it to the frame?

Texas

The hubcaps are the Golf cart ones, but yes they did have to be modified. They were WAY to deep to work so I used a die grinder to take off the material from the back until they fit without bottoming out. It was a job to do that, but as you can see, it can be done. If I had to do it again, I would try to find something shallower, but these do really look nice.

The hitch rear support bar is 5/8" X 1-1/2" and that is the only piece on the hitch that is hollow. Being square tubing, it's very strong.

To attach it to the bike up top was a challenge. The way I went about it was that if you look up at the inner wheel well, up top, you'll see a flat spot in the plastic wheel well. That spot is the side of the tool kit pocket under the seat. What I did was cut a rectangle peice of steel that would fit on the inside....under the seat... in that spot. Then I drilled 2 holes through that peice, the plastic wheel well, and the hitch metal itself, and bolted it all together. It turns out to be very strong. It's only to support the tongue weight, which will be next to nothing if the trailer is designed and loaded properly. The side to side strength comes from the parts of the hitch that bolt to the muffler mounts.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
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SC
Brian: Did I miss something, did you custom make the reciever or buy it from someone? Also, it looks like it only attaches to where the mufflers attach, just two points of contact?

tnx
 
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
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Lebanon, CT.
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5130
Brian: Did I miss something, did you custom make the reciever or buy it from someone? Also, it looks like it only attaches to where the mufflers attach, just two points of contact?

tnx
I did custom make my own. It attaches to the bike in 3 spots. The 2 muffler mounts and up in the wheel well where I described in may last post. If it was only attached at the muffler mounts there would be no support for the weight of the trailer vertically.
 
Joined
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You can see the 3rd mounting point that I tried to describe here in this photo:



And you can see where it supports the hitch in this photo:

 
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
161
Location
Maryland Eastern Shore
Bike
ST 1300
STOC #
7450
it's solid material. I can tweek it a little, with somme muscle, but it's pretty solid. Solid enough for as much weight as I'll ever tow with this trailer.
BTW, I used the 8" wheels and have about 10,000 miles so far on this trailer without issues. I also narrowed the harbor freight frame by 17 inches so that it's not so wide. Now it's about 34" wide... just about the same as the bike.

Brian,

I think you are correct that the 8" wheels are adequate, however, I envision a 3" to 4" PVC pipe slung under the trailer/tongue to carry fly rods so the extra 2" ground clearance will help me out...I think.

What kind of weight can you easily pull with your set-up? I'm guessing 80 -100 pounds for the complete trailer and possible up to 300 pounds of sprung weight for a potential load. I'm thinking 400 pounds of pulled weight will not be any harder on the bike than a 200 pound rider....except for braking possibly. I doubt I will ever pull that much weight, but would like to have the capability if I want to do so at some point.

I think I read somewhere that a Wing will pull 700 pounds with no problem, so 400 lbs for an ST seems reasonable to me. I want to try to balance the trailer with the 300 lbs load to give about a 20 lb tongue weight or so. Braking is my real concern where there are forward and down forces at work on the hitch.

Any thoughts from anyone??

Joe
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
161
Location
Maryland Eastern Shore
Bike
ST 1300
STOC #
7450
Jon,


You are certainly correct about CG...lower is better. One of my reasons for build ing the trailer is potentially for a trip to AK next summer by bike. I've done the Alcan by Cessna and truck and I would really like to do it by bike with my sons and camp along the way.

Maybe my thought process is flawed, but I'm thinking during braking the tongue weight will be significantly higher so I am trying to stay a bit light with the CG further back than normal to accomodate the weight shift that occurs when you hit the brakes hard. I would of course load the trailer with heavy items on the bottom and keep loads from shifting as much as possible, keeping the trailer/load CG as low as possible. I'm planning an ice chest in the front on the tongue and fuel cans and a 20 lb propane tank on the back of the trailer which pretty much adds up to 100 pounds by it's self. The remaining weight would be camping gear, food, clothes and stuff. I might choose to go with multi-fuel stove/lantern and drop the propane requirement and just haul unleaded gasoline as needed. A gallon of gas goes a long way in Coleman stoves and lanterns.

Anyway, the ideas and experiences of others are greatly valued and will help my design efforts!!

Thanks,

Joe
 
OP
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Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
I know that people have pulled more weight with their bikes than people would think (Wings as a good example). However, I still would not recommend it...at least not for a trip of any length. I know there may be times I may pick up something (like a big Air Compressor) from the store and bring it home, but all of my stores are within 1.5 miles of my home. I would not consider pulling that kind of weight on a 2,000 mile trip. I am sure the ST would do it, but just like smoking isn't good for people, pulling that much weight can't be good for the ST. The weight of my trailer will be about 100 lbs dry, so I won't be carrying more than 100 lbs on top.

To keep the CG low, I am using torsion axles. They are a bit more expensive, but everyone that I know that has used them, rage about how well the trailer handles with them.

Texas
 

ST1300 Alicia

aka GSA Girl & KLR Girl
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This is a forum that contains a host of information on Trailer Towing and Home Builds. They have a Special area for HF Trailers. These guys are serious about trailers. They talk about lowering the center of Gravity on the HF Trailers by placing the axle on top of the spring and modifying the Fenders. Check Them Out. I have a 12" HF kit that I will build soon!

http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTrailertowing/start
 
OP
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Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
I had given some thought to a all aluminum trailer, but the axles are steel, and I don't know how well that would match up to a aluminum frame. Also, welding aluminum takes special equipment that I don't have, and I don't think I want to get into. The bed of my trailer will be aluminum, but it will be riveted to the steel frame.

Texas
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
161
Location
Maryland Eastern Shore
Bike
ST 1300
STOC #
7450
You are right...aluminum is the best material.

I have a Featherlite 5' x 8' with rubber torsion axles that I have thought about cutting down, but it is so handy I am not willing to sacrafice it for the bike.

They say you can weld Al with a MIG using 100% argon and AL wire, but I have never tired it. I do have all the riveting equipment left over from building/fixing airplanes, but considering the extra costs involved with AL and how cheap the HF trailer kit is, I don't think I'd save enough weight to make it worthwhile. Maybe if AL was cheaper.

So Texas, you are saying 200 lbs is the max you think would be appropriate to haul any distance. Is your concern the clutch or just added strain on the bike it's self? Any other ideas on max weight for an ST to pull on a long trip?
 
Joined
Jun 13, 2008
Messages
22
Location
Philadelphia, PA
I have to say, you guys are BOLD!!!!!! I wouldn't even think about towing something w/ my bike. YEs I have seen it done w/ GWs and HD's but even that I say it's bold. I've been riding for years (since '78) and the though of towing w/ the bike never was even entertained in my mind.

On the other hand, when I triked out my VTX1800 for my wife, Honda said that we would void the warranty on the drive train of the bike if we did it because the VTX wasn't designed to pull. Hmmmmm sure puts out a lot of torque to not pull.

Any thought?
 
OP
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Joined
May 16, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Humble, TX
My concern is the max load of the ST. Just like with a truck that has a maximum towing capacity, the ST has one too. What is that number though? Motorcycles were not designed to tow, so the manufacturers do not give any kind of numbers on that. We are a one motorcycle, no car family. Keeping the ST in tip-top condition is #1 for me. I rely on it for getting to work, getting groceries, or anything else. We mostly ride two-up, so there is that extra added weight. I am sure I could pull 500 lbs if I wanted to, but how many miles would I get out of the drive-train, or the clutch. There is also the brakes. The brakes were not designed to stop an extra 500-700 lbs. They can do it, but expect to have much longer stopping distances, and replace those pads much more often. My goal is to add a trailer that we can use every week, but will not take away from the life of the ST, or add any significant maintenance.

Due to my vehicle situation, my goals are probably different from other people. For me, lightness and safety, while giving me a trailer that is multifunctional is top priority.

Texas
 
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