Lumina 14 cu ft trailer

Sadlsor said:
Nice thing about 2-wheeled trailers when you come to a stop... they always stand on their own without my help.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you still have to keep the motorcycle in front of them upright... unless you ride a trike or in a car.
 
ST-venture said:
Due to the issues you had with the Uni-go, I was also concerned about my Uni-go trailer having a waggle at higher speeds behind my Goldwing. But in May I went on a 3000 mile trip with speeds up to 90+ and I didn't have any real issues. I was concerned that the short wheelbase would be a problem. There must have been some incompatibility issue between the Vulcan and the Uni-go.
Click to expand...

I've known a lot of owners of a Uni-Go trailer who have no issues whatever. I agree that there is some dynamic with that trailer and my bike that doesn't work. I had no issues with the Uni-Go behind my AK 550 so this was a surprise to me.
 
The trailer pulled perfectly behind the Vulcan S going to LOCSTOC and back. I did run into some steady rain on the second half of the ride home.
Finally filled the tank today so I could calculate the mpg overall for pulling the trailer.
I knew there would be a hit on mpg but wasn't certain how much of a hit.
With the trailer in tow for 4 tanks of gas I ended up getting right at 45 mpg. The bike without the trailer hitched got 54+ mpg for the riding around I did without the trailer while at the event.

Yesterday I took off the luggage rack from the trailer and sealed the bolt holes and replaced the luggage rack sealing between each washer and the bolt head. I also sealed the rivets in the lid. Those places were where the trailer was letting a little water in.

Today I hit the top and sides with a strong spray of water from the hose to simulate riding in driving rain. I hit it from all directions. The sealing I did to the lid/luggage rack proved to work but I found a few more places that could seep water in a driving rain.
After the trailer was dry I also spent some time sealing the seams between the diamond plate and black sections of the trailer. There was really only the front of the lid seal that was still leaking. I added a vinyl weather seal in addition to the factory seal on the lid. I used e6000+ to seal all bolt holes and seams. I think the trailer will be air tight, and water tight, now.
 
Picked up groceries at Walmart. Pulled the trailer. Looks like I could stop at Costco as well for a major monthly shopping trip and still not fill the trailer. Just have to remember to park where I can pull through so I don't have to back up.
PXL_20260626_195752364.jpgPXL_20260626_195737881.jpg
 
As plainly seen in the pictures of the trailer hitched to the bike, and in this picture, those safety chains hang WAY low. Too low.
If by some catastrophic chance the coupler were to DE-couple and the trailer tongue fell to the ground it would be dragging and snagging on every crack in the pavement causing sparks and a whole lotta other bad things to happen with keeping the bike upright. And there would also be the danger of the tongue coasting up under or into the rear tire when trying to slow down. And this was after I had already cut off several links when I first got the trailer. They started out long enough to lay on the ground in a pile of chains. Even in this first photo they are long enough to lay in a smaller pile on the ground.
PXL_20260621_152015759.jpg

And this was after I had already cut off several links when I first got the trailer. They started out long enough to lay on the ground in a pile of chains. Even in the photo above they are long enough to lay in a smaller pile on the ground.
PXL_20260606_180903524.jpg

Those safety chains only need to be long enough to reach both sides of the hitch without straining in very sharp turns... like when trying to do a u-turn to get out of a tight space I didn't think about getting into resulting in the bike and trailer being at around 90 deg to each other. I also didn't want to always twist the chain to make them shorter since that would still be too long. So today I finally did some measuring and removed another 6 links from each chain. I have no need to leave much length for towing with any other vehicle. Now the chains are long enough to have just a little slack at full turn in either direction and they also will hold the tongue off the ground and away from the rear tire should the ball/coupler connection fail. This is the intent of those chains anyway. They are also short enough now so with the trailer off the bike they hang free without laying on the ground as shown here. If I do need longer chains for a different hookup I'll simply replace them but on my current setup I don't need them longer.
PXL_20260716_221504897.jpg
 
Two chain tricks:

1. Chain hooks should pass through the holes and hooked back onto the chains to adjust the length.

2. The chains should cross sides to form a cradle for the tongue to rest on if the coupler uncouples.

2a. Crossing the chains also makes them automatically remain equal for varying turning angles.


1784243162550.png 1784243226887.png 1784243260667.png
 
Last edited:
@Larry Fine , As you can see in my photos my trailer is significantly different than the examples you attached in your post. Looking closely at the hitch I have on my bike the holes the chains hook into on the bike side are just below and barely much in front of the ball.

@Mellow and Larry and @Kevin_56 , I do hook the chains so they cross under the hitch. They are connected to the trailer coupler by the front-most bolt in the coupler (similar to the right photo in Larry's first picture). The chains in the left photo of that picture are connected to the tongue way too far back from the coupler. About as close to the ball as possible... which is what is recommended from what I've researched and known from dragging 2 campers and (now) 2 cargo trailers since 2003. Crossing the chains doesn't eliminate all "reach" issues at all turn angles, though it is minimal. Depends how far apart the hook points are on the bike or car side. I used a few of the extra links I cut off as a spacer between the 2 chains to keep them separated to the outer ends of the bolt on the coupler. This facilitates making that cradle. I know that it is likely the bike will lose control if the trailer comes unhitched, but this should provide even a small chance that I would be able to maintain a little control depending on exactly what happens. I have known some riders who pulled a trailer who eliminated the chains... but the law is the law and chains are required so may as well hook them up properly.

My primary point above is that the chains were way too long to be any safety help. So I shortened them to make them work as well as possible and to give me a chance just in case... as small as that chance may be. Pulling a trailer with a bike is dangerous. RIDING a bike is also dangerous. Heck, even driving a car/truck can be dangerous. We all do what we can to manage the risks whatever we ride/drive.

BTW- did I mention about the friend/coworker who rode with me pulling a fiberglass cargo trailer and the ball on his hitch became unbolted and the trailer gracefully drifted off into the grassy ditch without tumbling? He also did not have any chains. But his trailer was well balanced and I don't think he would have crashed if he did... but he definitely would have known the moment his trailer unhitched and it would have been a struggle to control his stop. I was pulling a MiniMate camper with ST1100 in front of him at the time. I had to tell him I just watched his trailer take a different route than he was on. He didn't know. He would be a good example of why to eliminate chains in that particular case. BUT, if his trailer took a path the other way it would have been an example of why chains are required and it was possible his trailer could have caused a crash with other vehicles on the road possibly resulting in more than just him being hurt. So I will keep the chains.
 
Last edited:
Mellow said:
On a motorcycle, I'd toss the chains. It will just take you down if the trailer comes off. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...
In some states, the law may have a different opinion about safety chains.
As but one example, Alabama does not require registration or a license tag on Kaiser's trailer.
Trailers pulled by a motorcycle are treated differently than those pulled by a car or truck.
 
I know laws can be very different from one state to the next. In the code of Iowa at least one chain is required on trailers pulled by a motorcycle. Two chains crossed under the coupler are highly recommended.
The Uni-Go trailer had one chain to connect to the receiver. Every other trailer I've pulled by bike had 2 chains. Both my mc campers were also pulled by my car to get them home initially. One from AZ to IA and the other from FL to IA.
I do notice that the patrol notices me pulling a trailer. I can see them watching something that is not at all commonly seen by them.

ps- When I was working for the state of Iowa I would often browse the state law code for Iowa and sometimes for other states just to be aware. Found some really interesting stuff in there about motor vehicles and motorcycles and such. :geek:
Only when I had free time of course. :sneaky-2x:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom