Building a motorcycle trailer

[kevin]

I will be building a trailer to haul my 3 hogs on, i have many ideas on how to plan this thing out, any one know of where to find plans, i never use plans on stuff like this but with tounge weight, ect, plans could come in handy, also any one have any tips on how they would tackle this. I have built a few trailers in the past, with good succes, i am curious as to what you guys have to say. Thanks kevin

[kvwall]

I'm also curious. I'd like to build a trailer to put my TB302 on. Even though I don't need dual axles, I want them for a better ride. I also want shocks on it to smooth it out even further.

[kevin]

yea, i gotta bone up on where to buy all this stuff, i know tractor supply sells axles, ect. but i know that there are companies who specialize in selling trailer parts, any clue where to start, i can google it, but i like to get info from people who have hands on experience. thanks

[kvwall]

yea, i gotta bone up on where to buy all this stuff, i know tractor supply sells axles, ect. but i know that there are companies who specialize in selling trailer parts, any clue where to start, i can google it, but i like to get info from people who have hands on experience. thanks

No clue. I have a trailer mfg and supply place in town so I haven't researched it yet. I'm still in the stage of finding a trailer I really like and talking to the owner about it.

[Portable Welder]

I'm a Rigid hitch dealer, Call them to find out where their closest dealer is.

When building a motorcycle trailer ( There will never be enouph tie downs )

If your going to build a fold down ramp dont forget to factor the ramp in on the tongue weight and make sure 10%- 15% of the trailer gross weight is on the tongue with the bikes on it.

So lets say the trailer weighs 900 lbs. and each bike weighs 800 lbs. on a single axle trailer that is 3300lbs total.

If your tonge weight is 330 lbs it will tow like a dream.

[kevin]

good point, is there any formula,s for where to place the axle, i was thinking of using only one axle, would two axles be a better set up, the trailer will not be very long, most likely about teen feet, for the deck, the bikes measure around 8 feet long, thanks, kevin

[ffbob101]

Help

Kevin,
With you being on the east coast, check out Weaver Distributing, www.weaverd.com . They have very competitive prices and free shipping. I use them all the time.

[walker]

Look at championtrailers.com They have a basic trailer design on their site. Figure out wht size deck you need and build it. Put it on the ground on top of a piece of pipe, park all three bikes on it where they go and roll it forward and backward until you find the balance point. Mark that as the center, then measure back 10% and place the center of the axle there.

KVALL, a dual axle won't give you a smoother ride than a single axle with only a welder on top of it. It will bounce around a lot. A single axle (#3500) will bounce around a well unless you put on a lighter spring.

[kvwall]

Look at championtrailers.com They have a basic trailer design on their site. Figure out wht size deck you need and build it. Put it on the ground on top of a piece of pipe, park all three bikes on it where they go and roll it forward and backward until you find the balance point. Mark that as the center, then measure back 10% and place the center of the axle there.

KVALL, a dual axle won't give you a smoother ride than a single axle with only a welder on top of it. It will bounce around a lot. A single axle (#3500) will bounce around a well unless you put on a lighter spring.

Thanks. I have the air-pak so my welder is about 900lbs with fuel and frame.

Then I want to build locking cabinets and drawers on the trailer. I think after I fill those up with cables, clamps, cylinders and other tools I could be looking at another 300lbs. Then there's the weight of the trailer with cabinets and drawers added.

This won't be a simple light trailer just big enough to hold a welder. It would be a heavy-duty (overkill) trailer. It would have some weight on it.

Do you still think dual axles wouldn't be beneficial?

[walker]

No, I think with all that there would be enough to make the springs start to work. If I was to rework mine I think I would pull the spring packs apart and put in the poly spring liner (available at street rod parts retailers). I would also think about greasable spring eye bushings. Those tend to fail a lot quicker than I would like. Since you are building new consider building the deck and then building a removable skid for the welder. Also make the skid so it stood off the deck 4-6" or so, this allows for materials to slide under.

[kvwall]

No, I think with all that there would be enough to make the springs start to work. If I was to rework mine I think I would pull the spring packs apart and put in the poly spring liner (available at street rod parts retailers). I would also think about greasable spring eye bushings. Those tend to fail a lot quicker than I would like. Since you are building new consider building the deck and then building a removable skid for the welder. Also make the skid so it stood off the deck 4-6" or so, this allows for materials to slide under.

Thanks. Good ideas. It would be great to slide materials underneath.

[JSFAB]

A flatbed trailer, that might have multiple different loads on it, I prefer dual axles, you have a larger sweet spot to get the center of gravity in.

A single-purpose work trailer, where weight won't vary more than a few pounds fore and aft, is better with a single axle. Easier to hook up and unhook, and move and turn manually if necessary to place it where you want. If you have to pick it up with a forklift, and set it somewhere or hold it 20' above ground, easy to straddle the single axle with the forks, not so much with a dual axle setup.

Unless you are trying to jump corn furrows at 30 mph, I wouldn't worry about the bouncing. My experience is that both portable welders and Harleys are designed to be PORTABLE, you will probably beat your brains out on the truck cab roof before the welder or bike quits.

[Broccoli1]

I would look around for used trailers first

For either of the 2 trailer projects being talked about in this thread


Kvwall, I would suggest starting a new thread- talking about 2 differently functioning trailers in one thread is gonna get confooosing.

[Broccoli1]

I will be building a trailer to haul my 3 hogs on, i have many ideas on how to plan this thing out, any one know of where to find plans, i never use plans on stuff like this but with tounge weight, ect, plans could come in handy, also any one have any tips on how they would tackle this. I have built a few trailers in the past, with good succes, i am curious as to what you guys have to say. Thanks kevin

Kevin,

You ride the Bikes so probably not new to you but those bikes like to scrape bottom going up and down ramps- just a reminder when building the deck height and ramp length.

[JSFAB]

Ed's got a good point here,,,,, it is much easier and cheaper to take an existing trailer, and move the load around, until it's right, and bolt it down.

Just in case anybody's interested, I've been buying all my trailer axles and parts from Southwest Wheel the last few years. http://www.trailerpart.com/

No free shipping, as far as I know, but more important to me is the correct part, in a timely fashion.