Car trailers and motorcycle towing

[Shaq Diesel]

For the OT fiends that were following this thread.... http://www.rocketmadness.com/forums/...ad.php?t=38549

I am putting this in general discussion since it is bike related!

For those who have a lot of trailer experience (either buying, building, using etc.) is it easy or near impossible to put bikes in a trailer designed or slightly modified for towing a car?

The background is that after my accident I have lost pretty much all faith in "man" and their driving skills. While I will still ride the street occasionally (because I love you guys and a nice set of open curves in the middle of nowhere is still a love of mine) I want to make a 5-year commitment to closed-course riding. To do this I'm looking at getting a truck/trailer and buying a cheap car for autocross/track duty as well as motorcycle (I love the R1 too much to sell right now on top of the fact the market is crap for them at the moment and if will eventually add a motard to the stable).

So with all that said, I want to look to see if I buy a trailer big enough for a car would I be able to do double-duty with it as far a towing motorcycles as well? What say you?

[rusty sr]

yes

stu, we used a 16" car trailer and towed 3 bikes for june track day, all you gotta do is make a wheel stop that you can screw to it, i can make them for you for next to nothing. but its very possible.

as far as the truck is concerned, i towed my mustang to the track twice a week with my 1/2 ton truck for 2 years., the new 1/2 tons are rated way better on towing than the past.i think for your use a dually or diesel in general is money wasted unless you plan to tow a camper, large boat, or trailer every day for a living.

[Shaq Diesel]

yeah, I am still on the fence about 1/2 ton gas versus 3/4 diesel. here is where I am at a crossroads...

for towing (MPG and ease) the diesel seems to win. The 1/2 tons are not too far off, as you mentioned, though.

daily driving gas mileage seems to be a tie. 14-20 mpg depending on the heft of the right foot seems to be common across both engines.

comfort is something I still have to research (when my arms get better). to me, the interior is one of the biggest things when buying a vehicle. I spend the most time there so I want to enjoy it. the diesels and certain half-tons seem to be very roomy. I absolutely hate any pre-07 GM truck interior. Great trucks but I just hate the layout. Always been a fan of what Ford has done and Dodge seems to find creative ways to stay behind GM in the department.

maintenance is an area I'm still researching. this might be the make-or-break section. I actually enjoyed doing preventative maintenance on the F-250 i had because it was just grab some tools and wrench away with no prep work on the truck (other than engage the parking brake).

and of course price is the biggest factor with the diesels generally losing here. But given the economy if I can find a dealer will to sell just to get rid of stock...

My heart wants to try to see if I can find a baller deal on a diesel truck. my brain is saying just play it smart and get a half-ton...

[DirtyDseries]

Diesel!

honestly, i looked at the 2009 hemi ram, the towing capacity is there, the interior is luxury as hell, and they put 4 link rear suspension on them now so it rides like a car without a load, the 09 gmc is about the same but im not sure about the rear suspension, also the newer vehicles are flexfuel so the ethanol doesnt affect them and the gas mileage is getting better, im not a die hard dodge fan but for the money they are good, granted my next truck will be a new chevy because i like them.

deisels are not bad but sometimes the deisel prices are higher than gas although it shouldnt be that way.and they ride rough,im not sure how much you want to spend but let me know, i just got done looking for new trucks.

[Shaq Diesel]

one of the things with the diesel pricing is when the EPA mandated ULSD all of the refineries had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit all of the diesel units to knock out the extra sulfur. That cost was summarily passed on to the consumer, hence the high prices. I suspect now the refiners have made their money for those upgrades and diesel should remain relatively close to gasoline prices in the near future. It has for the past 5 months or so.

[shrek]

The Toyotal and Nissan dealers are giving away their big trucks, considering the difference in quality, confort, and reliability, I can't imagine buying and American made vehicle. (full disclosure, I grew up a bow tie guy, and when I bought my last truck I tried really hard to buy a Chevy, but betewwn the unreasonable price of the chevy and the inferior quality, I was compelled to buy the Nissan. I love my truck!)

i keep forgetting about the toyotas, those are very nice trucks and im going to look at them soon, im not a fan of the titan.

[jeepers304]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F350-...=p4506.c0.m245

heres another and these are good folks have bought from them before

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-...=p4506.c0.m245

heres a traler that would work for both I would go enclosed since you are gonna be doing bikes and this gives you some security and just add the multi point tie down trax

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ENCLO...=p4506.c0.m245

[Shaq Diesel]

question

does tongue weight apply to towing vehicle payload? meaning if the vehicle has "x" pounds of payload available and a trailer has a tongue weight of "y" does your available payload with trailer attached become "x" - "y"?

[VOO-DOO]

Tongue weight only applies to how much weight can be put on the tongue. If for instance you have a 500# tongue weight limit on the truck, then the force pressing down onto the hitch of the truck should not exceed 500#'s. The trailer can still weigh 7000 pounds or whatever the towing capacity is.

[tkb06]

maybe u said how much weight u pulling and how much is the trailer going to weight and class 3 or 4 or goose neck?

[overrev]

Stu, As for the trailer, go talk to Mike Gerald because he can make you a trailer to fit your needs. Truck-wise, my father has the new body '07 GMC 1500 with the 5.3 and he gets 15-17 city and 19-21 hwy depending on the load. He can tow up to 5000 lbs with no problem.

[Sooper Doodie]

Originally Posted by overrev

Stu, As for the trailer, go talk to Mike Gerald because he can make you a trailer to fit your needs. Truck-wise, my father has the new body '07 GMC 1500 with the 5.3 and he gets 15-17 city and 19-21 hwy depending on the load. He can tow up to 5000 lbs with no problem.

I gotta disagree with you on the chevy. I am a diehard chevy fan but in the last few years the quality just hasn't been there