"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/12/2019 at 13:23 • Filed to: Trailer, Two Wheels Good
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"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/12/2019 at 13:23 • Filed to: Trailer, Two Wheels Good | 0
| 20 |
Well, the time has finally come! I want to get a trailer to haul around my bikes. Why now? Well, I looked up where the Gambler 500 is starting this year and it’s over a 5 hour drive. Well then..
Most of the members of my Gambler 500 team are towing in their rigs, so I will too. But if I’m honest, I really don’t feel like renting a U-Haul for three days...or renting one at all. So, finally to do what everyone has been telling to do.
Because of my space limitations and desire to not rent more storage space, I’m looking for something small and low profile. Unfortunately, it seems hard to find tiny trailers that don’t cost a small fortune. Well, here’s my college try!
But unlike my motorcycle shopping posts where I generally ignore y’all and buy what my heart wants, I want your input!
I think something like this is a good baseline:
This little thing is almost perfect. Wide enough to tow well and not topple with a heavy 80s bike on it and those posts make for a nice place to anchor a bike. I could also fit it behind the 450 in the condo’s parking lot. Wood also appears to be in serviceable condition, too.
Unfortunately, my Goldwing and the CF Moto are longer than this trailer’s deck by over a foot. So I would only be able to haul around the smaller bikes.
Unless there’s an easy way to make it accommodate longer bikes, it’s dead in the water from the start.
So I think I should be looking for a 4x8 open deck, but not an eyesore like, say...
smobgirl
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 13:31 |
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My old coworker got some sort of kit trailer to tow his motorcycles for pretty cheap . He put it together and got it registered, and might’ve needed to buy plywood separately to finish it off?
Unfortunately I don’t work there any more so I have no concrete info for you, but maybe you can google something up out of that. His two-wheels-good craigslist habit is probably as bad as yours.
HammerheadFistpunch
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 13:39 |
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my father in law has this trailer
https://www.harborfreight.com/1195-lbs-capacity-48-in-x-96-in-heavy-duty-folding-trailer-62648.html
An afternoon with some 2x4's plywood, screws and a saw will net you any kind of trailer you want out of it. Its been dead reliable and with the wood bits removed (they pull straight out) its crazy compact.
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Mercedes Streeter
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/12/2019 at 13:47 |
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Hmmm...and I could use a metal rail as well, so having a huge deck that’ll be mostly unused won’t be an issue.
VincentMalamute-Kim
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 13:53 |
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I have the same. It has incredibly
cheap
powdercoat. Everything has rusted. OTOH, it’s been 15 years. J
ust buy a new one every 15 years instead of repainting.
nerd_racing
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/12/2019 at 13:55 |
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I want to use one of these as a base for a teardrop camper.
This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 13:56 |
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You may have enough S marts kicking around to build a flat deck version of this:
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Mercedes Streeter
> This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
04/12/2019 at 14:00 |
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Step 1: Buy wrecked smart.
Step 2: Sawzall.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Tiny toy hauler.
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This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 14:02 |
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The logic is sound. This stands to reason.
I mean, the project literally says Smart right on it. Can't argue with that!
Pickup_man
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 14:32 |
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There’s 4 big things I would be looking for;
1. Long enough to fit your bike.
2. Good tie down points, or solid places to mount tie down points.
3. Ramps. Either built in, or able to be easily attached or stored to the trailer itself.
4. A solid front rail to push the wheel up against, or a solid location (not just through plywood) to bolt a wheel chock.
Based on that, the first trailer meets non of those requirements, and while the second trailer is a bit of an eyesore, is probably the better suited of the two. Obviously those aren’t the only two options here but of the two I’d take the second.
The other thing I’ve looked into lately is the Harbor Freight trailers, they’re sized nice, fold for easy storage, and are cheap. Source your own floor and it should be a good trailer.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Pickup_man
04/12/2019 at 14:43 |
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Oh yes, I figure any trailer I get will get one of those nifty motorcycle rails with a chock up front mounted to it. I’ve found some other candidates that appear to have been purpose built as motorcycle trailers. I’m actually delighted at how cheap trailers can get. Holy depreciation!
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Pickup_man
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 15:07 |
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I’m glad you’re finding cheap trailers because every time I’ve looked I’ve found the opposite, guys asking $500 for a clapped out 10 year old trailer in need of wiring, tires, and flooring, when for a couple hundred more I can buy something new.
That 4x6 for example. $375 doesn’t sound bad, but it’s small, has no railing, has old tires, no title, and who knows what kind of shape the wheel bearings are in. For $800 I can pick up a brand new 5x8, non harbor freight brand trailer. Mesh floor (solid, no worry about wood rot), new tires, full rails, built in ramp, no problems with the title and it’s bigger. Granted that is double the price (plus tax), but IMO you get so much more. https://www.runnings.com/carry-on-trailer-5-x-8-mesh-floor-single-axle-utility-trailer-2000-lb-gvwr-5x8g.html
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Mercedes Streeter
> Pickup_man
04/12/2019 at 15:13 |
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I actually prefer it not to have side rails. So long as there’s some place to anchor my ratchet straps, side rails are completely useless to me. Such would also make it easier to store. lol I’d also prefer either a folding ramp made of mesh (like the one you posted) or no folding ramp at all. The ones on U-Haul trailers have so much freaking drag at highway speed.
But yeah, that $800 trailer is an awesome deal!!
shop-teacher
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 15:26 |
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I have a coupon for that one, it’s either for $239.99 or $259.99. I can’t remember which.
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Pickup_man
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 15:48 |
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Yeah, the big folding ramps are not my favorite, but the convenience of not having to remove them is a plus.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 16:14 |
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I would recommend an L-track system with a tire chock for each bike.
The L-tracks are screwed to the trailer then the ring clips can be adjusted to any position along the tracks. This is the same stuff they use in cargo planes.
https://www.uscargocontrol.com/6-Double-Motorcycle-Tie-Down-System-w-Wheel-Chock
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Mercedes Streeter
> shop-teacher
04/12/2019 at 16:29 |
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I’ll take it if you feel like parting ways with it? lol
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shop-teacher
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 16:52 |
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Yeah, you can have the coupon. I’m not going to use it.
Fuckkinja
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 17:00 |
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You can use a smaller trailer with a bike channel for the big bikes. I had three channels on a tiny dirt bike trailer.
nermal
> Mercedes Streeter
04/12/2019 at 18:00 |
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If you don’t want to deal with Craigslist, either get a Harbor Freight special and build it, or get one from Lowes / Home Depot / Tractor Supply. They all have wood deck open trailers that will work for hauling a bike.
You’re still best to use a Pit Bull trailer restraint, but the problem you’ll run into with that is different pins required for each bike (if they even make them).
AdverseMartyr
> Mercedes Streeter
04/13/2019 at 09:48 |
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That map route time estimate looks way off. I bet you can shave at least an hour off of it with Illinois driving speeds.