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Trailer to tow behind overland bike...
Say, for example, that someone had the silly idea of building a little trailer to tow behind a motorcycle for an overland trip......
Where might they find information on this niche within niche topic? Any thoughts on one wheel or two? Anyone that's done it? Any reason why very few folks do this trailer setup? Thanks in advance HU people Gabe www.GABE-RTW.co.uk |
Never tried a trailer personally. The few times I've seen a bike towing a trailer it was behind a full dresser Harley, a Goldwing, or a trike ridden 2-up. I've only ever seen 2 wheeled trailers, I can't imagine a 1-wheeler would be particularly safe or stable behind a motorcycle.
Two sites I found from a quick google search, might be able to get some ideas from there. Trailers motorcycles can Pull cargo Welcome to Bushtec Performance Trailers From your blog, I see that you're in the US currently? I used to autocross and a lot of guys built small custom trailers with base kits from Harbor Freight. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices and - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices The version with 12" wheels is better for extended highway speeds. They used to be a lot cheaper... Simplest and least expensive setup would be taking half a sheet of 4x8 plywood and bolting a cheap large lockable tote box to it. I think most people avoid trailers because of the added weight, drag, and cost. You'll also need a beefy bike with a strong enough frame to handle the stresses of towing with enough motor to pull the extra weight up grades and enough wheelbase and weight to stop the trailer from deciding the direction of travel. If you've packed enough stuff that you need a trailer, its time to rethink what all you're taking in my opinion... |
I've never had any inclination to pull a trailer .
However ,if I were to do so ,it would only be a single wheel . Some links : One wheeled trailers, hitches, cooler racks for motorcycles by N-LINE trailers : Schoolhouse Motorcycle Accessories, Inc. - The New Home of Uni-Go Motorcycle Trailers. http://www.singlewheel.com/ Trailtail™ |
I know nothing!
I know nothing about bikes - but we did meet a biker in Pakistan who had had a custom SIDE CAR added to his old 800 (?) BMW in Kazakhstan. I think he'd done lots of off roading etc in it .... might be an idea ....
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Thanks
I'll assume that people have put two and two together, and realised that I am in fact the numpty that's got this trailer build idea into my head.
The story is this. I've done about 23,000 miles on my Honda XR650L, and it's been fantastic in just about every way. I met up with my girlfriend in USA, and we've travelled together. A friend of a friend was selling this mint condition BMW for a song, and I couldn't resist the opportunity. So I got the bike, and along with it, the idea of touring two up; down to Argentina and maybe beyond. I am an engineer, and I am a sucker for a project to make something interesting. So the trailer thing really struck a nerve. I am going to do it somehow. Ideally build as much of it as I can myself, but probably end up getting something and modifying it. We'll see. Thanks for the links. I did find a few of them myself, and was quite taken with the Trail Tail site. Certainly not conventional. What I struggled to find was information on building a trailer as a DIY project. But there we go. I'm sure it's possible without an internet walkthrough! Watch this space. This it the bike: http://www.gabe-rtw.co.uk/DO%20NOT%2..._1776V_SML.jpg http://www.gabe-rtw.co.uk/DO%20NOT%2..._1777V_SML.jpg |
Food for thought:
Monowheel beer-barrel trailer http://www.ratbike.org/photos/show02/y08trlr.jpg And still being used (now with a different bike), to carry his dog around 8 years later http://www.aarrgghh.co.uk/ratbikes/R...nS2009_005.jpg I can give you the guys email address if you like, but there's not a huge amount to tell. Homemade monowheel trailers are normally mounted to the bike with a UJ off a car driveshaft. In this case the trailer attaches to the back of the bike's subframe, but do be cautious about this - The subframe on the bandit in the pic with the dog is not the original one due to weld failure. Some people run steel tube back from the maincradle to tow from, but this looks ugly and messy. |
Hi Gabe
Try :- Trailtail™ - What is Trailtail™? Dual Sport Trailer???? - ADVrider TourMAX Single Wheel Motorcycle Trailer http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTrailertowing All the best - Alec |
I think it will have to be a monowheel
I've been looking at this type of project for some time and have found some excellent research on the dynamics by an Austalian academic - I will dig it out and post links later. In the meantime here is some inspiration :clap:
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/x...ds/trailer.jpg |
Superb !!
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I saw this in North Carolina last year. It's a Uni-Go...
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/DSCF2140.jpg A UJ to attach to the bike, an easy scavange... http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/DSCF2141.jpg Suspension is tortion arm by the look of it... http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/DSCF2142.jpg |
My old mate Kev has a nice one on the back of his Beeza.....
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...zzaTrailer.jpg |
The first question you have to answer is where do you want to go? If you think you will encounter bad roads with lots of potholes then one-wheel is the only way to go, otherwise you have a pothole detector. However, if most of your roads will be at least reasonable then stick with two wheels, it will be much more stable.
For my trip in 1988 Bombay - Europe I built myself a one-wheel trailer. Went to the bike wreckers and bought the remains of a farm bike: frame with rear end and suspension. I cut out the top frame tube and bent down the lower tubes, forming the base chassis. Two more straight tubes were welded in from the back, joining the front of the contraption, where I welded in and agricultural UJ. The neat thing about that is that using a broken power take off shaft I had a ready-made coupling. I welded a solid plate onto the UJ which bolted onto the tow bar, taking up the slack in the splines. The tow bar was constructed from square section tubes. The big wheel on the trailer was good for when we went through some of the big pot holes in India and Pakistan. Behind our CX500 the whole thing was quite rideable, but handling was a bit like a truck. Prerequisite was riding two-up with a loaded trailer, otherwise the overloaded trailer made the rig unstable. As an engineer you will appreciate that there is a right way of fitting the UJ and a wrong way. At the end of the trip the CX was sold and the trailer shipped back to NZ, where I had a tow bar built for my R75/5. We used the trailer only once with a light load and it turned out that the BMW couldn't handle it. Every bend we faced death. As this and your bike are very similar I would be very hesitant to put such a contraption on an oilhead BMW. One thing I can say: it attracts attention, but takes the fun out of riding. I would rather get my other half to ride a bike. Here is what the thing looked like: http://beddha.free.fr/HAENGER.JPG |
Fantastic!
What a great response! I love these projects.
I've changed the idea slightly. Leave the big dirt bike here in San Francisco for a few months, and trial this trailer thing around Mexico for a while. The re-assess. Probably switch back to the Honda. I picked up a cheapo flat pack trailer from a hardware store, to base the contraption on. The down to the Dept of Motor Vehicles, and got a plate for it, after a superficial inspection. Then I found an army surplus store and something that looks like it'll work as an enclosure. Not sure about the ethics of the idea, but it's done now. I've got an ex-military transport case for Dragon Missiles. Should be waterproof, and certainly heavy duty. This weekend I'm going to hack the trailer down by 13 inches (look what America's done to me! .... 330.2mm) to make it narrower. Add LED tail/turn lights, and try to knock up some kind of 360 degree swivel, to allow the bike to lean without causing road-traffic accidents. We shall see. btw- Trailer, $159, missile case $79 Some pics... http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...c/Trailer1.jpg http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...c/Trailer2.jpg http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...c/Trailer4.jpg http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...c/Trailer5.jpg http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l.../Coupling1.jpg http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l.../Coupling2.jpg |
Since the thread is becoming heavy on photos...
My own (slightly irrelevant) experience towing a trailer: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven....-sidecar-1.jpg (picking up a new sidecar I got off ebay) I'm not sure I'd fancy doing any distance towing a two wheeled trailer off a solo bike, but plenty of people do it and seem perfectly happy, so good luck to you! My only (non?)constructive thoughts would be that by towing a twin-track trailer you lose the narrowness which is one of the key benefits of a solo motorcycle. Personally, I'd whack a sidecar on the bike instead, then your passenger can sit comfortably. But the only way to find out if something works out for you, is to try it. Don't let me or anyone else put you off giving something a try! |
Thailand trailer
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Light steel frame, with plywood sides, 25kg, 70kg when loaded home made, simple construction with a ball and socket from a truck steering as the connection, mountain bike tyres, Same width as the bike crashbars, 810mm, 1mt long plus nose cone, done 10k to date all over thailand, new model will be stronger and aluminium, this was and expermental model, I cruse at 80 k max, no real problems towing, hass all the side clearance lights ETC.
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Trailer project
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A home-made trailer can be a satisfying project, but there are numerous technical difficulties to overcome (aside from manufacturing with limited resources). A single side swing-arm mount throws an extra spanner in the works.
Some of the challenges are: 1) Weight (overall and distribution) 2) Correct alignment with motorcycle axis 3) Stiffness The other main lessons are: 1) Mock things up and try them before carving the design in stone (e.g. test drive with bag of cement in the back - how does it respond?). 2) Remain flexible/self-critical at all stages of the project. 3) Simplify whenever possible, and if in doubt go for strength. 4) Accept that you will probably not get it right first (or second) time. Developing the design is the most gratifying part of it. Good luck - Guy |
Lateral dynamics of motorcycles towing a single-wheeled trailer
This article by Stephen R James can be found in Vehicle System Dynamics Vol 43, No8, August 2005, 581-599
PhD Student Stephen James This article compares (both in the field and by computer modelling) a number of one wheel trailer designs and concludes (I paraphrase) that the most stable trailer/hitch sytems where those that held the pitch and yaw axis of the hitch forward of the rear wheel and roughly the same height as the trailer loadbed. Using this method loads of up to 200kgs could be safely transported around speeds of 20m/s. The more the axis were moved rearward (as in the Trailtail design) the less weight that could be carriied with any level of stability. With a hitch axis to the rear of the rear wheel safe loading was reduced to some 40kgs. This may however may be adequate for most users. Obviously there is so much more to the study and I have just attempted to give a flavour. I would recommend anyone seriously concerned with the safety of a monowheel trailer design to get a copy, after all even paid for it could save a serious amount of time devoted to trial and error in producing a viable unit I hope to be producing a monowheel to carry camping gear with my Highland. The problems with standard load carrying systems for me are as follows:- 1. The Highland has an extreme seat height making getting on and off difficult and even more so when carrying a top box, tent and other articles in the pillion position. 2. When fully loaded I find it impossible to pick the bike up after a spill without assistance or removing some of the load (the pannier on the down side does help to keep the bike from laying flat however). :oops2: 3. The luggage weight carried high up changes the riding characteristics and means I have to really concentrate far harder in the rough removing a lot of my riding pleasure. Watching the Trailtail river crossing video I have been convinced a single wheel trailer will substantially reduce the instability on rough ground making the bikes riding behaviour nearer to it's unloaded state.:funmeteryes: A trailer that can carry up to 40kgs will be fine for me. I hope to fabricate a unit using steel tubing similar to that used in crash bars for motorcycles. The axis and suspension using rubber boot covered rose joints, a 20inch 48 spoke hd bmx rim with one of the heavier Maxxis tyre types and finally a suspension unit from a mountain bike. I know many members will hold up their hands in horror thinking that these component parts would not be strong enough. What I want to avoid is a heavyweight trailer that is a serious drag before the luggage is attached. Experience of these parts in seriously overloaded situations makes me think this is a good place to start. Comments welcome. :thumbup1: |
A few miles down the road...
Well we've put about 2k miles on the RIG now, and it's been good fun. Obviously most of them have been road orientated, but there have been a couple of dirty moments.
On the road you (I) hardly notice that it's there, especially on a good surface at speed. Slow speed manoeuvres you can feel it, but not half as cumbersome as I was expecting. Mileage is still excellent, it doesn't really seem to have affected (effected?) that at all. We're now in San Felipe, Baja. With the torrential rains a couple weeks back, there were huge chunks of road missing on the route from Ensenada, which forced detours through sometimes deep dirt. This wasn't such good fun on the big heavy old BMW with trailer in tow. It's do-able, but I realise that I very much enjoy off road, and this arrangement is simply not suited to the rough dirt at all. I'll avoid the off road now, until I'm back on the Honda. Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I really appreciate the positiveness of the response. A big part of this experiment is simply to try something interesting, something that most people don't bother with. A couple of photos.. http://www.gabe-rtw.co.uk/img/photo_...ifornia23l.jpg http://www.gabe-rtw.co.uk/img/photo_...ja/baja09l.jpg |
Quite a high centre of gravity, which might account for the bad performance on dirt roads.
At a bikers' meeting in Darwin I met a couple on a V-Strom 1000 with a self-constructed trailer based on a 44 gallon drum with a single wheel. The connection to the bike was similar to he bicycle trailer "Bob Yak". Centre o gravity was very low, allowing him to travel all dirt roads in OZ. Unfortunately no pics :( |
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