Looking for a motorcycle hauler

[JJZ 109]

So I've sold my 2010 American Hauler 7x14 Night Hawk trailer. It was tall, 6'6" inside. The V on the front was pretty blunt, not a sharp angle at all. It dragged the mileage down to a little over 8 MPG on a Florida trip this winter. But part of that may have been the 5.0 in the F150 I had. I now have an F250 with 6.2 gasser. The American Hauler never did seem to be a nice pulling trailer.
I need a new enclosed bike hauler, but I want something that won't drag the mileage down quite so much. I know that they make lower profile trailers. Some have V noses, some are flat. I've heard some people swear that the flat nose pulls better, but my experience with a sharper V and 6' intererior that my 7x18 enclosed has is that it pulls much better than the slight V and taller (but shorter length) trailer I just sold.
It needs to be large enough to haul a Harley Street Glide and Softail Deluxe together. So I'm thinking 7x14 so that I don't have to cram them in tight to each other plus leave room for luggage, coolers, etc. Any suggestions for something that will accommodate our bikes as well as not acting like a large sail to drag the mileage down so much?

 

[Diamondpilot]

The nose does very little for mpg. It's the blunt rear that's the killer. Box trailers are what they are. Only way to haul a motorcycle and improve mpg is on a open trailer.

Chris

 

[jejeosborne]

The nose does very little for mpg. It's the blunt rear that's the killer. Box trailers are what they are. Only way to haul a motorcycle and improve mpg is on a open trailer.

Chris

I agree with Chris. The most aerodynamic shape is a teardrop with the pointy end being the back of the trailer. Unfortunately the tow vehicle geometry will dirty up the air make each complete rig to be individually different. The only advantage of the V - nose is more interior space over a flat nose.

 

[3930dave]

Yeah.... you're going to have to just keep paying at the pump...... no bike owner up north wants to haul a MC on an open trailer in the Winter (salt).... and HDs are too much of a theft target to take on a long trip on an open trailer anyway.....

Long way of saying...... I agree with the sentiments about the trailer back end limitation. You've maybe seen the modern sled (snowmobile) trailers - many of those use a full dome cover, so the rear is very aero.

Curious myself (distant purchase I'd like to make too....) so did a quick search....

Motorcycle trailer, Goldwing trailer , which also fits 2 Baggers, & other big motorcycles

RallyTime Trailers™ - Your motorcycle gives you a great ride! Why not return the favor?

They've tidied up the fronts of those a bit, the second one looks a little more aero re. sides and back. If I remember cars right..... side aerodynamics matter re. crosswinds - meaning mpg.

I've no idea what either one is like.... just some models you may want to check for on a MC forum....

On that first one, you might want to get them to check their math:

Empty weight 1300 lbs
Axle capacity 3500 lbs
Carrying Capacity 3300 lbs

Rgds, D.

 

[JJZ 109]

Thanks for the opinions, that's why I visit here. On an old thread I mentioned the poor MPG on my last Florida trip. Chris mentioned it being due to the squared rear end then. I stated back then that I'd seen some tractor trailers on my trip that had some type of tail added to the trailer to streamline it. While I'm not looking at anything like that or even sure that something exists for the type of trailer I need, I guess the bottom line is that things are what they are.
The links that Dave provided do intrigue me, so I've contacted both vendors. I'll post back if they provide any information of value.

 

[VTFireftr]

If you are planning on hauling two bikes get a trailer that is 8 feet wide. I have a 7 x 14 and it's very tight inside with two bikes staggered. I take the fairing (aftermarket) off my bike so it doesn't contact the side of the trailer and crack when I'm hauling the bikes.

I use Condor wheel chocks for both bikes and can't say enough good things about these chocks. Well worth the investment.

For what it's worth, my trailer is a Road Force (made by Wells Cargo) and has been great investment. I'm guessing I now have over 35k miles on it (not all hauling bikes) in 10 years and have had only minor issues with it.

Marc

 

[JJZ 109]

If you are planning on hauling two bikes get a trailer that is 8 feet wide. I have a 7 x 14 and it's very tight inside with two bikes staggered. I take the fairing (aftermarket) off my bike so it doesn't contact the side of the trailer and crack when I'm hauling the bikes.

I use Condor wheel chocks for both bikes and can't say enough good things about these chocks. Well worth the investment.

For what it's worth, my trailer is a Road Force (made by Wells Cargo) and has been great investment. I'm guessing I now have over 35k miles on it (not all hauling bikes) in 10 years and have had only minor issues with it.

Marc

I actually had plenty of room in a 7x14 for the above mentioned bikes. Never had to remove fairing or bags on anything. I just hate the MPG of a box trailer. As for chocks, I had 2 different types of the Harbor Freight models and they never gave me a second of trouble.
Fortunately, because it's June I have some time to hang back and see what deals present themselves. I'm friends with an local person who owns several car dealerships, an HD dealership and a trailer sales place. So I'll see what the folks from Dave's links have for me in their replies first, and then I'll check out my friend's trailer store if I don't get the answers I'd like.

 

[jejeosborne]

I actually had plenty of room in a 7x14 for the above mentioned bikes. Never had to remove fairing or bags on anything. I just hate the MPG of a box trailer. As for chocks, I had 2 different types of the Harbor Freight models and they never gave me a second of trouble.
Fortunately, because it's June I have some time to hang back and see what deals present themselves. I'm friends with an local person who owns several car dealerships, an HD dealership and a trailer sales place. So I'll see what the folks from Dave's links have for me in their replies first, and then I'll check out my friend's trailer store if I don't get the answers I'd like.

+1 on the harbor freight chocks. I bought three for dirtbikes and they are very secure. Less than $40 if you have coupons. User reviews also support their quality.

 

[JJZ 109]

Curious myself (distant purchase I'd like to make too....) so did a quick search....

Motorcycle trailer, Goldwing trailer , which also fits 2 Baggers, & other big motorcycles

RallyTime Trailers™ - Your motorcycle gives you a great ride! Why not return the favor?

They've tidied up the fronts of those a bit, the second one looks a little more aero re. sides and back. If I remember cars right..... side aerodynamics matter re. crosswinds - meaning mpg.

I've no idea what either one is like.... just some models you may want to check for on a MC forum....

On that first one, you might want to get them to check their math:

Empty weight 1300 lbs
Axle capacity 3500 lbs
Carrying Capacity 3300 lbs

Rgds, D.

Got a reply from Iron Horse. Looks like $7900 for a trailer with no brakes. Brakes are a $400 option. Plus $1/mile for freight. If I were to spend that much, I'd just get a locally manufactured Blizzard all aluminum enclosed.
So now I'll wait to see what RallyTime comes back with.

 

[3930dave]

Ouch - that's pricey enough to sound like Canadian prices !

It'll be interesting to see where the other one comes in at.

Rgds, D.

 

[bcp]

About streamlining--think of a fish or airliner--blunt rounded front and pointed tail. But if you tow at supersonic speeds, streamlining gets different.

If I REALLY wanted a streamlined enclosed trailer, I would look for an older, bad interior Airstream or Avion travel trailer and rebuild the interior to suit.

Bruce

 

[JJZ 109]

Well, RallyTime never did respond to me. So I did a little searching. I found an old post from 2007 on a Gold Wing forum where the person stated that he was quoted $6295 back then. I'd hate to ask now.
Looks like this type of trailer is out of the question money wise.

 

[3930dave]

Wow.... crazy money.... I wonder how these companies stay in business ?

Pls let us know what you do end up getting, and how it works out on the road.....

Rgds, D.

 

[JJZ 109]

Wow.... crazy money.... I wonder how these companies stay in business ?

Pls let us know what you do end up getting, and how it works out on the road.....

Rgds, D.

Funny you should say that Dave. I did find a post (but nothing concrete because I didn't care enough to search further) that RallyTime had gone bankrupt. But they do still appear to have a website up so I have no idea about the truthfulness of that post.
I think that maybe they just don't answer inquiries from their website or maybe they only answer pricing questions on the telephone.
Haven't given up the search, but it's looking like I may just have to go with a lower profile trailer similar to my old one and hope for the best. I know it's been stated here that the nose makes no difference, it's the tail. But my experience with a lower profile trailer that has a sharper V nose tells me that it pulls a heck of a lot better than the shallow V, taller trailer that I used to have.

 

[3930dave]

I haven't had the chance to test out different nose profiles, but I could see Tall being an issue.... creates more sail area.

Would take some elbow grease, and shop time, but the best suggestion so far was converting an olde Airstream into a toy-hauler - that would be cool !

Rgds, D.

 

[JJZ 109]

I haven't had the chance to test out different nose profiles, but I could see Tall being an issue.... creates more sail area.

Would take some elbow grease, and shop time, but the best suggestion so far was converting an olde Airstream into a toy-hauler - that would be cool !

Rgds, D.

The Airstream idea would be cool, but way too much time & labor for the few times a year that I actually have a need to haul a bike.

 

[Diamondpilot]

The Airstream idea would be cool, but way too much time & labor for the few times a year that I actually have a need to haul a bike.

So there you have it. Let's say you tow your bikes 4 times a year for a total of 2,000 miles and your current trailer gets 10 mpg and a new trailer can yield 14 mpg that's a 40% improvement. Let's say gas is $4 per gallon.

At 10 mpg for 2000 miles you would use 200 gallons of gas or $800 worth.

At 14 mpg for 2000 miles you would use 143 gallons of gas or about $575 worth.

Not much of a gain for limited use to offset the trailers cost. Now if you towed 10,000 miles a year that's a different story.

Chris

 

[JJZ 109]

So there you have it. Let's say you tow your bikes 4 times a year for a total of 2,000 miles and your current trailer gets 10 mpg and a new trailer can yield 14 mpg that's a 40% improvement. Let's say gas is $4 per gallon.

At 10 mpg for 2000 miles you would use 200 gallons of gas or $800 worth.

At 14 mpg for 2000 miles you would use 143 gallons of gas or about $575 worth.

Not much of a gain for limited use to offset the trailers cost. Now if you towed 10,000 miles a year that's a different story.

Chris

This is why I'm here Chris. All opinions welcome. It'd sure take a long time to recoup the money spent on some trailers discussed here based simply on the improved mileage.

 

[3930dave]

With the costs of those single axle MC trailers, I have to wonder if the owners of the companies were greedy, or just not good at running a business efficiently....

Seriously.... were they trying to recover all their NRE costs on something like 10 trailers ?

Pls post pics of what you pick up Todd, I'm now curious about the height you'll end up with.

Rgds, D.

 

[My Gym]

Is this the type of trailer you are looking for.
First attempt at uploading photos, Courious if it works for me.