Trailer project (lots of pics)

[GS1000G Shopper]

While not specifically GS, stick with me and I'll throw in a photo of my 1000G on the trailer.

The wife & I are planning to visit friends in the Midwest this summer, and I plan to do some riding while there since the husband has bikes. I looked at the "hitch haul" setup that fits in the trailer hitch, but I'd be pushing the weight limit, plus it seemed a little cumbersome. The idea of a small trailer appealed to us since it could be used to haul other things. I shopped around for a trailer, but nothing local was reasonable. Enter Harbor Freight.

After reading their reviews, I found I was not the only one that bought their trailers for bike hauling. I ended up with #90154, which is the 4'x8' folding model with 12" tires. It was on sale for $299, but I found a coupon online for 20% off (apparently this is commonplace).

I decided to not use the folding function, and bought some 2x6 and 2x10 pressure treated planks for the deck. I had to shave 3/4" off one 2x10 to get them to fit. I used 1/2" eye bolts in place of one of the stake pocket bolts to use for tiedown points (2 front & 2 per side), and used grade 8 hardware throughout. I put a Harbor Freight motorcycle chock on it, and had to run a strip of 1.5" angle under the planks to bolt it down using all 4 holes (Lowes sells angle in 4' lengths, perfect fit w/o cutting). I used 3/8x2.5" carriage bolts to bolt down the planks and 3" carriage bolts to bolt down the chock. I used their LED tail lights and ran an extra black wire for ground. I also enclosed all wiring in nylon loom as well as running it through the frame vs. below it. I also got a spare tire since it was on sale. The final item was a hand winch. I need to fab up a bracket for this item, so it is not installed yet. I probably have a little over $400 in it in material.

I made a ramp out of a 2x10 with some ramp ends from Lowes, and added some 2x4x12" boards in the stake pockets to carry it via two 1/2" carriage bolts and wing nuts. I don't care for this ramp (too narrow & flimsy) and will be adding a wider aluminum dual ramp set from Harbor Freight.

2012 UPDATE
I'm linking other relevant posts here for convenience. The trailer has been used to haul several large bikes, a Honda ST1100, a V65 Sabre, and my blue '80 GS1000G. I've had zero issues with it at highway speeds of 65~70 MPH.

Page 2 post 17- jack and ramp

Page 2 post 20- ramp storage


It came out really nice. I bought it on a Friday evening and had it ready to roll Monday afternoon working on it a few hours per day. Still need to add a jack to the front of it so it can sit level in the garage.

Here are some pics from construction, and the end result:

It comes in two fairly small boxes (the box in the upper left is the spare tire):

LED tail lights & hand winch:

Parts unboxed:

Prelim assembly:

Eye bolt detail:

Wiring detail:

Decking & chock trial fit:

As promised, here's the GS1000 on it:

On this side, you can see the boards that hold the ramp:

 

[cowboyup3371]

That's a great idea. I love it. Mind if I copy you?

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

Thanks! Do not mind at all... that's why I try & take lots of pics for projects & put links in the postings.

 

[DanTheMan]

I've had a trailer like that one since '94. It hauled my 18hp lawn tractor from CA, then saw a lot of duty as a piano hauling trailer for all the piano moves I did. I used 1" 4x8 exterior plywood for the deck though. I also made it non-folding after a few years. It finally wore out, three trips back and forth from CA, numerous trips around the state, I retired it in '99, it sits in the yard with a cement mixer on it, all it's used for is to transport the cement mixer around the yard now behind the tractor. I won't put it on the road again. Interesting that the fully assembled price hasn't changed much.
For my bike transport I now use an old Spartan snowmobile trailer (with tilt) that my son and I rebuilt. It's been everywhere now too since 2006.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Could you use self tapping screws instead of the carriage bolts to mount the wood to the frame? Or was there another reason you did the angle iron idea?

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

You could use self tappers. I used these since I had to use the same ones (well 1/2" longer) to mount the chock. The angle iron was added since the chock otherwise would only be bolted to a 2x10 in two of the four holes.

Dan,
Reading the reviews on these it appears several people have used them for many years and just recently written reviews. Seems like aside from the tires the first thing that may wear out would be the hubs/bearings, and these are fairly plentiful here (presuming they'll fit) at places like Tractor Supply Company.

 

[DanTheMan]

Due to the rust problems here in the rust belt, the frame weakened and that's why I retired it. The hubs stayed good, I put the boat trailer style greasable bearing caps on it, never had a hub problem. Oh, the other problem I had is the fenders vibrated so badly on our stellar roads they both broke their mounting plates. You might want to try and stabilize the fenders a little better. I lost both of mine on the road somewhere.

 

[Greg B]

Trailer, we don't need no stinkin' trailer......

Trailer, we don't need no stinkin' trailer......

This was outside the AAA in Irvine.
Who says you can't take it with you?
I mean ALL of it.

 

[Nessism]

Great thread here! I recently put together the exact same trailer, only I made mine so it will fold to save some room.

I like what you did with the eyelets for tie down, and I plan on picking up a tire chock like you did too.

Question: when hooking up the lights is it necessary to get a relay box or can I simply tap the existing light circuits?

I'm afraid to find out what California is going to charge me to license it. Fingers crossed on that.

 

[DanTheMan]

Hey Ed, I don't remember what you've got for a vehicle. If it's Asian or European you need a convertor box or else you need to add another pair of lights to work either as brake lights or turn signals. Sometimes that's better than the convertor box (I've always had problems with those burning out). American iron, just use the normal 4-wire set up.

 

[ukilme]

I have a folding trailer which are hard to get in Canada. I bought it used and had to rebuild it for the road.

It is very similar to your setup but I did keep the folding function. If anyone buys the folding trailer and keeps the folding ability, use jacks on the corner of the trailer to help support it when loading and unloading the bike. It will help the trailer not warp.

GS1000G shopper, if I can give you some advice, you might also want to drill a hole on the of the ramp (metal part) and through the trailer bed for a bolt. Then just place a bolt in the hole when loading and unloading. It will help prevent the ramp from sliding around on you especially when unloading or when it is raining. There is no need for the nut on the bolt.

It happened to me at track with my bike lucky it was just a track bike and they was help to get it off.

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

Thanks. I saw the need for that but forgot to add it in the original post. I was thinking I could run a couple of studs into the board to hold the ramp edge. I'm going to look at and probably buy their 30" wide folding aluminum ramp today & have a few ideas on mounting it. I'll edit the post when I get the final setup squared away.

 

[DanTheMan]

This was outside the AAA in Irvine.
Who says you can't take it with you?
I mean ALL of it.

Wonder how often he has to rebuild his suspension components and replace his tires. Not to mention the other Volkswagen components not intended to carry a 2000 lb+ payload....

 

[Guest]

Well done on the trailer.

I'd really love to get a single bike trailer for when I need to get mine to the exhaust shop and then transport it around for safety certificate inspections and registration inspections, but they're far too expensive here.

Hiring one for 6 hours is $53, buying one is an absolute minimum of $500 - $1000 from what I've seen, and I don't have ability or tools to make one unfortunately.

Of course making one would take valuable time away from working on the bike too...

 

[Dogma]

On sale at Harbor Freight for $299 over here.

 

[twr1776]

The trailer looks good. I would suggest some quailty straps to go with it. I have been using these for a couple years now and they are excellent IMHO. Fortunately there is a good trailer place by my place to get these. One thing the owner there mentioned that I have always remembered is that almost bikes go off the front of a trailer during a panic stop versus the back on acceleration.

I use the # 05713 Erickson 3000/1000 lb. working straps and these # 4500 lb. rated chokers from MR.

http://www.ericksonmfg.com/products/strapsTieDowns/motorCycleTieDowns.html

http://www.mrproducts.com/index.php?func=view&id=23&cookie=yes

Some very good info on straps here, working load is the rating to look for.

http://www.ericksonmfg.com/safeWorkingLoad/safeWorkingLoad.html

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

Update

Update

UPDATE
I added two 3/6-16 bolts to act as hold down pins for the new ramp (really like it BTW). Also shown in this set is the trailer jack. I had a piece of 1/4" scrap stainless angle and cut it to fit under the tongue on one side. Welded the jack mount to the angle, then bolted the angle to the tongue with 4 x 3/8-16x1 bolts. Serves the purpose and folds out of the way so you don't have to crank it way high. The ramp is very stable with the bolt/pins in place. I rode the GS onto it from a slope in my yard, then off loaded onto the driveway. The ramp has enough room to put your feet down while backing up.

I'm still working on the ramp storage. My latest plan is to replace the 12" side boards with 22" boards and hang the ramp from them, then use a pair of 4.5" carriage bolts to hold the ramps to the boards. I'll use the 12" boards between the ramps to cut down on rattling and give a solid surface to bolt through. Pics of these may follow when I get that part done.

Jack:

Stowed:

Pins & ramp:

Here's a couple shots of the underside, showing the added angle (black) and some attaching & wiring detail:

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

Well done on the trailer.

I'd really love to get a single bike trailer for when I need to get mine to the exhaust shop and then transport it around for safety certificate inspections and registration inspections, but they're far too expensive here.

Hiring one for 6 hours is $53, buying one is an absolute minimum of $500 - $1000 from what I've seen, and I don't have ability or tools to make one unfortunately.

Of course making one would take valuable time away from working on the bike too...

Thanks! I'd give you a hand but the commute would be a killer. Maybe I could put pontoons on the GS and convert the rear tire to a paddlewheel & add a mast & sail while I'm at it.

The trailer looks good. I would suggest some quality straps to go with it. I have been using these for a couple years now and they are excellent IMHO. Fortunately there is a good trailer place by my place to get these. One thing the owner there mentioned that I have always remembered is that almost bikes go off the front of a trailer during a panic stop versus the back on acceleration.

I use the # 05713 Erickson 3000/1000 lb. working straps and these # 4500 lb. rated chokers from MR.

http://www.ericksonmfg.com/products/strapsTieDowns/motorCycleTieDowns.html

http://www.mrproducts.com/index.php?func=view&id=23&cookie=yes

Some very good info on straps here, working load is the rating to look for.

http://www.ericksonmfg.com/safeWorkingLoad/safeWorkingLoad.html

Thanks for the info. I have a bunch of straps from my car hauling days, but will take a look at those.

 

[Guest]

Thanks! I'd give you a hand but the commute would be a killer. Maybe I could put pontoons on the GS and convert the rear tire to a paddlewheel & add a mast & sail while I'm at it.

Now that would make your GS unique!

 

[GS1000G Shopper]

Here's the ramp storage mount details. Side boards are cut to 22" high and held in the pocket via a 3/8 bolt. Carriage bolts are 1/2-13" x 5" long (the rear bolt in these photos is still a 4.5" one). On the rear shot, you can see the old 12" boards I'm using as spacers between the folded ramp. I have not tested this layout with the bike in place. Worst case if the straps don't clear, the ramp could be mounted on the outside of the boards. Seems like a solid setup. Only thing remaining is the hand winch. Waiting on some steel to get here for that.