What size trailer for 3 bikes?

[sradek]

I am looking to buy a trailer with a rear ramp and a side door.

I plan to use it to store my FJR + a 2nd bike (standard/sport - up to 1000cc) and a kids bike (250cc)

I have only a single drive-way, so this one will have to be on the street in front of my house.

I am thinking 5-6'x10-12' trailer.

I have no experience using a trailer for bike storage/travel, so looking for advice from folks who regularly use a trailer for storage/travel.

Of course, when we are traveling, I will probably be riding one of the 2 adult bikes ...

Rest of the time, want to use the trailer as a way to store the bikes from winter elements.

 

[El Toro]

I have a 6x12 with a ramp at the rear and a side door. I would like to set it up to haul the FJR and my K1200Rsport, but there is no way I can see to cram both bikes into the trailer without having a contortionist help with the loading. It might be physically possible to put two bikes in a 6x12 space, but its another thing to get them loaded and unloaded safely. Don't forget you've also got to deal with the tongue load issue, so if the bikes aren't distributed right, you can end up heavy or light on the tongue, and this can really mess up trailer handling.

I think you could get two sport bikes into a 6x12, but once you stick something like an FJR into the trailer, the rest of the real estate is limited.

When you go to the trailer dealers (and I recommend this), you will probably be told that the minimum price of admission for what you want to do is a 7x14.

As you consider trailers, ask questions about the expected life. Some of the lower end brands are poorly constructed with the emphasis on good sales lot appearance, but the boxes are weak and tend to start to fall apart when taken on crummy roads (like many of the interstates in Pennsylvania or New Jersey). I was told by a guy I trust in the industry that most cargo style trailers bought for non-commercial use see about 7000 miles during their lifetime, and the build quality may reflect this expected short mileage expectation.

Tires are important and need to be inflated to their maxium to get decent gas mileage and decent wear.

I use a Condor chock because it lets me load and unload without help.

You may figure out how to get more bikes into a 6x12 than I can...I've seen guys cram them in so that there was no space left and you had to use the side door for the final loading stages, but the bikes are too important to me to take such chances.

 

[OGRE]

I also have a 6x12 and used it to store the FJR when I had an apartment... I was able to hang the tongue jack behind the concrete stop at the end of the parking spot, put a concrete block under each of the back corners, and raise the front end until the rear of the trailer came down and rested solidly on the blocks... you can get collapsable "legs" for the back corners that do the same thing for a lot more money... I could fit 2 bikes by staggering them in the trailer, my buddy's cruiser(no bags) at the front and the feejer pulled up beside and a little to the rear... I doubt you could fit the kids bike in there though.... if you use your trailer for storage on the street... use at least 2 locks... one on the hitch pin, and one that covers the front of the hitch and makes it impossible to insert a hitch ball... one of my buddies also took a 5 gallon bucket inserted a logging chain and filled with concrete then locked it around the front hitch, just to make it more difficult to move. If you go for a bigger trailer... bigger than 6x12 you have to get a double axle with brakes which will drive up the cost DRAMATICALLY.. Good luck, hope you get it figured out.

 

[Duezzer]

+1 on the 7 X 14 min requirement

 

[sradek]

Thanks guys for the advice.

I am going to check with my township if I can keep the trailer on the side of the road (since it will be huge!).

NJ is crowded "wouldn't ya know"!

 

[HaulinAshe]

As a MX racer with lots of HD neighbors, I have loads of trailer experience. Shut up Heidi!!!

Using the trailer for storage is very different than using it for hauling. As mentioned above, tongue weight and general weight distribution call for more space than simple storage.

From a storage perspective, you can store two big bikes in a 6x12 trailer. One is loaded all the way forward, the other is loaded by backing it into the space beside the first bike, but spaced about 12" toward the rear. You can remove the FJR side bags to make loading easier and reduce the space required somewhat.

Try setting both bikes side-by-side in your driveway facing opposite directions on their center stands. That will allow you to mock up the storage position.

You will need at least one wheel chock that is removable for the bike facing backwards. And for sure you cannot load the bikes by yourself.

A 6x12 will be tight, but I'm betting it can be done if necessary. I haul two FJRs on my 5x8 open trailer with about 6" of handlebar overhanging each side. Both bikes face forward and are staggered by about 8". I've combined one FJR and one full dresser Harley bagger on that trailer arrangement.

When you are sizing things up, remember that a closed trailer will require you to do a lot of crawling over the bikes. Be prepared for that with things like removing the FJR windshield and using moving blankets covered with cardboard, thrown over the bikes to allow you to slide over them. Keep your cell phone handy in case you get stuck. Don't ask!

 

[Kieth]

to comfortably handle 3 bikes you need a 102" wide x 12' long enclosed trailer or you could go with a 12' long with a V nose and have it only 7' wide. This means the middle bike will be farther forward and leave room for the other 2 on the outside. Of course the wider the better if the bikes are large.

 

[Kieth]

Oh almost forgot take a look at the harbor freight wheel chock (the larger one) it would serve you well .......lists for 79.00 they often go on sale for 59.00 and use e track in the floor of your trailer to make it easy to tie bikes down.

Kieth

 

[Kieth]

Oh almost forgot take a look at the harbor freight wheel chock (the larger one) it would serve you well .......lists for 79.00 they often go on sale for 59.00 and use e track in the floor of your trailer to make it easy to tie bikes down.
Kieth

https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=97841

 

[El Toro]

I took a look at the Harbor Freight link, and the unit appears to be very similar to the Condor free standing unit, but the price is about a third as much.

Its no wonder we can't make anything in the US anymore. We buy on price, myself often included... and the US company ends up moving off shore or going out of business.

Sigh....

 

[scubatech]

Hi Sradek, I have a 6' by 12' enclosed trailer. I just hauled my FJR and a CBR1100XX to Montana and back. I also have the wheel chock Joe spoke of. It worked out fine.The Hondas front end was even with my back wheel. We haul three dirt bikes in it all the time,works good. As Jeff stated storage is a lot different idea. Pingel makes a nice removable chock for around $60.00. The front locking chock makes it easier for alll the moving around after loading.You can push it in and let go. I wouldn't try to load the FJR alone. I definitely am glad I bought an enclosed trailer after having both.Security and protection are nice. Good luck!

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

You'll need at least a 7X12, 2 side by side and one in front perpendicular to the others (250). Here's mine. I only haul 2 but the third would fit easily in front. I have thought about it.

 

[El Toro]

Oh almost forgot take a look at the harbor freight wheel chock (the larger one) it would serve you well .......lists for 79.00 they often go on sale for 59.00 and use e track in the floor of your trailer to make it easy to tie bikes down.
Kieth

https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=97841

I recently discovered that we have a Harbor Freight store (in fact we have two of them) in the Nashville area. I went by the one on Lebanon Road the other day, and I found this chock for $59.95, so I bought it to check it out. It was boxed, and the box pictures were similar to what's shown on the hyperlink given above.

I assembled the chock when I got it home, and I have to say that I think it bites the big one, like so many Harbor Freight items. The promise is quite enticing, but the reality is like the difference between a hamburger and a cow pattie.

So why do I think it sucks? Well, it looks like it was made by a coolie standing in front of an open forge in sandels... which it probably was. The Chinese government hired one of my guys as a consultant to crticize their forging and casting industries several years ago, and I have a picture in my office of one of their workers wearing a traditional straw hat, with shorts and sandels, working with molten metal over an open forge. The Chinese appear to have minimal worker safety laws, and its really not fair that we allow them to compete with our workforce. They also have minimal laws regarding emissions from factories, and so this gives them an advantage over factories in the USA as well.

Are the appearance issues the only things in play? No. The function sucks too. The pivot pins are exposed to the wheel, so they are bumps as you try to push the wheel into the chock. My Condor chocks work really well. The Harbor Freight chock does not function well when you try to push the bike into the chock, and the instructions say "don't ride the bike into the chock." They also say you should not try to use the chock until you've tied it down. The Condor will stand on the garage floor fully functional without any special tie down.

The Harbor Freight chock costs a third of the price of the Condor. The Condor is at least 5 times as functional. Side by side, it is clear that compared to the Condor, the Harbor Freight unit is a standard POS.