Re: motorcycle lift Reply #25 – July 07, 2019, 10:37:19 pm Here's a 30' Featherlite stacker trailer for $21,00099 Newell for sale coach #528 Quote Selected
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #26 – July 08, 2019, 12:13:34 am Quote from: rickey – July 07, 2019, 04:32:54 pm....................... Has anyone had any problems storing cartralors while camping. Not sure if some state campgrounds would have room for the trailer. I live in Florida but plan to spend our summers in the wild west. The trailer may be the best way to go, I'm just not sure yet. That why I appreciate anyone's tailoring experience both good and bad. Thanks........................Rickey,Have you tried searching the Forum for "Trailer" or "Motorcycle Lifts"?There is a wealth of information along these lines of questions, regarding both motorcycle lifts and trailer options/experiences. The following are just a few of my contributions that may be of use to you: Towing enclosed car trailerCargo TrailersTowing an Open Car TrailerNew OwnersA lot of newbies and "trailer option analyzers" become paralyzed in imagining all sorts of trailer towing and site access problems. Over the course of 22 (+) years of Foretravelling, we have done it many different ways: Bob Tail (no car), small car (HONDA CRV), large car Mercedes 420 SEL (in Trailer), large van (HONDA Odysseys - 4 of them, all wheels down as well as in trailer), Acura MDX (same), Jeep GC Summit (same), HONDA Goldwings - 2 of them, in trailer, w/carSuzuki dual purpose, trail and street - 2 of them, samea BSA Lightning Rocket, samea Triumph Bonneville, sameNot everyone will be the same, but we find the trailer to be the easiest to use and the best in terms of practical, everyday use. Everything remains secure, there is minimal to no damage from the elements (I'm admittedly OCD about appearance and upkeep. The upkeep, on the road, of the coach plus trailer plus contents is easier with an enclosed trailer than with any other alternative). An enclosed trailer is easiest to maneuver and back up, easiest to use around small filling stations and the return on money spent remains the highest (meaning a good trailer retains high value and the enclosed vehicles remain pristine. A "bargain trailer" - not as much return on your investment, and there are a number of ways to get "stung" if you don't do your homework - see the referenced and other Foreforum threads that you can easily search for).Last summer we travelled 10,150 miles, across 30 states, over 7 months and we unhooked the trailer only three times. Once for service at MOT on our way west, Once for new trailer tires in Eagle Nest, NM (four year old tires - zipper failure started in sidewall - not unusual for trailer tires - tires are the achilles heal of trailers), and once at Extreme for some end cap repairs (2002, 2003 FT nemesis) and new carpet/flooring at Infinity in Nacogdoches TX, on our way east. We drove less than, or very occasionally up to, 300 miles per travel day, usually put up by 3:00 PM on travel days and seldom stayed less than three days in any one location, some locations as much as 2 to 3 weeks. We stayed in and around 11 national parks traveling from FL to stops in AL, TN, MO (Branson), AR, OK, TX, NM (Eagle Nest and Angel Fire), CO, UT (Salt Lake City), AZ (Lake Havasu City), CA, AZ, TX, AR, TN, VA, WV, MD, PA, CT, NH, CT, PA, VA, SC, GA and back to FL. In addition to the coach travel, we put on a little over,5,000 miles touring on the Goldwing over the 7 months.So, a few decent apps on your computer and/or smartphone, a little calling ahead to determine availabilities, a few common sense skills with a GPS and it was no problem over a 7 (+) month, wonderful trip last summer. We've had similar experiences with a full summer in the Canadian Maritimes and a full summer's tour of the Great Lakes, IL, WI, the UP, MI, Toronto and upstate NY. We don't like having to make schedules, deadlines and much prefer wandering from Point of Interest (POI) to POI, with the good weather, rather than having to plan everything out to the Nth degree and then worry it to death. After two mid-April weeks in Branson and making our return trip appointments in Nac., we were headed for Puget Sound, but fire-driven, poor-air-quality turned us back southwest in Salt Lake City. We spent the summer in the National Parks instead. We wanted to be in NH for a late September wedding. Those were our summer constraints. There were lots of nay sayers with tales of lack of reservations and small accommodations, but our only upsets were an I-40 E, pot-hole-driven, cracked windshield in Memphis and an I-40 E, adjacent lane, oversized load, truck tire explosion that drove a large GATOR under the front of our coach and broke a generator exhaust weld. We had no campground or boondocking problems at all. Quote from: folivier – July 07, 2019, 10:37:19 pmHere's a 30' Featherlite stacker trailer for $21,00099 Newell for sale coach #528Rickey,You know better, I'm sure, but a 30' Stacker would be way more than a 36' FT would be happy with. A 36' coach requires careful homework to minimize wasted trailer weight (height, insulation, interior panelling, cabinets, aluminum vs. steel, eye candy accessories like cargo lifts, etc.) and finding a trailer that maximizes your cargo carrying capacity (just big enough but no larger than necessary to carry the intended vehicles). Like Jon says: put wise money into a high quality (all aluminum) trailer with the highest rated axles, brakes and tires that well exceed any anticipated cargo that you might envision. Doing less than that "sets you up" with safety risks and a boatload of unpleasant frustrations.HTH,Neal Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #27 – July 10, 2019, 08:16:47 pm Two major issues pushed us to sell our 21' stacker at a $10K loss. The first was the anxiety over low overpasses in the eastern U.S.(not a concern with a one level trailer. The second item was tiedowns. They were a continuing adventure. The car moved two different times causing damage to both the front and rear. The motorcycle came lose two different times, causing damage as well. When specifying a trailer, pay attention to their locations and strength, as well as your ability to install the tiedowns and check them. I wish I'd had cameras mounted in both levels of my stacker. They would perhaps have saved me some money. Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #28 – July 11, 2019, 12:53:15 am Quote from: amos.harrison – July 10, 2019, 08:16:47 pmTwo major issues pushed us to sell our 21' stacker .................The car moved two different times causing damage to both the front and rear. The motorcycle came lose two different times, causing damage as well. When specifying a trailer, pay attention to their locations and strength, as well as your ability to install the tiedowns and check them............................Brett,From my experience, you are not the first to have tiedown problems. I would be curious to know more about your problems and what the height of your stacker was.I've addressed this topic before, but I grew up around heavy equipment and one of the things that I had drilled into my head as a teenager was to never try to tie down sprung weight. Equally important, always try to use tiedown gear where the breaking strength of each individual "link" equals at least twice the total weight of the tied-down component. So, I only considered trailers that had swivel, "D" rings, 10,000 lbs breaking strength (6,000 lbs working strength) tiedown rating or more, that were through-bolted to frame members and backing plates. I used the same criteria for those that I have added. All of my car straps are rated at 15,000 lbs or more breaking strength and all my motorcycle straps are rated at 6,000 lbs or more breaking strength. I have also never trailered any load tied down by attaching to the frame of the vehicle. In other words, I tie down each of the wheels/tires and let the car (or motorcycle) weight ride on their own suspensions. That's easy to do with the car by just using (4), 3" sewn loop straps, looped through the wheel spokes, ratcheting to four swiveling "D" rings. The motorcycle is a bit more complicated. It gets driven into a CONDOR ride-in chock, the front wheel/tire is then loop-tied to the CONDOR chock vertical member, the rear wheel/tire is ratchet-loop-tied to the same two "D" rings that the front of the car is tied down to. I then just lightly secure the bike upright with two steadying tiedown straps, letting the Goldwing's 900 lbs move up and down on its own suspension. I used to snug the whole Goldwing down more but found that I was causing front fork seal weeps by keeping the forks compressed.I've been doing this for thirteen years now and never (knock on wood) had any problems with breakage or movement. We did have trouble with all four of our HONDA Odysseys, but due to an unrelated phenomenon. The front wheel bearings would "Brinell Harden" from the trailering (bearing sitting on one spot and that spot becoming work hardened from the constant constraint). None of the other trailered vehicles have shown any idiosyncrasies.HTH someone — don't try to tie down sprung weight and don't skimp (you must tie down every wheel/tire, or the vehicle weight will shift, guaranteed).Neal Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #29 – July 12, 2019, 09:41:37 pm Neal,I probably made most of the mistakes you reference. Instead of swiveling D-rings I had E track installed on the lower level for the car. I used J hooks into the frame holes in my SSR designed for towing, but that is tying down sprung weight. I then tried straps that wrapped around all 4 tires but even they would slip off tires. For the bike on the upper level I used a chock as well and its bolts loosen even with thread locker. I used heavy straps at the triple clamp as the manufacturer recommended and had them bounce out of the D rings until I used plastic ties on each hook.The stacker was 13' 3" high and I had to regularly tighten loosened hardware.In the end the kicker was just getting tired of lying on my belly rigging, tightening and checking tiedowns. If I were to do it again(which I won't) I would buy a trailer with external fenders and wide side doors on both sides to provide access to tiedowns. Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #30 – July 12, 2019, 11:46:07 pm Bikes require a brace between the front tire and the fender. Quote Selected
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #31 – July 13, 2019, 07:28:35 am I can't visualize what you're recommending. Quote Selected
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #32 – July 13, 2019, 12:22:48 pm My neighbor a couple of years ago, in New Mexico, after hold down strap(s) broke ! Quote Selected
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #33 – July 13, 2019, 02:33:38 pm Quote from: rickey – June 17, 2019, 05:14:50 amOn a 2003 U295 36 footer, can you add a motorcycle lift to the back? The bike & lift would be about 1000 pounds behind the engine door. With the bike on the lift I could still tow my 4300 pound car. I'm just not sure if the extra 1000 pounds of hitch weight would make the front end too light & affect the ride & handling in a major way. I know on longer RVs its OK, but has anyone done this to a 36 footer? Can you mount it up front? Adds weight to the nose of your rig-will not block any air to the engine. Leaves the rear open to tow your car/trailer. Quote Selected
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #34 – July 14, 2019, 10:43:47 am Maybe check with this guy for tips on properly securing a load on a trailer. His hitching and driving, maybe not. Quote Selected 2 Likes
Re: motorcycle lift Reply #35 – September 08, 2019, 04:37:20 am Just rereading all your post & wanted to thank everyone for their advice. I will be looking for a used high quality aluminum trailer between 20 & 24 feet with an extended hitch. Quote Selected
Topic: motorcycle lift