DIY trailers | GTAMotorcycle.com

DIY trailers

JP0160

JP0160

Well-known member
I'v seen a few guys with what look like DIY trailers riding downtown. Has anyone here made their own? I'm toying with the idea of building something to tow the minibike/camping luggage with my Magna. Obviously safety is a concern, my welds are good and not looking to do this on the cheap. Any tips? Any links to trailers I could buy them fab up a mount myself?
 
Registering a home built trailer is easy. No inspection reqd.

I would do everything possible to keep the weight down (eg how is your aluminum welding).

Are you buying the bike hitch or making that too?

Are you thinking one wheel or two?
 
If you own a trailer for very long you end up replacing almost everything anyway.

Good news is there are stores that stock and sell everything you could ever need at off-shore price.
 
From what I read a lot of people go to Harbor Freight in Buffalo, buy a trailer kit and modify it. When importing it bring it in as trailer parts or you get hung up on registration and safety issues.

A common game plan is to cut the trailer down to the appropriate size car top luggage carrier Thule, Excargo etc

The bike should have no problem pulling a modest weight trailer as it wouldn't weigh more than a modest sized passenger. Turning and stopping may be a different matter but there are lots of trailers in the Goldwing crowd and few reported problems.

If you go to youtube and enter "Tow behind motorcycle trailer" you will get a pile of variants.
 
nobbie48 said:
From what I read a lot of people go to Harbor Freight in Buffalo, buy a trailer kit and modify it. When importing it bring it in as trailer parts or you get hung up on registration and safety issues.

A common game plan is to cut the trailer down to the appropriate size car top luggage carrier Thule, Excargo etc

The bike should have no problem pulling a modest weight trailer as it wouldn't weigh more than a modest sized passenger. Turning and stopping may be a different matter but there are lots of trailers in the Goldwing crowd and few reported problems.

If you go to youtube and enter "Tow behind motorcycle trailer" you will get a pile of variants.
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I thought about that but I was worried about the weight. If I need to clamp on the binders in a corner, the trailer weight will attempt to jackknife me. I have the crappy HD trailer fornthe car but I'd pay the extra to build in aluminum for the bike.
 
nobbie48 said:
From what I read a lot of people go to Harbor Freight in Buffalo, buy a trailer kit and modify it. When importing it bring it in as trailer parts or you get hung up on registration and safety issues.

A common game plan is to cut the trailer down to the appropriate size car top luggage carrier Thule, Excargo etc

The bike should have no problem pulling a modest weight trailer as it wouldn't weigh more than a modest sized passenger. Turning and stopping may be a different matter but there are lots of trailers in the Goldwing crowd and few reported problems.

If you go to youtube and enter "Tow behind motorcycle trailer" you will get a pile of variants.
Click to expand...
That was very close to my plan, a basic square steel frame and princess auto axle with some sort of storage box I could attach for gear, or remove and bolt a chock on for the minibike. Is it worth putting leaf springs on? I would think it would be too light and just bounce around. My loads will be 150# max.

I will be looking for a hitch that bolts to my bike, if I can't fine a suitable one I'll fabricate that as well. Aluminum is out of my skill range :)
 
For a lightweight trailer, you need softer suspension, not "no" suspension. Most trailer suspensions, regardless of design, are brutally stiff. If you are going to use leaf springs, probably find something like old Dodge Caravan multi-leaf springs and take the leaf stack apart and just use the single leaf that has the eyelets on each end; it will probably still be too stiff, but not by as much as any normal off the shelf trailer suspension.
 
JP0160 said:
That was very close to my plan, a basic square steel frame and princess auto axle with some sort of storage box I could attach for gear, or remove and bolt a chock on for the minibike. Is it worth putting leaf springs on? I would think it would be too light and just bounce around. My loads will be 150# max.

I will be looking for a hitch that bolts to my bike, if I can't fine a suitable one I'll fabricate that as well. Aluminum is out of my skill range :)
Click to expand...
150# on the trailer or 150# including the trailer?

I wonder about using the rear suspension from an old bike? It should be be in the right ballpark and wouldnt be too hard to fabricate mounts.
p111857.jpg

For bonus style points, grab a rear swingarm and Make a single wheel wheel trailer.
a1b94ecc-47c5-4a34-84c8-dc581faeb470.JPG
 
Single-wheel trailer requires a connection to the bike that is rigid in torsion, it has to pivot up-down and left-right but not twist. Normal trailer needs a ball joint connection which allows full torsional motion for max lean angle of the bike both ways.
 
Brian P said:
Single-wheel trailer requires a connection to the bike that is rigid in torsion, it has to pivot up-down and left-right but not twist. Normal trailer needs a ball joint connection which allows full torsional motion for max lean angle of the bike both ways.
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Would a U joint work?
 
Remember with a single wheel trailer the bump you miss the trailer misses. Not so with a two wheeler.
 
Brian P said:
Single-wheel trailer requires a connection to the bike that is rigid in torsion, it has to pivot up-down and left-right but not twist. Normal trailer needs a ball joint connection which allows full torsional motion for max lean angle of the bike both ways.
Click to expand...
The simplest singles pass a rod thru the rear axle, then mount the hitch on the rod using bushings the hitch freely pivots up and down. The connection to the trailer is a vertical pintle-gudgeon, same type connection used to connect a MC frame to the front wheel.

1564942815188.png
 
Mad Mike said:
The simplest singles pass a rod thru the rear axle, then mount the hitch on the rod using bushings the hitch freely pivots up and down. The connection to the trailer is a vertical pintle-gudgeon, same type connection used to connect a MC frame to the front wheel.

View attachment 40853
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Cool. If your bike has a hollow rear axle, this lets you trailer without modifying your bike at all(I'd try to wedge the rod into the hollow axle so they rotated together and let the rotation happen in my new outboard bearings.
 
That's a pretty cool how-it-works photo. Even if you don't have a hollow axle, it's not hard to make some sort of adapter that bolts to the back of the swingarm in some way (possibly replacing chain adjusters) and includes the horizontal-axis pivot there.
 
Brian P said:
That's a pretty cool how-it-works photo. Even if you don't have a hollow axle, it's not hard to make some sort of adapter that bolts to the back of the swingarm in some way (possibly replacing chain adjusters) and includes the horizontal-axis pivot there.
Click to expand...
I've seen them use the swing arm spool bolt holes on very small bikes.
 
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