new tag-along trailer

[Midrsv]

Brian,

 

Thanks for the photos. That helps me understand the connection. I noticed from your photos that the wiring for the lights seems to run under the draw bar. Can the wires be routed inside the bar? My Unigo wiring runs inside the bar.

 

I've sent a note to tag along address requesting a quote but didn't hear anything today.

 

Dennis

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Brian,

 

Can the wires be routed inside the bar? My Unigo wiring runs inside the bar.

 

 

 

I'm guessing that you could drill holes in the hollow drawbar and route the cable thru it...the drawbar is attached to the T-frame with a bolt, so I assume it can be disassembled and routed as you like. Since the cable is black, and my drawbar is black, I think it looks ok as is, and never even thought about that....see, I learn new stuff every day here.

 

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

Sure glad that no one hit me this day! Carrying a full 40# bottle of propane in your bike's trailer is probably NOT on the 'to-do list' of most motorcycle riders...but...I aint skeered!

 

Hauled it 90 miles and it rode like a champ. That bottle weighs around 75 pounds when full, and I packed a bunch of clothing around it to keep it from shifting.

 

You just never know when a trailer is gonna come in handy!

 

[Dave77459]

That works really well for me to judge the size. Thanks!

 

Dave

[Sling]

Propane conversion kit for the bike.. Interesting...

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Propane conversion kit for the bike.. Interesting...

 

 

lol...yep...rig up a nozzle, add an oxygen tank and an igniter...wow...rocket powered sled!

 

I might even wear a helmet for THAT test!

 

[Guest tx2sturgis]

That works really well for me to judge the size. Thanks!

 

Dave

 

 

Glad to help...but did ya notice the part about it being FULL of propane???

 

[Dave77459]

Glad to help...but did ya notice the part about it being FULL of propane???

 

 

I did! I just carried a cheap-o plastic jug of gasoline for 1200 miles in my saddle bag. I fear that more than a propane tank built for the purpose wrapped in swaddling clothes.

 

Do you reckon that is about as heavy a load as you are likely to carry? Or do you carry around Oxford Dictionaries when you travel?

 

Dave

[99silver]

You keep talking like that and you are not ever going to heal up....

 

The Rapture

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

Do you reckon that is about as heavy a load as you are likely to carry? Or do you carry around Oxford Dictionaries when you travel?

 

Dave

 

 

I did haul 4, 80# bags of quickcrete in my other trailer one time...it certainly made the trip from the hardware store to a friends house...interesting.

 

I even hauled a small tree in a 10 gallon container in that same trailer one time...it was a short trip to the house with it. I'm guessing the folks who saw us probably had never seen a tree being hauled by a motorcycle. The bucket was in the trailer with the small trunk and the top of the tree flailing in the wind...funny stuff...

 

You can see it here in post number 7 in this thread:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20999&highlight=tree

Edited November 16, 2009 by tx2sturgis

[Guest tx2sturgis]

a brother, for your safety, run two chains on that trailer, and cross them, or add a middle chain as shown in the picture, so the bar will land on the Chains, instead of digging into the roadway, and drag you down with it.

 

By the way....I DID shorten the chain by several links, after your post....but still, as short as it is, to allow for turning, it wont be able to 'catch' the trailer tongue if the hitch DID fail...which I guess COULD happen.

 

When this trailers tongue is near the ground, the middle part of the drawbar is already touching the ground, and the heim joint stops about an inch or 2 off the ground. So in order to be able to catch the tongue before the drawbar hits the pavement, the chain would have to be VERY short, or a couple of chains crossed and fastened to the drawbar, and then I'm afraid that arrangement might actually tend to 'pull' the loose heim joint (or shank) in towards the rear tire...not good.

 

Oh well. Maybe duct tape and bailing wire would save the day!!

 

 

 

 

[BEER30]

I have owned and pulled a lot of trailers . Not once to this date have I lost one being towed (knock on wood). There are several good practices to adhere when it comes to chains and hitches . I look at this in this way , properly lengthened cross chains to help catch and prevent the tongue of the trailer to dig into the pavement , but will it prevent the tongue from pushing forward into the rear tire ? When pulling a trailer behind a cage , we ordinarily will not have this issue , but with the bikes we do and there is not much we can do other than to adjust our speed when coming to a safe stop . As mentioned , tongue digging into the pavement . I prefer to have a skid plate/leg mounted under the tongue , just behind the coupler . This attachment will not allow the tongue to dig into the pavement .....unless the trailer does actually goes head over heals in more severe incidents . Some people think this attachment is to not allow the tongue to sink down into the ground when trailer is not used to prevent the dirt from clogging the hitch as it sinks into the dirt . If and when an incident may occur , we can only take precautions to reduce the amount of possible damage that may occur .

 

BEER30

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Well said, Beer.

 

[Brake Pad]

I already have a system to make a sled rail to attach to the bottom of the toung.

thanks for the idea.

[Sleeperhawk]

Is that a 6 wire plug like on the BushTech trailer too? If so, what is the 6th wire used for?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Wow...thread has been bumped!

 

Thats a 6 pin connector, but only 5 are used on this trailer. I suppose you could wire in an interior light, and provide power for it via that 6th pin.

[Freebird]

That's exactly what the 6th wire is for. Bushtec offers an interior light option and that is what the wire is for.

[Sleeperhawk]

I saw the one Sling has and I liked it. So, if I get a GW, then this trailer will be good to go on that bike too. By the way, are the lights leds or bulbs?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I saw the one Sling has and I liked it. So, if I get a GW, then this trailer will be good to go on that bike too. By the way, are the lights leds or bulbs?

 

When I bought mine in May of 2009 they came standard with LED lights, but they were clear/amber and clear/red and I dont like that look. So I changed them to all red LED lights, which match what I have on my bike, and also, the new LEDs have more 'bulbs' in them...so they are much brighter.

 

[troutman]

Three riders in our STAR charter have these trailers and we love them. In July we took them on a 2500 mile ride on the way to Deals Gap to run the Dragon. Took them down the Dragon several times. We had no problems what so ever with the trailers. I pulled mine behind our 2008 RSTD. I have the trailer painted to match the bike.

 

My wife rode with me and we were able to carry enough clothes for a week, leathers, two full face helmets and all the other stuff she need to bring (hair stuff, makeup, toiletries, etc). The trick to using these trailers is to go to Walmart and get a few Space Bags. Get the ones that have the one way air valves. You just have to roll them up and the air goes out. It really cut down on space needed and they laid perfectly in the bottom of the trailer.

 

All three of us were able to unhitch the trailers and roll them right into our hotel rooms. Very cool to be able to unpack in the room and have everything secure in the room.

 

We got our trailers from Tom Simmons in Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can look him up on line at TS Custom Seats.

 

Call out...make sure you maintenance the wheel bearings regularly. Keep them packed full of grease and be sure to check them after a long trip.

[Dave77459]

When I bought mine in May of 2009 they came standard with LED lights, but they were clear/amber and clear/red and I dont like that look. So I changed them to all red LED lights, which match what I have on my bike, and also, the new LEDs have more 'bulbs' in them...so they are much brighter.

 

Yes, mine came with standard lights. I put on the LEDs for the reason you state, plus there is much less draw on my wiring. I actually didn't think about the LEDs matching my bike's taillights, but that is really true. I actually feel much safer pulling my trailer, because these LED lights (from Harbor Freight, natch) are really big and bright.

 

Three riders in our STAR charter have these trailers and we love them. In July we took them on a 2500 mile ride on the way to Deals Gap to run the Dragon. Took them down the Dragon several times. We had no problems what so ever with the trailers. I pulled mine behind our 2008 RSTD. I have the trailer painted to match the bike.

 

My wife rode with me and we were able to carry enough clothes for a week, leathers, two full face helmets and all the other stuff she need to bring (hair stuff, makeup, toiletries, etc). The trick to using these trailers is to go to Walmart and get a few Space Bags. Get the ones that have the one way air valves. You just have to roll them up and the air goes out. It really cut down on space needed and they laid perfectly in the bottom of the trailer.

 

All three of us were able to unhitch the trailers and roll them right into our hotel rooms. Very cool to be able to unpack in the room and have everything secure in the room.

 

We got our trailers from Tom Simmons in Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can look him up on line at TS Custom Seats.

 

Call out...make sure you maintenance the wheel bearings regularly. Keep them packed full of grease and be sure to check them after a long trip.

I was confused about your comment that you pull your trailers into your hotel room. But checking out the Tom Simmons site (flash slideshow) and the word doc (Drag-N Trailers), I see that you are speaking of the "Little Tag-a-Long Trailers", not the Harbor Freight Tag-Along. Those are really neat trailers, much cooler than the basic HF trailer. Of course, when you pay nearly $1900 for a trailer, it ought to be cooler than a $500 trailer.

 

I agree with your comment on Space Bags. We use the Jumbo size one to hold our bedding, but this is the one with the vacuum port that works perfectly with my air pump. It flattens the bag down to 2" thick instead of 4-5" thick, and keeps it dry if we need to open the trailer in rain (e.g., if we need to get out our rain suits).

 

Dave

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

I was confused about your comment that you pull your trailers into your hotel room.

Dave

 

 

 

 

Dave, go back and read the beginning of the thread...in this thread we're all referring to the tiny Tag-Along trailer made by D&P Enterprises in Arkansas, not the HF trailer. It will easily roll into a ground floor motel room.

 

 

http://www.lilthoroughbredtrailers.com/id2.html

 

 

On that website, if you click on the 'Picture Gallery' you will see my bike and trailer there, top left, second picture.

Edited September 27, 2010 by tx2sturgis

[Dave77459]

Dave, go back and read the beginning of the thread...in this thread we're all referring to the tiny Tag-Along trailer made by D&P Enterprises in Arkansas, not the HF trailer. It will easily roll into a ground floor motel room.

 

 

http://www.lilthoroughbredtrailers.com/id2.html

 

 

On that website, if you click on the 'Picture Gallery' you will see my bike and trailer there, top left, second picture.

Ha ha! I came here after getting my notification that a trailer discussion was updated. I forgot I subscribed to this as I was researching trailers, pre-HF!

 

This is a cool little trailer, to be sure!

 

Dave