swivel or not?

[Brake Pad]

Pulling a trailer on my first bike ( 79 Honda CB 750) while riding through Vermont, I was following a group of 12, I was the second to last bike, The last 4 of us had trailers.

I went into a hard right turn, the hitch bottomed out and the ball pushed me into on coming traffic, Just missing a very large farm tracker, I could fell the back of the bike straining, to stay upright. then started to hear, loud poping sounds. I kept the bike up, but pulled over, to check the bike, 3 of the 4 bolts holding the trailer hitch in place snapped under the strain.

From then on, the last 3 bikes, the trailer I owned all had swivels. I've learned my lesson the hard way.

God forbid you ever have to lay that bike down, I rather have the trailer up on two wheels, then rolling over with me., I think the trailer would keep the bike stable while sliding

I don't even want to think about it......

[bigbob]

Had a swivel hitch. The bolt doing the swivel broke.

Will not use one again.

 

Bigbob

[Brake Pad]

Had a swivel hitch. The bolt doing the swivel broke.

Will not use one again.

 

Bigbob

 

BigBob, I'd like to jump in here, If I may.

Upon pulling the trailer anywhere, Please inspect all parts of your trailer, wheels, greased?, swivels, nuts and bolts, lug nuts. safty chains, Ball & nut.

Its always safty first

[bigbob]

BigBob, I'd like to jump in here, If I may.

Upon pulling the trailer anywhere, Please inspect all parts of your trailer, wheels, greased?, swivels, nuts and bolts, lug nuts. safty chains, Ball & nut.

Its always safty first

 

 

My trailer is in v.good mechcanical shape. I do inspect often, and before every trip, But please tell me how to inspect a 1" grade 8 bolt inside a sivel hitch short of taking it apart. Last thing you would expect to snap is a 1" bolt on a light camper trailer hitch. Bob

[Brake Pad]

:ICcool:

[Monsta]

...please tell me how to inspect a 1" grade 8 bolt inside a swivel hitch short of taking it apart

 

Well Bob, best bet is to plunk down about $25,000 and score you an ultrasound or X-ray machine. That'll help you determine if that $3.00 bolt is still good.

[Burninator]

I installed a swivel hitch on my trailer and wouldn't even consider towing without one. The added safety is worth the small investment. Last summer I caught a curb when turning into a parking lot and the loaded bike went completely down. Other than scuffing one of the rear crash bars and suffering some embarrasment there was absolutely no damage.

 

Neither I or any of my touring friends all of whom pull campers larger than mine would consider pulling a trailer without a swivel hitch.

 

Get one!!

[KeithR]

I have been reading through the postings on swivel hitch's and was wondering if anyone has used this style? Or have any opinions?

 

Thanks

 

Keith

 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/motorcycle-trailer-swivel-hitch-coupler-goldwing-harley_W0QQitemZ170298918664QQihZ007QQcategoryZ33653QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Freebird]

I've seen something like that before but only pictures, never used one or seen one it action. I actually had to study it and think on it for a few minutes but to be honest, I don't see why it wouldn't work but don't know that it really offers any advantages over a regular fixed ball. Your coupler will allow the bike to lean as far as I've ever seen anybody lean. The only real advantage to the swivel couple I think is that if you were to actually go down, the trailer could stay upright and not flip over. I'm don't see where this setup would allow that to happen. You still have limited range, not 360 degrees.

 

I'm really just sort of thinking out loud here....maybe I'm wrong.

[Brake Pad]

and the major down side to using a swivel, is rolling the trailer over. But something, big and hard at high speed, would have to get under a tire to do this. Never herd anyone say they flipped a trailer.

[Leadwolf56]

I have been reading through the postings on swivel hitch's and was wondering if anyone has used this style? Or have any opinions?

 

Thanks

 

Keith

 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/motorcycle-trailer-swivel-hitch-coupler-goldwing-harley_W0QQitemZ170298918664QQihZ007QQcategoryZ33653QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I bought one of those, then someone had the pin come out on them. The guy selling them refunded our money and did not want the hitch back. I thought it was a neat idea and a lot cheaper nthan a regular swivel. Trying to see how I can fix it so I wouldn't have to worry about the pin coming out.

[Guest royalstar59]

Hello outthere,

I just finished my winterproject: building a hitch on the bike and a rotating hook-up on the trailer.

The hitch i got from examples on this website. The hook-ip i made out of the rear brake drum from a Volkswagen Rabbit. Cut/grind off the drum, fix it in a piece of pipe and weld it to the frame of the trailer. The bearings are almost maintenance free and it is verry stable.

You don't even notice a trailer is hanging on the bike.

Greetings from the Netherlands.

royalstar59:thumbsup2:

[BNC173]

Here is something to think about & I would appreciate everyone's thoughts. I bought a trailer that came with the swivel ball that I installed on my bike. I thought it was the cats ass. I was bragging to all my other friends the benefits of this ball. We was on a trip when I had a rear tire go down on my bike. Still not sure if I hit something or it just blew out but it went down fast. The first thing that I had noticed was my bike going side to side, i looked in my mirror to see my trailer jumping from side to side far enough that it was in one mirror then in the other. I got the bike slowed down & under control at about 40 mph & thought the wild ride was over. When all of a sudden the bike took three last jerks from one side to the other auctually turning the bike sideways on the highway. The ride ended with the trailer jackknifed against the bike lifting the rear of the bike off the ground. I have a broken femur with a 12 inch rod & some road rash, my wife just had some bruising & road rash. From my buddies riding behind me said that the trailer wheels when going back & forth was lifting off the road over a foot each time. The damage to the trailer shows that at one time it did flip on its top bending down the top rail but no damage on the sides so it had to of jumped landed on the top & back over. The welded plate on the hitch broke off. So did that swivel help or hurt? Did the swivel give to much play to allow it to go fruther than a reg. old ball would have allowed it to? What is everyones thoughts? I haven't really decided when things are fixed what I will go back with.

[kenw]

I put a swivel on mine. I figured it would be cheap insuance. I'd be sad enough to drop it without having bent something to boot!

[VTirelli]

Here is something to think about & I would appreciate everyone's thoughts. I bought a trailer that came with the swivel ball that I installed on my bike. I thought it was the cats ass. I was bragging to all my other friends the benefits of this ball. We was on a trip when I had a rear tire go down on my bike. Still not sure if I hit something or it just blew out but it went down fast. The first thing that I had noticed was my bike going side to side, i looked in my mirror to see my trailer jumping from side to side far enough that it was in one mirror then in the other. I got the bike slowed down & under control at about 40 mph & thought the wild ride was over. When all of a sudden the bike took three last jerks from one side to the other auctually turning the bike sideways on the highway. The ride ended with the trailer jackknifed against the bike lifting the rear of the bike off the ground. I have a broken femur with a 12 inch rod & some road rash, my wife just had some bruising & road rash. From my buddies riding behind me said that the trailer wheels when going back & forth was lifting off the road over a foot each time. The damage to the trailer shows that at one time it did flip on its top bending down the top rail but no damage on the sides so it had to of jumped landed on the top & back over. The welded plate on the hitch broke off. So did that swivel help or hurt? Did the swivel give to much play to allow it to go fruther than a reg. old ball would have allowed it to? What is everyones thoughts? I haven't really decided when things are fixed what I will go back with.

 

 

 

My thoughts on this are that if you didn't have the swivel hitch on it, you probably would have gone down when the trailer flipped and probably at a much higher speed than when you finally DID go down. The swivel allowed the trailer to flip.. if there was no swivel, the hitch would have bottomed out and pushed you over. Not sure why the trailer bounced the way it did but I highly doubt that it was related to the swivel. I'm also not sure of the weight in the trailer or the speed you were going....but if the trailer bounced that much, I would assume that it was close to empty. Sorry to hear of your injuries, but my opinion is that the swivel actually prevented something more serious from happening.

[BuckShot]

My thoughts on this are that if you didn't have the swivel hitch on it, you probably would have gone down when the trailer flipped and probably at a much higher speed than when you finally DID go down. The swivel allowed the trailer to flip.. if there was no swivel, the hitch would have bottomed out and pushed you over. Not sure why the trailer bounced the way it did but I highly doubt that it was related to the swivel. I'm also not sure of the weight in the trailer or the speed you were going....but if the trailer bounced that much, I would assume that it was close to empty. Sorry to hear of your injuries, but my opinion is that the swivel actually prevented something more serious from happening.

 

[Brake Pad]

Last summer, My wife & I were traveling back from St. Austine Florida.

We were on I-95 South bound, when going through a construction zone, the back of the bike started bouncing, we got a slap noise, about 3 or 4 times, then it stopped, then something, bounced off the trailer. (but the trailer was loaded, maybe 350 LBS)

We couldn't find anything wrong.

after arriving home 120 miles later, we found the rear Metzel chucked on us. about the size of a softball (5 inch circle) just off center tread

But now thinking about it, If the trailer wasn't there, I wonder what the outcome would have been?