Community Forums

TomVT · 07-29-2006, 10:32 AM

I hope someone out there has solved the problem of how to best take a car and two full sized motorcycles with them on the road. Some of my thoughts and things I have seen are as follows:

"¢ Enclosed car hauler trailer. Sounds like the cleanest solution but with the car being 16.5 feet long and the motorcycles needing another almost 9 feet we are talking about a trailer with an inside length of almost 26 feet which would give somewhere near 31 feet over all. This behind a 40 foot MH gets longer than makes sense. I have seen trailers with a lift inside to put the motorcycles above the car but that adds a lot of $$$ and weight to the trailer.
"¢ Dingy with space for bikes in front of car. This looks ok if the axle of the dingy was set correctly to give proper tongue weight. Don't like the idea of the bikes being outside if I can help it however.
"¢ Motorcycle lift on rear of MH. I have not seen a lift for two full sized bikes and would be very concerned for rear axle loading and other related problems even if someone had a lift that would do the job.
"¢ Pickup truck with a rack to load and carry the two bikes up above the side rails of the pickup bed. I've seen this done but wondered if the load was not a little too top heavy for the pickup.

In any event, my task is two motorcycles with a total weight of +- 1,700 pounds and some form of a car or truck behind a MH with a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds total. Any thoughts from those who have been down this road would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

TomVT · 07-29-2006, 10:32 AM

I hope someone out there has solved the problem of how to best take a car and two full sized motorcycles with them on the road. Some of my thoughts and things I have seen are as follows:

"¢ Enclosed car hauler trailer. Sounds like the cleanest solution but with the car being 16.5 feet long and the motorcycles needing another almost 9 feet we are talking about a trailer with an inside length of almost 26 feet which would give somewhere near 31 feet over all. This behind a 40 foot MH gets longer than makes sense. I have seen trailers with a lift inside to put the motorcycles above the car but that adds a lot of $$$ and weight to the trailer.
"¢ Dingy with space for bikes in front of car. This looks ok if the axle of the dingy was set correctly to give proper tongue weight. Don't like the idea of the bikes being outside if I can help it however.
"¢ Motorcycle lift on rear of MH. I have not seen a lift for two full sized bikes and would be very concerned for rear axle loading and other related problems even if someone had a lift that would do the job.
"¢ Pickup truck with a rack to load and carry the two bikes up above the side rails of the pickup bed. I've seen this done but wondered if the load was not a little too top heavy for the pickup.

In any event, my task is two motorcycles with a total weight of +- 1,700 pounds and some form of a car or truck behind a MH with a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds total. Any thoughts from those who have been down this road would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

rebelsbeach · 07-29-2006, 11:22 AM

Race City Products

They have dollies for single bikes,two bikes and even a golf cart and a car...

Frankie · 07-29-2006, 11:27 AM

Ask and you shall recieve.Thats an awsome setup and the prices are realistic,not over inflated like you usually see. I have been thinking of customizing a gas powered golf kart and this would be perfect towing car and golf kart.

rebelsbeach · 07-29-2006, 12:58 PM

Frankie, I am in the process of ordering one of the dollies for a golf cart as well from Race City...Thought about Blue Ox's swing up platform but decided against it...

Ken Roberts · 07-29-2006, 01:04 PM

What rebelsbeach shared certainly has merit; but, it still leaves the bikes outside.

A year or so ago I was parked alonside a guy that had a 21' enclosed V nose trailer that had 2 Harleys and a car inside. With a 40'MH and a 3' hitch you can still stay under generally accepted 65' overall with a 22' V nose. I pull a 20' enclosed trailer with a 5' hitch as I wanted plenty of clearance between MH and trailer; but, a V nose somewhat alleviates that issue.

However you go make sure you get HD axles and good electric brakes. I got 6'000 # axles with 16" wheels where you get 10 ply rubber vs. 8 ply on 15". Ken,'04 DSDP...

Frankie · 07-29-2006, 01:15 PM

For us gasser guys,lighter the better. Tom did say he had a minimum 26' for what he wanted to take along. Bike covers come cheap.Also the storage at a campground needs to be considered.It's a little easier dealing with a tow dolly than a 22' cargo trailer.I guess it ends up being personal preferance.

rebelsbeach · 07-29-2006, 01:47 PM

Ken, I used to pull a 20 foot v nose with Harleys in it, but frankly got tired of always having to find somewhere to keep the trailer as we always weren't in pull throughs....With my new 45 footer coach I've made that even more of an adventure, I realize that...We usually stored the bikes in the trailer,so that wasn't an issue...

I've even given some thought to trading the Trailblazer on a Chevy Silverado Crew, which would work for me with a golf cart in the bed, but the wife would REALLY cook my bacon then!!

She still hasn't recovered from the price tag of the new coach....Talk about sticker shock!!

RV Wizard · 07-30-2006, 01:25 AM

If money is no object; trade in the present coach on a midengine with rear garage. Put the bike in the garage and a toad behind. Otherwise you would have to pick from one of the above.