Well, looks like it's back to the drawing board. You guys were right: not enough turning clearance. Funny how it looked like there was so much room there before I started.
Not sure what we're going to do now. Maybe go take a look at one of the little Fun Finder toy haulers. Or maybe think about trading the Suburban for a 3/4-ton pickup (so we could keep our current trailer & carry the bikes in the truck). Or maybe just enjoy camping with our current setup and forget about the bike.
I'd consider welding a carrier on the back of our trailer, but ultimately we're going to want to carry two motorcycles with us. That's around 600lbs, and I don't think there would ever be a way to make that work.
I have towed a trailer and hauled a dirt bike for the last 25 years. The combo I settled on was a standard full size Ford Clubwagon and a small TT. The bike(can carry two bikes)fits behind the second row of seats. I use a chock mounted on a piece of ply and four tie downs.
I considered a toy box but I would rather not sleep with my bike. Plus the bike is out of the way if camping enroute to where I'm going to ride. The bike stinks up the van, but a few blocks with the AC on or windows open and you don't smell it anymore. In addition the the newer 4 strokes don't smell or leak like my old 2 strokes.
I also have a rear rack for when I'm not towing, but with the chock, it's almost as easy to load the bike inside as it is outside. You also don't have to worry about theft or it falling off the rack. All your gear stays dry if you run into rain.
With the removable seats, I can can carry 8 passengers, or without the seats, full sheets of plywood. The seat attachments are handy places for tiedown lugs.
My buddies have used racks on the back of the trailer but the handling suffers. One just bought a brand new Suzuki, dropped it on the freeway and dragged it until a passing car flagged him down!
Some have mounted them on the front, but it blocks the headlights, blocks the radiator and covers one side of your bike with bugs!
The biggest bike I've had inside was a 250cc. If you have a really tall bike, make sure it clears the top sill of the door and duck when you're loading it!
Just a thought - could you set something up on the hitch receiver instead of on the trailer tongue? That way the bike would turn with your TV instead of being stationary on the trailer tongue.
Andy
Andy & Kathi
DD ('91), DD ('94), Woof ('92), Woof Woof ('03)
2003 Ford Explorer
2008 Jayco Jay Feather Sport 218 Our Picture's
Another Option is one of the trailers with the wheels on it that mounts to a receiver on the back of the camper.
I've seen these on a few different occasions and they look like a sweet set up. I dont think you even have to worry about the towing 3 rule, because it's not considered a full trailer.
Here is a LINK to what I'm talking about, but there are a few different companies that make them
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A&K wrote: Just a thought - could you set something up on the hitch receiver instead of on the trailer tongue? That way the bike would turn with your TV instead of being stationary on the trailer tongue.
Andy
I've seen some hitch receiver attachments like that, but I don't think I'd be comfortable hanging a 300lb motorcycle off one. Good idea though - might be worth investigating further.
everymilesamemory wrote: Another Option is one of the trailers with the wheels on it that mounts to a receiver on the back of the camper.
I've seen these on a few different occasions and they look like a sweet set up. I dont think you even have to worry about the towing 3 rule, because it's not considered a full trailer.
Here is a LINK to what I'm talking about, but there are a few different companies that make them
Yeah, the Idaho Tote was one that looked pretty good to me. I couldn't get a definitive answer, but it seems that it wouldn't be legal in B.C. (where we would be doing lots of camping). Again, that might be worth investigating further, also.
As for the van idea, I really like that one, but my wife isn't so keen (it would probably end up being her daily driver). I'd also be just a tiny bit concerned about those motorcyles coming loose in an accident and smacking us in the head. Maybe a metal divider for the back half would help?
Anyway, thanks to all for the great suggestions. I'm sure we'll figure something out.
but i do have a toy hauler with a seperate garage.
its a sunnybrook, sunset creek 341srd. It's one of the larger tt's we have seen from bumper to tounge its 38 ft. we tow with a ford f250 and have had no problems. it was also under 20,000$. We looked at several 5th wheel options out there and just could not see spending the money on those.
but, beware, you have a max garage weight of 800 lbs. regardless of what you put in the front, the safty issue of going over 800 lbs back there could cause serious sway and other problems.
if i were in your boat, ask yourself how many times in a season you really wanna take your bike or bikes along. if its at least half, upgrade to a bigger truck that you can put it in the bed, that way if you ever wanna up grade the tt you have the bigger truck to tow with.
It does sound like you either need a crew cab pickup with a long bed, or a van, carry the bikes in the truck bed or van and pull the trailer you have, -or- buy a toyhauler, -or- put a truck camper on a pickup and tow a utility trailer for the bikes. I used to camp with the last option. I had an 8' self-contained truck camper on my truck and pulled a flatbed trailer with bikes/buggie/bronco on the trailer. Worked great! There are many ways to skin a cat, pick your favorite knife and have fun!
AM407 wrote: Well, looks like it's back to the drawing board. You guys were right: not enough turning clearance. Funny how it looked like there was so much room there before I started.
After a month of gnashing teeth and pulling hair trying to come up with a solution, we've finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a toy hauler.
My wife really liked the Jayco Octane 21, but at 6,000lbs empty (not to mention the 8.5' width and 11' height), I wasn't keen on pulling it with our half ton. We looked at a bunch of different units, and finally settled on a Fun Finder XT-200. Not too big, not too small, and at around 4,000 lbs empty, it should make for pleasant towing with the Suburban.
We're still not sure how we're going to like sharing our trailer with the bikes, but we think it's a compromise we can live with. If it turns out that we hate it, we've only got two more summers before the lease is up on the Suburban, so it would be easy enough to switch to a pickup truck or full-size van then.
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