I'm tired of U-Haul giving me a big heavy trailer for motorcycle transport but I don't want to buy a new one. I need to learn how to weld so I thought this might be my chance to use the stick welder I've had in the garage for the last 30 years. Any suggestions, or should I just bite the bullet and deal with U-Haul?
There are always used trailers on marketplace in various states of disrepair. You might be able to find one that gives you the opportunity to do some welding/design at a lower cost & effort than new or scratch built.
Edit: I built a trailer for a Hobie Cat in the late 80s. It was super crude with an angle iron frame, metal 2x4 tongue and an axle and leaf springs from my local trailer parts store. It did the job, but a Harbor Freight kit trailer would have been better.
I bought the cheapest 4x8' trailer (tilt deck, cool!) that I could find locally.
Turned out 48 x 96 was really 46 x 93, so I had to lengthen it and widen it.
And improve the tailgate.
And wire lights.
And service wheel bearings.
And replace leaf spring bushings.
And repair the tilt mechanism.
And replace ALL the wood.
And then on the way back from the garden center, a wheel fell off. And not like, "the wheel fell off," but rather the stub end of the axle sheared off the almost completely rusted-through axle tube, exiting the chat with the spindle (which was a Chevette spindle welded to a too thin tube axle), AND the hub AND the wheel (still attached to the hub).
The tow truck brought it home, and in doing so skewered a tire, so I got new tires.
And a new axle with hubs.
Geez, I sound bitter....
VIDEO (very short): Waiting for the Tow Truck
I'm happy with the trailer now, but it was not cost-effective buying THIS used trailer.
I have a buddy who is likely going to sell his Kenyon folding motorcycle trailer. Cool concept for a trailer and easy to store. The nice thing about Kendons is how well they hold their value. You're likely too far away, but if you search Kenyon on FBMP, you'll likely find a few for sale.
In Illinois you have title and plate a trailer. Lack of a VIN or title might convince you to buy something rather than starting from scratch?
In reply to SkinnyG :
A coworker gave me one of those around 2009. It was covered with plywood and sat for years in his parents backyard.
I built the sides out of leftover 1" sq tubing scavenged from scrap at work. Likewise with the expanded metal. The floor boards are fence boards for their light weight. I locked the tilt function and moved the tongue forward. My buddy used it to move to New Brunswick and replaced the wheels and bearings to thank me. I have about $100 into it.
I'm all for building trailers, but it's definitely not a project to dive into without a fair amount of welding practice.
For a bike, I'd look for a used boat trailer to modify. They can usually be had for next to nothing, and make a good base to customize with all the critical welding done professionally and you can get practice with less risky assemblies. Plus they have a dropped rear cross member so you could keep approach angles nice and low.
Is your welder an AC only unit?
Datsun240ZGuy said:In Illinois you have title and plate a trailer. Lack of a VIN or title might convince you to buy something rather than starting from scratch?
This is 100% why I decided to go with buying a trailer from Harbor Freight.
Used trailers seemed to go for almost as much and still needed a lot of work, building a trailer would cost about as much as just buying the HF unit, and the HF unit comes with a certificate of origin that I could just take to the BMV to get plates.
To title a homebuilt, I'd need to build it, then take a day off of work and borrow a pickup to haul it to a state inspection station, I think.
Datsun240ZGuy said:In Illinois you have title and plate a trailer. Lack of a VIN or title might convince you to buy something rather than starting from scratch?
That's the main problem--Missouri requires title/registration. I think there's a provision for homebuilt if you bring the receipts for the build. But anyone selling adds $500 to the price if they have a title.
Yeah... every state is going to be different. My state (PA) makes it nearly impossible, even if you have a VIN. When I see a trailer for sale that says "no title," that means "no sale." The only legal way to do it here is to find some way to get a VIN, (which used to be state police, but no idea how to do that now) apply for a salvage title, go through an enhanced inspection, then they'll send you an R-branded title for it.
As far as learning to weld, I applaud it. Hardcore. Dive in. Trailer is an ambitious first project, given the liability of the situation, but I think if you're serious about properly learning the craft, I see no harm in it. I have been welding for 30+ years. I have no formal training, and it shows in some of my booger welds, hence why I'm still not building my own trailers. I'm at the point where I can make things safe, but not always pretty. I have built three receiver hitches in my life, and I tested them extensively before putting a trailer on them, and even then, I kept it a very modest load.
If you have a way around VIN/title, I don't see a problem with this. You may come to learn that you want an upgraded welder, depending on the brand/model of stick you have. Stick welding uses flux on the rod itself. It burns and displaces the oxygen, but it also means your welds are full of impurities. A MIG welder uses an inert gas like Argon and/or CO2 as the shield gas and it means that the only thing in your weld is weld. That's not to say stick isn't a great choice, especially for steel, but just bear that in mind as you plan.
I have been thinking a lot about taking some formal training as well. I am a Theater Tech Director, and I frequently use steel to construct certain things for sets. I have a bunch of sched40 pipe in varying lengths with a chunk of angle welded to it as a way of making legs for raised platforms. I look at it and know that it's safe, but every night during a performance where 25 actors are tap dancing away on a platform 8 feet in the air, I think I would sleep better if I had the actual education and knew WHY it was safe or why it could have been better.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
There's also a liability factor... if anything happens, and they find out that someone with no formal education or any kind of certification welded up a structure that failed... oof.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
True, but I think you give "them" more credit than they deserve. The insurance company will just figure a payout and write a check. They are focused on closing claims, not altruistic justice for rightness in the universe.
I recall putting some Afco upper control arms on my 66 Bonneville after some mods. I needed a specific geometry, and Afco had it on the shelf. It failed PA's inspection because they looked like "racing parts." I went home and put some Edelbrock stickers on the arms and it passed the next day. They even commented that they didn't know Edelbrock made suspension parts. I even told them "yeah, they're made by Afco," and they just slapped the sticker on the windshield.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I think you're right, but only up until someone is seriously injured and a lawyer gets involved. Then they're looking for negligence and will pick it apart.
In reply to Crackers (Forum Supporter) :
In my fortunately limited experience on being on the wrong end of such a lawsuit, the insurance companies will do what they can to avoid paying out, including using the courts. Medical bills can get very pricey.
I built one in New Mexico when I moved to Texas. I think all together I saved about $200 over buying a new one. 16 foot car hauler. Had it titled as home built. Enjoyed the experience but it took a week to do it. Was not time well spent.
Get a free broken pop up camper, old ones with the cable lift are best due to the built in winch. Push the camper off of the frame. Done. We got fancy and added 2x4 pockets and made removable sides with corner brackets to hold them together. Nice low loading height.
I have done it a couple times. It is only worth it, if you are doing a very custom setup for a specific reason. Its usually cheaper, better, and faster to use an existing trailer and make adjustments/alterations as needed.
There's nothing like this in your area Stroker? Even an old boat trailer, then buy a channel of steel or aluminum to run down the middle. How heavy os the bike?
$300.
I built this one a few years ago, but with electric brakes, etc, the materials cost about $1,600...
For a single bike I'd buy a jetski trailer and throw a channel down the middle with a front wheel cradle and be done. Even building your own is better to start with something that already rolls with the axle capacity you want.
I had one of the lightest trailers around (I was pulling it with small tow cars).
Take a steel tube and attach wheel spindles to each end. Attach a long steel tube to the axle with U bolts - long enough to be the tongue of the trailer
Weld uprights to the tube a couple of feet high.
Run braided steel cable from the uprights to pieces of heavy angle iron that make up the front and rear of the trailer. Attach the front angle iron to the tongue with U bolts
Get 2x12 planks that run from the front to the back angle irons - untreated wood last around a decade, treated longer.
Attach boat winch to the tongue, with suitable steel cable long enough to attach to the car being towed, with a steel hook on the end.
Loading is easy - put a jack stand under the tongue to tilt the back of the trailer to the ground, run the cable out to reach the car being loaded, wrap it around something on that car (frame? roll bar?) and hook the hook on the end to the cable itself. Winch the car onto the trailer until it reaches the point of balance, put the car being loaded in gear, remove the jack stand under the tongue and attach the trailer to the tow vehicle. Then all you need to do is take woven nylon straps (often sold for motorcycle trailering) and wrap them around the rear end or something suitable on the race car, then take it out of gear and winch forward to put it in slight tension.
You need to have enough tongue weight to prevent fishtailing under way, just like any other trailer - once you find that balance, mark the tire center on the trailer board.
It took longer to type that than it did to load a car on the trailer. I used that trailer for 20 years of racing (one change of planks) and towed it with cars as light as a series 3 Cortina GT (used a 2000 cc Pinto engine - that model never made it to the US).
akylekoz said:Get a free broken pop up camper, old ones with the cable lift are best due to the built in winch. Push the camper off of the frame. Done. We got fancy and added 2x4 pockets and made removable sides with corner brackets to hold them together. Nice low loading height.
How did I forget to suggest this? The trailer pictured below was either a pop up or small travel trailer frame with a plywood deck. I bought the bare frame and slapped a deck on it in 1993. The only welding involved was pieces of angle iron for the fender mounts. I put many thousands of miles on that setup pulling all kinds of motorcycles. My old neighbor still uses it.
Also in 1993, some buddies and I decided to go to Daytona for bike week. We didn't have a trailer big enough for four motorcycles so we bought a cheap rotted out larger single axle travel trailer and scrapped the body. It was ugly, but it made it there and back and then we were able to sell it for a small profit.
I once sold a motorcycle to a guy who came ~800 miles to pick it up. He had planned to rent a uhaul trailer to haul it home but they didn't have one on hand to honor his reservation. I remembered that a friend had an old pop up rotting in his yard and gave him a call. We cut the roof off, cut an opening in the rear wall, and then tied the bike in between the built in furniture. It looked even uglier than the trailer above, but it got my buyer home. :)
I went through the exact scenario Dec/ Jan this year. Bought me and the youngest dirt bikes and needed something to pull them around with behind a Tiguan and take up little to no space at the house.
I ended up buying the 4x8 folding trailer from Harbor Freight as a base. Bolts together quick and easy, but is a little floppy, maybe one day I will weld it up to tighten it up.
Added a ~1/2" piece of plywood on top cut in 2 pieces to keep folding function. To hold the bikes, I put some eye hooks through the plywood and through the steel frame for the handle bar straps. Bought some motorcycle front wheel chocks that mount to the plywood with toggle bolts to remove for folding.
So far have ~500 miles on it in the AZ Mountains and it has been fine. Cruises at 75, I take it slow on some of the beat up dirt roads to staging areas, no issues. I had to run a ground wire to all of the lights as the harness that comes with it uses the trailer for ground and the paint is too thick to ground without scraping, I chose to run wire direct.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1195-lb-capacity-4-ft-x-8-ft-folding-trailer-62666.html - this is the trailer, was less than $300 with coupon. The casters are great, I can fold it by myself in the driveway and easily walk it through the man gate to store on side of house.
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Max-5001-5754-3-Position-Motorcycle/dp/B01ND45XYO/ref=sr_1_31?crid=21HNAS4DCTY9N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zlTgHlA8mhWksgpCqybDGuPquaSWCwf0VjELZdXm9b-x-4gNJlLSgzepLLp_kN6gsrBwxGCA3MeASyK0x7txY14DzKK5cClkR23YxA-td-NEsupBDEbmO3-YTgHdq0Jc-0GNaZiJOUmxbtWp9PvZjnjiIhaxmcUjpJkeUVO1zSSx7AMF1YHcHsOKX5m96exLZZjMYKpAG2KNEYU3Y9Nmse6eXKZT4xV6O6XNXsPKUS4C17k5CdJlvkaIdrvq0Ram4XCyfl5STFzSnbMv09r7s1KZYePbYNDfgTjPj_hMRxA.9Fil9yyC6W0Kg1-NKRHuU0hvbwbFH7nJPuCiwPXmmdo&dib_tag=se&keywords=motorcycle+wheel+chock+for+trailer&qid=1745597953&sprefix=motorcycle+whee%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-31 - Got this chock, the flip up wheel holder is nice and helps keep the bike from rolling when loading up on uneven ground. Needed to put some wood blocks under the tires of the kids 110 to keep forks from hitting the sides.
I can grab some pictures later. For the ~$500 all in with trailer, wood, chocks, hardware, I am really happy with it. 20 min from side of house to ready to load. I person can easily move/ fold it. Comes with title and VIN for easy plate.
I was gifted a Northern Tool 40" x 48" trailer by a friend who used it to haul his track tires behind his Miata. I'm building it into a minibike/motorcycle trailer.
Not my pic but inspiration for my build:
I've put bigger wheels on it and taken the heavy steel fenders off in lieu of plastic boat trailer fenders. I bought two 72"x 6.6" motorcycle loading rails to mount on a plywood deck. I want the rails to be able to be easily removed so I can attach side walls and still use it as a utility trailer.
Another pic for inspiration:
If I had to buy the trailer, I would have started with a bigger one, like a 48" x 96". Most motorcycles are way longer than the little 40" x 48" one. But one good thing about the smaller trailer is that I can lean it up against the wall in the garage. That keeps it out of the weather, away from prying eyes and out of the way.
You'll need to log in to post.
