trailers and bikes (1 Viewer)

Mags52

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Yesterday we bought a 5 x 3 double height trailer with a hard top to carry our golf clubs and other stuff for a six month tour. We'd planned to fit a bike rack that sits behind the tow bar and holds the bikes. The guy at the trailer shop said that they would be hit by the trailer when we turned it and that we should carry them in the trailer. Although they'll fit in the trailer, they will be hard to get in and out and will make fitting our other stuff in there a bit of a tight squeeze. Is he right about the turning of the trailer? We used to have one of these with a lightweight caravan and it was fine but of course the tow hitch is shorter on a trailer.
Normally we use a Thule bike rack that sits on the tow ball but of course that's no use with a trailer.
Advice please?
Mags
 

funflair

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What he means is when you are turning a tight corner or reversing and it gets a bit jackknifed to the vehicle so just hitch the trailer on with a lot of angle to the van and see what clearance you have.

Martin
 
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Jacknifing a narrow wheelbase trailer when reversing is incredibly easy to do!!
I drove large trucks,wagon and drags for years and in my experience the larger the trailer the easier to reverse.
I have an erde single motorbike trailer and a reversing camera,you only have to reverse a short distance and it turns either way as if it has a mind of its own,annoying and could be dangerous,this is when you are thinking you are reversing in a straight line at slow speed.
As Martin rightly said,maybe try the trailer reverse on lock and see what happens and how close and quickly it nears the towbar.
Good luck and hope this helps.

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pappajohn

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I would have a bespoke rack fitted above each trailer mud guard and fit one bike each side.
Doesnt need to stick out far, just enough to fit the bike and probably only an inch or two wider than the mudguards, and will still be narrower than the motorhome by a long way.
 
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Mags52

Mags52

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I would have a bespoke rack fitted above each trailer mud guard and fit one bike each side.
Doesnt need to stick out far, just enough to fit the bike and probably only an inch or two wider than the mudguards, and will still be narrower than the motorhome by a long way.

I really like that idea PappaJohn. What kind of tradesperson would do a job like that? (she said showing her ignorance)
 

Minxy

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You can get bike racks that are meant to go on the top of the trailer itself.

bc001-abs-cover-load-bars-3-115-p.jpg


Or on the rear:

rvs-camptrailrack1.jpg

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Minxy

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Have you got any images of the trailer you've bought?
 

Minxy

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View media item 18365
The trailer is too tall for bikes on the top Mel.
That's a beaut!!! :) It wouldn't be difficult to fit a couple of side brackets/bars so you could mount the bikes either side as PPJ said, I'm think of some sort of rail/base tht the bike wheel would sit on and a securing bar higher up on the side to clamp to the frame, a sort of modified fiamma type bike rack

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Dec 12, 2010
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Looks a nice trailer, but I imagine it will be very 'twitchy' to reverse, it's all to do with the distance from the ball hitch to the axle, the greater the distance, the easier it is to reverse. On the other hand, it looks small enough to 'manhandle' :)
 
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Mags52

Mags52

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Well, after loads of thought we've decided to take it back and buy a bigger trailer. We were told our bikes would fit inside this one and they don't. We considered all the other options of carrying bikes and only the idea of having bike racks fitted on the side seemed possible. The cost of this means that we might as well buy a slightly bigger trailer. We're going for a Lynton Load Runner 2 - that is unless someone on here knows anything about them that should cause us concern.
 

Anthea M

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Just a thought are these trailers ok abroad or is it just A frames and cars ? Nice to see you again on the forum Mags!(y) 6 month trip sounds great I hope there will a blog I enjoyed last years trip!

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Minxy

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Yes these trailers are fine abroad as they are purpose made ... whereas an 'a-framed' car ... don't get me started! :D
 
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Mags52

Mags52

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Just a thought are these trailers ok abroad or is it just A frames and cars ? Nice to see you again on the forum Mags!(y) 6 month trip sounds great I hope there will a blog I enjoyed last years trip!
A definite yes to the Blog - thanks Anthea.
 

TheBig1

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the quick and easy way to mount a cycle carrier on the side of a trailer is to buy basic folding racks designed to bolt on behind the towball. simply bolt the mounting bracket through the side wall with a narrow spacer. you can then simply remove the racks when not in use

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