Hydra Trail (Easylifter) motorbike trailer my personal thoughts and experiences with it

[hayabusabart]

Hiya my fellow motorhome and motorbike lovers.
As we all know its good to have an additional form of transport to get around-and-about after you have set up and camped your van.
Me, being a biker, sourced the "easy lifter" hydra trail a few years ago. Its a fixed non-articulated bike trailer.. the unit is secured to your MH, via a new square bracket that replaces the towball. Reversing is now easy.. the wheels are like shopping trolley castors so no more frustration with reversing an articulated bike trailer..
Its a good product made in Loughborough by a one man band operation. The easy lift operation involves a hydraulic pump and various other bits of kit that lifts the bike high enough until you can plug in the two wheels.. This works fine as long as the ground is fairly level..
However, on campsites it rarely is. Sometimes I have not been able to elevate the bike high enough to remove or plug-in the castor wheels ..
Solution = I have made is a sturdy aluminium ramp. Its much better! You just get the Easylifter set up on the back of your MH and then push your bike up the ramp and onto the platform and secure it..

 

[MikeD]

We towed one around Spain for about three years with a Vespa 300cc scooter on the back and had no problems.

The swing at the rear end mean't I did drag it through an hedge once but else it was reasonably pain free.

I agree with the problem getting the bike off and on. If the ground is not flat it is a huge issue.

Our friend has one and it broke its back in Italy so we reinforced ours as well but with 160kg on it was never a problem for us.

 

[Wagoneer]

Hope you've got spare tyre/wheel complete. I used to tow a boat trailer with those small wheels. Had a blowout in France and both tyre and wheel rim were wrecked. Glad I had a spare wheel. Used to carry 2 spare wheels after that episode.

You can buy the small wheels in mainland Europe but (if my memory is correct) the stud circle diameter is different compared to wheels sold in the UK.

Thanks for posting the pics and review. Think I'd prefer a system with 2 connecting arms, especially in reversing mode when not on a smooth surface. But, your system obviously works well.

 

[Vic]

Re wheels, they, or mine were 4' pcd, Euros are 100mm pcd. Always carried a spare pair.

 

[hayabusabart]

Hiya. Yes I always carry a spare wheel.

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[Jeff James]

Hi,

Just ordered a Hydra Trail, and note your comments about carrying a spare wheel. I`ve asked Anthony, at Easylifter, for a price of a spare wheel, but what size are the wheels/tyres so I can compare the price against Indespension, or the like?

 

[MikeD]

I don't have the Hydratrail anymore so can't check but when I bought a spare wheel/tyre for it is was around £30 from a trailer dealer.

The wheel and tyre are widely available and I bought mine as a pre-assembled part.

 

[Vic]

A pair on ebay are between £40 - 50 depending if there is a 10% discount offer.

 

[Jeff James]

That`s great guys, thanks for the info. I`ll see how much Easylifter want for them, and if not competitive, will buy them elsewhere. But for that sort of money, worth having a pair in the motorhome for emergencies! Vic, what`s the size of the wheels and tyres?

 

[bobandjanie]

You could always turn it into one of these. ? Bob.

El Hitch Hotel Traveler es la caravana más pequeña del mundo, pero acoge hasta a tres personas

Las caravanas y autocaravanas continúan acaparando una elevada cuota de mercado. Si bien en España las furgonetas camperizadas son…

www.autonocion.com

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[Hymer22]

We towed one around Spain for about three years with a Vespa 300cc scooter on the back and had no problems.

The swing at the rear end mean't I did drag it through an hedge once but else it was reasonably pain free.

I agree with the problem getting the bike off and on. If the ground is not flat it is a huge issue.

Our friend has one and it broke its back in Italy so we reinforced ours as well but with 160kg on it was never a problem for us.

Good morning looking to buy this trailer. What is it that you had reinforced ? Cheers

 

[Hymer22]

Hiya my fellow motorhome and motorbike lovers.
As we all know its good to have an additional form of transport to get around-and-about after you have set up and camped your van.
Me, being a biker, sourced the "easy lifter" hydra trail a few years ago. Its a fixed non-articulated bike trailer.. the unit is secured to your MH, via a new square bracket that replaces the towball. Reversing is now easy.. the wheels are like shopping trolley castors so no more frustration with reversing an articulated bike trailer..
Its a good product made in Loughborough by a one man band operation. The easy lift operation involves a hydraulic pump and various other bits of kit that lifts the bike high enough until you can plug in the two wheels.. This works fine as long as the ground is fairly level..
However, on campsites it rarely is. Sometimes I have not been able to elevate the bike high enough to remove or plug-in the castor wheels ..
Solution = I have made is a sturdy aluminium ramp. Its much better! You just get the Easylifter set up on the back of your MH and then push your bike up the ramp and onto the platform and secure it..View attachment 369105View attachment 369104

Hi you are the person I need to speak to. Im looking to buy this trailer and you and others have mentioned the frustrations of trying to get the wheels on and off when the ground is uneven ? So this is obviously an issue. How easy is it to get your pride and joy up a ramp onto this trailer ? My bike is 220kg the thought of pushing it up a wet ramp makes me cringe . Have you still got the trailer ? if so any cocerns with it ? TIA cheers

 

[Andacami]

Unsure if you will get a response. This thread is a couple of years old and the contributions from free and banned users back in 2020

 

[Hymer22]

Unsure if you will get a response. This thread is a couple of years old and the contributions from free and banned users back in 2020

cheers

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

So that I don't keep repeating myself here is a copy of post I made earlier.

I've mentioned this before but I will repeat it to save you having to find it. The Hydratrail would lift my MP3 when I had the Frankia with a short overhang. When we bought the Dethleffs with a long overhang it wouldn't. Instead it was trying to lift the back of the motorhome. Anthony wasn't interested in taking it back. There are others (Jaws ) who have also had problems with the Hydratrail twisting the towbar. The other draw back with the Hydratrail is that you can't unhook the trailer from the m/home without taking the bike off first which can be a nuisance if you are having an overnight stop on a pitch which is too short for the rig. Plus if you want an early start you can't load the bike up the night before so that you just hook up and go. You have to start loading and strapping down in the morning.
I currently use an Armitage sideloading trailer which is great but you have to be very careful when reversing. A reversing camera is a must and if it starts to jack-knife stop, go forward slightly to straighten up and then go again. It can be done with practice.

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[Hymer22]

So that I don't keep repeating myself here is a copy of post I made earlier.

I've mentioned this before but I will repeat it to save you having to find it. The Hydratrail would lift my MP3 when I had the Frankia with a short overhang. When we bought the Dethleffs with a long overhang it wouldn't. Instead it was trying to lift the back of the motorhome. Anthony wasn't interested in taking it back. There are others (Jaws ) who have also had problems with the Hydratrail twisting the towbar. The other draw back with the Hydratrail is that you can't unhook the trailer from the m/home without taking the bike off first which can be a nuisance if you are having an overnight stop on a pitch which is too short for the rig. Plus if you want an early start you can't load the bike up the night before so that you just hook up and go. You have to start loading and strapping down in the morning.
I currently use an Armitage sideloading trailer which is great but you have to be very careful when reversing. A reversing camera is a must and if it starts to jack-knife stop, go forward slightly to straighten up and then go again. It can be done with practice.

Thanks for your comments. To be fair we dont have a back door so no issues loading the bike anytime. Im going to try a ramp first and see how I get on with that. Cheers

 

[BrianS]

I realise this is an old thread but would prefer to tack on to some already good information rather than start a new one. Hope that's OK.
My question is, if any owner is still watching the thread, how do ferries and the Eurotunnel treat the Easy-Lifter please - as a trailer or bike rack?
Also, we run very close to our weight limit already but want to take a couple of ebikes when we next go to France. Could this be a solution?

 

[tacr2man]

AFAIK they just need the oal , I had the non trailed type easylifter on the rear of my RV (11mtr) and when booking they told me to just add trailer to get to the correct oal as their system doesn't cater for 11mtr motor caravan .(9 mtr max) not used shuttle

 

[zac]

Be mindful that when adding a trailer your booking costs on some crossings will increase significantly example being the Tunnel, they pretty much make a figure up when adding a trailer to the booking.

 

[PORKSTER]

I bought a dual ram jack for mine. Its a game changer. I believe the new ones come this way. I bought mine second hand so after 1st trip. I bought 3 new wheels with hubs and tyres cheap of eBay. And sold old ones about ⅔ price of new ones on FB market place.
I am planning on getting a nicer light board fabricated this year also.

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[pault971]

I bought a dual ram jack for mine. Its a game changer. I believe the new ones come this way. I bought mine second hand so after 1st trip. I bought 3 new wheels with hubs and tyres cheap of eBay. And sold old ones about ⅔ price of new ones on FB market place.
I am planning on getting a nicer light board fabricated this year also.

Where did you source the dual ram jack? I have just snapped the threaded section on the supplied jack so looking for something sturdier.

 

[Mousy]

PORKSTER

 

[Mousy]

Where did you source the dual ram jack? I have just snapped the threaded section on the supplied jack so looking for something sturdier.

I’ve tagged Porkster so hopefully he will give you an answer.
Simply use @ and the user name, they then receive a notification.
Welcome to Fun.

 

[scotzsue]

Hi,

Just ordered a Hydra Trail, and note your comments about carrying a spare wheel. I`ve asked Anthony, at Easylifter, for a price of a spare wheel, but what size are the wheels/tyres so I can compare the price against Indespension, or the like?

We got ours from Halfords also john has modified it, with the help of an old bike rack, so it can either carrry the motorbike or without the hydratrail, carry 2 bikes.

 

[PORKSTER]

Hi just seen this I got mine from hydratrail as I needed the bottom part also.
But any dual piston jack will do. It honest is a game changer.
When I'm home I can send a pic if it helps.

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