Camp Trailer with GL1500 an Escort Sidecar

No experience with an Escort sidecar, but I have a 1500 Goldwing with a California Friendship II. I've had it for 6 years. Don't have a camp trailer, but the bike & sidecar don't take up the whole lane. Thank goodness for that! Way too many people don't seem to understand the reason for the lines in the road!

Connie

I have a Velorex sidecar on my Yamaha Vstar 1100 and pull a pop up camper with me and my wife with no problem. My Vstar is narrow then your Goldwing one of my trailer stickes out pass my sadel bags by 10" and the other by 8". I add the sidecar a little while back and plan moving the hitch to the car frame, that will tack some wieght off the bick and then it won't stick out at all.If you are looking for camper I have a Alpine for sale and would deliver it to the Houston area.
Henry

I have a bit of experience with campers, and a lot with trailers behind sidecars.

I like the trailer hitch attached to the back of the sidecar's left frame rail. It makes it a lot easier to straddle small animals and large pot holes.

Our first camper was a Time-Out. It pulled nice and had lots of storage, but was an absolute bear to erect alone. You had to completely unload the trailer, open it up, set up an erector set frame, then kind of throw the tent up over it all, square it up, and snap it to the frame. There were six inch gaps between the snaps so it was always full of mosquitos and spiders. And it always seemed to be raining when you set it up. By the time it was finally up everything you owned was soaked. This was about 1990, so they may be better now.

Then we had a teardrop shaped one. I don't remember the manufacturer, I bought it about fifth or sixth hand. I think each owner used it once and sold it. The back would open up to a tent, kind of like those tents they sell for SUV's. Actually weighed less than the Time-Out but felt like I was towing a bus. I'm a bit claustrophobic, and was never comfortable in that one.

Next we had a Combi-Camp. I believe they now call it a Lees-ure. It was huge. Queen sized bed and an equal sized sitting area. Unfortunately, it didn't belong to me. I only got to use it while it's owner was "between bikes". It spoiled me. It pulled like it wasn't back there. It setup in seconds, and it had a ton of storage space. If I ever get another one, that's what I would want.

All of these were pulled behind a 1200cc Goldwing with a HitchHiker or a TourGlide with a Harley Car. Carrying three people. My son would bring a tent and my wife and I would use the camper, although he would sleep in a bag on the floor of the Combi.

The Lees-ure Lite are still around. I had one that I pulled with a VW Bug. It was nice.

Lees-ure Lite.
Buena Vista Industrial Park
11619 - 115th Street, P.O. Box 1330
Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada V0H 1V0
TOLL FREE: 1-800-660-0933

http://www.leesurelite.com/welcome.htm

Richard

Ride Safe

Yeah, I knew they were, but they only have two sizes now. Combi used to make four, the single, double, queen, and "Oh my Gosh, you pull that with a motorcycle?" :0)
I wish I could afford one. I'm getting too old for the ground but not ready for a motel. Although my wife insisted that we have a room for Animosa next month.

I had a Kwik Kamp pop up tent trailer that I towed for a lot of years behind several bikes. It was an excellent camper. Easy to set up and the cargo space stayed intact whether the tent was sat up or not. When the tent wasn't sat up, you lifted the top of the trailer and there was your cargo. When the tent was up, you lifted the foot of the bed and there was your cargo. With so many other trailers, you have to find a place for your cargo because that space becomes part of the living space. And it was an absolute breeze to set up. Sold it though to raise money for the Liberty sidecar. Back now to tenting on the ground.

Thanks for all your wonderful replies.
Mike

I have a GL1500 and Escort Sidecar and pull a Roll-A-Home. It sets up in about 1 minute (very similar to the Leisure Lite) except the bed is all made up and ready to sleep in instead of having to move everything off the bed and into a side room. You can raise up the bed panel when it is set up and access your stuff and also tilt the whole top section up to access your stuff while on the road. It was hanging out to the left about 8 inches past the saddle bags so I went to my local fabricator and he made a 8 inch jog to the right in the receiver hitch and that seems to work just fine for me. It lines up with the left side of the bike and the whole thing is about 7 feet wide I think.

Mike, I also had one of those early Time-Out campers that was just like you said.

Hope this helps.
Ralph