Puling camper with a sidecar installed

Many sidecarists pull trailer campers. Some quite large.
The preferred hitch placement is at the inside rail of the sidecar frame so the combined rig is as narrow as possible.

Lonnie

That is what I was thinking. Where would I get a hitch that mounts in the center?

The common soultion is to get a piece of square tubing with the proper [1.25"] ID and attach it at both the front and rear lower sidecar extentions. That would present an opening at the rear that would accomodate a small receiver hitch ball mount.

Greetings,
I have a similar question.
I am fabricating a trailer to pull behind my outfit and solo behind my bike.
The width of the trailer will be just narrower than my bike (36").
My question is:
Because the trailer is the same width as the bike where should I hitch it.
Between the chair & bike
OR
Behind the bike

Thanks in advance,
Hacksaw

EDIT:
Please offer experience and/or design details as to which point you support.

Hacksaw,
Is that a Coupe Royale on your Avatar? I have a hitch on mine, I'l take photos if you wish. The previous owner had it mounted to an R60/2 and pulled a trailer.

Originally written by Hacksaw_neb on 5/5/2008 9:59 PM

Greetings,
I have a similar question.
I am fabricating a trailer to pull behind my outfit and solo behind my bike.
The width of the trailer will be just narrower than my bike (36").
My question is:
Because the trailer is the same width as the bike where should I hitch it.
Between the chair & bike
OR
Behind the bike

Thanks in advance,
Hacksaw

Here is the hitch I put on my rig..it is a store bought hitch unit that is welded to a 1 1/4 " square tube and slides into a larger tube on the bike, and bolted on, between the bike and SC.

http://tinyurl.com/3z9e7d

http://tinyurl.com/34756z

 

Originally written by SidecarMike on 5/5/2008 11:17 PM

Hacksaw,
Is that a Coupe Royale on your Avatar? I have a hitch on mine, I'l take photos if you wish. The previous owner had it mounted to an R60/2 and pulled a trailer.

Yes the chair is a "Coupe Royale". My first outfit was it attached to my Eldorado engine, Ambassador running gear and that chair so it was aptly named the 'Ambassarado Royale'.

I am wanting to pull the trailer from behind the bike as it will be no wider than the bike itself.
The inside corner of the sub frame lends well to attaching a hitch there but I believe that behind the bike will be more stable.
I'm asking here to see if there is any negative experience with doing this.

Originally written by Hacksaw_neb on 5/6/2008 4:47 AM

Originally written by SidecarMike on 5/5/2008 11:17 PM

Hacksaw,
Is that a Coupe Royale on your Avatar? I have a hitch on mine, I'l take photos if you wish. The previous owner had it mounted to an R60/2 and pulled a trailer.

Yes the chair is a "Coupe Royale". My first outfit was it attached to my Eldorado engine, Ambassador running gear and that chair so it was aptly named the 'Ambassarado Royale'.

I am wanting to pull the trailer from behind the bike as it will be no wider than the bike itself.
The inside corner of the sub frame lends well to attaching a hitch there but I believe that behind the bike will be more stable.
I'm asking here to see if there is any negative experience with doing this.

Although we've pulled trailers for years, the only time I pulled one directly behind a sidecar bike was a Timeout Camper behind a Goldwing/HitchHiker combination. The only time I had problems on the road was in snow or soft gravel. Once someone convinced me to move the trailer to the center of the rig it pulled much nicer. Everything I've had since then has been centered.

My EV has a hitch on the back of it and a second hitch on the left side of the Coupe Royale. Once the two of them are mated, I'll experiment with my Bunkhouse and let you know.

Just curious, but I think what I have seen once on a rig from Holland is the best solution here.
The hook was mounted directly behind the back wheel on a U shaped beam that mounted to the engine frame and the beam of the trailer was a S-bend so that the cart run centred behind the rig. That way the right pull should be avoided.
Regards
Sven Peter

Originally written by Peter Pan on 5/6/2008 10:59 AM

Just curious, but I think what I have seen once on a rig from Holland is the best solution here.
The hook was mounted directly behind the back wheel on a U shaped beam that mounted to the engine frame and the beam of the trailer was a S-bend so that the cart run centred behind the rig. That way the right pull should be avoided.
Regards
Sven Peter

You will still get a right pull with this setup. It will pull the bike to the right.[SC on right] as an exapmple,to really get the idea, picture the bar going to the center as VERY long..5 feet or so just for an example. that will cause the bike to pull to the right..the farther away, the more drag.
with the short bar on the bike going to the center the pull will be slight but still there. same as mounting it in the center of the rig...best place,

Here is a diagram of the two hitching positions I am considering.
The one on the left is MOST COMMON and I am aware of the additional 'right pull' or 'torque steer' forces having the trailer connected here will impart to the outfit.
The one on the right is the one I would most like to do.
The connection being centered on the driven element means there will be no additional 'right pull' or 'torque steer' forces imparted to the outfit and therefore should be less disruptive to its performance.

On the Goldwing I found I had less drag with the left trailer tire directly behind the motorcycle tire, but again, the only time I had a problem was soft gravel, like road construction, or snow on the road.

I think the best will be to try it and see how it works.

Some good information here. It looks like I will need to experiment with the ocation of the hitch so as it tows correctly. I will start with it being centered with the whole bike/car and go from there. Thanks for the info.

towing off the bike makes it a 4 track vehicle. you will hit every pot hole on the road.
fly