I'm thinking of pulling a small camping trailer(www.datsama.com). At rallies, they just look to be so much more comfortable than my pup tent. Before I jump out and buy a trike as a tow vehicle, I sure would like to hear your thoughts on/experiences with towing with a sidecar rig. I'm sure I have enough power with the R1100GS/Ural but seek info on handling and hitch point location. Thanks! Danny
Your best tow hitch point is from the inside rail of the sidecar frame if possible. That makes for the narrowest cycle, sidecar, trailer combo.
With some wider rigs on narrow roads there isn't lane room to maneuver safely with the hitch behind the rear wheel of the bike.
I just got through remounting a CSC FSIII which had gone off the road in a mountain curve. No major damage, but the mounts were tweaked and hard to realign without heat and hammer.
(I've never seen a trike towing a camper trailer, I wonder why?)
Lonnie
Towing a trailer with a sidecar if the hitch is placed liKE Hackn spoke of is a breeze. It will also lend a little bit of additional stability on right handers. With a URAL /GS rig I think the trailer will be appreciated as far a handling on the pavement goes. Remember that when loaded you may need more time for braking etc but that is not a huge issue.
yeah, Hackn said it right about the hitch position. center it behind the rig. I've pulled my trailer over60,000 miles on 2 wheels and now with the SC rig. great!
but as Claude said, braking needs more room.
I'm like Bob, I've been pulling a trailer since the days when people would gather around it at gas stations and stare. I usually have to turn the right mirror down a little to remind me that it's back there. I agree with the advice to center the hitch behind the rig. I once had a Goldwing that had two hitches, one behind the bike for two wheeled towing and one behind the sidecar left frame rail for three wheeled towing.
Since I sold the Kwik Kamp to help offset the cost of the Liberty, the only trailer I have left is the small cargo trailer. Gone back to tenting on the ground. I was looking at moving the hitch to the center but the Liberty does not lend itself readily to this and Pete's recommendation was to leave behind the bike. The little I've towed it with the rig so far has been without any problems what so ever. I still contemplate ways to move it to the center though... I've towed this and other trailers many, many thousands of miles over the years behind two wheels. Never towed with the Ural rig at all so this is my first riding season towing with a rig.
Thanks one and all for the information. I think I'll give it a try. Danny
Thanks for the input guys! I'm looking to add a trailer to my GL1800/Hannigan GT rig and was just about to mount the hitch behind the bike. Thought maybe mounting to the sidecar frame would make the acceleration pull-right/deceleration pull-left worse. Any comments?
I've never noticed a difference on the Valkyrie, I doubt that you will on the 1800. The only time I've felt anything different was once braking on wet pavement to avoid a deer. Then you could feel it try to push me a bit. After that I tested it both empty and fully loaded on dry pavement. On dry pavement it feels fine, I skid about the same distance with trailer loaded, empty, or without the trailer.
Of course, this is me on a Valkyrie with a wide car tire on the back. Your results may vary.
Where are you? If you're close you can try it out yourself. I'm in northwestern Wisconsin.
but this is only my experience.
Appreciate the offer, but I am on the Texas Gulf Coast. Yea, I know, it's just a short bike ride away on a good day... Haven't yet found anyone I trust to fab up a hitch on the sidecar frame so may start with a traditional hitch and offset the ball 3"-6".
In those days when I pulled a trailer behind a sidecar rig it was on the inside rail at the rear - Watsonian GP. Because the trailer was a light Allstate auto trailer built for 350 pound loads (have loaded it to nearly three times that on one occasion) I wanted to provide excess stability and rigidity to that tow point to distribute stresses.
In addition to the conventional four mounts or struts - lower front, lower rear, upper front, and upper rear, all on the maun frame, there was a FIFTH mount direct from the just in front of the trailer ball to the main frame just ahead of the right upper rear suspension mount. This was installed AFTER the sweet spot had been determined and made for an extremely rigid sidecar to bike mounting system and one that never gave any indication of that a trailer was being pulled, except with extreme loading - which is not cool - but there was a reason.
There should also be some tongue weight, but not too much, and chains are cool, and even required in some states. Too much tire pressure will cause the trailer to bounce, too little will cause sway and worn tires. Again, a balance. Never drive with a trailer that sways. Find out the cause and correct it. I once had a trailer (while pulling it behind a car) that almost overturned from swaying - but one tire burst when the other was flying and the wheel collapsed so it did not turn over. Some states have a maximum speed when pulling trailers in certain lanes - or even restricting them. Check with your state laws. Believe CA has some crazy laws re HOV lanes and motorcycles and trailers and speed limits which someone might like to explain.
CVC Section 22348(c) requiring vehicles pulling trailers is probably one of the most abused laws in the book, routinely broken by truckers, mobile homes pulling trailers, and hunters pulling ATV's on their trailers, and fishermen pulling their boats on trailers en route to their favorite hunting spotor fishing spot. The hapless biker pulling a trailer at the mandantory 55 mph limit (per CVC 22406(b) would be run over by those illegals and therefore for his own safety should definitely not be the lane marked with a bulls eye on his back. His concerns about being nailed by the CHP are secondary. Refer to Free2Wheels - July, 2006.
For mounting a hitch to your rig, what I did was to get a length of 2" square tubing and u-bolt it to both front and rear cross arms on sidecar mount. Get a piece long enough to extend rearward to where you want the ball positioned. This allows you a bit of side to side adjustment until you find the "sweet spot" for your individual set-up. This sure works well for me. Newfiedad
Just where did you find your sweet spot? with reference to the CL of the rear wheel. How does this compare with, say, just an inch or so to the right of the bend on the rear of a Watsonian wraparound frame, for example.
Originally written by newfiedad on 7/20/2006 8:11 PM
For mounting a hitch to your rig, what I did was to get a length of 2" square tubing and u-bolt it to both front and rear cross arms on sidecar mount. Get a piece long enough to extend rearward to where you want the ball positioned. This allows you a bit of side to side adjustment until you find the "sweet spot" for your individual set-up. This sure works well for me. Newfiedad
