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Trailering a Rig

Guest · 2011-10-01T16:57:52Z

All right, it is a mark of shame to trailer any bike. It either means you aren't good enough to maintain and repair it yourself (shame!), you aren't man enough to ride it where you are going (shame! shame!), or you are a poser and the bike is a trailer queen (shame! shame! shame!) Still (sigh) there are times when even the best of us are reduced to trailering their bike. And if that bike is part of a sidecar rig you do have a problem -- sidecar rigs are too wide for most trailers. The last time Lady Carol was on a trailer was when I bought her. I had never operated a sidecar rig, and was, frankly, scared of piloting it several hundred miles without any experience. I had no friends with sidecar-operation experience available either, so I swallowed my pride and rented an open U-Haul trailer. I solved the too-wide problem by separating the sidecar from the bike. Me being a Mechanical Engineer, I employed my considerable guesstimating skills to predict I could get everything to fit. This with only having photographs of the rig and a few key dimensions given me by the owner over the telephone. And it turned out good. I (just!) fit the two sub-assemblies into the trailer by dint of tipping the sidecar on its side (wheel down). Ratcheting straps and moving blankets kept things from banging around. As solutions go, it wasn't so bad. I was able to get the halves on and off the trailer with a bit of help. And disassembly/reassembly of the rig wasn't so very hard either, again, with help. But now it's looking like I should trailer the rig again, for a special event, and I'd really like a roll-on, roll-off solution. A landscaping trailer (designed for big lawnmowers) would appear to be wide enough for the job. My problem is, I'd like to be able to rent, not buy, such a trailer. I've never seen any such for rent. My problem isn't so much the dollars as the storage. I just don't have the space to keep such a big chunk of very-rarely-used hardware. Ideas? Suggestions? Best, Ed Bianchi Delaware USA '87 BMW K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"

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Technical/Mechanical Discussion

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grumpycrw

(@grumpycrw)

Posts: 59

Trusted Member

I have two enclosed trailers one is a 7' wide (rember that is not the door opening) won't fit won't fit though the opening

The other is 8' wide bike loads with room to spear

I have a big bike a Kawaski vn2000 with sidecar

Posted : November 4, 2011 6:26 am

Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

Posts: 0

I use an excess huge wooden power truck so that I can get other uses out of it. One way to use a smaller truck is to put prevents of wooden under the cycle wheels to get it up substantial enough for that area to apparent the fender or track.

Maruti Swift

Posted : November 13, 2011 5:13 pm

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