camping trailer

[Mike Barnett]

My wife and I are thinking about buying a camper trailer to pull behind her trike. We would appreciate any suggestions or advice and experience on different brands and styles. We're also considering a camping trailer to pull behind a truck that hauls your bike inside. I've seen several different styles at the rallys.

[basketcase]

Try browsing the link below to glean some camper insight.

http://bbs.gwrra.org/board/messages/47/47.html?1066212061

You didn't say what your wife's trike is, but keep in mind that a camper can weigh between 600 to 800 pounds by the time you pack it with stuff. So pulling one is quite a chore. If her trike is a Suzuki Intruder, it might not be suited to pulling a camper. But if it is a triked Gold Wing, no problem. Some other questions:

Will the trike/trailer weight differences be managable?

Will the bike electical system handle the extra load of lights, etc.?

Is your wife an experienced rider?

I have a cargo trailer that I pulled with my Wing, and recall vividly an episode on wet pavement in which the weight of the loaded trailer "pushed" the rear of the Wing into a slide. The momentary loss of traction was scary! My trailer was built from a kit I obtained from Harbor Freight. I still have the trailer, and plan to one day do the modifications necessary to drag it behind my K1100LT.

Also, several years back, a rider was killed about 20 miles south of where I live when his right side cargo trailer wheel got off the pavement and into a jagged rut on the shoulder. The trailer flipped and in the subsequent chaos he was thrown from the bike and hit by a car. His trailer tongue was not equipped with a swivel hitch (360 degree rotation), and the speculation was that if it had been, he might have been able to ride it to a safe stop.

With all the negatives considered, pulling a trailer / camper can be a great way to go for riders who tour a lot. And the investment can easily be justified when you consider the cost of motel rooms over say, a five year period.

I would be interested in hearing about what you eventually do. And if you one day see a homegrown cargo trailer being pulled behind a K1100LT, wave ... it is probably me.

Regards,
Rick