I know I'm gonna catch flack for this...

[Pegasus1300]

Kevin I have been reading with great interest your story of converting to over to hauling your bike to where you want to ride. I am very excited about hearing your results. Cynthia and I have been thinking about doing much the same thing but did not know a toyhauler came in so smae an edition. If I can get my Spyder into one about that size we could that way as well. Cynthia really likes the idea of hauling to the ride area. Thank you very much for outlining your thinking process and then giving us the results. BTW we are 73 and 67.

 

[paws]

MORE POWER TO YOU KEVIN AND MARY!

Jim and I had a blast going places in the motorhome pulling the little Nighthawk 250’s behind. This was before the trike era. Got to the “camp” site without being worn out, had ALL the comforts of home, enjoyed running around on the bikes, and BEST OF ALL.... we had our doggies with us!

We knew who had been sitting on our potty, could eat/drink/sleep whenever and whatever, and knew our little loved ones were safe, sound, and happy with us.

Those were the glory days and I sure miss them but things change and the memories are grand.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Kevin I have been reading with great interest your story of converting to over to hauling your bike to where you want to ride. I am very excited about hearing your results. Cynthia and I have been thinking about doing much the same thing but did not know a toyhauler came in so smae an edition. If I can get my Spyder into one about that size we could that way as well. Cynthia really likes the idea of hauling to the ride area. Thank you very much for outlining your thinking process and then giving us the results. BTW we are 73 and 67.

Yep, it's all theory right now. But we leave out tomorrow afternoon, so we'll know before too long if it works out as planned!

MORE POWER TO YOU KEVIN AND MARY!

Jim and I had a blast going places in the motorhome pulling the little Nighthawk 250’s behind. This was before the trike era. Got to the “camp” site without being worn out, had ALL the comforts of home, enjoyed running around on the bikes, and BEST OF ALL.... we had our doggies with us!

We knew who had been sitting on our potty, could eat/drink/sleep whenever and whatever, and knew our little loved ones were safe, sound, and happy with us.

Those were the glory days and I sure miss them but things change and the memories are grand.

Thank you! We're looking forward to it, and hoping our experience is like yours!

Kevin

 

[graygoat]

Kevin, looks like I am late to the party, but want to wish you and Mary safe travels and a very good trip!

I have a 6x10 v-nose trailer for hauling our Tri (pulling with F150). We have pulled it out west on 2 trips (Black Hills and a second trip to Yellowstone). We stay in motels (I need juice for my c-pap). The big thing for us is that once we get on the interstates, my wife can drive the rig. So we share the driving which is great, we can go twice as far in a day this way. And we are fresh for riding when we get to the area we want to ride.

This Sept we are hauling to Durango, CO. We will leave the rig there and then ride the Tri for about a week in sw CO, the parks in UT, north rim of Grand Canyon & back to Durango. Have not done it this way before but I think it will work for us.

Looking forward to your trip report & Mary's pics. :clapping:

 

[DK Custom Products]

Quick Video of unloading and loading the TG up in Nova Scotia, Canada.



Kevin

 

[Gorilla]

You will love Talbot Trail but watch out for the bumps. ENJOY

 

[BILLIJAK]

Quick Video of unloading and loading the TG up in Nova Scotia, Canada.



Kevin

Kevin, posted a question in the Canadian Travel thread, but maybe here is more appropriate. Question was how do you get to the front of the trailer - for sleeping, cooking, and bath with the trike loaded?

Really enjoying the trip!

Bill

 

[DK Custom Products]

You will love Talbot Trail but watch out for the bumps. ENJOY

Kevin, posted a question in the Canadian Travel thread, but maybe here is more appropriate. Question was how do you get to the front of the trailer - for sleeping, cooking, and bath with the trike loaded?

Really enjoying the trip!

Bill

Hi Bill,

Yes, it is quite tight with the Tri Glide. One step into the trailer, then step over the trike, using the floorboards, then walk along side the trike, squeeze past the fairing. Once past all that, we have full access to the kitchen, bathroom and bed.

The photo below is a shot of me test fitting the TG into it Before we bought it.

This next photo is the same test, standing in kitchen area, making sure the TG could be in there and still have access to the refrigerator.

Kevin

 

[BILLIJAK]

Hi, thanks for the info. I'd seen the pics previously, but I knew from seeing the inside of the trailer, there was no way to get around the trike from the door side!

Looking forward to the rest of the Northern trip, Bill

 

[rvance]

I get it

We were determined to get a 26' toy hauler when we retired, but upon investigating the problems of bad and disappearing campgrounds, lack of quality control on the trailers and the maintenance costs, having to deal with the tanks, and the labor of set up and take down, we decided to just go with the motels. We would have to do a lot more traveling than we have planned to spend what the first year depreciation is on a toy hauler. The main factor though is our physical condition and ability to deal with it and the problems that come with it. We bought a 16' v-nose that will hold the trike, an inflatable bed and a Porta potti. We can leave it at home, haul the trike to the motel in it, or camp out if we want. I just need to add the AC unit and it's a go. If we were younger we would have gone your route. I really like the design that you chose. Happy Trails!

 

[DK Custom Products]

We were determined to get a 26' toy hauler when we retired, but upon investigating the problems of bad and disappearing campgrounds, lack of quality control on the trailers and the maintenance costs, having to deal with the tanks, and the labor of set up and take down, we decided to just go with the motels. We would have to do a lot more traveling than we have planned to spend what the first year depreciation is on a toy hauler. The main factor though is our physical condition and ability to deal with it and the problems that come with it. We bought a 16' v-nose that will hold the trike, an inflatable bed and a Porta potti. We can leave it at home, haul the trike to the motel in it, or camp out if we want. I just need to add the AC unit and it's a go. If we were younger we would have gone your route. I really like the design that you chose. Happy Trails!

I hear you on the quality control issues in the RV world. Makes HD Customer Service look amazingly good.

We thought about building out a Cargo trailer...have quite a few friends who've done that. With the amount of travel we do, plus the fact that I work 3-4 hours a day while we're on our trips, we opted to go with the ready made trailer.

When we are making a beeline to where we're planning to ride, 9 times out of 10 we stop at a rest area. The entire set up process is one of the two following-

--If it is hot, I start up the generator in the back of the truck and plug it into the trailer so we can run the air conditioning.

--If it is not hot, we get out of the truck and go into the trailer.

The few times there has not been a rest area, we will go to a Walmart parking lot or some other store lot that welcomes RV'rs or Semi's.

Once we get to where we are going, we look for dispersed camping (free) or BLM camping (free). This is about 50-50 with paid campgrounds.

Here's a video of BLM land that we stayed at. Amazing place, we were there for 5 days. No cost.



Here's a vid of our trip up to Canada this summer.



All of these could have been done in your V-nose too...just more comfortable in the TH.

We like this new way of traveling to the Best Riding spots so well, we went ahead and upgraded to a larger TH. We got the original 19' TH knowing that it would be too small long term, but we wanted to test the waters and see if we liked this new way. We did.

Pics and videos of the larger TH coming soon.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Yeah man, it's been working out great. We were not sure either...not all theories work out as anticipated, how well we know that when it comes to product development. :laugh:

But this has worked well. We have ANOTHER Ride Report coming this year. That will make 3 big trips this year. We did not spend any more money OR time than in previous years where we did only 1 big trip. We saw and rode so much more in terms of great roads!

And here's a dirty little secret...one that I have not mentioned in previous posts about saving $. It costs less per mile to drive the truck and trailer than it does the Harley. Figure these 3 major factors-

-Regular 87 octane vs. premium gas (although the HD gets better mpg, because of the less expensive gas, the difference is not as big as one would think)

-Tires and oil changes on the Harley are many multiples more expensive than truck/trailer

-Depreciation for miles much more on Harley

An average, easy day in the truck is 600-650, but we've done quite a few 750-800 mile days, and they were easy and comfortable too, just a bit longer.

Kevin

 

[1dn5up]

Marine grade plywood will out last you ! Just roll out a coat of exterior paint on the bottom before install. We all have something left over in the garage .

 

[Ray55]

Just sold a 6 x 12 enclosed trailer and got a TK-1 On order. Supposed to be delivered mid December. $2891 in Tucson, AZ. local dealer wanted $3500 for same trailer. My Chevy Traverse had a rough time pulling my Trailer and trike to the East Coast and Back.

 

[birdguy45]

Congrats on the new TK1, Ray…I have really loved mine. Although you probably know already, don’t make the mistake of putting a cover on the bike while trailering it. I did on my first trip and I’m still trying to rub out the damage to the clearcoat and paint. Uncovered, the bike will get dirtier, but a quick trip to the nearest DIY car wash will cure that without even taking the bike off the trailer. The front air dam on the TK1 does a great job of keeping the bike pretty clean.

All the best in your new lifestyle!