Trike Trailer suggestions

[Boscoporp]

As I have gotten older and I am finding that the longer distant rides are becoming harder & harder. I have decided to buy a trailer that I can load my trike and a friends two wheel GW. I have never owned a trailer of this caliber and I would like to hear from some Trike friends that have some experience buying and pulling such a trailer. I have a friend that has a nice fiberglass trailer and he loves it. I have been told that I'm better off not buying an enclosed trailer because of gas mileage. My intentions are to buy a used unit to save some money.

How much of a vehicle do I need to pull such a load?

What kind should I look at?

 

[mhgoldwing]

First, if it were me and I was trailering a trike routinely I would only use an enclosed trailer. It protects the bike from weather, road debris and sticky fingers. I would use a trailer built with drop axles to keep the trailer low for easy loading/unloading. To haul a trike and a bike you will need a pretty good sized trailer so I would probably opt for a 3/4 ton diesel truck to do the hauling.

 

[Firea100]

I have an 8ft. Wide, 6 ft.tall, 14ft. long, tandem axle enclosed trailer that I carried a Honda Valkyrie, and a Yamaha 1300 bike. I too have the axles that keep the floor way down to allow easy loading.These are no little scooters, yet, I hauled them with 4 people and luggage with our Ford Edge. I'm very familiar with towing things. I know a trike is heavier than a bike and a 'wing is heavier than a Yamaha BUT you don't need a 3/4 ton diesel pick-up to tow with. A four door pick-up, say a Dodge 1500 with a Hemi in it would do just fine. The diesel will give you tons of torque and pull like a dream BUT the initial cost, the cost of the oil changes and the cost of "like" repair services (oil changes ,trans service, engine fuel pump ect.) goes up exponentially from gas to diesel. I had a 1 ton dully Dodge with a Cummins diesel in it. I would have another one in a New York second except for the initial cost and related maintainance costs prohibit it ,not to mention do I really need it? My son now uses it in his granite fabrication business. HE NEEDS IT! And yes he complains when he has to put money out for maintaining it, but that's the cost of doing his line of work. So first find the size trailer you will need, once you've done that you'll have a weight of the trailer,trike and bike in total and can pick a tow vehicle that suits your needs. One more example, I towed a 36ft. Travel trailer with my 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. The rig towed like nobody's business! Could pass everything but the gas stations! It netted between 8-9 miles to the gallon but I wasn't modest about using my "loud pedal". Normally I get about 17-19 miles to the gallon highway. Like it says in the commercial, your results may vary.... But you aren't pulling a small house either! Just my two cents!
Larry in East China Mi.

 

[1800 06 Champion Trike]

I use my enclosed 7 x 20 ft snowmobile trailer to haul mine.
It has a drop rear door on it so I can drive it in.
Once in, it's tied down and ready to go.
Also holds my cargo trailer if I want to take that.
I would never trailer it on a open trailer.
To much junk can fly up and hit it.
I pull it with my Chev crew cab truck that has the 6.0 engine and trailer package

 

[saab9k]

yes a V6 chev. blazer would do the job too.

 

[Trent]

I have a newer thread on here showing my new enclosed trailer. I Agree with MHGoldwing about an enclosed trailer. Too many rocks and crap flying around out there behind your towing vehicle. My trailer weighs 2,000 lbs. My TG weighs 1200 lbs. I tow it with a 2013 Ford Explorer with a 290 hp motor, rated to tow 5,000 lbs, and it does the job perfectly. Yep,, the milage goes in the crapper, but that is the price you pay to move yourself and all your toys down the road. With the ramp rear door, it is simple on and simple off. You can pick one of these up very inexpensively or you can spend a lot if you deck it out.

 

[eagle1]

many states no plates required.

 

[eagle1]

mine is a work in progress!! emer. use only.

 

[captdanwh]

i haul my trike with my daughters suzuki s50 on a open utility trl. with a 5' gate on it for easy loading. the trl has 12" high sides and i have installed some aluminum diamond plate in the front 16" high to protect the bikes when going down the road and it works great. you have to remember that the bikes are being pulled directly behind the tow vehicle and do not get hit by rocks and other flying debris. yes, i do agree that they do get ****ty dirty from the rain and other elements but much easier to pull and much cheaper to buy.

 

[wimoonshiner]

We have a 7x14 open trailer. It has a heavy duty ramp and a beaver tail, meaning the last 2 feet is slanted down. The beaver tails ensures that the trike will not bottom out. Single axle, pulled by a Ford F150 4x4. I put 2x12 boards around the front and the sides of it to help "protect" it somewhat if you will. Pingle wheel chock with tie down hooks in the bed of the trailer. An enclosed trailer was what I really wanted, but I haven't found that brown bag of money yet along the side of the road!

 

[Rowdy]

I had an enclosed trailer for my trike for six yrs. Matter of fact, I sold it just last week. That thing pulled like a log when loaded and it was only 6x12. I have pulled several campers 28-30 ft. long over the yrs so towing was not new to me. I pulled it with a 5.3L Avalanche so power was not an issue. I also have a 6x12 utility trailer I have had for yrs. and that is what I will use if I need to trailer my trike. No more enclosed trailers for me.

 

[jackpoet]

I have a TK-1. Has front end covered to protect bike. Weighs in at 520 lbs. Have it set with trike on it with 185lbs tongue weight. Pulls like a dream. Have had no road damage to the trike, Check them out, Expensive, around $3,000, but great trailers. Aluma TK-1

 

[Woolie]

I have an Aluma TK1 and really like it. I can still get nearly 16 MPG pulling it with a Chevy Z71 crew cab 5.3L engine if I keep the speed around 65. Going faster is fine it just costs a little more. The TK1 wont be large enough for a trike and a bike together but look at some of the other utility trailers made by Aluma. They have a folding drop down ramp and you can add shields to the front. Google Aluma KLM Trailers. You are in a good place to get one, I have seen some good prices in Harmony NC and I think Jacksonville FL. Go pick it up and save shipping.

 

[kimber45]

I haul mine in our 28ft Forest River Wild Wood toy hauler. Pull it with a 6.0 vortex.

 

[slick rick]

I have a RV tow dolly when I want to pull my trike , unbolt the center arm , bolt in a extension bolt on top rail and wah lah there it is ,,,works great pulls better with the extension over the tow dolly .

 

[slick rick]

Looked up and had 666 posts had to do another,,,,scared me

 

[captdanwh]

i do not think you are going to find a real good used enclosed trl. for a real good price. i bought a new one from Trl country in Ga. for a cheaper price than some of the used ones i was looking at and they will custom build a trl. for you too. i wanted certain things on my trl. and they installed them for cheaper than i could buy them for. i live in Fl. but drove the 250 miles to Ga. to buy it from them and still saved a lot of money in the end. give them a call and see what they say. if i were you i would also buy a tandem axle trl. as you will be pulling some weight and they will track so much easier. do not let some salesman tell you to get a heavier axle on a single axle trl. either. i can only tell you from much experience as i have probably owned over 30 trailers in my life and can honestly say i know quite a bit about them and all kinds of them.