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Lightweight Trailer--2 DL650's--Suggestions Please

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drfood

drfood

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Darrell
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Gerdes
We are in the beginning process of looking for a lightweight trailer to use w/out 2020 Santa Fe for our 2 DL650's. We plan to tow the bikes on the first leg of longer trips. When we head west we can park the vehicle and trailer at my sister and brother-in-laws outside Santa Fe, NM. When going east we have some options of places to park the SUV and trailer. We think it will help us with the fatigue factor of riding the bikes the first couple of days.

I welcome any suggestions of trailers that might be a good fit for us. And any advice you might have on trailering for part of a trip and riding the rest.
 
Kendon 2 rail trailer. Lightweight, easy to pull, low loading height, stowable ramp and two DL650 are well under it's load capacity. Not cheap but you only buy once. It is also foldable for easier storage at home.
 
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... or the cheap version is what I'm after. Harbor Freight 4x8 folding trailer with some wheel chocks and tie-down points added. Like these...
 
To many hotel stays with loaded bikes and it may be worth an enclosed trailer. Just a thought but no personal experience either way. I just seem to hear to many stories of bikes riding off in the moon light all by themselves in the middle of the night in a hotel parking lot. Specifically Amarillo.
 
I've had the same Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer for many years and it has served me well. I went with the non-folding version (more heavy duty) and extended the deck to about 4.5x9 (almost 10ft at the tip of the V-nose). I don't have a pickup truck any more, so I use it as a utility trailer for hauling anything I can't stuff into the minivan. So... I made the wheel chocks removable... for either a single heavy bike centered or two lightweight bikes in tandem. IMO, the 4x8 axle is too narrow to handle 2 heavy road bikes in tandem. Even with 2 dirtbikes (I don't have pics, sorry), I stagger them front to rear a bit to clear the handlebars. The stretched deck really helped with that.

If you plan on hauling 2 DL650's regularly, I would recommend going with a 5x8 instead. I'm planning on upgrading to the Northern Tool's 5x8 myself, so this trusty HF may show up in the For Sale section pretty soon. ;)

BTW, whatever you choose, I highly recommend adding some type of debris shield (see below). It really helped on my trip to Okla this past weekend. On the way back the melting snow over the roadway kicked up a lot of mist. The shield kept the bike from being drenched in muddy water.
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I like and have a 10x 5 utility trailer with 24 inch sides. Eden with wheel chocks I can still use it to haul mulch, wood and stuff. I like dual purpose.
 
What’s your plan for storage? It might be worth spending a little more on a Kendon for the ability to stand it up in the garage.

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Storage would definitely have to be stand up. Would most likely store in garage or storage shed.

Not on FB so I can't look at that particular on.
 
Happy to help make the contact. Argyle is right down the road from me.
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I have a Kendon two-rail and love it. They're worth every penny. Mine drops the tail of the trailer like a ramp with a hydraulic jack to lift it. Having had a HF folding trailer that felt like a taco when I strapped the bike down, the Kendon feels far more secure to me.

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I've been using a 4x8 utility trailer for the sl350 and a drz400. But it's tight. DL650s are wider and I go with 5x8 in a utility trailer. The one I use are not stand up, cost about $1K to $1.4K and would pull behind a small suv with no problems. BigTex sells good ones from my experience.

Anything from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool and the like will need rewiring. You won't believe how thin those wires are.
 
Renting is not a bad option, if you've got a uhaul nearby. The annual registrations over the years have cost me way more than all the money I've spent buying and upgrading my trailer. Some years, I just let the reg expire and renew just before I need to use it. There is no penalty and the tax assessor's office just makes you sign a form that swears you've not had it on the road.
 
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SL350 said:
Anything from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool and the like will need rewiring. You won't believe how thin those wires are.
Click to expand...
FWIW, Harborfreight had a recall on their trailer lights/wiring a few years back, and sent me a brand new set of their LED lights. This was many years after I bought mine, so I was pleasantly surprised. By that time, I had already trashed the original crappy signal lights that came with the trailer and bought/upgraded to the same LED lights they sent me. The wiring of the new lights are pretty decent. Probably 20AWG if I have to guess; plenty for the LEDs, which are super bright. Should last a while.
 
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