Harley trailer on 5er........................ - Montana Owners Club

Ozz · 02-16-2007, 01:45 AM

I was behind a 5er with a one wheel Harley trailer, looked pretty neat, perhaps our resident engineer could elaborate on the weight issue. I also wonder what speeds the one tire would be able to safely travel with that weight.
Backing up would be fine with the swivel on the wheel.
(I came up on him later, 40 miles or so down the road, he was doing 65 MPH, looked a little fast to me for the wheel and tire)
Ozz
Harley 5er trailer:
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/100_0868.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/100_0867.jpg

Tom Gina 06 · 02-16-2007, 02:36 AM

Ozz,

Just about the time I think I am done..... Well the wants and needs list haunts me again.

Good Grief! I WANT THAT!

Thanks for the heads up always wondered if that could be done.

Ozz · 02-16-2007, 02:39 AM

Now Tom, just because one can do something, does not necessarily mean it should be done...........
Do your homework first, let's get an engineer's opinion.
Ozz

Ozzie · 02-16-2007, 02:58 AM

That looks pretty scary to me...

I wonder how much weight is being supported by that one wheel? It must be affecting his pin weight too.

Tom Gina 06 · 02-16-2007, 03:34 AM

Actually I did see this set up in Sturgis last Summer. What they did is they had two recievers mounted off each frame rail. Then the wheel is mounted on a set up that gave 12 or more inches of spring travel with a shock system. Seemed much stronger than a single reciever mount set up. Rated at around 1200 pounds if I remember right. They also had a double reciever setup that came off a single reciever. Much less wieght could be hauled on that one. Anyway seeing and doing are two different things.

Maybe Montana will design a nice fulltiming toy hauler by the time I retire. I believe there is a big demand but the toyhauler is still in development for fulltiming. The garage area could hold a nice deep freeze and washer and dryer set plus room for the bike and tools. Just thinking about ideas to keep the bike when I retire in 12 years. But then now that we have an automatic maybe I can get the Little Darlin to haul the Monty and I can ride the bike.....LOL Oops I forgot that one ain't happening in this lifetime...

DHenry · 02-16-2007, 04:08 AM

Hey guys check this site out.

www.idahotote.com

azstar · 02-16-2007, 04:35 AM

Hi All,

These trailers have solved the added weight problem. They would put a minimun added stress to the 5er.

Now the down side. The turning tail wag goes way up. Don't know about you guys, but I do get a little nervous in town traffic thinking about that Tail Wag when turning a corner. That rig would really go out into the other lane.

The other concern I would have is a flat tire on the Trailer. The chance for a flat would go up because that tire is riding in the center of the lane where a lot of debris ends up. Can only imangine what might happen to that bike and trailer if you didn't notice right away. I think I would put one of those tire pressure sensors in that tire for sure or maybe there using a run/flat tire.

You gotta love good old "American Ingenuity"

rldriver · 02-16-2007, 05:10 AM

I remember when I was a kid my dad set up a small utility trailer with dual mounts to the rear bumper and a single wheel. He would load it up with the camping gear and off we would go to the woods. He would find the logging roads with grass growing in the middle so by the time we got there every thing in the trailer was upside down. I swear that trailer must have bounce a foot in the air running down the middle of the road.

Illini Trekker · 02-16-2007, 05:19 AM

Looks like it would work, looks like a boat trailer tire. Just would be worried about the amount of flex the rear tire and spring would take before you get in trouble with the Monte frame?

Found something similar to what you saw Ozz

Here's the site: http://www.motorcyclecarrier.net/rv_...er_assist.html

JimF · 02-16-2007, 05:24 AM

Good Grief, can't believe that this is a "new" thing. I had one of those and towed it behind my 1962 Austin Healy 3000. Took off the rear bumper and replaced it with angle iron that the 2 braces supporting the 1 wheel trailer mounted to. My trailer box was 5' x 5'. Was in the Army and the wife and I traveled all over the US towing that thing from duty station to duty station. The one wheel did have shocks as well as springs. It was a big caster and worked great. Was only about 22 at the time and we towed it in excess of 80 mph a lot. (Yeah, I was not that smart.) Nice to see some neat things re-invented. By the way, it added almost no weight to the tow vehicle as it was centered over the tire. Bought it at Sears for $125.00 new.

azstar · 02-17-2007, 04:26 AM

JimF,
I too had a '62 AH 3000.
Can you imagine what it would be worth today?

JimF · 02-17-2007, 07:43 AM

azstar, $68,000 to $78,000 Have wished a million times I had kept it.

bsmeaton · 02-17-2007, 07:47 AM

Yep, if you still had it, it would be on a trailer, probably even a covered trailer, goin to shows.

rickfox · 02-17-2007, 09:27 AM

Guys,

As just mentioned, the swivel wheel trailer has been around a long time - at least since the 1940's.

About 3 years ago I purchased one to haul behind my Cardinal 5th wheel and used it to carry my HD and 2 bikes on a number of trips over several years.

1) The most significant down side is the tail-wag problem mentioned earlier. Since most of the longer Montanas have a lot sticking out behind the rear wheel, it was impossible to make a right hand turn wihout the swivel wheel going into the next lane over!

2) The second biggest problems was that the pin weight is typically between 30% and 40% of the total load. My trailer weighed in at about 400# and the HD plus other bikes weighed in at about 800#. The pin weight on the rear dual receivers was 400# - more than I wanted to put on the Monty. My Cardinal handled this weight fine, towed well, was stable, and no signs of mechanical stress problems. But the Monty has 5 more feet of overhang behind the wheels than did my Cardinal.

So, I have used other means to now get things around. No comments since I'm still in the frame warranty period on the Monty.

I do have a nice swivel wheel trailer for sale! By the way, the swivel wheel tires are typically somewhat special tires made specifically for these types of setups - low profile, high speed, fairly heavy load. They typically have to be ordered - so better be carrying a spare. I have one of those for sale too!

Ozz · 02-17-2007, 09:52 AM

Thanks for the clarification on the trailer Rick.

kmh3212 · 02-18-2007, 03:48 AM

I was about to buy one of those one wheel trailers to haul my 4 wheeler. I got under my trailer to look for welding points and started looking close at the rear axle. The rear had lost it's curve and tire camber. The front was bent but not quite as bad so I backed off on buying the one wheel trailer. My Montana 3670rl is in the shop for new axles! See uneven tire in problem solving.

Trailer Trash 2 · 02-18-2007, 11:50 AM

Ozz, I have seen several of 5er's with this set-up some were in Q site and 1 on the hwy, very interesting set up with the swivel wheel and the hinged connector at the trailer.

Ozz · 02-18-2007, 12:54 PM

Don, I would think Q-site would have them if anywhere, we saw what looked like an invading Army headed there with everything from big class A's towing car haulers to school buses with small trailers, when we left that area.
I guess they must be OK, I hope so.
KMH3212, glad you spotted the problem and are getting it fixed. Guess it's good to crawl under there and look around.

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