Hi, I was going to strap a motorcycle onto the back of my SunnyBrook 30' 5th wheel, but after looking at a few horror stories and wondering about frame fractures I decided I needed to find a different solution.Front of the truck seemed to be a reasonable Idea, but cooling and lighting were a major worry. Adding a castor type extension was too expensive (for poor little me) Anyway, I was going to get a small scooter and put it inside, but this was lighter, and more powerful (250cc). I built a locking base for it. I'll add pictures of that if anyones interested. Weight is 285lbs.We go away next week, I'll let you know how it goes. I post because I have seen a lot of interest in taking alternative transport on vacation. 14mpg gets old pretty quick! :(If that link doesn't work, try THIS

How do you plan to secure it for travel? I would definitely drain the gas out of the tank prior to travelSteve

I think you'll find that gadget very handy, especially with the 'trunk'...we do a similar thing...load a little honda 150 scooter (with 'trunk') in the bed of the truck when we go, using a folding three-piece ramp...great little grocery-getter, even if you do have the truck unhooked from the trailer....here's an example of how handy it can be...over fourth of july, we were at a state park that had, at the river-access point, only porta johns...went from site to riverside parking on the scooter...then, as nature called, either me or my wife, or both of us, would hop on the scooter and head to the facilities at the park headquarters...even if we wanted to drive the truck from the campe site to the river area, would have been pointless because of lack of parking...plus the truck is just kind of unwieldy...the scooter, on the other hand, kind of 'created' a parking spot at the corner of the loteasier to pop on the helmet and 'scoot' for little things like bread or soda or whatever...our little scooter even had a bit of an advantage, in that it has storage under the seat as well...I expect you'll get good use out of having a camp bike

@ 57 Panhead - I built a sort of cradle - 4x4 chocs bolted to a board and bolted to a plywood base. Has tie down and anchor fro front wheel. I'll post a pic before we leave. I took it out now.@ trailernovice - I was looking at trying to fit it in the truck bed, but no way. Thanks for the good vibes.. Really looking forward to this. Pity I can't get a couple of Harleys in there too haha.

Looks like it should work okay, I don't see any real hurdles. How do you get it in the trailer? Small foldable ramp? Squeezing through the door while pushing the bike would be interesting. :)We haul a couple of bikes in our toyhauler with no separate garage and have no issues with smells, so I don't think I'd bother with draining of fluids.

look at pic in my profile ,I currently haul electraglide classic on 35 ft. jayco designer over 25,000 mi, where do you read the horror stories and are they first hand and involve structural promblems or not securing it properly stories .I would be curious. If you want to see failures check out loading motorcycle failures on youtube there are those who take many things carelessly and end in disaster. None of these failures mean it can't be done safely

Carrying Motorcycle | Good Sam Community

Fillinup
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
Thank you everyone for your comments..
I used wood for the cradle as it was all I had lol I'm sure a sturdy aluminum, or steel one could be fabricated, but this looks nothing like my original design.. it kinda evolved as I went. It works, so it's good :)

It is not attached, at any point to the frame. It sits on it's own base so it's weight holds it. It also has nowhere to go. And I kinda pack it in there once the slide is in there is no danger of it migrating...

Sue T, I love that rack.. My bike is nearly twice as heavy as yours though.. Believe me, that would be a fantastic solutions for me, but I don't trust my frame to handle the stress. I guess a phone call to the makers might be a good Idea, but for now, I'm happy with what I have. :)

So, my maiden 5th wheel trip was largely a great success.. On arrival to the site, I had 3 "truckers" offer to park it for me HAHAHA.. Was it really that obvious?? No sir, you do not drive my truck!! I managed fine, and had a great time. Lots of friendly advice and lots of friendly people.. HOOKED!! WOO HOO!!!

So the trial run was a complete success! :)

Next year is out 15th anniversary... So, FLORIDA, and Disney World.. Oh Yeah!

Can't wait :)
jesseannie
Explorer
Sep 05, 2014
This is somthing that interests me.
I have a Honda Trail 110 that weighs in at 250 pounds.
I would like to put in on the back of my 26' Prowler travel trailer.
The attachment of the hauler for the trials bike looks to be pretty stout.
It looks like the part that the bike sits on is removable that is cool.
How would I determine if the frame on my trailer is strong enough to do that?
I assume it would have to do with the depth and wall thickness of the frame member.
jesseannie
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Aug 31, 2014
That's a pretty good mounting solution, but I think I would have gone with metal. Perhaps just a length of channel iron/aluminum that could be easily bolted down like your plywood. But then a Condor chock to put the front wheel in and then a couple tie downs to the channel iron/aluminum.

Just a thought, but that would make it easier to disassemble and lighter overall. With that light of a bike it would be pretty easy to do.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Aug 31, 2014
Definitely not too much weight there. Those things are light as a feather, but not too comfortable to sit on. LOL Yeah, I know, you don't sit down on a trials bike. :)
sue_t
Explorer
Aug 31, 2014
Our trials motorcycle is only 160 lbs. DH had this made for it; have done thousands and thousands of miles, including lots of gravel and rough roads.

When we don't have the bike with us, we leave the rack on - it makes a nice spot to rest things or sit upon!

The skid plate is bolted to the hump in the rack

We have a cover on it when travelling - this was the test run though where I followed to ensure things didn't bounce around too much
Veebyes
Explorer II
Aug 31, 2014
Where there is a will, a way will be found.

We considered hauling a bike similar to yours. A street legal offroad bike. The Yamaha TW200. With carrier mounted on the back we were looking at 300-350# back there. Doable, but only just.

We went the first few years bikeless to see if it would really get used. Turns out not having one is really no big miss though the idea is not forgotten.

Spotted a Honda 150cc large wheeled scooter the other day. Nice bike. Storage in box on the back plus under the seat. No lugging helmets around. The bike wish is still alive.
Me_Again
Explorer III
Aug 31, 2014
How is the platform attached to the trailer? Chris
Fillinup
Explorer
Aug 31, 2014
Thanks guys.. Hey Dan, I almost went for a scooter as it was narrower. Watch the vid I made here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQEsaTOIWc&feature=youtu.be

I wanted a dual sport so this worked, was lighter, but a little wider than I would have liked.

A few of the cradle..
Valkyriebush
Explorer II
Aug 29, 2014
ereed52 wrote:
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Thanks! That's what I was trying to post. Versahual carrier
R12RTee
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
harley hitchiker wrote:
look at pic in my profile ,I currently haul electraglide classic on 35 ft. jayco designer over 25,000 mi, where do you read the horror stories and are they first hand and involve structural promblems or not securing it properly stories .I would be curious. If you want to see failures check out loading motorcycle failures on youtube there are those who take many things carelessly and end in disaster. None of these failures mean it can't be done safely
Excel has stopped installing the Hydralift on their fifth wheels due to frame flexing. DRV stopped installing the Hydralift several years ago for the same reason.

Excel was putting it on fivers, as a factory option, that were less than 34' but were talked into putting it on a 37' and had to bring the unit back to the factory for the addition of a third axle.
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From the president of Peterson Ind.:

I have to say I ruined it for everyone. We only offered it on 34' and shorter due to flex issues and the distance behind the axles inherent on longer units.

Against my better judgement, I let a customer talk me into installing it on a 37' and had the exact issues I knew we would have. It ended up costing us

more then the entire profit we have made on all the hydra-lift units we have ever installed combined.

It comes down to a "risk -vs- reward" issue. The potential for warranty isn't worth the reward should there be a problem.

There are many Excel customers out there who thoroughly enjoy their existing Hydra-Lift units and have had no issues but for no more than we actually install, it's just not worth it moving forward.

Bryan Tillett
President