Anyone haul an dual sport motorcycle with their class C?

Dont put that much weight on the receiver. They are rated for 500 lbs pushing straight down like a trailer will do but the hitch carriers put the weight at the end of a 2 foot lever. There is an online calculator somewhere that allows you to plug in your weights and the length of the extension and wheel base and gives you the max weight a class 3 receiver can handle. When I ran mine it came to 370 lbs with an 18 in extension. I had to shorten the carrier extension rail, replaced all the class 3 hardware with grade 8 bolts, had a shop weld 1/4" 2x2 angle onto the frame extensions and put braces from the bottom of the hitch to the RV frame. And this was so I could haul a KLR 250 at 295 lbs plus the carrier. It still adds 500 lbs to the rear axle and removes 140 lbs from the front.

I absolutely love it! As noted it is, with a few mods, easy/safe to load and tows very well. The trailer weighs 185# {the bike is 700#}. Perhaps the best and certainly the most unique feature is its ability to stow vertically with a very small footprint:



{That's a bike rack up against the wall behind the trailer}

I manage to park two cars, a golf cart, motorcycle and trailer all in a 20 X 24' garage and still have room for a few tools and toys. New the Kendon's go for around $3,000 but I found mine, a 2002 with very little use, on Craigslist for $1,450.

The loading mods set me back about $25 and I added a new tongue jack - $20. I had a set of brand new Maxxis' and a new spare from my old trailer so for just under $1,500 I am good to go.

:B

Desert Captain wrote:
"Did you look at that hitch helper link? What are your thoughts?"

Interesting idea and it does seem to take the excess weight off of the rear end of the RV but...

Not sure about loading a bike on that thing. You would have to ramp up high enough to clear the tires and that is a lot of vertical in a short horizontal distance. :h

I just finished replacing the 2X8's that I bolted onto the deck of my Kendon with 2x12's to give me more room for my boots as I friction zone/walk/drive the bike up onto the trailer. {You can see the 2X8's were to narrow in this old photo}. Keep in mind that the Kendon is very low and thus easy to safely load even when you are alone.



Going to the 2X12's gives me plenty of room for my boots as I transition onto the trailer from the ramp/boards. {The lower boards alongside the metal ramp are 2X12's}

We are headed up to Moab next week and I'll be towing the Harley behind our C once again. Plan to set up in an RV park and ride all of the adjacent National Parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef etc}, probably one a day. Having a nice Harley for a TOAD is awesome!

:B

Your setup is exactly what I am looking to do. How do you like that Kendon trailer?

"Did you look at that hitch helper link? What are your thoughts?"

Interesting idea and it does seem to take the excess weight off of the rear end of the RV but...

Not sure about loading a bike on that thing. You would have to ramp up high enough to clear the tires and that is a lot of vertical in a short horizontal distance. :h

I just finished replacing the 2X8's that I bolted onto the deck of my Kendon with 2x12's to give me more room for my boots as I friction zone/walk/drive the bike up onto the trailer. {You can see the 2X8's were to narrow in this old photo}. Keep in mind that the Kendon is very low and thus easy to safely load even when you are alone.



Going to the 2X12's gives me plenty of room for my boots as I transition onto the trailer from the ramp/boards. {The lower boards alongside the metal ramp are 2X12's}

We are headed up to Moab next week and I'll be towing the Harley behind our C once again. Plan to set up in an RV park and ride all of the adjacent National Parks (Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef etc}, probably one a day. Having a nice Harley for a TOAD is awesome!

:B

timmac wrote:

HawkTX wrote:
I was hoping to maybe resurrect this thread for some thoughts. So the bike I think I am going with is 405lbs (with no gas) and the hitch weighs 60lbs, which puts me a few pounds below the tongue weight of 500lbs. I really don't want the hassle of dealing with a trailer if I don't have to for obvious reasons like backing up, etc. What should I be concerned about? I plan on buying a really good carrier that is well made with great ratings online.

Even thinking about one of these: http://www.hitch-helper.com/

Was looking at the hitch helper would there be strain on the hitch at the truck doing the towing when going around corners and such, there is another company out there that makes something similar and they have 2 connect points on the hitch, also going thru driveways with big dips could put a lot of stain on the hitch, just my thoughts.

Yeah. I think I was just trying to avoid the inevitable. I'm looking at those Kendon stand up trailers now.

HawkTX wrote:
I was hoping to maybe resurrect this thread for some thoughts. So the bike I think I am going with is 405lbs (with no gas) and the hitch weighs 60lbs, which puts me a few pounds below the tongue weight of 500lbs. I really don't want the hassle of dealing with a trailer if I don't have to for obvious reasons like backing up, etc. What should I be concerned about? I plan on buying a really good carrier that is well made with great ratings online.

Even thinking about one of these: http://www.hitch-helper.com/

Was looking at the hitch helper would there be strain on the hitch at the truck doing the towing when going around corners and such, there is another company out there that makes something similar and they have 2 connect points on the hitch, also going thru driveways with big dips could put a lot of stain on the hitch, just my thoughts.

Heck...the more I think about it a trailer would probably be best. For the cost of those hitch helper I could buy a really nice trailer.

Desert Captain wrote:
Dropping 500# on the rear end of a Class C falls under the heading of "Just because you "can" do something does not mean it is a good idea".

Take a tape measure to your front fender/bumper before and after the 500# load is applied and see how much the front end rises. A trip to the CAT scale before and after will be even more revealing.

The problem that will occur is your front tire contact patch will shrink somewhat and the steering will get light. The 500# may not be a problem but you will definitely feel it.
With my bike and trailer weighing in at 900# I am adding just about 120# of tongue weight which I do not feel.

Besides.... if you get a small trailer you can probably get a larger bike. :B

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

Did you look at that hitch helper link? What are your thoughts?

Dropping 500# on the rear end of a Class C falls under the heading of "Just because you "can" do something does not mean it is a good idea".

Take a tape measure to your front fender/bumper before and after the 500# load is applied and see how much the front end rises. A trip to the CAT scale before and after will be even more revealing.

The problem that will occur is your front tire contact patch will shrink somewhat and the steering will get light. The 500# may not be a problem but you will definitely feel it.
With my bike and trailer weighing in at 900# I am adding just about 120# of tongue weight which I do not feel.

Besides.... if you get a small trailer you can probably get a larger bike. :B

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

I was hoping to maybe resurrect this thread for some thoughts. So the bike I think I am going with is 405lbs (with no gas) and the hitch weighs 60lbs, which puts me a few pounds below the tongue weight of 500lbs. I really don't want the hassle of dealing with a trailer if I don't have to for obvious reasons like backing up, etc. What should I be concerned about? I plan on buying a really good carrier that is well made with great ratings online.

Even thinking about one of these: http://www.hitch-helper.com/