small motorbike on rear of travel trailer

[hondaCT90]

google tossed me very old, and now closed, thread from this forum regarding folks wanting to add a mount for their motor cycles on the back of their travel trailer.
I want to thank all those that posted in that old thread as it gave me pause and helped me get my rig up and going safely.
unlike some of the former post who were looking to hang 600lb bikes on the back.. I was just wanting to carry my lil old Honda trail bike..a 90cc DUI cycle weighin in at 190lbs plus the rack that slides into the Reese.
not trusting myself, i found a good custom weld trailer builder in town...had them verify i had a quality H-beam camper that they felt would handle it and they did the work (sorry..no pics yet) with 2 rows of cross beams welded..I also used ratchet straps from each side of the underframe to the bike rack to help keep it from any sway.
we just got back in from 10 days that took us through south carolina, down deep into Georgia, then out to Arkansas..and the return trip straight back through Tenn.
couple thousand miles..we were doing gem mining so found ourself on some back country and bumpies..plus the usual parking lot curbs, some panic stops as a mini van decided it wanted the lane we were in..the usual... the bed of my 3500 was full of digging equipment and it's such a tall truck that i just don't like to try and ride up a ramp like i used to with our lower 1500...I was defintely a nervous wreck for the first 4 ours..every time we'd hit a bad hump in the road etc...but everytime we stopped and I rechecked the straps etc..all was good..and now, having made such a full road trip, I'm comfy with the bike back there and realy enjoyed having it for when those back winding roads and larger national park roads were calling me to take a nice jaunt...granted a CT90 isn't much of a bike..but most small towns, parks etc have speed limits that are well within the bike's capability ..and it is a legal, licensed motorcycle so i can enjoy touring around places that a dirt bike/atv is prohibited..just enough accessory to have hanging off the back bumper of my faithful old camper...again...thanks to all for this forum.

[stufarmer]

I called Northwood's with that weight question. The Service Gentleman I spoke with suggested a few hitches that were best suited for my weight and condition needs. Of course as with any Hitch, the installation is going to make or break your success and performance.

When we began shopping for a Travel Trailer, it was only 2 days before our minds were made up. Originally being from California our choice was a Arctic Fox Silver Fox in less than 48 hrs.

[hondaCT90]

wow Stu...that'd be a solid 500lbs including the rack i would think.. I'd be concerned about that much back there...but I guess it depends on the TT.
I'll be adding a Reese on the front of my silverado 3500 this Fall...primarily to be able to toss the winch on there or swap out for cargo etc..but I've been curious to measure and see if the honda blocks my headlights on this larger truck..don't want to have to stop and visit the Hwy Patrol boys when I'm on my way to a nice vacation...so regardless, i'll add the Reese up front..then if it fits, that'll give me an option should we trade up to a newer camper...but i'm wanting to pay off the truck before i look at a new TT so it'll be 2 years anyway i guess....the wife drags me to camper shows every Feb...temptations gallore!! but all the models that she/we really like as far as floor plan/size/slides etc...don't have through body beams so come a day we buy the new TT, likely have to change my Honda strategy.

[stufarmer]

When the time is right, I'll be in the market for two of the trail 90's. I plan to carry both behind our TT. they have always been my favorite bike of all time.

[colliehauler]

Thanks for the update.

[hondaCT90]

at the risk of being redundant in continuing to resurrect this old thread... just a quick update half a year and mulitple trips later...the Nash is looking great , and the lil Honda trail bike has enjoyed tagging along on more trips..just got back this past weekend from a 5 day...4.5 hrs up the local mountain into blue ridge territory...wonderful little camp area called Deep Creek..nice creek side sites, small winding country roads along both sides of the creek and a gravel motor trail (single lane) up over the hill through the national park...all gives plenty of relaxing 25-35mpg cruising on my little DUI cycle. the Game wardens never look twice at me as I cruised through the park daily..not that i'm the only motorcycle...just a very small one that at times can be confused with a moped or dirt bike that wouldn't necesssarily be stret legal, but the tag is current and I wore my little Mario Kart bubble helment to obey the state laws. (lol).
bottom line, I'm loving the convenience, and easy load/unload of the rack on the back of my camper and it's a conversation starter soon as we pull into a site.
thanks again to all who provided advice and guidance on this.

[hondaCT90]

wow...scary...I can see that there is a market for "featherweights" and I'm not citing the brand here..just the concept of making a trailer as light as possible for the smaller SUV/trucks to pull.
when we first got our Nash , i was driving a 2004 chevy 1500 327 gas...it leveled nicely on the hitch and it pulled fine, but give it evern a moderate hill to climb on the highway and we were grabbing gears and revving pretty high....the trailer would kind of command the truck...with our 3500 deisel...I set the cruise on 65 and it doesn't even downshift on hills...love it!
but to the point...smaller pull cars/trucks... i can see why the market selling point is lighter weight trailers...i'm just glad I have been bale to add enough to be able to bring my lil red honda along for the fun.

[BubbaChris]

I'll jump back in - the suggestion is to find a trailer manufacturer who still designs and builds their own frames.

The vast majority of TT makers are looking to differentiate their products via layout, colors, graphics, options, etc. But wherever they can, they will buy basic building blocks from a (very) small group of OEM component manufacturers. Lippert is a volume player in being a "parts" supplier. And they most likely can offer both a lower price and lower weight option than what most guys can do in-house, so that makes it very attractive to the trailer manufacturers.

However the Lippert frames are usually made to be "just strong enough" to handle the TT itself and a very small load at the very back. In my case I have a slide-out cargo tray that has a 200lb max capacity (and I'd have to double-check my documentation to see if my spare tire back there officially takes away some of that capacity).

If you search or stick around here you'll find lots of threads from people who can easily feel anyone (or even small dogs) walking around their TT when parked and the stabilizers are down at the 4 corners. This is because the (Lippert) frame will flex *and* the center of the TT is supported by the suspension above the wheels and axles.

[hondaCT90]

gotcha...thank you sir...

I have noticed as we'v shopped for other TTs, that our cabinets, etc are just better quality..the doors match the flat frame around them..doesn't look like cheap paper that is mismatched..our bathroom faucettes etc..are like real, ful sized in home..

the unit is a 1996..first half of it's life was an older couple who literally took it out 3 times a year to the same place 30 mins down the road..so everything inside was in near new condition.

made some upgrades of course..ie TV...batteries...
but we've hauled from the Carolinas to Florida, out to Arkansas, many trips up into our Carolina/Tn mountains, a lot of gem mining trips...even parked it in the driveway for weeks at a time and lived out of it while we remodeled our 2nd house down on the coast.

have been surprised just how much use we've gotten out of it...would love to move up to a 32ft..double opposing slides..etc..but this old box of ours was cash i had on hand back then...and $6k felt a lot better than buying a near new or new rig...sides i don't mind when we get this one dirty...which is ....well.. i have a saying... if ya ain't gettin dirty..ya ain't playin right...

[colliehauler]

hondaCT90 wrote:
ok Collie...i've googled and not finding the info...please school me a bit on "in house " frame... i know that 2 different experienced trailer guys looked under the bellie and commented that my rig had better than expected frames.. "H" beams instead of "I"...or something.. I'll plead ignorance...but they were both confident that the load i was wanting to carry was within reason.
and i also don't drive with the waste tanks full ..but rather dump right away and then keep the fresh water tank (under the bed up in the nose) full to counter balance for tongue weight.

appreciate the lesson if you'd be so kind

In house means they mfg builds their own frame instead of ordering them in. Lippert builds the majority of pre- made frames and a lot of companies use them because there cheaper then building there own frames.

The mfg that builds their own frames tends to be higher quality and have less problems.

If you buy a new trailer (like you discussed) make sure the mfg builds their own frame if you plan on hanging weight off the back and you will lesson the chance of having a problem.

Your Northwood is built better then most. A lot of new trailers are a lot of fluff and cheaply built to sell at a lower price.

[hondaCT90]

ok Collie...i've googled and not finding the info...please school me a bit on "in house " frame... i know that 2 different experienced trailer guys looked under the bellie and commented that my rig had better than expected frames.. "H" beams instead of "I"...or something.. I'll plead ignorance...but they were both confident that the load i was wanting to carry was within reason.
and i also don't drive with the waste tanks full ..but rather dump right away and then keep the fresh water tank (under the bed up in the nose) full to counter balance for tongue weight.

appreciate the lesson if you'd be so kind

[colliehauler]

hondaCT90 wrote:
thanks for the vote of confidence Collie (man for years we raised em...sables, tris, and blues)

and yeah, Chris.. I'm now 58..but as a kid growing up , I was totally prepared to give body parts in trade for one of those..lol


granted the lil bikes aren't much more than a moped duicycle on the road, but still a very enjoyable ride...I'm not one to take it out in traffic anyway..but most of our camping trips end up at national parks or areas where nice winding country roads etc abound...or even in small tourist towns where I'm on 25mph - 35mph...
I have property that I own with some nice trails as well and while i can't keep up with the kids on their chain saw 2 wheelers or the ATVs.. i get to enjoy nice rides.
I've done a visual inspection myself and not seeing any issues, but I will take my camper into the shop so a trained eye can tell me if its clean.
for some reason, the wife, who doesn't like me riding "real motorcycles" thinks my lil red wonder is "cute" and she is happy with me having it...so a compromise and anytime I'm on it...guys my age all want to stop n talk about it..makes for nice visits all around.

I would be very careful if you trade TT next year. Unless you go with another Northwood or mfg that has a inhouse frame you might have troubles. Most TT use Lippert frames that are barely adequate for the trailer and you might not be able to add a hitch.

A lot of the new trailers are all fluff and no substance.

I love to explore on a duel sport bike myself, looking at buying another KLR 650.

[hondaCT90]

thanks for the vote of confidence Collie (man for years we raised em...sables, tris, and blues)

and yeah, Chris.. I'm now 58..but as a kid growing up , I was totally prepared to give body parts in trade for one of those..lol


granted the lil bikes aren't much more than a moped duicycle on the road, but still a very enjoyable ride...I'm not one to take it out in traffic anyway..but most of our camping trips end up at national parks or areas where nice winding country roads etc abound...or even in small tourist towns where I'm on 25mph - 35mph...
I have property that I own with some nice trails as well and while i can't keep up with the kids on their chain saw 2 wheelers or the ATVs.. i get to enjoy nice rides.
I've done a visual inspection myself and not seeing any issues, but I will take my camper into the shop so a trained eye can tell me if its clean.
for some reason, the wife, who doesn't like me riding "real motorcycles" thinks my lil red wonder is "cute" and she is happy with me having it...so a compromise and anytime I'm on it...guys my age all want to stop n talk about it..makes for nice visits all around.

[BubbaChris]

What a cool story, glad it's working out for you so far. I'm sure I'm one of 100's here who have fond memories of Trail 90's introducing them to motorcycling.

[colliehauler]

hondaCT90 wrote:
I hear ya Bob... I haven't noticed any cracks..but I am going to take it over to the shop after the Memorial holiday and have them inspect it just to be sure.
i'm running an old Nash 25 ft TT...couple guys have looked under the belly and commented on the quality of the beams..and these are trailer build guys..the one that did this has built a custom work trailer for me from the ground (drop axle ) up..it's all they do..but since I've had the big stuff made there, they said to bring my camper by and they'd do the hitch if they felt it could take it.. if there is no damage to the camper...then i'm really pleased..if it's craking..then I'll discontinue..but it's an old 1996 model that is likely to get traded by next year... i just like having one that's paid for and it has really held up to many camping trips...we go out about a dozen weekenders a year, plus a couple week longs..and I've used our TT for longer term stays..couple weeks at a time..in the driveway of our coastal second home while we were rennovating it..so our camper really has gotten some use..been very pleased...
again..appreciate ya'll so much...

The old Nash has a in house frame (good quality) and should not be a problem, ever.