Winter motorcycle trailer project question

[badwithcomputer]

I have a spare 1500 lbs axle and rims/tires kicking around and figure I should do something useful and came up with the idea of an ultra light motorcycle trailer that can be towed by a car or small SUV and unloaded by one person. I've been looking at some examples online and have come up with a few questions..

This is pretty much what I am shooting for but not folding..



Anyway my questions,

Suspension: The total weight should be somewhere around 600 lbs (Bike 450, trailer 100 or so) I notice the above example has those torsion flex axles. I wont have that option, can I forgo a suspension on something this light and run the tires at a lower pressure or is it a bad idea? Would it be better to remove a leaf or two from a 1500lbs leaf pack? I was thinking even maybe the old coil over shock suspension from a large motorcycle may give me close to proper dampening to keep it from bouncing all over the road? Then i'd have to worry about control arms, which isn't a huge deal just more weight..



Sort of off topic but you guys usually have some good suggestions!

[Dewie]

Interesting idea - I think you will want some suspension, having said this tow dollies for cars typically don't. You bolt the tires hard to the trailer and let the suspension of the vehicle do its thing. You will be doing the same with the bike (that front wheel mount is a must, you may want to come up with some way to ratchet strap the rear wheel to the trailer too)

My concern with doing the above is that the whole combination is still going to be super light, it will likely bounce all over the place a fair bit.

[Dewie]

*edit

Because this is going to be narrow for a bike I'd be inclined to use a MacPherson's strut setup for suspension... you'd have more than enough room to drive between the strut towers (and they've give you something to support yourself on when loading/unloading the bike).

Only problem would become how to make it look good...

[badwithcomputer]

Thanks for the tips Andrew it really got the wheels turning!

I just picked up this item to simplify the process



I am going to go with a "floating" deck. Attach the frame directly to the axle and basically run a mini Jeep suspension with motorcycle coilover shocks. I have a drawing but it's crude and slightly embarrassing.

[mostheman]

What about 4 wheeler shocks there cheap on kijiji frequently. 40 for a pair of front ones usually

[badwithcomputer]

Ooo I didn't even consider those!

[C Monster]

You don't need a trailer
Lol o my

[badwithcomputer]

Weird, I could have sworn I posted this question last night!

Anyway I've read the inspection manual for trailers and didn't come across this aspect. Since I am not using the tor-flex axles I need to think of a clever way to keep the deck height as low as possible. Can I take my straight axle, cut it up into this shape 0--|___|--0 (zeros being the hubs) and weld it back together? Obviously there will still be ground clearance but the lower the better. I understand there will need to be serious gusseting on the inside and outside 90's. I'm not really worried about the weight as it will be less than 500lbs payload. Just the legal aspect of it. Anyone know?

received my wheel chock last night, 32lbs! I was impressed and for $80 to my door I couldn't go wrong.

[justajeep]

No problem with cutting and welding the axle. Get yourself a Dodge minivan rear axle, already has the drop built in.

[badwithcomputer]

That's an excellent idea, but that would nullify my plan to re-purpose this old axle and tires I have lol But thank you for clarifying I can make it into a drop! Wait, I could still find the dodge rear axle and graft it into the hubs I have. Takes a bit to get the wheels turning in this brain of mine.

[The Garagemahal]

I'd use the dodge axle instead of cutting up your solid axle . If you weld it wrong , It will wear out tires wicked fast and cost MORE in the long run

Trailers are addictive !! lol

[badwithcomputer]

stupid me, I also didn't consider the alignment of the tires once it was all said and done. This is starting to be a bit daunting. Ok so, if I weld a brace all the way across the axle then cut the middle out leaving the brace I should be pretty safe, eh? then remove the brace once I get it welded with the drop? Or will i run into the same issue as I did with the crossmember where the metal warped and I couldn't slide one tube into the other?

[The Garagemahal]

Jan 21, 2014 18:27:34 GMT -4 The Garagemahal said:

I'd use the dodge axle instead of cutting up your solid axle . If you weld it wrong , It will wear out tires wicked fast and cost MORE in the long run

[badwithcomputer]

Then I still have an axle and new 8" tires and rims kicking around! But I see your point.

[The Garagemahal]

Plus side , the dodge axle has same bolt pattern as a jeep ! . I'll throw in a pair of jeep alum rims ( need paint ) to help your cause