Hello everyone,

New to the forum but have been a "visitor" for a while and definitely great feedback. I was hoping you could help me out.

I am moving from CT to CA in late December and planning to tow 2 bikes (yes, I'd rather ride but not the best time of the year). Money is tight and I was hoping to rent a 6x12 enclosed uhaul trailer. I went to check out the trailer and unfortunately there aren't any points to tie down the bikes. There are two small rings on the front/side corners but I don't know if I would trust securing my bikes to them. And the trailer floor is metal so I can't just drill holes to add eye bolts. I've read a few posts where some of you have done some modifications to tow a bike in a uhaul enclosed trailer but I'm still a little confused. Any chance you could post your experiences and details if you've towed in a uhaul enclosed trailer? Any chance you have pics of what you did? I'd appreciate any help! Thanks in advance.

Robert

 

Can't help with the tie downs, but make sure it's tall enough that you don't have to crawl on hands and knew to load and unload.
Good luck.
Marsh

 

I towed a fatboy from Indiana to Cali last December in a U-Haul enclosed trailer. I'm thinking it was a 6 X 12 as well. I found myself in a similar situation (except it didn't even have rings in the floor). The trailer I rented had a wood strip on each side running the length of the trailer. After closer inspection, I noticed the wood strips had slots in them. I threaded nylon cargo straps through the slots, and had them opposing each other on the handlebars & rear of the frame. I was paranoid all the way here, but the bike never fell. Hope that helps.
-clutch-
P.S. If you end up anywhere near Edwards Airforce Base...gimme a holler & we'll go for a ride.

 

Cut a 1" thick plywood board in the shape of the trailer floor and drill the holes through that to mount your tiedown points and then strap your bars to a side railing too to make sure that when you hit a bump, the whole assembly doesn't try to come up or shift. The plywood will stay tightly in place if you cut it right. Use really thick washers or better yet some metal plates to reinforce your tiedown points. The best thing to do would be to buy a couple of front wheel stands that you could bolt to the plywood too. Harbor Freight sells them for cheap. $59.99 EA.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...=507&pricetype=

 

Thanks for the quick replies.

clutchglass: I would be super paranoid towing a bike with it just tied to the side of the trailer! If I remember correctly, the side bracing didn't seem very sturdy. But I may go back to uhaul and give the trailer a closer inspection. I'm heading to Pasadena so not too far from Edwards AirForce Base. I'll definitely hit you up after I settle down. Thanks man.

2deuce2: I've thought about that but in a large bump/hole/etc I was thinking the whole assembly would come off the floor. You suggested strapping the "bars to a side railing" to overcome this but can you explain further? I can definitely get exact measurements of the trailer floor and construct a makeshift floor but just want to make sure it would work. Have you actually done that with the uhaul enclosed trailers? Thanks again.

Robert

 

If it were me, I'm NOT towing two bikes in a 12' trailer. Personally if I'm pulling two bikes in a trailer it's got to be at least 14' long, but that's just me. You need the "offset" so nothing touches.

 

I have not done this in an enlosed trailer, but it works in the back of my truck bed. I strap my bike real hard to the plywood and compress the struts and then I lightly (but taught) strap the handlebars to the weaker factory holes on top of my bed rails to keep it all down.

I have rented many U-Haul trailers and if I remember correctly, the enclosed ones have about three different heights on wooden side railings designed to tie things to so they don't tip over or move about. You don't have to really strap the handlebars super tight to the sides, just keep them taught enough to make sure that the whole assembly won't come up on you when you hit that bump. One of the side rails should be lower than your handlebar height and that would be the one you strap on to.The bulk of the force for holding the bike upright is your home made tie downs on the plywood floor. Those will be the ones you compress the struts down with. If you would be worried about the back side of your plywood coming up on a bump, screw in some angle iron at the tail of the plywood end like a backwards L and let the flat iron stick out the back underneath the roll down door of the trailer, just leave a gap for the door latch in the middle. I don't think that is necessary though, I have never had a problem.

Hope this helps. You will love riding in LA. It's a blast! Just get your middle finger ready!!!

 

Since you're moving, you have a house full of stuff also. What are you moving that stuff in? Maybe rent a big truck, w/wooden floor. Load the bikes first, tie down bikes, then load your household stuff on and around them. (Light, fluffy stuff). Put your original tow vehicle on a dolly/flatbed trailer and off you go.

Good luck, much nicer weather in CA.

 

Dpn't know about towing but I'll bet you find better ridding weather where you are going

 

I bet it would be cheaper to load up ABF frieght container's than to tow . Use the harbor frieght chocks http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...=507&pricetype
just drill 2 holes to secure them to the floor ( a decent floor jack will be fine to lift the crates when empty ) and then floor lock them with some simple wood bracing.