Hacked, Conversions and Trailering"Harley Sidecar, Conversion Trikes and Motorcycle Pull Behind Trailering Enthusiasts"
A forum for the discussion of your sidecar, Conversion Trike or Pull Behind Motorcycle Trailer.
I have the HF tag-a-Long trailer, and although it did well last year on my 5000 mile trip, I did have an issue with it in heavy rains in Colorado. The rain settled and pooled on the roads and the trailer was hydroplaning pretty bad. I describe it as waging like a dogs tail.
Anyhow, I am wondering if I switch from the stock 8” to larger wheels and tires if would help. So as one of my winter projects, I am hoping to upsize them, and am looking for recommendations on size, brand, and source.
Anyhow, here is a pic of my rig for reference.
Pic is in the badlands..
Last edited by steelerdude1; 10-28-2018 at 08:25 PM.
I'd think that larger ( diameter ) wheels would "upset the apple cart" ... raising the ride height would/could cause problems ??? ... shouldn't the tongue be level with the road? Tread patterns may ( as "4me" suggested ) help ... I haven't ran into a stability issue with my Bushtec but it has "motorcycle type" wheels ... You could always take a smoke break and wait for the roads to clear?
Sounds to me like you have an issue with proper weight distribution more than anything else. It makes a big difference with that "tail waggin' the dog" behavior and it looks like you have too much tongue weight, loaded up like you are in that pic. I've hauled my trailer back and forth to Sturgis a few times and ran through some rainstorms with 2-3 inches of standing water on the highways, with it coming down so bad I had to stop at a sporting goods store and buy snowmobile gloves with the shield wiper on the thumb, just to keep my visibility... and never had that issue. My trailer does run the slightly larger tires though... but they're better for highway speed anyway. The little 8" ones at highways speeds go through bearing grease much faster. No big recommendations to make on tires. I get my trailer tires at Harbor Freight. Even got a recall notice on them last year... or maybe the year prior.
Older pic but it shows a level trailer, properly loaded. This was on the way home from Sturgis '05 and the trailer was packed to the gills... but properly distributed.
I spent a lot of time when I first re-built this trailer (purchased from a friends father because it already had a swiveling hitch setup), messing around with weight distribution and high speed test riding. I took a few long distance but local-ish runs, messing around with different weights, different packing methods and different speeds. When I was finally happy I had it all figured out... I got a ticket doing 80 mph on the way back home.
I actually removed a tongue mounted shelf, like you have (that looks over-loaded) for that very reason and instead of hauling a cooler there, I drilled a small hole in my fiberglass saddlebag to fit a rubber plug and used that to store my ice/road drinks for the convenience/dehydration factor, rather than overload my tongue weight.
That tail waggin' issue is one thing hauling a big trailer behind my fullsize Bronco but it's a pants-crappin' feeling on 2 wheels.
In your case, you might need to have the hitch "off-set" below the tongue to get it to sit level, fully loaded. Just food for thought. Have fun and be safe.
Last edited by BikerPepe`; 11-07-2018 at 01:36 PM.
weight distribution is key....get a fish scale at the sporting goods store and weigh...my Heritage likes 20-25 lbs on the tongue.....best to experiment and find out whats best for your bike
weight distribution is key....get a fish scale at the sporting goods store and weigh...my Heritage likes 20-25 lbs on the tongue.....best to experiment and find out whats best for your bike
Yeah, I played with weight and balancing, and everything was fine on dry roads, no sway of the trailer what so ever. I also have a digital fish scale. It was only in the pooled water on the highway in Colorado that it caused me problems. I am 99.9% sure it was hydroplaning,
Reading through the comments, not sure it’s worth going with larger wheels and tires.
At at some point during my research before putting the trailer on the road, I swore there was a recommended wheel and tire upgrade for this trailer, mostly due to less stress on the bearings, but I can’t seem to find it.
Yeah, I played with weight and balancing, and everything was fine on dry roads, no sway of the trailer what so ever. I also have a digital fish scale. It was only in the pooled water on the highway in Colorado that it caused me problems. I am 99.9% sure it was hydroplaning,
Reading through the comments, not sure it’s worth going with larger wheels and tires.
At at some point during my research before putting the trailer on the road, I swore there was a recommended wheel and tire upgrade for this trailer, mostly due to less stress on the bearings, but I can’t seem to find it.
I read a lot ( all? ) of the trailer threads and I don't remember seeing anything about an upgrade ... I'll keep my eyes open
Tires and thread pattern have to have some effects water dispersion, I have a one of these trailers I have yet to put together and one of the upgrades I wanted to make was bigger wheels. It is said the bearings last longer???
Years ago I swapped the Bias ply tires on my full size 5x8 trailer with radial tires of better quality and the difference was immediately noticeable.
10-28-2018, 08:18 PM
HF Tag-a-Long wheel change/upgrade Question
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