Thanks for the information, I'l check the stickers on the truck tomorrow. As far as HDPP I think Chevy calls it a different term, but they also have an upgraded tow package. When I bought the truck I had it inspected by my mechanic, and one of the questions I asked him was towing capacity. I think at the time he said based on the options it had, it had the ability to tow 9000 lbs also. A lot of the components are heavy duty or oversized, and even additional options in the transmission and drivetrain for heavy towing. We would prefer to haul the 900 lb Ultra, but are also willing to tow the Sportster instead, as the Sportster has mods for two up touring and only weighs approx 530 lbs.
So far I've found out that in my local area finding a lightweight shorter tow hauler is a challenge. Of the 5 closest rv dealers, the smallest length they carry is 30 feet sleeps 8-10 and empty weight of 9870 lbs, with a garage area big enough to almost put a jeep in. We've got time to wait though and keep searching.
Sounds like you have a strong truck...key is the payload...that is usually the limiting factor.
The Ultra will fit no problem...it is a lot smaller than the Tri Glide, and weighs less too.
There are a few 26-27 footers to be had that come in less than 9000 lbs fully loaded. Coachmen also makes a 271BL that is 30'. It is a larger version of what we have. Dry weight is 6000, fully loaded 9000.
Looks like a lot of fun to me, but if you think that will be less work (and time) than getting a motel you are mistaken.
We have quite a bit of time under our belt now.
When we travel, it is finding a motel, checking in, unloading, going to grocery store, preparing food, loading the bike back up in the morning.
For us, traveling with the trailer is less work, less time, and less expensive...plus, our own bed, type of food etc. So it is working out well for us. We are getting much more quality riding in during the same time away from home.
I realize it is not the same for everyone. A lot of folks eat out most meals, and are not packed up for 3-5 week road trips.
When we travel, it is finding a motel, checking in, unloading, going to grocery store, preparing food, loading the bike back up in the morning.
For us, traveling with the trailer is less work, less time, and less expensive...plus, our own bed, type of food etc. So it is working out well for us. We are getting much more quality riding in during the same time away from home.
I realize it is not the same for everyone. A lot of folks eat out most meals, and are not packed up for 3-5 week road trips.
It's exactly what you just said that is the reason my wife and I also think a trailer would be preferable to motels. We used someone elses trailer a month ago, and it was great compared to a motel. Yes it was a little work initially but it was worth it. With a trailer you know what you're getting, you know the bed will be comfortable, (which if you've got back or neck issues is VERY important) whether the room will have a fridge or microwave, you don't have to worry about getting a downstairs room if you have to have one, bedbugs or even roaches, (this was an expensive chain hotel btw) no hot water, the people mere feet away from you in the next room or just outside your door having a drunken argument, etc.
Some people say things like a downstairs room, fridge, can be taken care of with the reservation process, but my wife and I have experienced that you don't always get what you reserved for, assuming they don't lose your reservation completely.
I suppose if you were just road tripping in a sub compact car that gets 40 mpg it'd be cheaper to do motels, but if the wife and I haul the mc we have to drive the truck anyway, and we get the almost the same gas mileage hauling the glide on a mc trailer as a lightweight toy hauler.
Last edited by Long lonesome highwayman; 07-21-2019 at 09:34 AM.
My closest riding buddy is trying to set himself up in some similar kind of rig. I wish him and you well.
The answer for me of the problem in setting up and breaking up a motel room every night is to plan this year on a shamrock ride. We're headed for Lee Vining, CA where we've rented a double wide trailer with three bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and living room. From there we are doing to do three loops, one to the north, one to the east and one to the south. All spectacular scenery rides. There is a thread about it here. There are lots of other places we can spend a day or two riding to, and then spend the next three riding days exploring the area.
Whenever I am on the road, whether it is riding to Sturgis or any other destination, I often see RV's, trucks and cars towing a trailer full of bikes. I hear many others deriding them. I can never fathom that. These are guys and gals who own bikes and many of them are nice ones from what I can see. For whatever reason they decide not to ride but to tow their bikes to whatever event they are attending. I find nothing wrong with this. These are my fellow bikers. I salute everyone of them for riding, even if it is only a few miles at a time. That's their choice and I totally respect that.
My closest riding buddy is trying to set himself up in some similar kind of rig. I wish him and you well.
The answer for me of the problem in setting up and breaking up a motel room every night is to plan this year on a shamrock ride. We're headed for Lee Vining, CA where we've rented a double wide trailer with three bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room and living room. From there we are doing to do three loops, one to the north, one to the east and one to the south. All spectacular scenery rides. There is a thread about it here. There are lots of other places we can spend a day or two riding to, and then spend the next three riding days exploring the area.
That sounds like a fun trip you have set up. We've stayed in Lee Vining a few times. Really like both roads coming down the mountain into that town.
Originally Posted by Michael Psycle
Whenever I am on the road, whether it is riding to Sturgis or any other destination, I often see RV's, trucks and cars towing a trailer full of bikes. I hear many others deriding them. I can never fathom that. These are guys and gals who own bikes and many of them are nice ones from what I can see. For whatever reason they decide not to ride but to tow their bikes to whatever event they are attending. I find nothing wrong with this. These are my fellow bikers. I salute everyone of them for riding, even if it is only a few miles at a time. That's their choice and I totally respect that.
Yeah, I never understood trailering either. Mary even has a sticker on her helmet "Silly Yuppie, Trailers are for Boats". lol
But taking our home with us, cutting out all the interstate roads that we have ridden dozens of times to get to where we really want to ride, it all makes sense to us now. Would not trade our earlier memories of riding those roads, but we were not making any new memories riding those roads.
Check out the Ride Report at this THREAD to see how our first Big Trip, using this new method, has been working for us.
First time I trailered a bike to a ride was last year's Black Hills ride, took my daughter with me and it was nice being able to have that long visit with her for the 1200 mile round trip. And real nice in a couple hundred miles of rain. Trailered to Arkansas last week, took my non riding lady friend with me and she seemed to enjoy the trip, even though she spent several hours alone in the big cabin while the rest of the group we met there were out on our bikes. Real nice coming home when we hit a massive downpour all the way through and some miles past Des Moines, Iowa. Seemed like every overpass had a bike under it...
I think you would have liked that Arkansas ride, mostly on the roads between Jasper and Eureka Springs. Except for a short section of 4 lane on 412, I don't think any of them had a straight section a half mile long.
You had some photos of steep grades, how do you like this one - took the lady friend for a truck ride up Mt. Nebo, had it in 1st gear over a mile coming down and still had to use the brakes often. I rode a few bikes up that mountain in the late 60s, early 70s, never got tired of it. Good as Arkansas riding is, I think the Black Hills are way better.
The Toy Hauler way of travel has been working out very well for us. Much more comfortable, less expensive (even accounting for the cost of the trailer over life expectancy), and we are saving a ton of time, which means more riding time! Plus, we are riding only the great roads!
A few details on how we've been traveling:
When we are making a beeline to where we're planning to ride, 9 times out of 10 we stop at a rest area. The entire set up process is one of the two following-
--If it is hot, I start up the generator in the back of the truck and plug it into the trailer so we can run the air conditioning.
--If it is not hot, we get out of the truck and go into the trailer.
The few times there has not been a rest area, we will go to a Walmart parking lot or some other store lot that welcomes RV'rs or Semi's.
Once we get to where we are going, we look for dispersed camping (free) or BLM camping (free). This is about 50-50 with paid campgrounds.
Here's a video of BLM land that we stayed at. Amazing place, we were there for 5 days. No cost.
We like this new way of traveling to the Best Riding spots so well, we went ahead and upgraded to a larger TH. We got the original 19' TH knowing that it would be too small long term, but we wanted to test the waters and see if we liked this new way. We did.
07-08-2019, 04:24 PM
