I picked her up finally

[Erikh425]

Some of you may remember a few months back I bought 2 7X16 trailers. One I sold to my father, the other I am going to convert for hauling bikes and general camping and such.

I picked it up a week ago and have insulated it, layed down some garage floor epoxy, and installed some E-Track. I think the only thing left today right now is to load it up with all of my belongings and move to MN.

On a side note, I need to travel with a motorcycle in the bed of my truck and the tail gate down slightly. I would like to keep the trailer jack as far away from my tailgate as possible. My thoughts are to use a slightly lower ball mount, or use a hitch extender. I suppose I could also take the jack off and by a different one. Any ideas?

I will add a link to some pics here shortly.

Thanks for your help getting me this far,
Erik

[Erikh425]

I think these are links to my Photobucket pics. Pasting them on my android tablet is a PITA. I'll try to figure it out again later.

https://db.tt/yYmcdcBz

https://db.tt/RTP8fbVc

[hankaye]

Erikh425, Howdy;

Depending on what make and model of Motorcycle, you could pull the front
end off then place it sideways in the front of the bed. I did this with an older
H-D Superglide once. Supported the front of the frame on a piece of 12X12.
It's a pain in the butt to shuffle around on your own but it worked for me.
Pick-up was a 1970 F-100 regular sized 8' bed.

hank

[pchast]

It would be easier to comment with a pix of the unit attached to the truck
and the tailgate let down. Show the interferance...

What is your expected tongue weight? Would a swinging jack work? Should
you just carry a floor jack in the truck bed with the motorcycle?

Just random thoughts so far.

[Erikh425]

I have been away from home for a couple days. I will take some pictures and post them here when I get back. I am pretty sure that I am not going to be removing the front tire from the bike, but it would probably work. I did switch my ball to an insert that dropped the hitch height down a couple inches, so maybe that will give me the space that I need.

Thanks for the advice.

E

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Some of you may remember a few months back I bought 2 7X16 trailers. One I sold to my father, the other I am going to convert for hauling bikes and general camping and such.

I picked it up a week ago and have insulated it, layed down some garage floor epoxy, and installed some E-Track. I think the only thing left today right now is to load it up with all of my belongings and move to MN.

On a side note, I need to travel with a motorcycle in the bed of my truck and the tail gate down slightly. I would like to keep the trailer jack as far away from my tailgate as possible. My thoughts are to use a slightly lower ball mount, or use a hitch extender. I suppose I could also take the jack off and by a different one. Any ideas?

I will add a link to some pics here shortly.

Thanks for your help getting me this far,
Erik

Hi Erik,
I sounds like you are off and going ... insulation is in (you will not be sorry _ a tin can without insulation is noisy, wet inside from condensation, and either cold or hot) and I am guessing the garage floor epoxy was to seal the trailer floor ... How did that work; I am still trying to figure out what to use there in my CT Conversion? I just did the same thing and moved from AZ to MN ...where in MN did you move to?

Be careful with the tailgate down ... I have a real short trailer tongue and if my tailgate is down, even a little, it will bump the jack. My jack is welded in and I am stuck with it as it is.

[Erikh425]

After measuring several times I think that I can get my bike in the bed of my truck and get the tailgate up most of the way. I inverted my ball which dropped the front of the trailer about an inch and a half as well. I can also remove the jack since it is just held on with bolts. I figure the trailer will be harder to steal off of my truck if the jack is locked inside the trailer

I looked into a hitch extension, but they reduce the tongue weight capacity by 50%, so that is not going to work. I really don't need the whole thing crashing to the ground.

So far I like the epoxy for the floor. It was fairly easy to put down and seems pretty tough. I did not lay down a primer first, so much of it soaked into the wood. I think that is good for sealing the wood, and it did not leave me with a smooth slippery surface. I also added some of the grit additive for more traction because I have had a slippery garage floor and it was horrible.

I am in the process of moving back to Duluth. I will be leaving here next Saturday to make the trek north.

[Erikh425]

I believe I solved my problem with the tailgate hitting the jack. While going through my workshop I found my weight distribution hitch. This allows me to move the hitch down an inch and puts it back about 2 inches. I will still probably remove the jack to be safe, but I now have room to breathe I guess. Now if I can find the torsion bars and the chain mounts I suppose I can mount the whole darn thing.

E

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Hi E,
Thanks for the tips on the gen rack ... I thought you might have made something tricky like roller-sliders (a thoughtful idea), but I do not know if they would hold up to the pounding of some of the roads one might take ... (Hmmm, I-40 can shake the daylights of TV and CT!

It sounds like the Jack/Tailgate prob is being solved ... good going

I am not sure I want to raise my propane bottle and battery above the gen or vise versa and will probably continue to drag it out of the TV for a while... Hmmm, maybe an aft, outside trailer rack would work ... I'll give that some thought

My next additions will be the Murphy cots and an awning ... 2 necessities (for me anyway) ..