Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[theWolfTamer]

Having a small trailer gives you a feeling of Freedom ... King of the Road , wind in your face sorta’ thing ... to go anywhere, see everything , not having to depend on a motel for your rest (or pay the big bucks ) .. Kinda’ like the Harley guys except we have a Nice bed to sleep in ... ...and the wet bar is much Cheaper ...

My hope is to combine both but without the darned Harley! I'm hoping to make something to tow behind me while I do stuff like this


So I can stop doing this


Bike handles like crap when loaded like that. Most of my riding/camping is in the mountains so there's no way to avoid it. Lodging up there is often more than what you'd find next to the slab (interstate). Now I'm trying to figure out a slide out single wheel design. Something I could pull out with minimal setup. I've been doing a lot of research and have revised the image in my mind about 10,000 times since I first posted.

[GPW]

WT, still can’t imagine how a single wheeler would work ... Got any sketches ?

[theWolfTamer]

Nope. I can't draw for sh--um crap. However use this type of trailer chassis:


Add the body of choice? This is the final built on that frame.


Here's one that's a cargo trailer (I think)


There are tons of cargo one wheeled ones, but no camping trailers.


A guy on one of the motorcycle forums I am a member of came up with a two wheel design. Turns out he's a member here too. Here's his thread: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=46688. It's the only hardsided camper trailer I can find for a motorcycle. A while back he offered the plans for some small price as long as when you built it you advertised for him or something like that.

I like his idea however I've seen two wheeled trailers on motorcycles in action on the kinds of roads I ride. They spend as much time on one wheel as two which is why I like the one wheel design. I probably won't be doing this:


But it'd be nice to know I could. Now I can't find of pic of what I've seen only this


Which doesn't show how much more unstable that looks to be. The pull behind pop-up trailers weigh around 500 lbs. After doing some research, my single wheeled version would have to be closer to 300 lbs or below. The bonus would be if I could make it so that it stretches similar to the way Papa Yolk's does. So I'm talking about a small weekender type on a single wheel chassis that may be able to stretch for sleeping.

[Wolffarmer]

I also belong to the International Brotherhood of Motorcycle Campers. A bunch of them pull those camping trailers and yes some of them are rather large and heavy. Some people pull the same ones behind small cars. Our website is IBMC.org. I bet the IBM Corporation hates us.



But I have seen some smaller ones also. And some very light cargo trailers. I have yet to see a single wheel trailer though.

Randy

[Wobbly Wheels]

A couple thoughts as I read your thread wolftamer...

First, there's a fella online (Croatian ?) that did a comparatively HUGE trailer to tow behind his touring bike. I'm not suggesting that's what you're looking for, but he built with styro and epoxy/glass to keep the weight of a big trailer within the bike's power to pull it.

Secondly, I would seriously consider KC Studly's Poet Creek Express build here. I think the pintle hitch he fabbed up would be a great way to get the heel angle you're looking for in a single wheel trailer, but with two wheels on the road. That would simplify your build considerably by eliminating the need for a slide-out over a single wheel.
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=48630

[atahoekid]

This may be the build that WW is talking about. I like the concept although I think you could do something a bit smaller and therefore easier to pull. I'm not a bike person but the idea is intriguing. Here's the website. http://www.goldbrand.info/motorcykelhusvagn2.html

[theWolfTamer]

A couple thoughts as I read your thread wolftamer...

First, there's a fella online (Croatian ?) that did a comparatively HUGE trailer to tow behind his touring bike. I'm not suggesting that's what you're looking for, but he built with styro and epoxy/glass to keep the weight of a big trailer within the bike's power to pull it.

Secondly, I would seriously consider KC Studly's Poet Creek Express build here. I think the pintle hitch he fabbed up would be a great way to get the heel angle you're looking for in a single wheel trailer, but with two wheels on the road. That would simplify your build considerably by eliminating the need for a slide-out over a single wheel.
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=48630

I've seen that thing. It is gargantuan and looks bigger than my bike!


That's something that I'd be too scared to try to pull with my sport bike. Anyway, I figure if one can make a trailer go up, one should be able to make it go out. I've been following KC Studly's trailer build with great interest and will like go with some kind of knuckled hitch. That all depends on my "moto" hubby and if I can convince him to build the trailer. I've been bombarding him with emails regarding this and the cargo trailer he's building. I think I've sent him this pic which is what I'd like to do for the connection to the bike:

This may be the build that WW is talking about. I like the concept although I think you could do something a bit smaller and therefore easier to pull. I'm not a bike person but the idea is intriguing. Here's the website. http://www.goldbrand.info/motorcykelhusvagn2.html

I think a lot smaller which is what made me reflect on Papa Yolk's Spud and it's stretchability. It'll either be that or something that can fold out. I'm leaning towards the stretching due to the ease of setup. I have this idea with a scissor jack type mechanism placed horizontally to allow for extending the trailer. For the body, I think some kind of nesting design so it will stay waterproof.

ETA: I can't draw but I can chop some pics. not well, but chopped.

Photochopped image of what I think I want

MotoCamper.jpg (20.84 KiB) Viewed 3117 times

[GPW]

Thinking a two wheeler would be so much more Stable ...

[KCStudly]

Unlike the typical off road style swivel coupler u-joint, it appears that the motorcycle unit shown only articulates in 2 directions. Both yokes are fixed, neither pivots; thus when the bike tilts so does the trailer. Seems to me that there could be some binding under certain conditions, but I guess it would be minimal because when you are turning tightly you are going slowly and are not leaning much if at all, and when you are going faster and are leaning more you would not be turning as much.

I still like my hitch, but it occurred to me that I might have been able to get there quicker if I had used a trailer axle spindle, a couple of PTO yokes, and a standard u-joint from the Tractor Store. Wouldn't have looked as sleek, but would have required a lot less machine work.

[theWolfTamer]

I've done my research and I'm convinced for my type of motorcycle a single wheel trailer is best. What I'm not convinced of is if a single wheel camper is even feasible. I'll start with the chassis and mount something to it that's as wide as the trailer will be with some ballast and do some test rides. If it's stable then I'll build the camper, if not I'll make it a cargo trailer and buy a new tent (my old one blew away last month when I was airing it out).

I don't know if you could tell, but in the pic I posted of the bike pulling the two wheeled trailer the bike was doing one thing and the trailer another. I don't want to be while pulling the trailer. If I am, I won't use it. Once my friend finishes his one wheel trailer, I'll have a better idea if what I want to do is possible, if it isn't then I won't bother building the motocamper and work on a conversion for my Red Wagon instead. In that case I'll forget all about the single wheeled motocamper and leave that idea for someone with far more knowledge than me.

[KCStudly]

You will need to look very carefully at your width vs. height above ground vs. lean angle.

Those little single wheel MC cargo trailers only work because they do not limit lean angles and have a low center of gravity. A sleeper will be wider than the bike and in order to not touch down, will need to either be much higher, affecting handling of the bike more, or will need to have two wheels so that the bike can still tilt while the trailer stays (close to) level.

No matter what you do for a trailer, it is my feeling that you will still suffer a performance loss, most likely greater than that when strapping your gear to the bike.

On my Sportster there is a noticeable performance difference with my wife on the back. I can even notice a difference when the gas tank is full or near empty. Cool night air makes more power than hot daytime air, it's that noticeable on a bike. I can only imagine the difference when towing a trailer, regardless of the weight or wheel configuration.

I'm not saying it can't be done, and I'm not saying you shouldn't try to do it, but please do be careful. Having ridden for many years I know how even something small, like touching a peg or exhaust down in a turn can upset a bike (all of the chrome is scrapped off of the weld seam on the underside of my muffler can and I have learned that I can not lean as far to the right as I can to the left... muffler is lower than peg and doesn't fold like the peg does).

There is a very small Weekender style MC trailer being built somewhere on this site with a slide or fold out foot space. Can't remember the name at the moment but the guy used the axle of of his BBQ smoker trailer. Maybe someone else will remember.

[theWolfTamer]

On my FZ1, the difference is more in handling than performance. I'm not giving up on the idea just yet but I am re-thinking the design. Worse case scenario? A Tent Cot on top of a cargo trailer.

My problem is the K.I.S.S. principle. I want the motocamper to follow that but the more I learn the more I realize what I want is not simple.

[pete42]

somewhere on here is a motorcycle trailer that slides apart small when folded and long and comfy when extended
I believe it is two wheeled but who ever built it did a great job very smart thinking design.

pete

[theWolfTamer]

So I consulted with my riding friend who's building his own single wheel trailer and took some of your suggestions. I decided I need to focus on something that's small with hard walls. Next I gave up on learning the CAD software in favor of something I know how to use: LibreDraw. So now I have of sorts. Stick pictures anyway of what I have in mind so it's easier to express.

MotoCamper3.png (11.76 KiB) Viewed 2605 times

MotoCamper3_Lifttop.png (16.01 KiB) Viewed 2605 times

MotoCamper3_platform.png (15.47 KiB) Viewed 2605 times

That's what I got so far. My friend understands what I mean so he'll build the chassis. Note: there should be more stands than pictured. I still need to work on the folding sides idea.

[GPW]

WT, please forgive me , but I can’t seem to understand how that’s going to be stable ...being towed ... And it would seem there would be a good deal of stress on the attachment to the MC... I dunno’, maybe you could explain it ...

Current news: with the onset of yet another Hurricane season less than a month away , the importance of the little Foamie trailer for EVAC grows exponentially ... Wish I had a bigger one , but this will have to do for now ... Making the list ... checking it twice ... stocking up on Hubigs pies ... Here we go again ...