Modern Vespa

I'm wanting to buy a trailer to haul my two Vespa's around...does anyone have any suggestions on what type is best...I was looking at a 3 rail rig that people use to haul dirt bikes...help!!

The best trailer is a truck, but if you're not in the mood to buy a crappy truck strictly for hauling scooters, I'd recommend some sort of flat bed type trailer. The problem with those "rail" type trailers is that you'll need to tie down your scoot from four points to make sure the rear tire doesn't bounce off the rail. With a flat bed type, you can just tie down the bikes from the handlebars.

4'X8' Flat bed utility trailor is normally cheaper than the three rail type.

Or you could borrow your friends white horse trailor. Just pick up some wheel chocks and some straps..
Lucky~

Yeah, because all people in montana have horse trailers. This reminds me of that stupid mini van commercial for the Montana mini van. I can picture it now, a bunch of cowboys galloping alongside a minivan, jumping in and safely strapping themselves in with the seat belt. Just like in the real world.

Well at least I pay attn to where people are posting from...

Not all people! you dont think this person has a friend that has a Horse Trailor?

Plus I bet you could get a good price on a Horse Trailor in Montana...

Well with that logic I bet he's also a Montana Freeman, or whatever those wackos are. We should ban him just to make sure.

I got mine from sportutilitytrailers.com I will be putting it together this weekend and once completed I post some pictures

I have a 5 x 8 utility trailer that I have been hauling my scoots all over the southeast USA behind my motorhome. It works great and you can use the trailer for a lot more than just hauling the scoots.

Check out this little red number:

http://www.carsontrailer.com/subs/trailers/cargo/carson_enclosed/carson_enclosed.html

It's nice and wide and plenty long; in fact, I'm thinking of buying one to haul behind my motorhome, when I get it! I'm going to get the one that's 7' wide and 8' long to haul our 2 MP3's.

I have a "trailer in a bag" (no joke, that's the name)....set up for 2 scoots. It assembles/dissassembles in 5-10 minutes....and yes, you can literally throw it in the truck of a car.

I had some problems with a 4x10 flatbed trailer that i rented from UHaul to trailer my LX150 from San Jose to Amerivespa a few months ago. It bounced around so much that all the fluid splashed out of my battery (plus a few bolts shook loose, like the ones holding the seat on)!! Could just be that the trailer was crappy or not well maintained. But next time I haul my scoot I will find something shorter and less bouncy!

I also used those tie-down straps to hold it in the bed, and when I got back home I noticed that there are marks (a dulling of the shiny surface of the paint) across the front of the legshield where the straps touched the paint. Too bad Jettin doesn't have bar-ends for LX's. Guess I'll get a canyon dancer strap for next time, too.

-Dan

Keep in mind that Uhaul trailers are built to be abused. A trailer of that size is rated to haul approximately 1650 lbs. It is probably built to withstand about twice that weight (Uhaul knows and understands that it equipment is abused). An LX weighs in at about 250 lbs I think. No wonder the thing got bounced apart!

Dave

Yeah, good point. What annoyed me was that I called them specifically asking for a Motorcycle trailer, and they said "yes, we have trailers made to haul motorcycles". But what they really had were these oversized flatbed trailers. Oh well, it got me there and back, and it was cheap -- $15 a day, unlimited mileage. (Plus $60 for a new battery).

I've been pleased with my Kendon folding trailer. They make a double, too.



http://www.kendonusa.com

Kevin

Well thats a really high end Scooter Hauler.
You should be tickled with it..

Love it. Got it used on craigslist -- kinda pricey new. As I live in the city with very limited space the fold-up feature was key. I can keep it on my tiny patio behind my rowhouse.

And I pull it with an under-powered Honda Element, so it had to be pretty light. I'm limited to a Class I hitch.

Kevin

Doc,
I've been looking at that trailer. I went to a local Harbor Freight retail store and realized that the Vespa has a fairly long wheelbase and I couldn't get away with the mini trailers. I would have to go for the folding 8 footer which even folded is still substantial.

The Kendon although beautiful is half the price of my scooter....So the trailer in a bag is looking like a good choice. My only concern is the trailer wheels. I've been warned that the smaller wheels are like the spare car donut tires....which after a while at high speed will fail.

So....can you take it at a steady 65mph for at least a 2 to 4 hour drive?

Thanks..

Doug

Hi folks - my first post here. I've been lurking for a month or so, picking up some excelellent information. Guess it's my turn to share.

My husband and I have a 5x8 utility trailer with 15 inch wheels that we bought at a trailer store. If I remember correctly, the wheels on the the trailers at places like Lowe's and Home Depot are smaller. Anyhow, we use ours to haul two LX 150s both around town and on extended hightway trips. No problems whatsoever, though my husband noticed he needs a bit more braking distance.

One thing to be aware of is that the load should be balanced so that the tongue weight is about 10% of the total weight of the loaded trailer. You can use a bathroom scale to check. This seems to be something that a lot of folks are unaware of, because we've seen many trailers with the load pushed all the way to the front end, which when we loaded ours that way, made the tongue way too heavy. We had to shift it back about 18". Made a huge difference.

If we had it all to do over again, the only change we would make is to spend a bit more and get an aluminum trailer. Cuts the weight almost in half. If we keep the trailer we have, we will add a transmission cooling kit to our vehicle, as that is where towing takes its heaviest toll.

Here is a link to some good information on towing: http://www.etrailer.com/faq_trailertowtips.aspx

I only need a trailer once a year or so. If I cant borrow one, I just rent one from Uhaul. if it is just a weekend, it is about $100. Much cheaper than buying one for $700+, and I dont have to store it anywhere.

One of these days im going to get off my ass, use the trusty MIG, and make one that I can hang on the wall in the garage, and isnt wimpy like most of those mailorder ones.

Also, that Kendon trailer is stupid expensive. $2300 for a tandem? thats rediculous.

This Podium trailers is one of the nicest ones I have seen. I love the fact you can easily just ride up on it...

Welcome. Great first post, thank you!

It does look like a great trailer. According to WebBikeWorld it retails for about $3000. Ouch. That makes the Kendon look inexpensive.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-accessories/2006/page-5.htm

More trailer info here:
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-trailer/

Kevin