Motorcycle trailer behind a car?

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I've seen a few people towing small trailers designed for towing behind a large motorcycle, behind their car, one guy I talked to said he could dubble his cargo carrying capasity with his TDI.
so to get some dirt for the gardon, I deliverd our trailer (empty) with my civic VX, the trailer is a bit of a beater, of course it looks just like the day we got it 20+ years ago, I suspect it weights over 800 pounds, so towing it with my car was about as much as I would want to handle, even more so because the trailer has wide tires, poor alinment, and a likes to bounce, but I was rather impressed as I had never towed a trailer with a compact car befor.
Motorcycle trailers on the other hand, seem to be well designed for alot of uses that someone might use a truck for, hauling tools, camping gear, or any other reasonably light personal belongings, they are also narrow, have narrow low rolling resistance tires, are light weight, and streemlined, ones I've looked at also have rubber springs that dubble as dampeners, to prevent bouncing around on the road, because when you are towing something on a motorcycle you want to be able to stay in controle, same with a light car, but with a car you have even more weight and traction at your disposale.

[GasSavers_Lincoln]

I looked into this a while back. Motorcycle trailers seem to work really well behind small cars. I know several Fiero owners who use them. When I was looking at the beginning of the year I couldn’t find a used one that was in my budget.

I ended up getting a Hitch Haul cargo carrier.

[QDM]

The little Chinese trailers sold at Harbor Freight work well. I use one to tow a motorcycle or my ultralight behind my Suzuki Swift.

Q

[Bill in Houston]

Another vote for the Harbor Freight trailer. I do not have one but they are popular on the Element group I am on. The E only has a 1500 lb towing capacity, so they are sensitive about weight...

[Gary Palmer]

Ryland: As far as a trailer is concerned, their are a couple of things you should do, or be aware of, which might help with the old trailer you have, as well as with the new one.

You need to make sure that you have a little more weight on the front of the trailer than on the back. If you have 50 lbs at the tonque, where it mounts on the ball, then the trailer will tow well and behave itself. If you end up with less weight than that, then as your going down the road the trailer ends up wagging the dog, so to speak and it can become pretty difficult to control.

The trailer wagging is more prominent over about 45mph and it can get pretty nasty at 70-80mph. Unfortunately, although you can fix this issue by getting the balance in the trailer correct, insurance companies and auto manufacturers choose to say that you need to have a heavier vehicle to tow with, than what you are towing. That's also why Uhaul has a maximum tow speed of 45, even though nobody abides by it.

If you get the weight on the tonque set up properly, the trailer will probably tow just fine. You can certainly tow a lighter trailer, like a small utility trailer from Harbor Freight, or for a motorcycle, just fine, also.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Gary Palmer

If you have 50 lbs at the tonque, where it mounts on the ball, then the trailer will tow well and behave itself.

Ya, I have heard a rule of thumb something like tongue weight should be 10% of overall loaded trailer weight.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

I don't think I personaly need a trailer right now, I fit all kinds of things in my hatch back, but every once in a while I do wish I had one, I just thought I would bring it up in case anyone else on here was trying to figure out how to haul more stuff.
bicycle/moped trailers are on my list of things to make tho, a friend wants a bike/moped trailer that can be used to haul large items, like couches and lumber.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Ryland

bicycle/moped trailers are on my list of things to make tho, a friend wants a bike/moped trailer that can be used to haul large items, like couches and lumber.

I think that he might be able to haul them okay. It would be the stopping and turning that I would be concerned about...