[JRRKAR]

I'm working on a way to be able load and secure two bikes in a horse trailer. Obvioulsy for the front you can hook the tie-downs around the handlebars. But what about on the back end? On my wifes bike we put on a solo seat and took off the rear peg brackets. Is there any other good places that I can secure the tie-downs? And on my bike I have a swing arm bag so I can't get to the rear left peg bracket either.

We're looking at another horse trailer for us and I would like to be able to haul the horses and switch over for the bikes instead of buying two trailers.

I never hauled a bike before so any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[strykenshane]

What I do is use two straps and run them both thru the rear wheel and hook the 2 hooks together on the outside of the tire

 

[JRRKAR]

Shane,

Am I correct in saying with this method the straps almost on the ground on the rear tire? I guess this would keep the rear wheel from moving left-right. I guess I was thinking the straps needed to be up higher so some downward force would hold the frame down as well. The front on the triple tree would hold the front of the frame down.

 

[ROADKILL]

1.) Get a set of wheel chocks. 2.) Don't hook tie downs to handlbars use the lower triple tree. 3.) The front tie downs should pull forward and down 4.) Don't over compress the fork tubes (can damage fork seals) 5.) Make sure the bike is upright not on the stand (that can damage the stand) 6.) If there isn't a good spot to attach tie downs to the rear then you can use the wheel as mentioned earlier.
After tightening the straps try to rock the bike back and forth if it doesn't move you've got it right...again don't over tighten the straps.....also get a set of soft ties to hook the straps to on the bike......Make sure that what ever you use for a ramp is secured to the trailer to avoid it kicking out.

 

[Bill L]

As ROADKILL stated, DO NOT USE THE HANDLE BARS to tie the bike down, use the lower triple tree. My Raider was delivered to me with damage to upper triple tree and the handle bars, $1,725.00 in damage and labor to fix. Still waiting to get the bike back.

 

[JRRKAR]

Thanks. After I typed handlebars I meant to say the triple tree. Right now I am trying to figure out the best configuration of horse trailer that I can still get two bikes side-by-side. I will plan on getting a ramp connected to the horse trailer so that should not be an issue.

If we get the trailer I am planning to hit the Stryker Rally!

 

[J4patrice]

Thanks. After I typed handlebars I meant to say the triple tree. Right now I am trying to figure out the best configuration of horse trailer that I can still get two bikes side-by-side. I will plan on getting a ramp connected to the horse trailer so that should not be an issue.

If we get the trailer I am planning to hit the Stryker Rally!

You should just ride the bikes down to Maggie Valley. We are riding out from Illinois which is about 675 miles for us.

 

[ROADKILL]

Thanks. After I typed handlebars I meant to say the triple tree. Right now I am trying to figure out the best configuration of horse trailer that I can still get two bikes side-by-side. I will plan on getting a ramp connected to the horse trailer so that should not be an issue.

If we get the trailer I am planning to hit the Stryker Rally!

I don't know anything about horse trailers....but if the trailer is long enough you could load the bikes staggered....load first bike all the way to the front - second bike half the distance of the first....I have a 6x10 v-nose enclosed trailer that I haul my Raider in - it would be a squeeze to get a second bike in there unless it was perhaps a sport bike.

 

[JRRKAR]

The trailers we are looking at are called living quarters horse trailers. It is basically an RV in the front and horse trailer in the rear. So it would be both a trailer and camper. The length isn't a real problem becasue we are looking at a three horse trailer, it is the width that is the problem. Most of these type of trailers have mangers for the horses. This is basicaly a shelf in front of the horse that you can put the hay on, but on the outside of the trailer the area below the mangers is storage. So ideally we can find a three horse trailer without mangers. This would give us about 7' wide by 15' long. With the mangers you loose about 22". So with the mangers the available width is about 5'-4", which is really too tight for two bikes. Now you can go to a 4 horse trailer for extra length, but this also add's length to the price and overall size. What we need is out there, it is just finding a good used one in this configuration. But we have time to keep looking.

Patrice - I don't think I could get my wife to go that far on a bike...just to get to the point that we ant to ride. She was maxed with a 10 hour truck ride to Michigan.

 

[strykenshane]

Is their a reason you want a horse trailer? I mean, are you really gonna haul horses? If so disregard, if not maybe you should look for a toy hauler. You can get those with living quarters as well.

 

[ROADKILL]

Sounds like the one without mangers would do the trick....what is the length of the stall?

 

[JRRKAR]

Shane - I tried to teach our youngest girl how to get into the stairs of the RV but she couldn't get all four legs into it.

Yes...horses are one of my wife's hobbies and we haul them a good bit. Right now we have a standard three horse trailer. I was actually looking to just get an enclosed trailer for the bikes and we also talked about getting an RV down the road. So we did look at toy haulers. For the price of them and only having the one use I just couldn't justify the cost. Then we thought we could get a living quarters horse trailer and use it as a dual purpose. Plus the horse trailers are built a lot stronger than the toy haulers for a similar price. After talking to a lot of trailer dealers this dual purpose is fairly common. You just have to make sure what you want to haul will fit.

Roadkill - Most of these trailers are slant load...meaning the horses are standing at an angle relative to the front of the trailer. But for a three horse trailer the box is about 15' long. One without mangers would be the best, but when you go with the living quarters the norm is to have mangers for added storage space.

 

[strykenshane]

That's a beautiful animal

 

[JRRKAR]

Thanks. This one is very special. She is just overflowing with natural talent. She is only 2 (which is a baby in the horse show world) and we were placing very high with a lot of aged horses and trainers at a very large show in October. So afraid to say we will be doing a lot more horse shows this coming year.

 

[acepilot2007]

just want to throw in a random point. Don't use the canyon dancer tie down if you have the Kuryakyn iso grips. The grips will bend down on the ends. I learned the hard way.

 

[chillerwhale]

http://www.discountramps.com/baxley...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CJvku-eq87MCFSFyQgodNEsA1Q

I used these when I was racing and never had a single issue with my bikes tipping in the trailer. This style locks in place once the bike is rolled onto it and it would take A LOT of force to knock a bike over. The real benefit is that you have to put almost no pressure on the forks.

 

[LandShark]

This is too funny to me b/c I got a three horse trailer so that when my wife is showing (she shows two horses at a time, different classes though) I still have my bike to go where ever I want whenever I want without having to drop the trailer. It's a great convenience. Just had to share, sorry...

 

[Axorr]

http://www.discountramps.com/baxley...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CJvku-eq87MCFSFyQgodNEsA1Q

I used these when I was racing and never had a single issue with my bikes tipping in the trailer. This style locks in place once the bike is rolled onto it and it would take A LOT of force to knock a bike over. The real benefit is that you have to put almost no pressure on the forks.

Unfortunately, the model shown won't be secure with the Stryker's 21" front wheel. We need BIGGER guns!

 

[JRRKAR]

LandShark - I guess we are in very similar situations. Except at horse shows I am either helping run the shows or the show photographer. That is too funny!

 

[ROADKILL]

http://www.discountramps.com/baxley...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CJvku-eq87MCFSFyQgodNEsA1Q

I used these when I was racing and never had a single issue with my bikes tipping in the trailer. This style locks in place once the bike is rolled onto it and it would take A LOT of force to knock a bike over. The real benefit is that you have to put almost no pressure on the forks.

Unfortunately, the model shown won't be secure with the Stryker's 21" front wheel. We need BIGGER guns!

This is the one I use