Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
*I was going to post this in the Motorcycle section but it's really more of a "vehicle" than a "motorcycle" question.*
I'm seeking in put and experience (mostly experience) from those of you who might have done what I'm thinking of.
Wife and I camp a lot in Summer. We have a ~20' travel trailer (RPod 179) that we take all over the West. We've been everywhere from South Dakota to Wyoming to South Texas to Arizona and Nevada.
I'm also a motorcycle rider (wife used to ride but can't anymore due to medical issues.) Up until now the only way we've ever been able to combine these two activities has been when we are camping relatively close to home (Denver) and the wife drives the truck pulling the camper while I ride up on my bike. My motorcycles have always been heavy road bikes so taking them along was not an option.
But just recently I got a 200cc dual sport motorcycle (IOW a dirt bike that is plated and street legal.) It is small and only weighs about 250lbs (bike is a Suzuki DR200SE.)
So now I'm thinking about trying to figure a way to take the bike along with us on our trips. That way, my wife could fish (which I don't enjoy) or just take a nap and I could go for a motorcycle ride.
Normally the solution would be the carry the bike in the bed of the tow vehicle. However, my F-150 has a topper on it that I don't want to take off (we carry a lot of stuff in the truck including two folding electric bicycles.) So the bed of the truck is not an option.
The tongue of the trailer would be my next thought but currently it has 2 x 20lb propane tanks and 2 x 6v batteries. I think I'm really pushing it in terms of what I can put on this relatively lightweight trailer frame. At the back of the trailer, same issue: The factory bumper is small and flimsy, no way would it hold a 250lb motorcycle without serious (and expensive) reinforcement.
So the only option left, it seems, would be to carry the bike on the FRONT of the tow vehicle. I do know that I can get a front receiver for the F-150. It would require removing the rubber air dam but otherwise would be a straight bolt-on. From there I could use a single-bike carrier to carry the DR200.
For reference, tow vehicle is a 2018 F-150 with the 3.5 EB/10 speed trans/3.31 gears and 7000# payload capacity.
I guess what I'm saying here is that I know that I CAN do this.
The question I'm asking is: Who here has done it, and would you do it again? My biggest concerns are
(1) Will this impede the flow of air to cool the engine and turbochargers? If so, is there any way to mitigate this?
(2) Is hanging ~325lbs off the front end [250lb bike + 75lb carrier] likely to cause wear, handling or steering issues and if so is there any way to mitigate this?
I'm thinking of trucks with big aftermarket bumpers and winches hanging off the front end - they must be pushing 300lbs additional weight, right?
and finally
(3) Assuming this will seriously interfere with the headlights I'd most likely have to limit my driving to daytime, right? I don't know of any auxiliary lights I can mount that would be legal to use on the highway.
As I said, what I'm really looking for here is those who have experience doing this, and whether it is even going to be worth the trouble. Eventually we'll move up to a bigger travel trailer (after I retire) and when we do I'll make sure the trailer is robust enough to haul a motorcycle. But until then, all we have is the RPod which I think is carrying as much weight as it reasonably can and I don't want to risk a frame failure by adding more.
Thanks for any input/advice!
EDITED TO ADD: Gotta add a picture of the bike!
I'm seeking in put and experience (mostly experience) from those of you who might have done what I'm thinking of.
Wife and I camp a lot in Summer. We have a ~20' travel trailer (RPod 179) that we take all over the West. We've been everywhere from South Dakota to Wyoming to South Texas to Arizona and Nevada.
I'm also a motorcycle rider (wife used to ride but can't anymore due to medical issues.) Up until now the only way we've ever been able to combine these two activities has been when we are camping relatively close to home (Denver) and the wife drives the truck pulling the camper while I ride up on my bike. My motorcycles have always been heavy road bikes so taking them along was not an option.
But just recently I got a 200cc dual sport motorcycle (IOW a dirt bike that is plated and street legal.) It is small and only weighs about 250lbs (bike is a Suzuki DR200SE.)
So now I'm thinking about trying to figure a way to take the bike along with us on our trips. That way, my wife could fish (which I don't enjoy) or just take a nap and I could go for a motorcycle ride.
Normally the solution would be the carry the bike in the bed of the tow vehicle. However, my F-150 has a topper on it that I don't want to take off (we carry a lot of stuff in the truck including two folding electric bicycles.) So the bed of the truck is not an option.
The tongue of the trailer would be my next thought but currently it has 2 x 20lb propane tanks and 2 x 6v batteries. I think I'm really pushing it in terms of what I can put on this relatively lightweight trailer frame. At the back of the trailer, same issue: The factory bumper is small and flimsy, no way would it hold a 250lb motorcycle without serious (and expensive) reinforcement.
So the only option left, it seems, would be to carry the bike on the FRONT of the tow vehicle. I do know that I can get a front receiver for the F-150. It would require removing the rubber air dam but otherwise would be a straight bolt-on. From there I could use a single-bike carrier to carry the DR200.
For reference, tow vehicle is a 2018 F-150 with the 3.5 EB/10 speed trans/3.31 gears and 7000# payload capacity.
I guess what I'm saying here is that I know that I CAN do this.
The question I'm asking is: Who here has done it, and would you do it again? My biggest concerns are
(1) Will this impede the flow of air to cool the engine and turbochargers? If so, is there any way to mitigate this?
(2) Is hanging ~325lbs off the front end [250lb bike + 75lb carrier] likely to cause wear, handling or steering issues and if so is there any way to mitigate this?
I'm thinking of trucks with big aftermarket bumpers and winches hanging off the front end - they must be pushing 300lbs additional weight, right?
and finally
(3) Assuming this will seriously interfere with the headlights I'd most likely have to limit my driving to daytime, right? I don't know of any auxiliary lights I can mount that would be legal to use on the highway.
As I said, what I'm really looking for here is those who have experience doing this, and whether it is even going to be worth the trouble. Eventually we'll move up to a bigger travel trailer (after I retire) and when we do I'll make sure the trailer is robust enough to haul a motorcycle. But until then, all we have is the RPod which I think is carrying as much weight as it reasonably can and I don't want to risk a frame failure by adding more.
Thanks for any input/advice!
EDITED TO ADD: Gotta add a picture of the bike!
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