my new bike trailer

[slimtrader]

I just got my trailer finished, maybe a few finishing touches left. I bought the trailer for $40 and then modified it to make it longer, added a diamond plate floor, and a boot to hold the front tire. Add $60 for the boot, $50-$60 for diamond plate and metal tubing, and $30 for the spare tire.

I need to road test it next to make sure it still pulls straight and rides good. I wanted a small trailer for pulling the big blue pig behind the VW Jetta instead of always taking the truck. The trailer is really light, probably under 200lbs. Strap a toolbox and cooler to it and I'll be ready for Arkansas!

[safiri]

Looks good. Very nice.

You probably already know this .. but tie down the rear wheel so it can't bounce/walk to the side.

MoRidin pulls a small trailer behind his little subcompact (Hyundai?) with no issues.

[MoRidin]

Mike, you are spot on...it is a Hyundai Elantra GT with a 5 speed. With one bike and the cruise set at 70, I get right around 31-32. With two dudes, bikes and the car stuffed with gear, it gets about 28-29. I can pull any hill in 5th and it holds 70+ no matter where I go.

Car towing has allowed me to do so much more riding as I don't feel guilty wasting so much at the pump. My Durango and toy hauler was getting around 9-10 mpg and that is just insane. A weekend trip to AR was going to $250...my wife was starting to notice...so this made sense, plus I REALLY like this car.

Details are here:

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=207867&hl=rig

[slimtrader]

Thumbs up on tieing down the rear wheel. I mounted rings to the floor just for that purpose.

The Jetta is a diesel and gets over 40mpg combined city/highway so I'm curious to see what it will be towing. Pleanty of torque for the hills too.

[safiri]

Thumbs up on tieing down the rear wheel. I mounted rings to the floor just for that purpose.

The Jetta is a diesel and gets over 40mpg combined city/highway so I'm curious to see what it will be towing. Pleanty of torque for the hills too.

What year?

A friend has an early 2000 (2001?) that he has chipped. Commuting btw Prairie Village and Atchison KS last year he got a consistent 49 (yep, almost 50) mpg. He will be down in AR so you two ought to talk about mods to the TDI. BTW, VW went with a more powerful TDI mid 2000s that ruined the mileage advantage over gasoline.

[xr-nut]

two thoughts from experience with this kind of trailer setup: 1-a rubber bungee will hold the rear in place just fine, no need to strap the rear shock down and 2-get some greaseable caps for those wheel bearings and bring the grease gun~! see ya in arkie!

[slimtrader]

What year?

A friend has an early 2000 (2001?) that he has chipped. Commuting btw Prairie Village and Atchison KS last year he got a consistent 49 (yep, almost 50) mpg. He will be down in AR so you two ought to talk about mods to the TDI. BTW, VW went with a more powerful TDI mid 2000s that ruined the mileage advantage over gasoline.

06 Jetta, I may chip it in the future but I think my wife would just put her foot into it more and get worse mileage instead of better. It's her commuter car for work. It does have more HP over past TDI's but I'm still getting good mileage. I've gotten over 50mpg before, but that was driving under 65mph with a slight tailwind. It's hard to only drive 65 on the turnpike so I'll pay the difference.


xrnut-
I did grease the bearings good, do you think they will really need it again before I get back from AK?

[safiri]

I did grease the bearings good, do you think they will really need it again before I get back from AK?

Pull over after a half hour or so and check for heat buildup on the hubs. They will be cool to warm, but shouldn't be hot. If you can't touch them, then you have big problems. I make this a habit with every stop when pulling my trailer.

Those little wheels ARE going to be spinning really fast.

[xr-nut]

xrnut-
I did grease the bearings good, do you think they will really need it again before I get back from AK?

youre going to ALASKA?! i guess you meant AR?~! anyhow, i concur with safiri on the checking them at every stop(gas, food,etc) and they will prolly be warm to the touch. HOT to the touch is not good, but may not be fatal to the bearings. you just never really know, and having the caps on the bearings with zerks on them and a grease gun along, you can zap some in there if needed. personally i wouldnt worry about them if you haulin' a refig or oven or something like that, but your BIKE is on there!!! that makes me paranoid!!!!!

[KC]

That trailer is looking good, Mike! Too bad there is only room for 1 bike!

Dude, I wouldn't worry about your wheel bearings, plus you said that you have fresh grease in them. If a bearing starts throwing grease, it will be obvious on those pretty white rims! Those wheels look to be the same as all the jet ski trailers out there. Just think of all the Yuppies hauling their wave runners all over the United States at 75-80MPH. Most of them don't even know what a wheel bearing looks like. I don''t necessarily disagree with the previous posts; it is always a good idea to give your trailer and/or load a "once over" at every fill-up. Hey, here's an idea: If you want to split the cost of fuel, you could drive your jetta and trailer up in the back of my toy hauler. That way you wouldn't have to worry about your bearings!!

See you in Alaska ,
KC