5 X 8 trailers too small ?

[MTRHEAD]

I'm in the market for an enclosed trailer and I was thinking about going with a 5 x 8, mainly for parking space here at the house and now higher gas prices.

I'm mainly a lone ranger, so going up to a 6x10 seems like a waste, but I'm worried that a 5x8 will be too small if I find a friend.

What'a ya' think ? :confused:

[A-Tek]

I had one , 5 X 8 Pace. They will reduce mileage quite a bit or at least it did on my van with the 4.3 V6.

For just me it was OK but I would suggest at least a 5 X 10 with a front side door. If I took a buddy ( Randy ) it was a tight fit to get the 2nd bike in becasue it was so hard to get to the front of the trailer without a side door. If you go the extra 2 feet with the side door that will give room for another riders gear and let you get in front of the bikes to tie them in.

[Yamahauler]

I'd rather use your van than a 5 x 8. If I were going to get a new trailer with todays gas prices, I'd get a 6 x 12 v-nose Aluminum.

[jls]

I had a 6x10 when I was roadracing. It would be the smallest I would consider. 5 ft. is not wide enough IMO. I now have a 6x12 and am satisfied. But if I had to do it again, like 'hauler said, 6x12 v-nose would be my choice. I've got a buddy that has one. He can put 5 full size bikes in it. Regardless of what you get the side door is a necessity.

[MTRHEAD]

OK, I ordered a 6 x 12 x 6 V-nose Haulmark Monday. It's supposed to be in tomorrow, but I've got to drive a few hours to get it.

I'd like to have gone with an all aluminum, but I was having a hard time finding a dealer that even acted like they wanted to sell me one.

It's got a 32" side door, but I ended up going with barn doors on the back. After doing a little meassuring, I wasn't sure I had a long enough driveway to handle the ramp door.

Now I got to figure out how I'm going to set it all up. :)

[Dave.Smtih]

OK, I ordered a 6 x 12 x 6 V-nose Haulmark Monday. ...
Now I got to figure out how I'm going to set it all up. :)

That's the fun part.
What are you going to pull it with?

[MTRHEAD]

Yeah, really. I've been driving myself crazy with that, and I don't even have it yet.

I've got a Dakota qaud cab with a V-8. It's rated right at 300ft/lbs. of torque, so it should handle it on the pull side, but I'm not sure if it's going to jerk it around in wind or on braking. ????

[Dave.Smtih]

The Dakota isn't light so I'd guess towing will be pretty stable even in the wind. Electric brake components are pretty inexpensive now so you could always add them if stopping distance is an issue.

[MTRHEAD]

Well, after a 230 mile run on everything from 70+ mph Interstate with a mean head wind to twisty rural roads, the Dakota seemed to deal with it just fine. It actually felt like things loosened up after a while, or I did. It just seemed like it wanted to bounce around a little, but it went away. May have been the springs needed to loosen up a bit.

Wife says it's "cute". ?????

[rclark]

I have a 7x18 foot trailer that I setup for hauling 3 bikes. I haul two roadracing motorcycles and my daughters TTR125 to the track. I added cabinets and a workbench along the front and a closet opposite the side door. The first thing to do is add a roof vent with MaxAIR cover, (the cover allows you to leave the roof vent open all the time and not worry about rain). Next I insulated the ceiling (this will help keep the trailer much cooler), and finished it with a white lauan board. I added six 12V lights and a deep cycle battery to power them. You can never have enough light. I finished the floor with paint I found at Lowe's. It has a ruff texture and is resistant to oil and gas. Please email me if you have any questions, or would like me to send you pictures of my trailer. You can find the vent, MaxAir cover and lights at any RV store. Hope this helps. Thanks for the advise on the cold/wet weather riding gear.

[MTRHEAD]

Your welcome, and thank you.

I plan to insulate the roof, finish off with FRP sheet and install a roof vent with the Max air. I'm also thinking about pulling the wood off the sides and insulating them as well. I'll either paint the walls or finish with FRP.

I plan to paint the floor and install some sort of covering, but I'm not sure what I'm going to cover it with yet.

I've been drawing up a few different interior layouts, but I'm still not sure how I want to do it yet. I've been looking around at pictures of how the high end custom stuff is laid out to get some ideas.

[Yamahauler]

Your welcome, and thank you.

I plan to paint the floor and install some sort of covering, but I'm not sure what I'm going to cover it with yet.




Rhino-line it.

[MTRHEAD]

I've been thinking about something like that. Did you do yours ?

[Yamahauler]

No, but I thought about it. Actually, I'd like to Rhino-line my garage floor too. I don't know if that stuff will adhere to wood or concrete. It's probably cost prohibitive.

I did see a rhino-lined jeep once, pretty cool.

[MTRHEAD]

I've seen threads where a guy who sold it was pushing it.

I was watching a four drive show on TV a few weeks ago and they did a jeep frame in it.

Did you do anything with your floor ?

[Yamahauler]

No, unfortunately I was in a rush and only had time to get my wheel chocks installed before I got oil and gas on it. I figured I'd never get clean enough for anything to adhere now.

[stevequest2000]

I used duraliner on the floor of my box van. I followed the instructions to the T. I washed, then acetoned, then let it all dry, then scratched the finish with a wire wheel, then acetoned again, then applied 4 coats of the stuff. Not worth it to me if I had it to do over again. It actually stuck rather well to the wood(I ran it a couple inches up the side walls). The aluminum wheel covers is another story though, because it's flaking off. The actual steel bed seems to hold it rather well, but it is gouged off in just a couple spots from the ramp getting thrown in and out.
It's not at all as easy as they say it is on the box. I might suggest it for a wood floor though because any protection has to be better than just the raw wood. I think all the do-it-yourself liners are the same. My buddy did a frame with it with about the same results I had. He cringes at taking a chance power washing it.

[MTRHEAD]

I'm worried I'll end up in the same boat. The weather just isn't very good for painting right now and it's too tall to get in the garage. If I end up getting it to dirty to paint, I'll throw down some primer the best I can then I'll go with one of the rubber floor coverings.

I don't think I'll mess with any of the "do it yourself " bed linings. I haven't heard anything good about them.

[Yamahauler]

it's too tall to get in the garage.

I saw a trailer with casters on it on ebay. The guy would take the wheels off which lowered the trailer enough to get in the garage door and then use the casters to roll it around in his garage.

[MTRHEAD]

I can get ahold of some "trucks" that I could possible do that with, but I'm not even sure that would be low enough. I'll have to take some meassurments, but that's a good idea.

[RoostRider]

sounds like a lot of work to get that ready to tow.... better have some pretty strong casters too!!!

[MTRHEAD]

Actually, it's ready to tow the way it is, I'd just like to make it as nice as possible. I just screwed up and bought it to late in the year. If I'd bought it a month earlier most of this would be done, just because the weather would have been better for getting it ready.

[Don Marsh]

I just used oil based paint on the walls and a good epoxy paint on the floor,3 coats it has held up well. To clean I just use a hose and a brush although it have power washed it.
Check it out http://photobucket.com/albums/y215/DONMARSH/trailer/?
Don

[MTRHEAD]

Yeah, that's nice. The paint looks good. I wasn't sure about painting, but after seeing yours it looks like it will be fine. I like your set-up. Like the way you put the bike shoes in there sideways.

Is that a 7" wide trailer ?

[Don Marsh]

7'X16' with 6" extra height. The shoes hold four bikes and are mounted on a rail with 3 bolts to remove to put cots in.
Don

[JTT]

MTRHead, I put roll on/paint on (Hippoliner I think it was called) bed liner on my 6x10 floor. Just rolled it straight on over the plywood and it's held up great for the past 3 years. Couple of scratches from loading a chained ATV with plow, but even with that the coating is barely marked. Looks tidy and cleans up real well. Impervious to oil and gas too...and I've spilled plenty of gas on it :(

[MTRHEAD]

That's a neat idea Don. A cot is something I'm looking long and hard at.

Hippoliner, huh. I'll have to look into that.

[JTT]

It's sold by Canadian Tire up here, but I'm sure you could get it or something similar at any autoparts place. Even came with a little foam roller and brush.