Correct swivel for 2.5″ tongue
Question: I’m looking for a swivel coupler for the tongue of a trailer I’m making to pull behind my motorcycle. The tongue width is 2-1/2″ and the holes, center to center, are 2-1/2″. Which type swivel coupler on your web page will fit? I didn’t find any name of coupler on the original fixed coupler or tongue.
Answer: Those are the same dimensions as the Piggybacker unit on my site. You didn’t say what brand your trailer was but Harbor Freight trailers also use the same setup when the tongue is 2.5″ wide and the center-to-center is 2.5″.
This unit comes with spacers and a new coupler for the front. It has those extra pieces because the swivel units are designed to fit a 2″ square tongue and use a 2″ coupler on the front. The spacers make it fit snug in the tongue and the new coupler allows you to bolt it onto the front with the proper hardware, eliminating the possibility of binding that comes with trying to fit a 2.5″ coupler on the front.
If you happened to have a trailer with a 2.5″ tongue but the center holes were only 2.25″ center-to-center, then that is the same as a “Shelby” coupler. You also need to have the spacers and the coupler. You can just order the Piggybacker unit but put “Size for Shelby coupler” in the comments section and I’ll have it drilled accordingly.
Hi,
I will be buying this year (trailer).
Camping day’s are done with. All i am looking for is a small trailer for the extras.
Can’t make up my mind between a dual or single wheel trailer.
What are the pro’s and con’s of both in handling..ect.
Got a Victory Vision to pull with. Enought torque to pull.
Never pulled a trailer behind a bike…but did pull my share at work and home with cars and truck..
Just can’t find any info to compare the + and – of the dual & single wheel trailer. But i am leaning on the single side. Which one is easier to handle behind a Motorcycle ?
Thanks J.T.
Hi JT, that’s an excellent question, thanks for asking. I’ll try to give the most unbiased answer I can…
The pro’s on a single wheel trailer: It follows the same wheel track as the bike. It can be wheeled into your motel room at night for security. It looks cool and turns heads. The main con is that it won’t carry as much. Folks do tend to fill them up quickly as they become accustomed to traveling with them. A single wheel won’t have room to carry a spare or a cooler. And in terms of value, they’re 2 to 5x the cost on a square foot basis compared to a two wheel trailer.
The pros on a two wheel trailer: They carry more gear for less money. Weight is not necessarily that much greater than a single and most will easily swallow bulky items with room leftover. You can strap a spare and a cooler onto the tongue without taking up room inside the trailer. Cons: If you’re a heavy leaner you’ll want to avoid hitting the very inside of a curve just to avoid having your trailer drop off the road shoulder. Two wheel motorcycle trailers are generally made to be no wider than the average bike, so this is typically not an issue, just something to be aware of.
To be completely honest, I can’t say what it feels like to pull a single wheeler because I’ve only ever towed two wheelers. At one time or another I’ve towed all the different models we represent and the reason I chose the lineup I have is because I think they represent the best combination of value and quality. Everything I sell, trailers, hitches, swivels, wiring, etc., is made in the USA.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
I am shopping for a motorcycle trailer. I have never pulled one. I am leaning toward the “Time Out” or the “Easy Camper”. I ride a 2008 Yamaha Stratoliner. is this enough bike to pull then? any advice will greatly be appreciated.
Thanks
Michael
Hi Michael – that’s a common concern among prospective new trailer pullers. “Does my bike have what it takes.”
The short answer, for your bike, is yes. You could pull pretty much any designed-for-a-motorcycle trailer or camper you care to pull.
I tell folks the answer is based on a couple of criteria, primarily motor size and braking power. You want to have enough power to pull a trailer without adding undue stress to the drivetrain components, specifically the clutch, transmission and driveshaft/belt/chain. When an undersized bike is pulling a too-big trailer, that’s where you can create mechanical wear issues. With your size bike, I don’t think that’s a problem.
Once you get it up to speed, you want to also be able to stop it. A bike with disc brakes is preferred, a bike with dual discs up front is best. Your bike has dual front discs.
As a rule of thumb, I tell folks to pull a loaded trailer that doesn’t exceed half the bike’s wet weight. Your bike is around 800 lbs wet, the larger Time Out is 340 lbs, the Easy Camper is around 320 lbs. Even if you put some gear in them, you should be in good shape whichever way you decide to go.
Hello,
Just purchased a used two wheel trailer to pull with my 2009 Kawasaki 1700 CC Voyager, soon to have a MTC-Voyager Trike Conversion kit attached. My question is, the Kaw has ABS brakes, the trailer has a dry weight of about 90 pounds. Will the ABS brakes be affected by pulling a trailer? KAW weighs about 895 pounds, Voyager kit about 185 pounds more.
Is there a chance that ABS will malfunction because of the trailer weight when loaded? (Expect laden weight to be about 100 pounds, we travel light)
Unless there is something that directly modifies the action of the ABS circuit, adding the Voyager kit and towing a trailer won’t affect how the system works. You’re adding rolling weight to your rig which is going to affect your stopping distance, but the conditions that trigger the ABS (wheel lock) will remain the same.