Towing a single dirtbike with a car...

Kigol · Mar 16, 2006

Im looking for a new (used) car to haul my yz250 with. I do not want a truck because i have a 50 mile commute each day and only ride on weekends.

Does anyone here have some sort of trailer attached to their car? What kind of car? What kind of trailer?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

robwbright · Mar 16, 2006

I'm in the process of putting a hitch on my Honda Prelude. I will be towing a trailer which was made from the base of a small boat trailer. I plan to haul two bikes.

We'll see how it goes . . .

Others here have done it.

XRpredator · Mar 16, 2006

I'll have to dig through some early 80's pics. We have one of a guy towing his '81 YZ125 with his Yamaha 650 Special.

robwbright · Mar 16, 2006

XRpredator said:
I'll have to dig through some early 80's pics. We have one of a guy towing his '81 YZ125 with his Yamaha 650 Special.

Nice! :nod:

RVL · Mar 16, 2006

Harbor Freight has cool folding trailers that tow just fine. I got mine on sale in Washington State, and drove it behind my old Buick Century to Kansas. I now have a Honda Civic and it towed the trailer and my 450X down to Dirtweek just fine.
Here is the link:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90154

Masterphil · Mar 16, 2006

I read your first post, but have you considerd a small truck such as a toyota? With the 4cyl and 5spd, they can get close to 30mpg.

JustinC · Mar 16, 2006

The one guy I ride with towes his bike with a Saturn Ion. Before the Saturn he used to have a an old 89 Chevy Berreta 4cyl that he used.

jsned · Mar 16, 2006

I have a new Civic, bought a trailer from Menards that is 4 + 8 and folds up for easy storage. $197.00 tax and all. Weighs less than 200 pounds and you cant even tell it is back there even if the wind is bad. Dont worry about the little tires, this thing is more than enough for a YZ250. They have a smaller trailer but it doesnt fold up and weighs almost as much.

I have a bigger trailer that I pull with my Caravan when I go with someone else. But the Civic is so good on gas I can usually go cheaper by myself than splitting the gas with someone else.

Just noticed that it is the same trailer RVL mentioned from Harbor Freight. Works perfect. I got mine on sale for $188.00 plus tax. Normally it is 219.00 plus tax at Menards.

YamaB · Mar 16, 2006

Dirt bikes don't weight much so you should be fine... Just make sure you don't buy a heavy trailer... I believe you can get a hitch installed on just about any car...

JST122 · Mar 16, 2006

I have to agree with Masterphil, there is really no substitute for a pick-up but understanding that this isnt for everyone, If you are only planning on hauling 1 or 2 bikes they have the trailer hitch attachments that basically slide into your trailer hitch receiver and have a single or double rail that runs parrallel to your trunk. The bike rolls up onto that rail and you tie it down to arms that extend perpendicular to the rail. Basically you arent really towing anything at this point, the bike is just a short extension of your vehicle. This may be a good option for you cause you wont have to worry about towing anything and it is a pretty compact design.

Here is a link to one of the motorcycle carriers I am talking about, seeing as how I am sure I thoroughly confused you with my explanation.
http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/cowboy_carriers/motorcycle_racks.htm

robwbright · Mar 16, 2006

JST122 said:
If you are only planning on hauling 1 or 2 bikes they have the trailer hitch attachments that basically slide into your trailer hitch receiver and have a single or double rail that runs parrallel to your trunk. The bike rolls up onto that rail and you tie it down to arms that extend perpendicular to the rail. [/url]

I looked into this and was informed that the rear suspension on most cars is not sufficient to handle that amount of weight hanging off the back.

Your results may vary.

JST122 · Mar 16, 2006

robwbright said:
I looked into this and was informed that the rear suspension on most cars is not sufficient to handle that amount of weight hanging off the back.

Your results may vary.

Rob makes a good point. This may be true, I dont know. It certainly stands to reason, especially if you plan on getting a small compact car like Rob has, I could see this being an issue with a prelude, civic or somthing comparable. I am a truck guy and have never used anything like this so I cant speak from personal experience. Although I can say that I have have seen the single bike version used on a Ford Crown Victoria as well as a Nissan Maxima and it looked like it worked fine for them but I didnt ask.

I am just trying to provide you with another option and something else to consider. If it were me and I had the same concerns as you I would just get a small 4cyl pickup truck as Masterphil suggested. You will still get your fuel economy and you will have a much better and easier way of getting your bike to and from your riding area. However, I dont know what your other transportation concerns are so maybe a truck of any kind just isnt in the cards for you.

MikeT · Mar 16, 2006

Kigol said:
Does anyone here have some sort of trailer attached to their car? What kind of car? What kind of trailer?

Yep! I have a 1993 Honda Accord 4 cylinder wirh 215,000 miles on it pulling my YZ250. I have one of those 4'x8' Home Depot trailers. It works great.

robwbright · Mar 16, 2006

JST122 said:
Rob makes a good point. This may be true, I dont know. It certainly stands to reason, especially if you plan on getting a small compact car like Rob has, I could see this being an issue with a prelude, civic or somthing comparable. I am a truck guy and have never used anything like this so I cant speak from personal experience. Although I can say that I have have seen the single bike version used on a Ford Crown Victoria as well as a Nissan Maxima and it looked like it worked fine for them but I didnt ask.

I am just trying to provide you with another option and something else to consider. If it were me and I had the same concerns as you I would just get a small 4cyl pickup truck as Masterphil suggested. You will still get your fuel economy and you will have a much better and easier way of getting your bike to and from your riding area. However, I dont know what your other transportation concerns are so maybe a truck of any kind just isnt in the cards for you.

I agree completely and would do the same if I could afford it at the moment . . . However, I got the hitch for $15.00 on the auction site and dad is building the trailer, so . . .

MXGirl230 · Mar 16, 2006

My husband used to pull a single place snowmobile trailer, set up for a bike, behind his Tempo. Said it actually didn't do too bad.

tartersause12 · Mar 16, 2006

yah i pulled my mastercraft 6 hours with my buick so it is possible to put a hitch on a buick

dales298 · Mar 16, 2006

In the late 70's my riding buddy used a celica to pull his 3 rail trailer with 2 bikes and us in it and it did well. It was before drawtite and had a bolt on trailer hitch.

JuliusPleaser · Mar 16, 2006

I have a D'alan Class 1 receiver hitch on my M3. It's rated at 500 lbs. tongue weight with a 2000 lb. load capacity.

I've hauled a CRF450 on a 3-rail several times, and even hauled two full-size bikes and a mini with no trouble.

I got 21 mpg on the drive to Cooperland in '04 with a CRF450 and a load of other crap strapped to the 3-rail.

Kigol · Mar 17, 2006

Masterphil said:
I read your first post, but have you considerd a small truck such as a toyota? With the 4cyl and 5spd, they can get close to 30mpg.

I was looking at some Nissan 4cyl/5spds but if i bought a truck i would need 4x4 because of Pittsburgh winters.

I would think that a 4cylinder, with 4wd (heavy), truck would be pretty bad on gas.

Simulcaster · Mar 17, 2006

JST,
Those are great but you have to have a Class II or IV hitch to use them. Most sedans and compact cars only have the option of a smaller Class I hitch. Trucks are obviously the best way to go but when you commute 90 miles a day 30mpg is much more economic. I picked up a small landscape trailer cheap and it serves the purpose when I can't find someone to jump in with. If you don't have a truck fin a friend that does......

JST122 · Mar 17, 2006

Simulcaster said:
JST,
Those are great but you have to have a Class II or IV hitch to use them. Most sedans and compact cars only have the option of a smaller Class I hitch. Trucks are obviously the best way to go but when you commute 90 miles a day 30mpg is much more economic. I picked up a small landscape trailer cheap and it serves the purpose when I can't find someone to jump in with. If you don't have a truck fin a friend that does......

Simulcaster, yeah as Rob pointed out earlier, he has looked into this option before and he said that he was told that most cars dont have the rear suspension capable to handle the weight. So I am sure this is the same deal with the classes of hitches as well. But like I said earlier I have seen these used on a Maxima and a Crown Victoria in the past, so I know it can be done on some cars. The link I provided was just to show pictures of what I was talking about so I dont know if there are other brands that are more suitable for cars or not. In any event, I provided this info as just another option for Kigol as I dont know what type of car he plans to buy anyway and figured this might be something he could look into as well. I just wanted to make sure he knew about this option as well. I really dont know anything about them because I have never used one. So the info you provide is good as well.

Kigol if you look into this option, then this is just something else to take into consideration. I am sure if you start researching these for your vehicle you will quickly find out whether or not it will work for you. Again, my goal in providing the info was not to say you should do this, but to just provide you with another possibility to look into.

FruDaddy · Mar 17, 2006

I used to pull 3 minis on a 5x8 utility trailer behind my 96 Maxima 5 spd. I have also hauled street bikes on this trailer. Barely even knew it was there. I stuffed all of the gear and the tool box in the trunk. When choosing a car, you should make sure you have room for all of that stuff. Something with a fold down seat would have been better for me. Eventually, I broke down and bought a truck.

ls1cameric · Mar 17, 2006

RVL said:
Harbor Freight has cool folding trailers that tow just fine. I got mine on sale in Washington State, and drove it behind my old Buick Century to Kansas. I now have a Honda Civic and it towed the trailer and my 450X down to Dirtweek just fine.
Here is the link:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90154

I'm glad I sw this.
I posted about the same thing a week ago and thats EXACTLY what I have been looking for. It's heavy duty and cheap!
Throw some plywood down on it and your ready to roll! :aj:

TimberPig · Mar 18, 2006

Kigol said:
I was looking at some Nissan 4cyl/5spds but if i bought a truck i would need 4x4 because of Pittsburgh winters.

I would think that a 4cylinder, with 4wd (heavy), truck would be pretty bad on gas.

A good set of tires and some weight in the bed, and you won't need 4 wheel drive. If you drive only on paved roads, and only want 4 wheel drive for winter traction, you probably don't need it. Like I say a good set of tires and some weight over the rear axle to help with the traction, and you will be fine.

Crunch · Mar 20, 2006

I would have loved to get a truck, but that was not an opption for me due to cost so I got one of those 4 X 8's at Manards and have pulled it with an Old's Cutlass. Has worked good for me. Just like RLV, used it to pull my bike to Dirt Week last year.

Towing a single dirtbike with a car...

Kigol

robwbright

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers

robwbright

RVL

Masterphil

DRN's Resident Lunatic

JustinC

jsned

YamaB

JST122

robwbright

JST122

MikeT

robwbright

MXGirl230

Stupid tires and trees

tartersause12

dales298

Mostly Useless

JuliusPleaser

Too much of a good thing.

Kigol

Simulcaster

JST122

FruDaddy

ls1cameric

TimberPig

Crunch

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