THE ULTIMATE TRIKE TRAILER
At Ironhorse Trailers, a leading manufacturer of premium cycle trailers, a larger and larger percentage of our sales are to trike owners. Choosing a trailer sounds like a pretty simple decision but like many other things, there’s more to it than first appears.
Length—How long does it need to be? At a minimum, its platform or runners have got to be as long as the wheelbase of your trike. If it has a tailgate and/or a sloped top, it’s got to be long enough for them to close as well. But that’s just part of the answer. Trike have much more weight behind the seat than equivalent bikes. So you have to load trikes further forward on a given trailer than you would a bike. Otherwise your loaded trailer will fishtail when you tow it and may even sit on its rear when it’s unhitched.
Width—How wide does it need to be? It depends on where you are talking about. The door opening clearly needs to be wide enough for your to ride through it with about three or four inches to spare. But that’s only part of the story. Unless you are a gymnast you need enough room between the wheel wells to walk out with having to climb over the wheel wells or your tour pack. Surprisingly perhaps, width is just as critical on open trailers as narrow trailers with side rails can be deadly trip hazards.
Height—Do you need to be able to park your trailer under a garage? If so, a low profile trailer is in your future. But there are two types of low profile trailers—fixed tops and flip tops. With fixed tops you take your life in your hands every time you ride through the door opening and if you are very tall, there are only two possibilities. You’ll have to remember to duck the entire time you are inside your trailer or you’ll have to put up with a lot of headaches. And you can forget that 19 inch windshield you’ve had your eye on; it ain’t gonna happen.
Driveway maneuverability—You can buy a lightweight, well-balanced single axle Ironhorse flip top trailer with a rolling jack and enjoy zero-turn handling and parking. Or you can buy a tandem axle metal box trailer from the competition and forget about moving it around by hand—ever!
Fuel Efficiency—Most metal box trailers are shaped like a giant brick and tow like one as well. Even the ones with V-noses and flat sides generate a lot of turbulence which has to be dragged along with the trailer, effectively increasing its cross-section and wind resistance. By contrast, Ironhorse Trailers (see www.ironhorsetrailers) look more like a bullet and slide effortlessly through the air as well. So much so that many Ironhorse owners say that they get 50 percent better mileage than they did with their metal boxes..
Towing fun—Come to think about it, maybe that’s going too far. Windy weather, highway expansion joints, and hills and mountains pretty much guarantee that towing is never going to be fun. But an Ironhorse Trailer can certainly make it a lot less painful. Call 1-888-793-6184 if you have any questions. Also lets give a shout out the the great people who make our favorite Trike here at Harley Davidson.
FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS TOW METAL BOX TRAILERS.
