Date:         Sun, 4 Jun 2006 13:15:05 -0700
Reply-To:     Mike Meuser <mike@HISTORICALSCALEMODELS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Meuser <mike@HISTORICALSCALEMODELS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Motor Scooter hung off backside?
In-Reply-To:  <44830AE5.9050503@gmail.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Also, take into account that the closer the trailer axle is to the
hitch, the more difficult is is to back up.  I've got one of the 8'
trailers and added an extra foot to the tongue so that backing
up was more doable.  I've had one of the shorter ones and they
a real bear to backup without some sort of extension.

On 4 Jun 2006 at 9:31, Mike Elliott wrote:

> On 6/3/2006 5:40 PM David Bohannan wrote:
> > Harbor Freight is your friend:
> > http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=427
> > 08
> >
> David, I reckon you are right.
>
> <Begin thinking out loud>
>
> I have a receiver mounted to the front of Mellow Yellow to carry a
> bike rack with our two bicycles. It's plenty sturdy for that, but I
> don't think a 160 lb (dry) scooter is the smartest thing to mount
> there.
>
> On the rear, I /could/ mount some heavy-duty receiver to carry a
> scooter, but then I'd have that darn scooter in the way when I wanted
> to open the back.
>
> So, we're thinking that a small trailer, like those Harbor Freight
> ones, is our solution.  The trailers come in two general lengths: 48''
> and 96''. 96'' is more than we want to deal with. However, the
> scooters we're looking at are about 65 - 70 '' length overall, so the
> shorter trailer might be awkward. It could be lengthened, as described
> by Greg Potts on his Westrailer project, by welding on some mattress
> frames. But I am welding-challenged.
>
> Setting that detail aside for the moment, I don't know much about
> trailers, but I bet that you don't want to add the extra length to the
> rear of the trailer, as it will cause the tongue to want to go up. The
> load probably wants to be roughly centered over the trailer axle, with
> a forward bias so that the tongue has a few dozen lbs of downward
> pressure. By adding 10'' to the front of the trailer, and 10'' to the
> rear, the trailer would be long enough for the scooter, but this would
> reduce the clearance between the trailer and MW's rear. Sharp turns
> might be messy.
>
> <end thinking out loud>
>
> '73
>
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> KG6RCR
>


Mike Meuser
mike@jimike.com
707-442-6326
Jimike Productions
http://www.jimike.com

representing
Jimi Jeff and the Gypsy Band
http://www.jimijeff.com