Trailer MPG experiment, or pickup truck?

[7milesout]

Fold up trailer ramp gates like that are handy but man they make any trailer 75x worse to pull. Would love to see the test redone with the gate removed...

Basic (and all): A retest may be in the works. I had forgotten about the tow of my dad's computer desk with his truck until I came back in this thread. But here's why I'm considering a retest.

I towed the same atv on the same trailer to the same place and back, same route and same speed (65 mph) with the truck as with the Mirage.

However, I found a way to get the trailer gate to lay down (forward). For the first half of the trip I left the atv all the way forward on the trailer. On the way back, I moved the atv toward the center of the trailer, in the neutral position (I think I described using a bathroom weight scale under the landing gear on this thread to find the neutral position). Let me just say, on the way back was the most pleasant tow I have done in a long time. The way there wasn't bad, but I did feel the weight on the truck. This Sierra has the Z85 (high payload, firm ride package). Which is fine for towing, but makes it ride like crap (worse than my 3/4-ton Ram) unloaded.

The whole tow there and back (~250 miles) the truck averaged 17.5 mpg. That's a 4.8L 2WD Short Bed Standard Cab with a 3.73 rear gear. I thought that was pretty darn good.

But ... since I've found a way to get the trailer tailgate laid down, AND can move the atv rearward to the neutral position, now I'm kind of wanting to do this test again with the Mirage ... with the trailer tailgate down. Maybe I could get 30 mpg...

[klroger]

Basic (and all): tailgate laid down, AND can move the atv rearward to the neutral position, now I'm kind of wanting to do this test again with the Mirage ... with the trailer tailgate down. Maybe I could get 30 mpg...

Here's a cool video showing how weight placement on a trailer affects handling... https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...tail&FORM=VIRE Just be careful how far back on your trailer you put your ATV... Try to keep 60% on the tongue... It's no fun when the trailer starts to wag the car... Ask me how I know...

[7milesout]

I like this video even better. And is why I found the neutral point. It seems to be true. I'll put it (the atv on my utility trailer) neutral or just a skosh forward of that.

[Wallythacker]

Basic is on to something here. What about a hitch tray?

https://www.carid.com/curt/curt-carg...YaAh30EALw_wcB

My hitch tray was about $70 on sale, it's this one;



It weights 20 lbs. and is rated for 300 bs. I've easily carried 28" cut/8hp snowblowers which weight up to 180 lpbs. No problems at all. Depending on the distance you need to cover and the savings in fuel vs. using something with 1/2 the mileage the carrier may almost pay for a good portion of itself. Just figure it out I guess. My only regret was at the time I could have purchased a 48" x 30" foldable with a ramp for $150. Much more, but so much versatile.

[klroger]

I have one of these & it works great, but I noticed they block the rear license plate, especially with anything on it, so I usually use my trailer. Have you had any trouble from Ontario's Finest about it & stopping you for a covered plate??? It may not be an issue, but I always wonder about the plate being covered when I use mine... Just Thoughts...

[Wallythacker]

I never had an issue about the plate being obscured. Most things that cause a problem of a serious nature, like crazy dark tinted windows usually elicit a response from the .gov along with a new law to deal with it. These luggage racks have been around for a long time now so I'm guessing they don't even warrant a second glance when you are using one. Another example is towed cars. There's nothing in the HTA that mandates a towed car have a plate or that the plate of the towing car is visible.

[7milesout]

That is a cool and useful stack of aluminum. You guys may or may not remember, but the plate on the trailer I highlighted on this thread use to hang below the left brake light, behind the left trailer tire. I was always worried it would either hit road debris or have road debris kicked up at it and brake that off. It was just a flimsy plastic bracket.

Then I rotated the bracket 180° to be above the brake light and behind the fender. This was much better from a protection standpoint, but the wind whipping over that fender had that license plate bracket being blown Every Which Way but Loose. It was just a matter of time before it cracked and was Gone with the Wind.

So, I zip tied the plate to the lower-left portion of the tailgate. When the tailgate is up, it works perfect. Very solid mounted, very visible. But I tend to lay that tailgate down forward as much as possible due to the tailgate being like a barn door pulled through the wind. When it's laid down, that license plate is, you know, not likely seen. I haven't had any trouble yet from the Heat. I try to put myself in their shoes. Those guys have got to have the worst job in the world (protect the public while treading on eggshells). Anywho, if I were them and I *noticed, I don't see a plate on that trailer ... I think I would then look for something more substantial going on with that setup, before I would bother with pulling the person over. I do believe that having my plate out of sight, does invite a deeper visual review by LEOs of what I'm doing. I subject myself to that, but I am generally always rolling legit, so I don't sweat it. Again, putting myself in their shoes, I see a person pulling a little trailer, with a reasonable load, and towing at a reasonable speed and seems to be doing so responsibly, I'm not going to hassle him about not seeing a plate on the trailer. I'm sure I'd have bigger fish to fry. That's me though. And I'm guessing that's why I haven't had any issue from the Heat.

[Mark]

That is a cool and useful stack of aluminum. You guys may or may not remember, but the plate on the trailer I highlighted on this thread use to hang below the left brake light, behind the left trailer tire. I was always worried it would either hit road debris or have road debris kicked up at it and brake that off. It was just a flimsy plastic bracket.

Then I rotated the bracket 180° to be above the brake light and behind the fender. This was much better from a protection standpoint, but the wind whipping over that fender had that license plate bracket being blown Every Which Way but Loose. It was just a matter of time before it cracked and was Gone with the Wind.

So, I zip tied the plate to the lower-left portion of the tailgate. When the tailgate is up, it works perfect. Very solid mounted, very visible. But I tend to lay that tailgate down forward as much as possible due to the tailgate being like a barn door pulled through the wind. When it's laid down, that license plate is, you know, not likely seen. I haven't had any trouble yet from the Heat. I try to put myself in their shoes. Those guys have got to have the worst job in the world (protect the public while treading on eggshells). Anywho, if I were them and I *noticed, I don't see a plate on that trailer ... I think I would then look for something more substantial going on with that setup, before I would bother with pulling the person over. I do believe that having my plate out of sight, does invite a deeper visual review by LEOs of what I'm doing. I subject myself to that, but I am generally always rolling legit, so I don't sweat it. Again, putting myself in their shoes, I see a person pulling a little trailer, with a reasonable load, and towing at a reasonable speed and seems to be doing so responsibly, I'm not going to hassle him about not seeing a plate on the trailer. I'm sure I'd have bigger fish to fry. That's me though. And I'm guessing that's why I haven't had any issue from the Heat.

I am thankful that small trailers in Wisconsin don't need to be registered or have plates.

As far as the plate of a tow vehicle being visible, I wouldn't worry about that with a rear hitch carrier. If someone is towing a large load on a trailer, the plate is most likely blocked from the rear. Like I already said, our trailers don't have plates & this is still not an issue in our state.

[7milesout]

Dredging this thread up again. Keeping all similar subjects here. In another thread, I was jabbering about towing a murdersickle home with my blue truck. Now I sort of regret not doing that trip with the Blueberry.

However, with the Blueberry, I would want to strap the motorcycle in, back off of the front rail of the trailer. A neutral position, so as to a) not add hitch load to the Blueberry, at least any more hitch load than the trailer itself. And because b) a couple youtube videos demonstrated stability of loading trailers, and loading a trailer carrying all the load on the trailer axle(s) proved to be very stable. I did this with my dad's truck and the ATV and it WAS indeed, very stable. Carrying the murdersickle all the way to the front, but towing with the blue truck, well, the blue truck doesn't care if there's 200 pounds on the hitch. When I loaded the murdersickle on there in Florida, blue truck said, "is that all?"

There is no front wheel chock in my utility trailer, and trying to secure a motorcycle without a front wheel chock is MUCH more difficult than with. That was part of the reason I didn't use the Blueberry, the trailer wasn't ready for that neutral load.

So, the only thing I wanted to add to this thread is, I'm going to begin doing measurements of WHERE to position a front chock on the trailer that would put my newly procured murdersickle in a neutral position. And I'm going to change the location of the angle iron (frame) of the trailer load ramp in such a way that the murdersickle rear tire will not have to sit on that angle iron. In fact, I think what I may do is move that angle iron off to the side, and then add another piece of angle iron symmetrically opposite. Such that the 2 angle irons sort of cup / capture the rear tire of that murdersickle.

Then I can do as Fummins suggested, leave the ramp gate folded forward/down, use my folding ramps to load the bike up and onto the trailer, roll the front tire through the angle irons, onto the wood floor and into that wheel chock. Then strap. The rear wheel would be captured enough, so as to prevent it from going left / right. The weight would be neutralized. Turning the utility trailer into a dual role motorcycle trailer too. And then, I would feel comfortable towing with the Blueberry (as long as the Blueberry has good tires).

I will add pictures as I slowly work on this project...

[Mark]

Dredging this thread up again. Keeping all similar subjects here. In another thread, I was jabbering about towing a murdersickle home with my blue truck. Now I sort of regret not doing that trip with the Blueberry.

However, with the Blueberry, I would want to strap the motorcycle in, back off of the front rail of the trailer. A neutral position, so as to a) not add hitch load to the Blueberry, at least any more hitch load than the trailer itself. And because b) a couple youtube videos demonstrated stability of loading trailers, and loading a trailer carrying all the load on the trailer axle(s) proved to be very stable. I did this with my dad's truck and the ATV and it WAS indeed, very stable. Carrying the murdersickle all the way to the front, but towing with the blue truck, well, the blue truck doesn't care if there's 200 pounds on the hitch. When I loaded the murdersickle on there in Florida, blue truck said, "is that all?"

There is no front wheel chock in my utility trailer, and trying to secure a motorcycle without a front wheel chock is MUCH more difficult than with. That was part of the reason I didn't use the Blueberry, the trailer wasn't ready for that neutral load.

So, the only thing I wanted to add to this thread is, I'm going to begin doing measurements of WHERE to position a front chock on the trailer that would put my newly procured murdersickle in a neutral position. And I'm going to change the location of the angle iron (frame) of the trailer load ramp in such a way that the murdersickle rear tire will not have to sit on that angle iron. In fact, I think what I may do is move that angle iron off to the side, and then add another piece of angle iron symmetrically opposite. Such that the 2 angle irons sort of cup / capture the rear tire of that murdersickle.

Then I can do as Fummins suggested, leave the ramp gate folded forward/down, use my folding ramps to load the bike up and onto the trailer, roll the front tire through the angle irons, onto the wood floor and into that wheel chock. Then strap. The rear wheel would be captured enough, so as to prevent it from going left / right. The weight would be neutralized. Turning the utility trailer into a dual role motorcycle trailer too. And then, I would feel comfortable towing with the Blueberry (as long as the Blueberry has good tires).

I will add pictures as I slowly work on this project...

If I was hauling your large motorcycle (after looking at your pic the other day), I would have run one ratchet strap through the front wheel. The two end hooks would have dropped straight down to the bottom (one on each side of the front wheel) to the trailer platform. That would lock the front tire tightly to the front of the trailer frame. It's not going anywhere!

I would have done your two front straps the same, but I would have done the rear straps differently. If you really hit your brakes hard, you don't want the cycle flipping up in air forward. I would make sure the rear straps are angled backwards/to the rear of the trailer (opposite of the front straps).