We had gotten tired of hauling our bikes on a open trailer to some of the events only to end up spending a few hours cleaning our bikes when we got to the event. Not to mention what happens when we run into that bad word, "RAIN". We knew we were going to go to Sturgis 99 and decided to look into a enclosed trailer. After looking at all the enclosed custom bike trailers and not finding anything that we really liked especially the cost, we decided to build our own. We looked into building one from the ground up because we thought it would be cheaper but found a pretty good deal on this one from Cargo Craft in Corsicana, Texas. We wanted to haul at least four bikes and all the gear that goes along with it and there wasn't anything out there commercially available so we decided to build exactly what we wanted. The trailer we decided on was a 7' X 16' which had a ramp back door, side man door, a painted plywood deck, unfinished Louann on the walls and tandem axle trailer brakes. Not a bad beginning we thought....... We picked up the trailer about 1 month before Sturgis and worked on that sucker everyday after work including weekends and long into the night, I should say morning up until the day before we were leaving. How Phil and I hung on to our jobs and stayed married were not real sure! All we can say is "Thanks" to our fine wives, Rosalyn and Teri for being understanding! Y'all are the best!!
First order of business was to paint the walls, which we primed first with Kilz to hopefully kill the wood grain from coming through the paint. We decided on white as it is the best neutral color and would brighten up the inside. Three coats of white Latex later we were done.
Next was the ceiling to give it a finished out look and we decided on thin textured plastic sheet which is used as a vapor barrier behind wall covering in bathroom showers. This material worked well because we were able to bend it on the corners of the sidewalls and screw it down. The only issue was it was a little too thin and we lost a couple sheets when we slipped with the screw gun and split the sheet. If we had to do it all over again we would have used the thicker plastic sheet that is a wall covering in showers. Then we installed prefab'd cabinets up front to store stuff.
We wired the trailer for 110v and decided we were going to need a massive amount of light in case we ever had to work in the trailer at night. Lighting was a major struggle as I had different ideas from Phil and we spent at least three hours in Lowes Home Improvement and four sales clerks arguing about what to do. A friend of ours, Ken Serdar made us header boards to go over the cabinets and over the spring for the back ramp door which we attached the lights and outlets to. We installed three outside navigation lights (60 watt) up front and two mini quartz halogen lights (150 watt) in the back. As you can see in the pics below the combination of these two lights throw off a massive amount of light. Okay, I guess at this point I have to say that Phil was right and I was wrong on the lighting choices.
Then came the floor which we laid down individual black and white self stick vinyl to give it the checker board effect. This was alot harder than I thought it was going to be! We completed the whole floor and the ramp door rather quickly and when we shut the ramp door to admire the work the tiles started falling off the door. If you ever decide to do this, make sure you first put down a heathly coat of adhesive then the tile. We picked up the entire floor then coated the floor with Liquid Nails then re-installed the tile. Each tile had to be numbered as to where it went because so many were cut, it was like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle. Alot of beer was consumed on that excersize, but the finished result looks great and the tile ain't going anywhere! You can see the mini halogen lights in the rear header board in the last pic.
Our friend, Ken Serdar again came through and designed a table which would slide up and down the front wall, Ken said it's like a "Murphy" bed. We needed a place to work on or possibly eat if it started raining at our campsites. Ken made the table, mounting rails and legs all out of wood and finished the top with a laminate. The table works great and is one of those additions that make it a true one off trailer. We kept the white and black effect that Phil and I had decided on and painted the table legs and table border. Ken is an excellent carpenter and we owe him big time for all his help, "Thanks, Ken"! Lastly, we were dying to see what a bike looked like in there and rolled up the "Bumble Bee".
The work continues......... Next came the EZ Trac which we mounted to the walls to be able to tie stuff down to and install our storage shelf above the bikes. Phil found some real neat plates to mount to the floor which I designed some bike shoes to fit into and be removable. These plates are for tie downs for wheelchairs in vans and have all kinds of removable hardware which mounts in the slots. These things are great and we highly recommend them!
One night (about 3:00am), while mounting the plates Phil fell asleep under the trailer and slept for about an hour. I couldn't resist the picture! I was afraid of waking him up suddenly because I thought he would jump and smack his head on the trailer floor.
And more work....... Once we loaded a couple bike in there we realized that the back bikes rear tires were in between support rails which caused a bow and would in time wreck the plywood so I welded in 3" channel across the width of the trailer to re-inforce the weak spot. In the third and fourth pic we finally see Ken Serdar as he is putting corner board along the floor and wheel wells.
Were getting close! All the bikes loaded and they all fit! One Fatboy, My Sturgis, My Dyna Wide Glide, Phil's Dyna Wide Glide and the Scooter.
Paint scheme on the outside, we wanted to stay a little subtle but looking at the colors everybody knows whats inside. We are probably going to add a "Screaming Eagle" design to the sides or possibly a "Bar and Shield". We just haven't decided at this time.
Final touches to the trailer, added some accents to the cabinet doors and loaded the cabinets with all the essentials. You can see the amount of stuff we can load on the cargo shelf above the bikes and the things we can attached to the EZ Track on the sidewalls.
All loaded up and ready for Sturgis. You can see that we installed the shelf above the bikes which can be expanded the whole length of the trailer. We can store alot of stuff up there and with a foam mattress it can double as a bed. Last pic is of the trailer hooked to the motorhome and with such a fantastic trailer we couldn't leave the white wagon wheels and installed a set of chrome wheels for the finishing touch.
We have gotten alot of compliments on this trailer and all that went into it. We're proud of the appearance and the functionality of it and know that no one else has one like it. If you ever hear of anyone looking for one like this, drop me an e-mail, Phil and I are thinking about building and selling them as a possible side business. As you can tell we do know what were doing.
This is our "Pit" scooter which we can run just about anywhere on. We painted it up like the VR 1000 Harley Race Bike and get quite a few comments on it.
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