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Post by nulldevice on Mar 29, 2015 23:22:50 GMT -5
It was a long cold winter in NE Ohio this year so I redid the TMAX trailer to keep from getting cabin fever. s1359.photobucket.com/user/42nulldevice42/media/Hitch%20and%20Trailer%20Modifications/DSCN0231.JPGnew_zpsuy2hjtmn.jpg.htmlI relocated and reoriented the hitch to take the hitch off the scooter axle, moved the wheel all the way back and lowered the box as low as I could at the wheel which improved towing a lot. This lowered the center of gravity of the trailer is much closer to the line from the hitch connection to the real wheel pavement contact. The trailer no longer acts like a badly behaved, frightened passenger. |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Mar 30, 2015 0:04:42 GMT -5
Nulldevice,
I like it! I can understand the trailer attached to the axle being a little squirrely. This should work fine. Be careful around Homeland Security boys though, that long, yellow container looks like it should hold a missile... LOL!
Have a bone, and ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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Post by scooter on Mar 30, 2015 15:50:35 GMT -5
It was a long cold winter in NE Ohio this year so I redid the TMAX trailer to keep from getting cabin fever. s1359.photobucket.com/user/42nulldevice42/media/Hitch%20and%20Trailer%20Modifications/DSCN0231.JPGnew_zpsuy2hjtmn.jpg.htmlI relocated and reoriented the hitch to take the hitch off the scooter axle, moved the wheel all the way back and lowered the box as low as I could at the wheel which improved towing a lot. This lowered the center of gravity of the trailer is much closer to the line from the hitch connection to the real wheel pavement contact. The trailer no longer acts like a badly behaved, frightened passenger. Very nice, nulldevice! Can a scooter trailer get crazy on you like a regular trailer where it starts jerking the rear end around when loaded too much to the rear? |
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Post by nulldevice on Mar 30, 2015 21:00:30 GMT -5
With the trailer wheel all the way I can't get any significant load behind the trailer axle to cause sway. The geometry is more like a fifth wheel trailer. When the wheel was farther forward like the first iteration of the trailer I did get tail wagging, generally at speeds in excess of 65 MPH or pushing too hard into curves -- a really exciting terrifying experience when surrounded by rush hour traffic or in a sharp curve with oncoming traffic.
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Post by scooter on Mar 30, 2015 21:44:02 GMT -5
With the trailer wheel all the way I can't get any significant load behind the trailer axle to cause sway. The geometry is more like a fifth wheel trailer. When the wheel was farther forward like the first iteration of the trailer I did get tail wagging, generally at speeds in excess of 65 MPH or pushing too hard into curves -- a really exciting terrifying experience when surrounded by rush hour traffic or in a sharp curve with oncoming traffic. Great job! Have a bone on me too! I like to see people doing different things with their scooters. |
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Post by nulldevice on May 5, 2015 12:21:44 GMT -5
This trailer project has been a great one for me. Every time I make a change I think I am done. What really happens is as I eliminate one bad behaviour a new one becomes manifest. I put the trailer back down on the scooter axle because it did a hopping jerking as I went around corners at a significant lean and having the hitch up high magnified the effect on the scooter. It is even better on the straights and gentle curves, but the hopping cornering continued.
I finally figured out what the problem is. It is the tire. The rim runs true, the tire side wall runs true, tire radial run out is true,but the tread has about a 1/8 plus inch lateral run out! I would really like to know how a tire mould can be that far out of line.
Now to find a tubeless eight inch scooter tire, the fatter the better. I find 3.50-8 tires but would like a wider tire than that to get lots of deflection before the rim pinches the tire between the rim and a curb edge.
R&D is time consuming and can be expensive. I am beginning to understand the prices the one wheel trailer manufacturers want for their product.
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Post by dmartin95 on May 5, 2015 13:54:41 GMT -5
Very cool!
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Post by scooter on May 5, 2015 20:01:03 GMT -5
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Post by nulldevice on May 6, 2015 11:13:29 GMT -5
Yes, I used the Rustoleum safety yellow trailer. The only change was to remount the hitch so the arms were near the bottom of the box instead of the top and moved the hitch quill back to the axle. It has the long, low look of the green unit you posted a picture of. Since the trailer geometry now resembles a fifth wheel trailer I now try to get the center of gravity towards the back to ease the load on the hitch and scooter. Because of the high lean angle of my TMAX the trailer is now about as low to the ground as I can get it and not drag anything during the kickstand dragging curves. Any lower and I would have to narrow the body. A wider body and I would need to raise it. Adding a suspension would make that consideration more subject to variation, and I found the tire with 10 to 15 PSI in it takes care of a lot of the road irregularities without bouncing. I thought about using rooftop carrier boxes, but the ones I found are either too short, or to wide, or too long for my needs. With the use of screws, glue, 1/4 inch floor underlay, a little bit of 3/4 inch plywood, and 1 by 2 lumber I can get exactly what I want at a surprisingly low weight. That way I also spend a lot of time rather than a lot of money. I have lots of one and a limited supply of the other. With this latest series of experimentation I have found out it is best if the vertical portion of the U-joint is coupled to the scooter. The geometry in a turn works out much better if it stays vertical instead of leaning forward or backward. I now have these rules of thumb. Keep the loaded trailer center of gravity low. Keep the hitch point low. If you need more space, prefer length and depth. Keep it narrow. Make sure the trailer has enough lean angle to match your tow vehicle. Scooter, you found and posted many of the pictures I used as inspiration. With that much interest you must be thinking about building one yourself. When are you building yours?  |
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Post by scooter on May 6, 2015 15:36:56 GMT -5
Yes, I used the Rustoleum safety yellow trailer. The only change was to remount the hitch so the arms were near the bottom of the box instead of the top and moved the hitch quill back to the axle. It has the long, low look of the green unit you posted a picture of. Since the trailer geometry now resembles a fifth wheel trailer I now try to get the center of gravity towards the back to ease the load on the hitch and scooter. Because of the high lean angle of my TMAX the trailer is now about as low to the ground as I can get it and not drag anything during the kickstand dragging curves. Any lower and I would have to narrow the body. A wider body and I would need to raise it. Adding a suspension would make that consideration more subject to variation, and I found the tire with 10 to 15 PSI in it takes care of a lot of the road irregularities without bouncing. I thought about using rooftop carrier boxes, but the ones I found are either too short, or to wide, or too long for my needs. With the use of screws, glue, 1/4 inch floor underlay, a little bit of 3/4 inch plywood, and 1 by 2 lumber I can get exactly what I want at a surprisingly low weight. That way I also spend a lot of time rather than a lot of money. I have lots of one and a limited supply of the other. With this latest series of experimentation I have found out it is best if the vertical portion of the U-joint is coupled to the scooter. The geometry in a turn works out much better if it stays vertical instead of leaning forward or backward. I now have these rules of thumb. Keep the loaded trailer center of gravity low. Keep the hitch point low. If you need more space, prefer length and depth. Keep it narrow. Make sure the trailer has enough lean angle to match your tow vehicle. Scooter, you found and posted many of the pictures I used as inspiration. With that much interest you must be thinking about building one yourself. When are you building yours? I am actually inspired to build one after reading your post. The points I laid out, which you already had in mind, are just "common sense" that comes from years of designing various things. I don't need a trailer for mine but I would have fun building one. The frames on some of these look really simple to build, even with suspension. I'd love to see a picture of your new setup. A shallow "v" shape on the bottom would allow it to be lower and still give lean clearance, but there's no need to be that picky I suppose. |
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Post by nulldevice on May 6, 2015 16:47:01 GMT -5
Yes, building has been fun and educational to this retired pipe fitter/machine repairman. If you do build one go ahead and hitch it to your scooter. Nothing, except maybe a Big Daddy Roth Rat Fink paint job, attracts attention like a home made one wheel trailer. Add an antique Allis-Chalmers tractor seat to the scooter and you have a bike night winner.
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Post by chucky on May 6, 2015 17:31:04 GMT -5
If only we were allowed trailer towing on our scooters in south Africa.
Had plans everything set then read or traffic law.
Nice build enjoy
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Post by nulldevice on May 7, 2015 10:38:07 GMT -5
If only we were allowed trailer towing on our scooters in south Africa. Had plans everything set then read or traffic law. Nice build enjoy That's too bad. Are side cars allowed? if so hook a trailer up ever so slightly a small fraction of an inch off center and call it a side car. |
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Post by dmartin95 on May 7, 2015 12:43:53 GMT -5
I relocated and reoriented the hitch to take the hitch off the scooter axle, moved the wheel all the way back and lowered the box as low as I could at the wheel which improved towing a lot. How 'bout some more pictures? Up close shots of your hitch would awesome! On a side note, I can't believe how much your TMAX looks like my SMAX.  |
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Post by chucky on May 7, 2015 14:38:20 GMT -5
I have a sym 300i Gts EVO. Looks similar. Side cars allowed. Don't think I would get away with that?  |
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