Treale Trailers

Anyone got any experience of the Treale folding bike trailers? Bloke in
owrk is selling one and I'm having a bit of a want moment. Problem is he
wants £400 and I doubt I would use it enough to be worthwhile.

http://www.trealestrailers.co.uk/motorcycle_trailers.php

 

What an overpriced pointless expensive gimmick.

I want one.

 

Indeed, but it would probably save me close to the buying price in ferry
costs when I go to collect the XL500. It seems that the North Sea ferry
companies see trailers as a licence to print money.

I suppose I could do something wild, like ride it back.

 

Has the vehicle your gonna tow the trailer with got a roof rack? if so, bung
the empty trailer on the roof rack for the ferry crossing... as long as it
dont take you over the height limit where they charge you as a commercial
vehicle that is.

And to get back with the bike..... drive the car on solo with trailer on
the roof rack, park up then run back out and ride the bike on, you'll only
need to buy a single motorbike crossing extra then instead of a double way
trailer crossing.

 

It's a convertible. I was thinking more of parking up at Ijmuiden or
Zeebrugge, with the trailer in the boot[1], and crossing as a foot
passenger then bringing the bike back on the ferry.

[1] Though I suppose I could still do that with an ordinary bike trailer
and just lock it to the car. I'm talking myself out of this, aren't I.

 

I must confess, I've done a few miles with bikes on various trailers.
A couple of things occur to me, looking at that folding trailer - I
assume it's the Series One, 'cos the Series Two looks like a
comparatively serious bit of kit.

1. I admire the concept - the portability, ease of storage, that sort
of thing. My welded angle-iron three-biker is a monster in
comparison.

2. It is really, really basic for use as a bike trailer. Minimalist,
even.

3. All good, purpose-built bike trailers have a front wheel loop, or
other means of supporting the front wheel, this one doesn't. THis one
has a slot that the front wheel drops into. This can require use of a
trolley jack to extract a wedged-in wheel - I've seen it done.

4. A good bike trailer has a multitude of lashing points - this one
doesn't.

5. The lashings on the Series Two pics look decidedly dodgy to me.

When you strap a bike to a trailer, you're after two things -
stability and immobility - meaning it won't fall over sideways, and it
won't roll back and forth, especially under braking (acceleration is
elective, braking isn't - always). To these ends, you want a couple
of straps pulling down the front end to about half its fork travel and
hooked as wide apart as possible. Lashing points forward of the
points of attachment to the bike are preferable, as this will pull the
bike firmly into the retaining loop or post. Solid.

Once you've got the front, the rear is easy - a strap or two,
compressing the suspension a bit (/never/ across the seat) to points
spread wide of the bike and again, preferably forward of the
attachemnt to tne bike as above.

When you've done this, if you rock the bike, the trailer should move
with it. As one, as it were. You leave some suspension travel on the
bike to take the load off the trailer suspension a bit, and to avoid
stressing the bike's seals. It won't go anywhere.

I'd be unhappy with the lashings as shown in the Series Two pic, as
although the front wheel is held firmly, there is little or no
downward pull on the suspension, leaving the bike to do its own thing
- this can lead to ratchet strap hooks unhooking themselves and that
is a Bad Thing.

Further, with only one lashing point each side, you're putting a lot
of stress on one point that would be better shared between two.
You're also very dependent on finding attachment points on the bike
that allow the straps to clear bodywork - not such a problem with a
big cruiser, especially with all those handy chromed steel bars, but a
real problem with a fully-faired sportsbike.

The Series One also looks awfully "spindly" - little wheels, just one
point of contact between axle and channel and a couple of hooks for
the trailerboard(1). Fraught with possibilities for self-destruction,
I'd say.

In short - if you want a bike trailer for hauling bikes, buy a pukka
bike trailer - look at the Erde range or even a bit further down the
page you supplied above. I wouldn't consider a folding job unless it
was for a one-off and I desperately needed a folder-upper. Folders,
by their lightweight nature, are not as robust as a permanent
welded-up job. 'Kin expensive for what they are, too.

Speaking of expense, 400 quid for a s/h trailer is a damn lot of dosh
- look on ebay and see what you can get for that money.


1. Trailerboards, don't talk to me etc. etc. I've tried all sorts of
gingenious methods of retention combined with the ability to whip them
swiftly out of the way for loading(2). Bolts, bungees, 'R' clips,
bendy wire clips, Terry clips, more bungees ... all these methods have
been so successful that I view a trailerboard as a consumable, these
days. If I can get 500 miles out of one before it becomes
irrepairable and even unbodgable, that's a bargain.
I tell you, if I had a pound for every time I've had to stand on a
motorway hard shoulder, shitting myself with sweat running into my
eyes as I try to force the recalcitrant fucking lightboard back on the
trailer, I'd, I'd ... I'd ... well, I'd be able to buy another couple
of trailerboards, that's for sure.

2. I have /every/ confidence in the latest scheme, though, which has
evolved from a hybrid of the previous two or three semi-successes(3).
This time it's a marine ply backing (attached to four ingenious wooden
fillets(4) inserted into the body of the plastic board) screwed with a
total of eight chunky woodscrews into a pair of chunky hinges which
are, in turn bolted to the rear rail of the trailer. Flip down and
out the way for loading, flip up and secure with the inevitable
bungees for towing.

3. Abject failures, once a bit of wear and tear got involved.

4. 13mm x 16mm x 4inches and two fingerends, motherfucker.

 

<snip>

This indeed good advice. The small rend in the seat of Loz's black
TS50 was caused by strapping it down across the seat when me and the
boy picked it up from t'frozen north many moons ago.

--
Dan L

Too much time to think, too little to do.


http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/

2002 Triumph Sprint RS 955i (COMING SOON)
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr (IT'S FOR SALE)

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7/8)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Cheers Pip, lots of good stuff but this one is probably key as I would
need to load and unload it solo. The main purpose was to get the XL500
from Glasgow to Belge but I suspect I'll just end up buying a big tub of
Anusol and riding it back.

 

I've got a single bike trailer if you want to borrow it.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

why the **** would you not? I'll admit I didn't ask on the French
trip, but are you some kind of screaming bender?

 

Cheers but this is in support of the move and getting it back to you
from Belge would probably wipe out any savings.

 

Well, given that the prospect of 5-6 hrs at 60-70 mph on a big single
with a plank wedged up my arse holds little attraction, probably not.

I reckon I'm just getting old and soft.

Anyway, it looks like I'll be biting the pillow and doing just that.

 

One other option, if you subscribe to the 'nothing wrong with a bit of
danger, biker boy' school of thought. I used to lug my DR400 around by
resting the bash-plate on the towball of my Alfa, & strapping it to the
bootlid with a couple of old cushions betwixt bike & back of car. It
did several trips from Dartford to mid-Wales & back like that without
any drama.

Easy to load single-handed too - just wheel the bike back at a slight
angle, lean it over on the sidestand then swivel it round into position.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

What's the insurance like on Anusol?

--
TD
1991 VFR400R NC30 (black and red)
2001 ZX-9R (red and black)
1999 M5 (neither black nor red)
Missing: SOB, Unreliable Italian exotica, Lardy tourer

 

Pah, 'tis only a flesh wound.
Know what you mean; such journeys a few years ago were routine and
thought nothing of, but now I'd think twice or at least make it more
comfortable somehow.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

Don't knock it until you have tried it...

Your initial apprehension is well founded !

P.

 

I did a 3000mile / 3 week tour of France and Italy on a 660cc single.

You poof.