U-Haul and Trailering a New Bike

[Zoom Zoom]

I disagree about being overprotective. I have no problem riding my motorcycles any place I want to go, and I don't worry about them getting wet. Salt, OTOH, will get into places that can cause trouble, such as wiring connectors. Not all of them are weatherproof. You cannot dispute the electronics are not as well protected as in an automobile. Up North here, salt is used in conjunction with brine. Brine is also mixed with beet juice, ( and I have heard molasses), to make it sticky so as to adhere to the roads to some degree. The stuff used around here is very corrosive and I would prefer keeping it out of places on my bike that I'll never be able to get it out of. What they have been using on roads up here the last several years is worse than just salt, which is already worse than cinders or sand. But, there is a huge resource of salt being mined out from under the Great Lakes. Morton has a salt mine under Lake Erie. The equipment lowered in is so big that it will never be brought back out. If I were going to pick up a new bike, the condition of the roads would dictate whether I needed an enclosed trailer. If there have been a good rain or rains to clean off the roads, then I would opt for an open trailer. If not, then an enclosed one. Right this moment, the roads here are dry, but literally covered in white powder, aka salt dust, to the point that it is hard to discern the white line along the edge of the road in places. Would you really want that stuff getting into all the nooks and crannies of your new bike?

John Henry   

[giusto]

This is not kosher with U-Haul but I have rented a small cube van and loaded several bikes into the back. No trailer to contend with, just unload the bike(s) before you drop the van off.

I totally agree with this line of thinking. I have done the same. Usually seat floor brackets work well for tie down points and the bike is in with you...within view....and you can talk to it on your way home

[swordds]

Sorry, I'm from Louisiana, salt is something we put on seafood, not something we put on roads. I rescind my openion.

[Kev m]

JH does make a good point. The salt was bad enough but the brine they started using in the last decade is frickin ridiculous.

I used to ride my bikes through winter, but a few winters into owning the Jackal the wheels were unbelievably pitted and I put my finger right through the rotting rear fender.

Now I put all the nice bikes away for winter and only ride the Harley (and even then I prefer if it has rained since the last salt/brine application).

I don't suppose you can delay the pickup?

[jackson]

In my experiebce, the dedicated moto trailers are local only. No one way town to town rentals.

I'd buy the Baxley Chock and be prepared to modify the enclosed trailer with tie down points. Or, bolt the Baxley to the floor.

I have used the uhaul open trailer and it wasn't bad. Only problem was the local only rule I ran into at several places.

I also highly recommend a Baxley Sport chock.  I have one that I put on my trailer when I need to haul a bike and along with some tie downs, the bikes have never moved.  I also have a Baxley Sport chock mounted on the front of my HF lift table and I never have to worry about the bike moving. 

[giusto]

Sorry, I'm from Louisiana, salt is something we put on seafood, not something we put on roads. I rescind my openion.

lol send me a boudin recipe :)

[rocker59]

Much obliged for the references to the Baxley chock. I wasn't aware of it, and while it's an expensive solution to this one-time trailering, it's really interesting beyond my immediate need.

$189 to $259 depending upon model, and you can use it in your garage to hold the bike upright.

http://baxleybyprovidence.com/

[Perazzimx14]

Wow this thread is ridiculous. I'm surprised no one has suggested hermetically sealing it in a Mylar shipping bag and shipping it back in a climate controlled armored truck with a police escort and fleet of street sweepers out front to clear the road of debris. He's picking up a motorcycle not moving a priceless work of art. Strap the fu@cker down to whatever trailer is readily available and bring it home. If it get a bit of dust on it along the way stop at the local carwash and hose it down before unloading in the driveway.

Spring can't get here soon enough!

[jas67]

Wow this thread is ridiculous. I'm surprised no one has suggested hermetically sealing it in a Mylar shipping bag and shipping it back in a climate controlled armored truck with a police escort and fleet of street sweepers out front to clear the road of debris. He's picking up a motorcycle not moving a priceless work of art. Strap the fu@cker down to whatever trailer is readily available and bring it home. If it get a bit of dust on it along the way stop at the local carwash and hose it down before unloading in the driveway.

I have to agree with John Henry -- that white dust on the roads is poison, and will get into places you can't it it back out of.   It will corrode electrical connections and anything else it gets on  -- nasty shit.

And, as Kev M. points out, the brine solution that they spray the roads with is even worse than the salt.

I'd vote for enclosed trailer or truck, or delay the trip until after we get a few rains.

Spring can't get here soon enough!

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[guzziownr]

No love for the minivan?

[canuguzzi]

You can make a great wheel chock out of cut pieces of 4x4 bolted together. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes to make up right on the spot. Length of 4x4, take some bolts, an impact drill and hand saw along. Cheap, fast and easy.

If you are concerned.

Just tie it down and also from the sides or tied up as suggested. Bikes fall over in trailers because of cheap tie downs improperly attached.

Modifying a rented trailer? I wouldn't.

[Zoom Zoom]

Wow this thread is ridiculous. I'm surprised no one has suggested hermetically sealing it in a Mylar shipping bag and shipping it back in a climate controlled armored truck with a police escort and fleet of street sweepers out front to clear the road of debris. He's picking up a motorcycle not moving a priceless work of art. Strap the fu@cker down to whatever trailer is readily available and bring it home. If it get a bit of dust on it along the way stop at the local carwash and hose it down before unloading in the driveway.

Spring can't get here soon enough!

WOW. What a thoughtful and insightful reply. I'll bet the OP never considered that. Thanks for your valuable contribution to this thread.

John Henry

[Perazzimx14]

WOW. What a thoughtful and insightful reply. I'll bet the OP never considered that. Thanks for your valuable contribution to this thread.

John Henry

I am a problem solver! 

[blackcat]

Honestly, for a 1,200 mile round trip in and out of NYC I'd have it shipped as the cost to do it yourself is probably in $300-$400 dollar range, especially if you spend a night somewhere,gas, tolls & trailer rental. I would guess it cost $500 bucks to have it shipped so why bother with the $150 +or- difference? I'm guessing this is a new bike, so it should come to your door looking.....new.

[PAID BY FORD]

i just put my bikes in the bed of my pick up. Just rent a pick up truck with an 8ft bed roll it up and tie it down. No trailer to tow or pay extra tolls and i am sure you can rent a truck close to home so there is no hassle as far as 1 way rental only nonsense.  it will be high up enough so you have no worries as far as road debris or salt when bringing it home

[canuguzzi]

Re: the salt.

If the salt is that bad, then just what is pulling the trailer?  How are you getting all the stuff out of every nook and cranny on the tow vehicle?

Let's try to remember what the OP was asking. Thread went all the way to paying a lot of money for a bike transport company and overnight stays and close to a $200 wheel chock.

[Zoom Zoom]

You don't. That's why vehicles rust so badly up here.

ZZ

[canuguzzi]

You don't. That's why vehicles rust so badly up here.

ZZ

Yes.

Which is why you just throw the bike cover or plastic trash bags over it, tape them down and be done with it.

For bikes that are easy to maintain etc we sure do make some of the simple things a 10 day bicycle race.

Sooner or later the OP is going to ride it; there will be dirt on the roads, bugs in the air, rocks flying up from big rigs and 5 story 4x4s and who knows...

The ODF might even get it. Then what?

[sidecarnutz]

The open U-haul works good and the price is right.  I'd be more concerned about a proper set of tie-downs and straps.  Find an industrial rigging place or google "cargo control" in your local area.  They can show slings and chokers and point you to some good tie-downs.  You can't go wrong with Ancra.  Stay away from the Box Store brands like Keeper.  Don't use any hooks (even if plastic coated) on the bike itself use the chokers.  Remember that the chokers can abrade the paint so either keep them clear of the paint or pad them with terry towels or something soft. If you can't find any chokers then "gear slings" from a climbing store are way stout enough.

Study John Ulrich's tie down scheme.  It even looks like he taped up the excess straps to keep them from flapping in the wind.  Sometimes you can hear the straps "singing" as you drive.  If you get this, just put a couple of twists in the straps and that will keep them from vibrating like guitar slings.

Check your load often and keep an eye on tire pressures (tow vehicle and trailer).  Good Luck!

I got one of these and used it in a U Haul trailer mounted to a piece of plywood. Does work really well! Later I bought my own 6 x 10 enclosed trailer and mounted the chock to the floor up near the front.

Tommaso

[Perazzimx14]

You don't. That's why vehicles rust so badly up here.

ZZ

Do vehicles in your area rust out after one exposure to wet salt laden roads or does it take multiple exposures and many months or even years for them to rust out? Just trying to figure out how a rusted out daily driver vehicle directly correlates to hauling a motorcycle one time on an open trailer where it might, might get some sat dust on it.

Yes.

Which is why you just throw the bike cover or plastic trash bags over it, tape them down and be done with it.

For bikes that are easy to maintain etc we sure do make some of the simple things a 10 day bicycle race.

Sooner or later the OP is going to ride it; there will be dirt on the roads, bugs in the air, rocks flying up from big rigs and 5 story 4x4s and who knows...

The ODF might even get it. Then what?

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[Kev m]

Re: the salt.

If the salt is that bad, then just what is pulling the trailer?  How are you getting all the stuff out of every nook and cranny on the tow vehicle?

When they started using this brine crap we had a then 8-9 year old Subaru that was driven through every one of those winters. Under the hood the untreated aluminum surfaces looked brand new.

Within a year, maybe two at the most it looked like absolute hell.

Then I picked up a new Subaru with a similar powertrain chassis.

The new one looked as bad as the now 10+ year old one within a year or two at most.

It's maddening.

[Kev m]

Yes.

Which is why you just throw the bike cover or plastic trash bags over it, tape them down and be done with it.

For bikes that are easy to maintain etc we sure do make some of the simple things a 10 day bicycle race.

Sooner or later the OP is going to ride it; there will be dirt on the roads, bugs in the air, rocks flying up from big rigs and 5 story 4x4s and who knows...

The ODF might even get it. Then what?

We're not talking about dirt or gravel.

My Jackal looked like hell within a year or two. I mean every exposed fastener pitted.

Remember all those electric failures on my Jackal (starter, regulator, ignition switch etc.) that so many thought were out of character, in retrospect perhaps that was part of the problem.

Rear fender RUSTED THROUGH within a couple of years. I mean like your dinner through the hole.

Wheels pitted with chrome peeling.

I wasn't worried about dirt.

[Kev m]

Do vehicles in your area rust out after one exposure to wet salt laden roads or does it take multiple exposures and many months or even years for them to rust out? Just trying to figure out how a rusted out daily driver vehicle directly correlates to hauling a motorcycle one time on an open trailer where it might, might get some sat dust on it.

I think the concern (voiced by Jay the electrical engineer who rides certain of his bikes year round here) is not just cosmetics but getting that salt dust into connectors/electrical components where it will sit a do damage.

Like a marine outboard that is lost overboard in salt water. First step in recovery is replace the wiring harness and entire electrical system.

YMMV, but 600 miles is hours and hours of blowing salt exposure. Seems like an unnecessary risk.

[not-fishing]

I've done it both ways open and closed.

I always tell U-Haul that it's local even though my last trip was 1800 miles.

The open trailer is easier but the weather has to be good and no bugs.

For the 1800 mile trip with lots of rain I used a closed trailer.  It helped convince the seller to let his baby go because someone who'd come with a closed trailer obviously wanted to protect the bike.

As to tie downs I don't know what the other guys are talking about, I bet I could collapse the walls of the trailer with the wall rail attachment points.  I suppose that decades of transporting unusual loads for construction, sailing, fly fishing and boy scout ASM has taught me how to tie things down so they don't come loose.

For now on I'm only using open trailers for close trips on sunny days (with no bugs).

[Perazzimx14]

YMMV, but 600 miles is hours and hours of blowing salt exposure. Seems like an unnecessary risk.

That is if the road is continuously covered with salt dust which I highly doubt the case will be. One assumes the OP is going to take the most direct route to a fro. That probably means a lot of highway/interstate that in the past several days hundreds of thousands of other vehicle have traveled and helped blow off any salt.

As far as getting salt dust into the electrical connectors the omission of lead from electronics is going to be a far greater source of problems but that's a different kettle of fish. I also ride year round and my bikes get exposed to salt and they seem to keep chuffing along. A buddy of mine who has ridden everyday (at least 10 miles) without missing a day in over 15 years also ride in every type weather the NE has to offer. He has well over a million miles on 2 wheel and I have yet toy hear him complain that salt killed his electrical connectors.

All this fear mongering is much to do about nothing.

[Kev m]

All this fear mongering is much to do about nothing.

I take issue with the term fear mongering since I've directly seen and dealt with corrosion.

That said, it's a debatable matter of amount of exposure or wish this one trip might mean and I agree there's no certain death lol. But equally I see no one screaming the sky is falling either.

I just see a discussion of the potential for problems.

[H-E-ROSS]

I vote for picking a nice clear day after good rain and using the uHaul open trailer. Buy a bar harness and 4 pro taper straps. This set up will cost about $50. and you will have them forever. I have a pickup with an 8" bed but I find it much more convenient to just rent the trailer @ $15. a day.

[LowRyter]

I wouldn't worry about ruining the paint & finish on a motorcycle just from trailering it in the open.  After all it's made to be ridden on the highway.  Just clean it up when you get home like you would if your rode it. 

Which is another possibility.  Get a bus, plane or train ticket and ride it back.

[rob-mg]

This discussion has been hugely helpful.

It's going to be a four day trip. One day driving from New York. Two days where the bike is, visiting friends. Then one day back with the bike.

The difference in U-Haul cost is insignificant - about $60 for one of their open motorcycle trailers for four days and about $120 for a closed trailer.

I'm going to use the advice here to figure out how to properly secure the bike in a closed trailer that I can't modify.

Thanks all.

[rob-mg]

Which is another possibility.  Get a bus, plane or train ticket and ride it back.

In May, it would be my first choice. In March, not a hope in hell :)