Acura Integra 2 door + Trailer = Bad idea?

[brij 0]

Hello,

Pretty new to the sport and quickly realizing that a trailer or truck to haul the motorcycle is quite handy or at times necessary. But I drive 2 door Acura Integra and wondering if it can handle towing a trailer loaded with the bike. I have KLX250s which is about 300lbs.

Never towed anything before, so got no clue if this is a bad idea or not.

Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Goofy Footer 539]

"CalNub to the courtesy phone, CalNub..."

He tows with a car and will give you an honest opinion. I think it could be done just check your owners manual for towing capacity. I saw a 90s Ford Escort pulling a single bike on a decent sized trailer up Banner Grade once. Needless to say you'll be smoking my truck in MPG! Ha! I found these pictures, thought you might enjoy/be inspired! See you on the trail.

[paulmbowers 236]

I've pulled trailers with a lot of small cars, dating back to my 1975 Datsun B210 with a whopping 1300ccs of power. I don't think you'd have an issue.

In Europe, especially Great Britian, they pull BIG caravans (that travel trailers in American) with the tiniest of vehicles. I don't suggest it, but it's done. Might google Top Gear, they dis a special episode on it ; )

[dirt dame 561]

Check your owner's manual. I was surprised to find that the 4 cylinder Camry that I drive has a towing capacity of 2000 pounds (twice that of my Jeep Wrangler).

[hobiee 28]

The most important thing about towing anything is are you able to stop it ???? It's not about the size of the motor in your car that is important it's about weight and the ability to slow it down from speed in a safe manner. I see no problem towing a bike on a small trailer with your integra if you do it wisely.

[CalNub 0]

I've got a '99 Audi A4 quattro and it tows my bike without a problem. Trailer is about 110lbs, bike is another 300. Tha'ts really not pushing it's stopping ability or pulling ability. i've towed as much as 1100 lbs with my current setup, though i wouldn't recommend going much higher.

A lot also has to do with the trailer hitch you get. Mine just bolted onto the spare wheel well below the trunk. It's the lowest rated hitch i could find, but was much cheaper than the u-haul hitch that I SHOULD HAVE gone with.

I can say with confidence you should be just fine towing a bike on a small trailer with your teg. just make sure to load it right.

I picked up a small trailer from harborfreight for under $180, then got a rail online for another $60. works well for me, certainly better than a truck -- for now.

[Guest Crusty]

I tow bikes all the time.

Have had this trailer 16 years.

28 MPG Round trip to Lake Tahoe.

26 MPG.

11 MPG.

[brij 0]

Thank you for all the input. Specially for the photos. I just wanted a sanity check, guess the idea passed the check.

@Dirtdame

I should have RTFM. According to the manual it can tow 1000lbs.

So now the next question, what kind of trailer. Does anyone have a trailer they want to get rid off?

@Calnub

How is the harbor freight trailer? Is it easy to modify it to carry a motorcycle? Does it carry one or two bikes?

@crusty

What kind of trailer is yours? It looks compact and should not take a lot of space to store.

Once again thanks for the input.

[CalNub 0]

Here's the trailer:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1090-lb-capacity-40-1-2-half-inch-x-48-inch-mini-utility-trailer-with-12-inch-four-lug-wheels-and-tires-90153.html

Use a 20% coupon, it will work even when the trailer is on sale. It was pretty simple to put together, took about an hour. Registration took another 30min and cost $38. It's $10/5yr after that. Just make sure you get an appointment to avoid the line. And when you walk up tell them it's a "home built utility trailer." HF goes into full dealership mode when you buy a trailer, they pull out the certificate of origin and blah blah blah. takes a few extra minutes at checkout.

Here's the rail:

http://www.deiequipment.com/s.nl/it.A/id.10523/.f

You could fit 2 on there, but I'm only using it for one at the moment. Mounting the rail was easy enough, takes about 5 minutes so i leave it off for storage and mount it when I'm ready to load up. Check the wheelbase of your bike though, mine happens to be particularly long so i'm going to work out an extension - it fits fine now, but I want to be able to use the ramp and it's not possible with the length of my bike. I moved the taillights towards the hitch about 5" so i could tilt the trailer on its end for storage. It's only about 80lbs so it's pretty easy to move around.

I think my total cost was around $260, certainly beat the range i was finding on CL.

[Guest Crusty]

Thank you for all the input. Specially for the photos. I just wanted a sanity check, guess the idea passed the check.

@crusty

What kind of trailer is yours? It looks compact and should not take a lot of space to store.

A good friend with a welder built it for me.

Craig.

[brij 0]

@CalNub,

Thanks for all that info. I was not sure what size trailer to get and if bike would fit on them etc. Now with this information my life just got a whole lot easier. I agree about the price, I have been looking on CL did not find any trailer lesser than $450. For the price of $260, I am not not thinking much, will be building one soon.

Does it need some accessories for tie down points?

@Crusty

Nice to have friends like that.

[CalNub 0]

The frame of the trailer has holes for tie-down anchor-points. no accessories needed other than tie-downs. Just a note, i'm gonna have to redrill the rail for my trailer because as is it sits too far back over the axel and only applies about 50lbs of tongue weight -- makes for poor towing. So i'll be shifting it forward about a foot or so. otherwise all the holes lined up and everything.