Are you Hitched ?

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Seriously folks, sometime in the next year or two I hope to either build my own trailer or buy one. In preparation (and before I start sending all my money to the college of my children’s choice ) of this I'm putting serious thought into buying the hitch now and get that out of the way.

What brand hitch do you use?
What is the weight cap. of the hitch & Voyager?
Pro's vs. Con's of brands? Please be honest, brutally honest!

[Charlie from Illinois]

I just put a Marvellas hitch on my 03. It fit perfectly. I just studied the directions on their site about installation and it went right on. Solid, well painted and seems to be very sturdy. You can remove the ball like most car and truck hitches. I needed to get a Hoppy 5 wire to 4 wire converter and install it. It is a special electronic unit that I soldered into the wires under the trunk. You can see it here.
http://www.abbikeboard.com/forum/viewto ... f=4&t=1950
The wires that run down the side of the bike, I put black plastic shielding on. The routing of the wires is the same as the picture. I just wanted it to look more stock and the shielding did that. When I change tires again, I can just cut the tie wrap and it will be out of the way for taking the hitch off.

[Nathan (South Carolina)]

Scott,
Your best bet is the Marvellas receiver hitch, or you can purchase one from Trailmasterinc.com or Hitchdoc. I have the Voyager XII Markland platform hitch that is rare these days but occassionally you may see one listed on ebay. The difference between the platfom and the receiver hitch is probably just cosmetic because the receiver hitch is behind and under the fender often hidden from view where the platform is in front and always visible. You can easily build a trailer for around $300.00 or less by purchasing a Harbor Freight or Northern Tools trailer and adding a Sears cartop carrier. That was the model of my first trailer because I already had a cartop carrier and purchased the trailer from Northern Tools for about $120.00. It takes approximately an hours time with common hand tools to assemble the trailer. It comes in 3 small boxes. Some have gone the extra route and narrowed the trailer down by a couple of inches, but I left mine the way it came and it pulled like a dream behind the Voyager. It is nice to have the extra space available when attending rallies because you always come back with more stuff than you took with you, especially when riding two up.

[Chris near Kansas City]

I prefer the HitchDoc. No banged up shins when not pulling the trailer. I need to get another, since this one has been stressed due to our experience last summer. I know someone who may have a Markland available for sale before too long. Wish I could find another HitchDoc for what I paid for mine. Duane in Bakersfield, if you're watching, your hitch served me well!

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, but some folks prefer Coke, over Pepsi and RC Cola.

If I can get my old trailer sold, then I'll probably buy a new HitchDoc. Otherwise, I may decide to go with that Markland I spoke of. I dunno. We'll see. Got some other things working too, so, might be a spell before I pull the trigger either way. Still might re-weld the hitch I have and just replace the receiver piece. Too many things rolling around inside my head to think about, LOL.

[Charlie from Illinois]

The Marvellas hitch had a pin so that you can remove the ball assembley and it will be fluch with the fender.

[Raven]

Scott : I had a Hitch Doc and it was a well made Hitch, but for the money I am definitely going with the Marvellas, you get the same hidden feature of the hitch Doc plus quality, for less money also there is a link on my help page that shows how to put one of those cargo trailers together check it out, I have made several of them for my self and for friends, if you extend the tongue as it shows on the website you can then add a nice cooler too....also I will be sending you that sample we talked about tomorrow....sorry for the delay.
Raven

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Raven,
I have been to your site more than once and have examined the trailer page your talking about. It really got me thinking, hence this posting and the questions.
I've looked at several makes and so far the build and price for Marvella's is by far the best deal running. I don't have the extra chrome on the rear fender so that won't be an issue for me as it is for some others with Marvella's hitch.
Thanks so far everyone, I'm sure I am not the only one learning here!

[Bill O]

Guys,
I have had two Markland hitches. Was very satisfied with them. Recently picked this hitch up, but do not know who manufactured it. It is very well build, hefty and strong! If you notice, it is a Vertical Receiver hitch that uses a 1 1/4 square tube bar.



I have already mounted it, and when not in use, you can not see anything! It is tucked away completely behind the fender. Only drawback is you can not have the lower saddlebag rails mounted on the bike and use this hitch.

So, can anyone ID this hitch? And/Or any comments?

Bill O

[Chris near Kansas City]

That is a HitchDoc. That one was on ebay, correct? Out of Jesup, Iowa? If so, I was bidding on it the first time and had something come up as the auction was ending and missed out on it. Then they relisted it, and I bid on it, then they canceled the auction. I was so mad I missed it the first time. Was answering a Craigslist ad for a cheap cell phone. Guy never showed up. By the time I got home, the auction was over.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

OK Guys,
How in the world are you to hook up to a "Vertical Receiver", does your 1 7/8 ball fasten directly into the end of the draw bar or is it bent to high heaven? :-|

[Bill O]

That is a HitchDoc. That one was on ebay, correct? Out of Jesup, Iowa?

Sorry Chris,

I was high bidder within seconds of close, then got outbid by <$1 while I was rudely called away. Apparently high bidder immediately backed out of transaction. I had been in communicado with seller and he gave me an option to make offer, which I did. Sorry, again! Had I not already mounted it, I might had considered offering it up....... wait, ....not!

The next hard thing was finding a hitch bar for a vertical hitch. Finally found one via a Honda specific site. All told, this was not a money saving endeavor.




But now I also have this option available.




That's an adapter so flat mounted, specialty hitches can be used. Such as Unigo(?) and old Tagalong single wheel type trailers (of which I have built one)

At least I now know what type it is.

Bill

[Chris near Kansas City]

The chrome piece like that from HitchDoc is made from solid steel bar instead of a tube. Another reason I like the HitchDoc: They are built stout! "Mmmmmm, meaty goodness!" If it had been made from a tube, I doubt it would have survived the impact.

As Bill has mentioned, it is pretty much completely hidden when the bar isn't installed.

[Mailman Joe]

I was gonna bid on that hitch, but the seller would not answer my questions; I asked about if it was a receiver type hitch, but he didn't answer me and not being familiar with different types of hitches I just let it alone. Thanks for the info guys.

[Mike in Pekin , Il]

I got my Marvellas from Chuck in Indaina when he was going to the dark side and got rid of his voyager. I have installed it on 2 different bikes and have been thrilled with it. Marv and Ella are wonderful people and if you have any problems all you have To do is call and Marv walks you right through it. Additionally he has a really nice rack to go with it. The five into four wire convertor can be bought at walmart for just under 20 dollars in thier trailer section. I have been told that the max weight you want on the tongue is 30#. I weigh mine on the stand when I am done packing to check tongue weight. If to heavy I move stuff around heaviest items being ove the axel. The cooler rakc i built for it is big enough for a 12 can cooler. put the large cooler inside over the axels.