Using a trailer to haul your motorcycle luggage is a great way to travel

Packing your motorcycle luggage is an essential part of preparing for your trip so let's go over a few things. The type of motorcycle luggage you choose can help out. We use soft bags where ever possible. You can fill them with more stuff and they form to fit the trailer better. Inside of those bags is our secret. We use plastic bags that allow us to squeeze the air out of them just like the ones you put a vacuum on but these don't need the vacuum. Just roll them up to squeeze out the air and that's it. You get a ton more room! Some trailers come with a suit bag that attaches to the underside of the lid. These are great if you have some nice clothes that you don't want to wrinkle. If they do wrinkle, mist them with some water and hang them up. By the time you need them, the wrinkles will have all but disappeared. We also use organizers where we can. They come in handy and keep things where you expect them to be.

So how do we handle the extra weight? First thing, packing a motorcycle touring trailer can mean a big difference in the way your bike handles. Tongue weight should be first and foremost on your mind when packing. Limit the weight on the tongue to 10% to 15% of the GVW of the trailer (GVW- base weight of trailer and its cargo). You can measure this using a bathroom scale. Stand on the scale holding the end of the tongue at the height it attaches to the bike. Note the weight and then take a measure of your weight alone and subtract it from the previous measure. This is your tongue weight. It should typically be around 25 to 35 pounds for a loaded trailer.

You can adjust the tongue weight by packing your motorcycle luggage in a certain way. You are going to want the majority of the weight over the wheels of course. Our main bags of clothing get placed right over the axle since this tends to be the heaviest thing we carry. We usually take a 10 foot by 10 foot tent and queen size air mattress with us, that get's packed all the way in the back of the trailer, behind the axle. Being lighter, pillows, coats and raingear will go in front of our bags. And finally our covers and helmet accessories will go in front. This provides me with about 20 lbs to 30 lbs of tongue weight. So now most of the weight is supported by the trailer.

The last thing with packing is a cooler. If you don't have the type that mount on the tongue, pack one inside your trailer. Make sure it doesn't leak when the ice melts and get everything wet. Setting it in a plastic garbage bag is a simple precaution. If your cooler is mounted on the outside of your trailer you don't have to worry about the water, but you do have to worry about the heat. The standard black leather cover can keep your cooler warmer and melt the ice in it a lot faster. One trick is to slide some 1/2 inch insulation board in between the cover and the cooler. Another idea is to have a white cover made. You can go to a upholsterer or a boat shop to have one made. Once you are done, don't forget to recheck the tongue weight. Filling a cooler mounted on the tongue can add twenty pounds to the tongue weight.

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