Storage trailers can be a great place to store extra items on your property. However, you can also use a storage trailer to transport items. If you are moving a motorcycle in a storage trailer, you need to take special precautions to ensure the bike isn't damaged. Here are some tips to help you:
1. Opt for a Ramp
To load the motorcycle into the trailer, you need a ramp. Ideally, if you're buying or renting a trailer, you should look for one with a ramp. In an emergency, you can make your ramp. Sturdy planks can work fine. Alternatively, you can use a ladder with some plywood set between the sides of the ladder.
With homemade ramps, you need to put weight in the bottom. Otherwise, the ramp may spring up when you get the weight of the bike to the top.
2. Consider Wheel Chocks
If you're just storing a motorcycle in your trailer, you don't have to worry about it falling over. However, if you decide to drive the trailer, you need to stabilize the bike. You can buy wheel chocks for this purpose.
These rubber items look like door stops or wedges. They go between the bike wheels and the floor of the trailer, and they help to prevent it from falling over.
3. Stabilize With Other Items
If you don't have wheel chocks, you may be able to stabilize your motorcycle with other items. To do this, put your motorcycle in the storage trailer first. Then, load your other items around the motorcycle. Essentially, you want to load the trailer so full that the motorcycle is lodged between your boxes.
To prevent the motorcycle from getting scratched, consider covering it with moving blankets or padded items such as a foam mattress. This also helps protect your other possessions from damage caused by your motorcycle.
4. Use Ratchet Straps
Whether you use your possessions or wheel chocks to hold your motorcycle in place, you should use ratchet straps to stabilize it. Ideally, you want to start with the bike upright. Have someone hold the bike in place. Don't use the kickstand. This holds the bike in a slanted position, and if you move the trailer with the bike in that position, it increases the chances that the bike will fold over.
Instead, hold the bike upright, and use the ratchet straps to stabilize it in place. The trailer should have some metal rings that you can run the straps through.
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16 January 2017
