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Our Motorcycle Trailer Design Philosophy - Part 2
The SST
The Design of the Ultimate Motorcycle Trailer
Other Advantages:
There is another great advantage in doing this, as all of our customers will tell you, it makes it a lot easier to load and unload rather than having to reach way down to gather your gear from the trailer. We also knew that trailers that have the lid opening from the front make it very difficult to get anything out of the front of the trailer, that’s why our hardtops open from the side to allow very easy access to the entire trailer. When we also made the rear of our trailer flow better in the air stream, it resulted in another benefit that our customers really like. Many have owned other brands of trailers that are very low to the ground and pulling them around by hand is very difficult as you have to bend way over to move them to prevent the rear of the trailer from dragging on the ground. You can stand erect and effortlessly pull our trailers by hand wherever you want.
Layout of trailer to match load:
What we have seen so many times is small trailers that are basically a small box that does not hold much with a cooler strapped to the front on the tongue as there was not enough room inside to carry everything needed. We have taken into consideration what a typical biker would want to carry with him/her on trips. Some will want to camp and carry all of their camping gear, possibly a tent, several sleeping bags, a small stove, cooler, clothes, cameras, maps and other assorted items. Others will want to carry possibly two sets of golf bags a couple of full size clothes bags, a cooler, makeup kits and all the stuff that a women wants to go out at night on trips.
Some people like to camp and others like to stay in motels or resorts on their trips and most have been frustrated in not being able to carry the right stuff they want to take with them due to the poor design of many other trailers on the market. This is one of the reasons that our SST is long enough to carry these items. And now for 2004 we have even added a trunk underneath to carry your spare tire if desired, tools and other gear. Our SST is truly designed around what typical users will want to carry.
Stability of Trailer:
The track width of a trailer to be pulled behind a motorcycle is an important consideration in its design. The reason for this is the side-to-side stability of a trailer is improved as the track width increases. Now don’t get me wrong, you can’t go too wide, but there is an ideal width that makes a lot of sense. By having a track width of 43” and not trying to encompass the tires in the main body of the trailer you get the best of all worlds. First a wider track width gives you much more stability when a wheel of the trailer hits a pothole or curb. If the track width is too narrow, as it is on many small trailers, hitting deep potholes attempts to turn the trailer over.
Air Ride Suspension:
Using a solid axle and leaf springs on a small trailer make no sense as this type of suspension does not have the suppleness or a progressive spring rate yielding a rough ride and hopping around when bumps are encountered. Our 2004 SST now incorporates a very advanced “Air Ride” suspension design. All air rides suspensions are not created equal! Some trailer have air ride suspension, but have a design that allows the tires to tilt in and out as the load is changed on the trailer. On some you have to go through a lengthy process of fiddling with the air pressure to adjust it to your load such that the tires track upright. I don’t know what happens if you change the load, I guess you need to keep fiddling with this. Our new design is independent of air pressure and load and the tires always track straight upright.
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