Harley Hauler - Phase 1

Ever since moving to the country back in the early eighties, I've had a trailer. The first one was an inexpensive utility model from Canadian Tire whose length I extended by simply bolting on some angle iron to the frame. One 4 by 8 sheet of plywood made the floor, while another couple were used to make the sides. It served me well for many years carrying furniture, construction materials, and once even my old '85 Virago.

To think I trusted this trailer to carry my bike a thousand kilometers.

Although I still have the trailer, the decades have taken their toll and it currently sits almost forgotten in a corner of my yard. I hope to rebuild it one day, perhaps mating a orphaned truck cap I have to it, but for now it will have to continue to slowly rot.

When Caroline’s father passed away, we acquired his old Explorer and his well used landscaping trailer. He had used it to carry a small tractor equipped with a bucket and backhoe to his bush property where it was used to construct roads and hiking trails. Knowing how well the trailer performed this function, I was very confident that it would have no problem fulfilling any of my requirements. In fact, the very first task I put it to was to bring home my new FXDXT in the spring of 2002. Although the plywood floor was already well advanced in the process of decomposing from close to ten years of being in service, it was still more than adequate to get the job done.

My TSport arrives safely home from the dealer.
(See Our Bikes, A Drastic Change)

For the next five years I continued to use the trailer as it was despite its worsening condition until eventually it had to be parked. The floor had finally disintegrated. The time had at last come for a bit of sprucing up.

The first of three coats of Tremclad Rust Paint goes on by brush. This paint is supposed to chemically bond with rust, hence no need to strip to bare metal before painting.

The first step was to strip off all the old decaying plywood. Many of the bolts holding on the plywood were in pretty rough shape. If they didn't break off on their own during removal, then bolt cutters were used to finish the job. Once the frame was fully exposed, it was time to paint.

Almost done painting the frame, thank God.

The instructions on the paint can said to only remove loose paint and rust, so I used a pressure washer to prepare the surface. Although some sections of the trailer frame and major portions of the fenders would have a cratered look, I was not after a show car finish. This was a work trailer after all, and would require touching up on a regular basis.

You'll note that I changed the color of the trailer from red to black. In keeping with the theme of a Harley Hauler, it was only natural to use the official colors of Harley Davidson. Paints from Tremclad do come in a select range of colors, but it was far easier to match up an orange for the wooden sides with regular exterior paint.

Because the trailer was originally designed with a plywood floor, I decided that it would be best to stay with that material. To make it last as long as possible, I painted the exterior grade plywood on both sides with a bed liner paint developed for trucks. I used a regular paint brush rather than a roller in order to work the product as much as possible into the wood, and also to ensure that I didn't run out of paint. At $70 Canadian per gallon of the stuff, it isn't cheap. Although I managed to put one coat on the underside and two coats on the top, I plan to buy one more gallon to finish the top with a very heavy final coat. But since it's snowing while I type this, that will have to wait until spring.

For the sides I used the same kind of plywood product used for making signs. It has a paper-like finish that is very durable and weather resistant, and you guessed it, also expensive. Home Depot mixed up the orange for me using their best paint which technically doesn't require a primer. To get the color to match the sample I provided however, would require a tinted primer. I opted to ignore that recommendation since I wasn't that picky about the shade anyway. I rollered three coats on to the sign board sides and declared it done.

New tires and plastic hub caps and you could say the trailer rejuvenation is complete. Well, there are a few more things I plan to do in Phase 2 next summer. The lights are looking shabby and will be replaced, and the HD bar and shield will eventually find its way on. I'm also thinking of attaching rubber moulding to the ramp to protect the paint when in use, and add a couple of removable wheel chocks for the bikes (most likely from Pingel).

This trailer should now easily provide me with another decade of service, while looking good doing it.