Motorcycle Lifts on tag axel Beavers

[Don White]

Hello,

I have an 06 Marquis Jade IV.  I have an 06 HD Fat Boy that I've been taking with me on my journeys.  I've been using a Tandem Tow Dolly trailer.  In addition to the bike I carry a 99 Jeep Wrangler on the trailer.  The trailer fully loaded has excellent tow manners so there is no issue there.  It does make for a long rig though.  I was thinking of moving to a motorcycle lift on the back of the MH.  It should shorten my rig up by 6+ or so feet.

My concern is the length between the tag axel and the back of the MH where the lift would be mounted.  I've heard when you get over 6 feet or so you can/will experience porpoising.  This being the result of the leverage the lift has because of the distance between the lift and the tag axel.

If anyone has any experience with a motorcycle lift on the back of a 45 foot Beaver, or similar rig, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you.

Don

http://www.tandem-tow.com/

[Pat Long]

Don,    One of the members Mike Shumack just put one on his 42' patriot and I would ask him about the unit on his coach.   I know its a 42 footer, but I would still ask

[Jerald Cate]

Don,

I carry a 2008 Honda Goldwing on a motorcycle lift behind my 40 Patriot w/tag axle.  I also pull a Chevy Equinox behind that.  My total length is about 63 feet.  From my travels I have never experienced any porpoising with my rig.  My motorcycle weighs just under 1000 lbs and the lift itself weighs about 250 lbs.  To be honest the only way I even know that anything is behind me is to look in my rear camera.  Assuming the length difference between your unit and mine is wheelbase distance and not tag axle to the rear of the coach length I would think you have nothing to worry about.  FYI my motorcycle lift is made by CruiserLift and uses an electric wench, if I had it to do over again I would probably go with a hydraulic lift.

[Mike Shumack]

I just finished the install on my '05 Patriot. The reason I did the bike lift rather than tow a dingy, is because 1) it's cheaper (I don't have a vehicle that can be flat towed - so I would need a tow dolly); and 2) I want to be able to backup if needed. FYI, the HydraLift (and most of the others I looked at) do have a tow hitch build in to allow towing behind the carrier.

I did a self-install, and was getting some advice from a member ("Fire Up") on the irv2 forum that had the same lift (HyrdaLift) installed on his single axle coach. He was carrying a Goldwing (1000+lbs) and had no handling complaints. There are some pictures of his coach and bike on at the link below. If you are installing a carrier on a tag axle coach, it's even better since the rear overhang is less and you can add air to the tax axle to allow for the additional load.

This is the thread I started in the install over at IRV2: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f85/installing-a-motorcycle-carrier-376741.html#post4012196