motorcyclebloggers.com

I got to say, craigslist.org is one of my favorite places on the net these days.
While I don’t surf to craigslist.org as much as HugeJugsonAprilia.com, It still
holds a place in my heart. Without craigslist.org, I would not have hooked up
with my current racing SV650, Honda EU2000i generator or my new to me Kendon 2
Rail motorcycle trailer.

As a few of you know, I built up a Harbor Freight folding trailer. In general
this trailer was working out well for me, taking a bike to and from the local
tracks in Phoenix, AZ. But to be honest I am I worry wart and never felt
comfortable using the trailer to tow a bike a longer distance. Add to this, I
added a second race bike to my fleet, and I felt it was time for a better
motorcycle trailer.

The biggest factor for me on any trailer is storage. I liked how the folding
trailer fit into my garage, and wanted to keep that feature. With that it
narrowed my choices in trailers down to a few folding trailers. The top of the
line is the Kendon trailer series. The Kendon trailer has a low platform
height, torsion axle, 2000lb total capacity, 13” tires, built in wheel chocks
and a host of other nice features.

So being a cheep guy, I decided I needed to find a USED kendon trailer. My
first point of search then became craigslist.org. The good thing about
craigslist.org is that heavy stuff like a trailer is an easier sell than places
like eBay. Craigslist.org has become the new pennysaver magazine on the
internet, where you can get anything and the prices are all over the place.

For months I searched craigslist.org to find a number of Kendon trailers for
sale. The bad part is the prices people were asking for, was almost as much as
a new one. $2200 for a used trailer is more than I wanted to pay. But if you
first don’t find a deal, search and search some more. A deal is always around
the corner if you keep your eye open.

As the spring moved into the heat of summer, the prices for motorcycle stuff
starts to go down. Buying in the off-season is always a good deal, and the off
season for phoenix is June though August. Just as I had hoped, the few kendon
trailers on craigslist.org were not selling in 3 to 5 days, as they did just a
few months earlier. Prices on some of these trailers started to drop, and it
was time for me to strike a deal.

I found a person selling a “Lightly Used” 2003 Kendon trailer. Over the phone
the trailer was a low mileage gem, having only been used 3 times for towing.
Talk is cheep, but you got to go see the item to know what is what. I went out
on a Saturday morning and looked at this gem of a trailer. While not in bad
shape, the trailer was not used only 3 times. Some paint had been worn away in
a few spots, and the trailer had been used a bit more than described. A good
inspection of the trailer found a loose wheel bearing and I pointed out a few
points of paint wear. Also I noted the trailer was not registered in phoenix,
and offered $300 off the asking price. To my surprise, the guy took the $1200
and I was the proud owner of a used trailer.

After transferring the title and getting all the paperwork in order, I took this
bad boy home to enjoy looking at it parked in my garage. I looked at the
trailer for a whole month in my garage before I made the effort to work on the
wheel bearings. During this month I researched the correct bearings to install,
installation procedure, and history of the trailer axle.

The Kendon trailer uses a Dexter torsion beam axle. One would figure that it
would be easy to figure out what parts I needed, and have it shipped to my door.
The one person would be completely WRONG in that assumption. Calling Dexter
Axle Company provides you with the experience that no one knows what they build.
I offered up the make and model of my Kendon trailer and was told, they have no
clue what axle they sold them. I then called back with the serial number of
the axle at their request, and learned no one knew what that axle was. A third
call to their “Engineering” department taught me that the axle tube assembly was
a 3500lb unit, but the axles are a 2000lb style. This special “Hybrid” axle had
unique parts that were not in their catalog. I ordered the parts they suggested
and waited three weeks for parts that never were to arrive. After losing my
order and no one knowing what I wanted, I gave up.

My next step was to research local parts supplier. To my luck in phoenix a
company called “Auto Safety House” (_www.autosafetyhouse.com_
) handles Dexter axles and parts. All I would
need to do is bring the bearings and hubs down, and my supplier would fix me up.

So one Saturday I decide to take the hubs off my trailer. All goes well with
removing the old wheels and I move on to getting the dust caps off. When I
remove the dust cap on the right side wheel, I notice a lot of dark gray grease.
Thinking nothing of it, I remove the cap locking the nut on the axle; remove
the nut with my fingers. Taking the hub off, I gather the bearings and clean
all the dark gray grease out of the hub. Moving to the left side, when I remove
the dust cap, I find nice clean red grease and not to much of it. Again
removing the hub I find bearings but in nice clean grease.

Playing with the bearings I find the right hand bearings were in poor shape.
But what would you expect from a used trailer. My guess was the previous owner
hit a curb or other object with the right wheel and damaged the bearings. He
then pulled the dust cap off, added some grease to the axle assembly and sold
the trailer. Luckily, I replaced the parts.

I took the old parts to Auto Safety House, and got new hubs with bearing races
installed and all new bearings and grease. All these parts cost $60 and a
bearing packer and grease gun was only another $40 at my local NAPA store. I
put everything back together with new seals, full pack of grease and I was good
to go. The wheels now spun freely and without freeplay.

Another 4 weeks passes and I finally have a reason to use my $1300 trailer.
Taking a single bike on a 350mile one way trip to Deming, New Mexico. Almost
from the time I entered the freeway, I though, this is one good trailer. The
unit towed straight and true, even though only one bike was on it, the unit did
not sway or have any control issues. Loading the bike is easy, strapping it
down is simple, and it tows nice and straight. What more could I want?

Well a few things would help it out.
More tie down points, for a motorcycle trailer there is few dedicated tie down
points.
Ramp holder is not to easy to use when there is a bike on the trailer. Having
to slide it under the trailer and get it on two studs is not that great. Till I
come up with a better mounting system, the ramp just stays in the SUV.
How about a tongue jack? There is no way to level the trailer without it being
attached to a tow vehicle. At times I like to load my motorcycles the night
before and leave the trailer in the garage over night. With this trailer, it
is not that easy to do.

*Review Summary*
The good:
Tows straight and true
Easy to load the bike on it
Tilts up for easy storage

The Bad:
Ramp mount on trailer hard to reach when trailer has a motorcycle on it.
No tongue jack to hold the trailer up

The Ugly:
Buying a used trailer with a bad wheel bearings. Cleaning all that grease, Yuck!