Been away for awhile....I'm Back.
I want to haul my VTX Motorcycle with me on vacation. It is about 700 lbs.
I understand if loaded properly there won't be a whole lot of weight on the tongue. Some of the Hitches say 200 lbs max.
Any experience out there?
Q1: Is my bike too heavy for the 2008 Clubman? (Not S)
Q2: Which hitch is recommended? why?
Q3: is there a trailer or size recommended?
The local trailer dealer said he had so many complaints from the 4x8 swaying and pulling side to side he quit selling them. He recommended nothing smaller than a 5x10.
Opinions from experience will be greatly appreciated.

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Found
MiniDoMore PN:M1005 for $225 & Drawbar kit Shipped $310
Uhaul SportFrame PN:24825 & DrawBar PN:36053B Shipped $215
Curt PN:11170 $142 Shipped.

All would need Wiring around $85.

So I guess my only question now is:
What advantage would justify Lowest vs Highest price, they all appear to be identicle except the Uhaul is a round tube as opposed to square tube.
They all mount the same until you get to the minifini.com device.

The MiniFini is a very clean and neat install, with no need to move the license plate. It has two tubes instead of One. but Shipped with all needed to do what the above does is $777.20 (ClubLink, Club-Link Attachment base, Ball Attachment) Major Difference in Price

Opinions?, Thoughts?

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FYI the Curt Hitch is a knock off of the MINI Do More hitch. Long story behind that as well. And that is why the Curt i much less expensive.

European limits on the tow weight of a trailer is about 1200 pounds total. But then again they say to only tow with a Non S model. MINI USA states it is not proper to tow a trailer with a MINI. It has something to do with US regulations that they do not want to deal with or pay testing for.

So with your bike and trailer if you are over that weight then I would not recommend it.

Do not hesitate to tow/haul with your MINI....just be mindful of how much weight you are towing and how it is distributed on your trailer. I've done lots of towing with my MINI (first with my R50 Cooper and now with my R56 MCS). Most of the hauling has been on my 4x8 Harbor Freight utility trailer. I have never even once had any issue with sway, shake, or anything else. Those issues are more related to how the load on the trailer is distributed than the trailer itself. Loaded properly, the bulk of the weight should be over the axle of the trailer of just slightly forward of it. When the rear of the trailer is overloaded, that's when you get into sway issues. If you are planning on just towing a motorcycle, a 4x8 trailer is more than large enough....in fact, I would think that a 5x10 is overkill for that purpose. My guess is that the trailer guy was just trying to sell you a trailer he had?

I towed a vintage BMW cycle from Indiana to North Dakota on my HF 4x8 with no troubles. This was with my R50 Cooper doing interstate speeds. You don't even really know it's back there.


I also towed my current bike (a '74 Honda CB550) from Michigan to Indiana when I bought it. Again.....no troubles. Interstate speed. (btw, it looks better than this now....new paint and the fairing, etc. are gone...this is how I bought it).


And then finally this past summer, I hauled a load of "stuff" (furniture, boxes, etc) from Indiana to southern TX on the trailer with 32" side walls and a lid attached doing interstate speeds with my R56 Cooper S. No troubles at all.

Finally, I have a popup camper that I have towed with both cars (first trip was to to Fontana a couple of years ago for MOTD.....did fine in the mountains.

New paint job on trailer to match new car...


On the Dragon....

Towed a sailboat from Indiana to Eastern KY....


There are various motorcycle-specific trailers out there, but most of them are pretty expensive. For the $$, the Harbor Freight utility trailers are a great buy and you can use them to haul other stuff when the need arises. I think mine is the 900ish lb model that folds....which is great because it folds and swings up against the wall of the garage out of the way. I think I saw them on sale for $250ish in an ad the other day.....and there's a 20% coupon that I received in e-mail (which i'd be happy to send you if you want).

I also have the Curt hitch on my car and it's been great. I had a MiniDoMore on my first Cooper and it was great quality as well.

Good luck and happy trailer shopping! Don't hesitate to haul/tow with your MINI!

Check you Owner's Manual. If you don't have one, there is an on line copy. 1425 pounds sticks in my mind as the towing limit, but I'm 8000 miles from my car and don't have the time right now to search on line...

NOTE:

The MiniDoMore site says 1400# Towing Capacity and 200# Tongue Weight...

Home built based on the Porta Chopper trailer. Built it to haul my Ducati Monster. We made a round trip from Southern California to Tucson and back. Averaged 32mpg at max. legal speeds (75 in AZ) with no problems.

Mini DoMore receiver 1000 lb tow/100lb tonque rating. Hit my design critera of 75lbs tongue weight. Overall weight was just over 600 lbs with the bike.

Does it say that on the hitch, itself?

On http://minidomore.com/index.php is says:

NOTICE: Mini Do More trailer receiver hitches have all been certified by Test Link Services, Inc. using SAE J684 Department of Transportation testing standards to meet a tongue weight rating of 200 lbs and a maximum tow rating of 1400 lbs. Many states require the use of a SAE J684 certified hitch for hauling and towing.

Can't explain why there would be a difference.

They must have changed the rating. Checked the installation PDF (Version 5, 2006 Dated) that I got with my receiver and it has the hitch capacity as 1000lbs gross, 100lb tongue.

On their site, the new installation instructions have the rating you show above for all the receivers.

I had noticed when I bought the receiver for our Clubman S, that it was rated higher than the first one. Just figured it was higher due to the application.

My guess is that the things that matter are weight, weight distribution, power and perhaps wheelbase. I have no idea how all this factors out. Other than the Countryman, the rest of the cars are pretty similar.

Wow Thanks for the Info.
Really like the Pictures too.
I looked up the Harbor Freight 1195 lbs capacity 48x96 foldable trailer. on sale now for $299.99 It says the Shipping weight is 159 lbs so assembled weight must be at that.
159 Trailer + 20 Plywood + 700 Motorcycle = 879 lbs Total
This is less than the 1500 limit.
I think we have a keeper.

Any warnings or disapprovals?
If anybody has setup suggestions on the trailer (other than std factory)
I'm open to all idea's

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1400#

Assembling the trailer is pretty straight forward. When you go pick it up, I would also pick up a cheap motorcycle front wheel chock as well (seen in one of my pics above). It basically just bolts through the plywood floor on your trailer.

The only advice I would give is for your trailer lighting. Make sure you get a "powered" type of trailer light converter for your car. On modern cars such as our MINIs that can detect burned out bulbs and other issues, you cannot use a regular converter. The powered type uses power directly from the battery and uses the car tail lights as "triggers" to turn the trailer lights on and off accordingly. I don't know how the clubman tail lights are, but on my R56, you can't necessarily tap the brake/marker bulbs in the assemblies for your converter as they are powered on multiple voltages (allowing them to dim on/off when you lock/unlock your car). You will be able to tap the turn signals in the tail lights, but you will likely have to tap wires in the wiring harness inside the fender (in the boot) for the tail and brake functions. That was my experience, anyway, on my R56S.

Finally.....I received another 20% Harbor Freight coupon the other day that is good through this Sunday. That would save you $60 on the trailer. If you want it, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll forward you the coupon so you can print it.

I bought all my stuff from mini do more (about 5 minutes away from me.). Hitch, drawbar and wiring box thingie. The supplied directions for the wiring were easy to follow even after a few beers. I tow a steiner lawnmower, sea doo boat, and four wheeler.