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Snowbirding in AZ

Whiel those of you in the midwest and norteast have been inundated with snow, we have been getting cold rain here in south TX. The cloud cover has finally broken, and the weather is improving. Today is the first morning in several days I have seen the sun. Tomorrow it is supposed to get into the 60's, with Sunday reaching to almost 70. Time to get back on a ride for a little.
 
Been a while since I put anything in here. Most of the places we have been the last couple of weeks have been windy in a big way, so I haven't been doing a lot of riding. I was in McAllen, TX last week, took the wife to Barnes and Nobel to renew our reading material. As we were heading out of town, this gal pulled a really big no-no. She pulled into what she apparently thought was the center turn lane. Unfortunately, there was no center turn lane on that street. Instead of stopping, the idiot tried to bull her way through. Everyone moved to the left as much as they could, but she ran her mirror across my front fender, bounced off me and side swiped the oncoming car, bounced off that and side swiped the car in front of me. She then found a hole in the traffic, made it over to the right lane, and never stopped. :newsmile055:
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So, yesterday, I had to go back to McAllen to pick up a copy of the accident report for my insurance company so that my uninsured motorist would cover the repairs. That means her lawless ways are only going to cost me $200 dollars instead of $500. First time I was never given a filled out form at the accident site. Guess it is a new way to increase revenue as I had to pay $6 to get a copy. Anyway, the weather was great, so I jumped on the Dyna and rode, 185 miles each way. Guess what, these old bones sure did miss the Ultra on that long of a day ride, missed the tunes too. I think I will be glad to get home pretty soon and get the old girl out of storage and crank her up. Come on spring! :newsmile08:
 
Thanks Tank. Yea, if I had been on the Dyna in the middle of that pin ball game, I would have probably been busted up pretty good. There were cars all around me and nobody wanted to be there at the moment.
 
Hello Jake, just read most of your posts aafter the swivelwheel thing peaked my interest. I will be retiring and my better half insisted on a nice 35 foot 5 r instead of a toy hauler for my 07 road glide. I've been looking at the swivelwheel trailer and think it's a great idea. You having experience with it was a great find on this site. Do you put your trailer plate on it and consider it an extension of your trailer, or do you have it registered as seperate trailer?
Have you ever encountered or been stopped in a state that does not allow double trailers even though this is not realy a tandem trailer in the true sense of the word? Has any uninformed local police ever stopped you for ilegal double trailering? It seems like it's worked great for you the last couple years. I guess the last question I had was regarding the hitch on your travel trailer. Was there any concern that installing it would void your frame warranty? I have a sticker on my trailers bumper that says anything attached that is not factory installed or factory approved would void the warranty. Thanks for all the postings and the swivelwheel history. it was great. Maybe I'll bump into you next year with my swivelwheel and Harley behind my 2500 HD duramax and 5th wheel trailer.
 
I have not had any issues with law enforcement. However, I have stayed out of the states that specifically state they do not allow double trailers. These would be WA, OR, and all states on the Atlantic Seaboard. Federal law does state you can pull on the interstates, and have to be allowed on local roads for fuel, food, and lodging. I just haven't pushed it as I haven't had any need to pull the 5th wheel to those states yet.

I purchased a separate plate for my trailer. Got a permanent plate, same as they put on 18 wheeler trailers. Cost $90, but never has to be renewed. I have seen one instance where the 5th wheel plate was put on the trailer. I believe the guy was from Ohio, but not really sure.

I had no sticker regarding warranty on the frame, but would have installed the hitch anyway. Not installing would mean not taking the bike with me. I had the hitch fabricated at a local welding shop, and they did an outstanding job. If anything, the frame is now a lot stronger than it was. Cost a small fortune, but it was done right.

If you run across me in AZ this winter, be sure and stop by for a cold one and a ride planning session.
 
sjlnys said:
I will be retiring and my better half insisted on a nice 35 foot 5 r instead of a toy hauler for my 07 road glide. I've been looking at the swivelwheel trailer and think it's a great idea.
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Look real close at the way you mount your bike on the trailer. I can not get my ultra on the trailer without the loading ramp hitting the tourpak. I would have to modify the front wheel chock location, remove the ramp, or remove the tourpak to use it. Luckily I can just take the dyna, but some day need to figure out how I am going to use it for the ultra. Also, the additional weight of the ultra starts getting pretty close to the rated load capacity. I do believe that if I move the bike far enough forward to clear the loading ramp when it is stowed, that I will exceed 8'6" and be considered a wide load. I do not want to go there.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking long and hard because most of the towing I will be doing is along the eastern seaboard were double towing is not legal. I could remove the tour pack for traveling so that would not be an issue. You think this would be easier and legal the way the swivelwheel is attached? Thanks for the info.
 
No idea how the cops in your area would respond. I would probably go down to the DMV and talk to them about it, get the official word. Get them to show it to you in writing though, otherwise it is just somebodies opinion.
 
Hello retired Jake. February 18 os my official retirement day. Looking forward to it. How long have you had your swivelwheel? How many miles on it approx? Any issues? What would you have done differently from your experience with the swivelwheel? I'm still trying to collect data for my decision. Thanks.
 
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