Aluma 638 Trailer - Issue & Repair

Just a heads up.....We carry our 2018 Spyder Ltd on an Aluma 638 behind our motorhome. This year we headed out from Maine To Az. Stopping for a vehicle check we found that the tongue was at a 20 degree angle in relation to the trailer bed. Upon investigation we found 2 of the 3 tabs holding the tongue to the bed had broken away.....the welds had broken. Luckily there was a Lowe’s nearby. We drilled a 1/2” holes through the bed and tab and installed 1/2” bolts. The fix worked and are now in Az. We will get everything rewelded and install additional supports. The Spyder is not too heavy for the trailer but think the weight distribution is too far forward maybe causing excessive tongue weight.

What's the trailer rated for as for weight??

Aluma 638 is rated for 1600 pounds payload. It has a 2000 pound torsion axle the trailer empty weight is 400 lbs. That will leave the 1600 pound payload weight max. But like any trailer its only as good as the welds. If the welds came lose with out tearing any material around it, it was probably not done right. Just my guess.

That trailer is too small for the bike. The Bed Size is 63" x 96" and the bike is probably around around 105 inches long if its an RT. That means that in order for it to fit on the trailer it will have to sit way forward on the trailer with the wheels maybe sitting on the front raised edge or close to it. So that brings your tongue weight up higher than it was probably designed for. At 63" wide, I would think the front wheels are pretty much at the edge of the rails on either side too.

The other factor is most likely the motorhome. Depending on the length, the rise and fall of the hitch ball may be quite high as you go over bumps. Mostly because of the distance of the ball back from the center of the rear axle which is quite a bit longer than a typical car or truck. What that means is that going over large sized bumps, the trailer is going to pivot quite a bit up and down and add in the heavy tongue weight, and the welds probably failed when it came down from a large bump.

We also tow an aluma trailer behind our class C and knock wood haven't had any issues yet. But ours is a 7810 and is rated for 3500 lbs, a much higher margin of error. I also configured it with metal mounted wheel chocks that limit how far forward the wheels can go. When I first set it up, I measured the tongue weight by moving the bike back and forth and set them so it would be about 250 to 300 lbs which is 10% of total trailer weight. Ten percent is what you should shoot for when setting up tongue weight. HTH.

I bought the 6810 version (68 inches wide x 10 feet long.) I was kicking myself at the time because I couldn't get the larger trailer through my single stall garage door. However, at this point, I am very thankful as my trailer works double duty with a stake rail setup for all non-Spyder-hauls. Lots of room perfect balance, at 425#, is is pretty much the lightest weight possible.

Looking to purchase a 638 to carry my RT. Did you ever check the tongue weight?

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Originally Posted by Sparky2014

Looking to purchase a 638 to carry my RT. Did you ever check the tongue weight?

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It's too short.

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Originally Posted by UtahPete

It's too short.

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Correct. Get something a bit bigger with a higher weight rating. You need to have 10% of total trailer weight for tongue weight. That means the bike will have to sit back farther so the weight is more balanced over the axle. The RT balances at about where the front peg/footrest is attached so use that as a guide for measurements on where to position the bike on the bed of the trailer.

https://i.imgur.com/U0X7sVj.jpg