Bushtec Turbo Trailer

Bushtec Turbo Trailer
ÍIigh-tech tow,ing.
hether towing
a
trailer is a necessity
or a jo\, for you, it
pays to invest in the best unit
you can afford. The money vou
spend
will be repaid in con-
venience, reliabiliry and safew.
Bushtec's Turbo trailer is
among the fine st cargo
haulers the industrr. has to
offer. The base model has several unique pertbrmance and
convenience features, and a
a iisted rveight
of
125 pour-rds
plus optiorrs. so the carrviug
capacity is a ma,ximum of about
225 poLrnds. The bodv ir constructed oÍ' hand-rolled, marinequalitl, fiberglass it n leqr, à€ro-
dvnamic-looking shapc. The
taillights are recessed high on
the back lbr ma-dmum r.isibilit.y, and dual gas-filled props
support the steel-reinfbrced lid
u,hen open, much like the
hatchback on a late-model car.
to create the Rolls- ip,-,"[r"r.iastnesaÍmenruaguerowïiàï.",i'iinï,, trailerasolid,high-qu.[tyf.U.
Royce of cargo traile rs. desiÍable and Íunctional.
Another example is the pushNaturallv all of this comes at a breathtaking
button lici latch, r,vl-rich sr-rcks it dolvn tight
added
price, but if vou're ready, so is Bushtec.
Rather than the usual box frame, the
Turbo is built upon a custom Bushtec design
made primarilv of healry-wall tubular steel.
Both the bodr. above and triangulated, fullv
independent suspension struts below are
mounted on L-shaped plates rl,hich extend
from the main frame strut. The latter
extends from the back of the trailer forward
to become its tongue.
against a bulb-qpe neoprene lid seal. When
soaked r.vith a hose, the interior of our test
Turbo stxl,sd completelr, dn'.
Fit and finish on the Turbo u,as quite good,
with a gorgeous luster to the custom paint,
though ours had a couple of minor bubbles
and blemishes. Bushtec salrs dris is dr,re to the
finickv nature of its custom-mlxed firushes; it
uses two coats of epoq, primer, follou,ed b_v
the base color coat, a Deltron epoxv coat and
Bushtec says it is the only manufacturer
a minimum of nvo coats of cle ar polr.using totallv indeper-rder-rt, air-adjustable susurethane. The trailer is tape pinstriped as u'ell
pension in its cargo trailers. Not onlv can vou PHorocR-{PHYuYTHÈÀurHoR as undercoated, and chrorne trim is applied
adjust the ride height and camber of dre tó-inch wheels to
around each rvheel we1l. Bushtec savs ir can color match
the load and road conditions with a sir-gle Shrader valve, anvthing the customer rides, u,.hether it has a custom or facbut the irrdependent action of the shocks (made bv Monroe torv paint job. It blends paint r.vith a complete PPG svstem
for Bushtec) and a full-rvidth anti-srvav bar prevent bounc- to the bike's current color rather than a pair-rt code.
ir-rg and bodv roll in corners. Lifting d-re back of the Turbo
Our Turbo was equipped with several options, including
to a height of about 18 inches and dropping it produces lita spoiler-stt,le lid ($59) u.hich Br.rshtec says generates one
de or no bounce. The result is m incrediblv smooth ride. to one-and-a-half pounds of dorvn force at ó5 mph and
Unloaded or filled to near capacitv, our test unit soaked up
breaks up the air flou. over d-re back of the trailer, keeping
drivewat, lips, potholes and even speed bumps u,ithout the
it cleaner. It also received a single-color candl. rub\, red
rider on our Honda Gold Wing GL1500/ó tou, vehicle paint job ($395), stone prorecror bra ($89), full inrerior
noticing much at all. There's also a much reduced risk of
carpeting (S200), a stainless steel lid rack ($109), garmenr
flipping the trailer onto its roof should vou hit a large bag ($1I9), handling package (heavier, rnore compliant
bump at speed with just one wheel.
anri-su'ay bar-934), mag r,r,heels and hub caps ($110), a
Bushtec has taken the swivel hitch-concept a step further l2-r.olt interior light ($20), chrome chassis neck ($ó9) and
as weii. An aircraft-quality heim joint rs mated to the end
a Harler-Davidson FLH chrome hitch with locking pin
of the tongue, wl-rich rotates àó0,1.g..., itself. This ($215). Grand total: $2,ó14. Whervl Of course, iirlou
arrangement drops over a positive pin coupler on the bike don't need all of the str-lÍï tve didn't knoi.v u,e did, dre base
hitch. While its unique design precludes the use of an-v Turbo starts at a mere S1,195. Want even more i Available
other make of trailer, the Bushtec hitch completelv elimi- options can bring the price up to a rvhopping $3,500.
nates binding in the swivel action, as well as the slop
Well, rvhat did -vou expectf Rolls-Royces aren't chcap
sometimes found in standard hitch designs u,hich can proeither. For more information contact Bushtec
duce a push-pull feeling under braking and accelerarion.
ManuÍàcturing and Sales, Inc., Route 1, Mt. Paron Road,
Internally, the Turbo measures 50 inches long, 26 ir-rch- Jacksboro, Tennessee 37757; (ó15) 562-9900. f
es wide and 20 deep. It has a GVWR of 350 pounds and
Math Twttle Jr.
60
RIDERlFebraary 1994
TO HAVE
AND TO FIAUL
by Buzz Kanter
've put lols of milcs on lots of dilferent
bikes since the early 1970s, and I consider myself a pretty good rider. I've
been on all kinds ofbikes, but - until
recently I had never pulled anything
behind amotorcycle, andl was a bitnervous.
Still, I'd secn folks with much less experience happily riding down the road pulling a
trailer. I had a big ride planned out to Harley's
90th in Milwaukee, so it seemed like the
pcrfect time to finally try one out. I certainly
wouldn't mind having the extra room to
carry along all those things you never can Íit
in your saddlebags.
I made a call to the folks at Bushtec, and not
much long after, I was hooking up one of
their trailers, and getting ready to pile it on
for the haul from Connecticut to Milwaukee.
(onstruclion
From the start it was apparent that this
trailer is a well thought out, properly constructed piece of cquipment. Giving it the
once over, I could tell that Bushtec did not
cut arry corners in design or manufachue.
The best way to appreciate this trailer is to
look underneath it. the steel tubing frame is
first-class all the way, with a sway bar to help
stabilize the ride. The trailer was designed
with a l7 dcgree bend in the tongue so once
hooked up it would be at or near the axle
centerline of the rear wheel.
Worthwhile details abound on this trailer.
One of them is the extemal "bra" that protects the front of the trailer from road gnrnge
and anything the motorqycle kicks up at it.
Another is the interior light insicle the trailer
- a feature you might not appreciate until you
are stranded in the dark trying to find your
flashlight inside the dark trailer.
The Buslrtec is quite waterproof (it got a
"test" during one of the heaviest rains Chicago has experienced in many a year), and
the interior is fully lined to protect both the
trailer itself and the items inside it.
There's 23.2cu. ft. of space inside, andthe
trailer is designed to carry 225 pounds. Actually, Bushtec President Jotm Preston says
tliat it is "over-engineered" well beyond that
point, but in any case it is far more than the
average touring rider will evcr need.
Assembly & lnstollotion
There's work to be done before you ride
off
into tire sunset with this trailer, but not an
awful lot. The assembly is mostly complete
when you get it from the manufacturer. The
wheels and tires are installed, and the only
tricky part is attaching the tongue (pull bar).
Ifyou can change your bike's oil, you can
hydraulically adj ustable shocks.
After assembling the few components that
require it, it's time to inflate the tires. The
instructions tell you to deliberately overinflate them to 80 PSI. That will set the bead
seat, after which you can lower the presstue
down to 35 PSI for operation.
The Bushtec trailer does not use a traditional fixed axle. Its sophisticated adjustable
suspension design allows you to dial the
suspension in to match yourparticularneeds.
That means you have to set the amount of air
pressure in the suspension, which is a trialand-error process. But don't let that scare
you; this is about as easy a trial-and-error
procedure you will ever have to do.
You can'tjust go by an air pressure gauge;
the amount of pressure is determined by the
weight load in the trailer, which makes sense.
The way to se t the air pressure is to put all the
contents in the trailer and roll
it fifteen or
twenty feet - far enough for the suspension to
establish itself. Next, walk behind the trailer
and see how the whecls look. Ideally, they
should be straight up and down. Ifthey lean
in at the top you need to add air. Conversely,
if they lean out at the top, let some of the air
out. 1'hen, roll the trailer hfteen or twenty
feet and have another look at the wheels. As
I said, this is a simple procedure.
a storm outside
of Chicago).
I did not feel it, but a number of people
I rode with tell me the trailer does hop
around a little. I didn't even feel it.
Many people probably figure that a
trailer is a trailer is a trailer. But the
supension makes a big difference, as
can best be noticed when you ride over
hurdles such as train tracks or speed
bumps. The trailer felt under control no
matter what, and that's as good a recommendation as I can think of.
I stopped counting how many people
asked about it. They were amazed to see
how much larger it actually was than it
looked on the outside. Most of them were
also impressed with the 360 degree pivoting mounting system.
I got a kick out ofthe last paragraph in
the assembly instructions: All of the employees at BUSHTEC wish to extend
their appreciation for the faith and trust
YOU have shown by your purchase ofa
BUSHTEC trailer. Our labor is one of
love and our support to you is unending.
TTTANKYOU! zuDE SAFELY!
Would I recommend pulling a trailer?
Sure. IfI can do it, you can too. The one
downside is that if you ride on a highway
that still charges tolls, you have to pay
than
Once I hooked the trailer up and set the air
pressure, it was time to ride. I was quite
cautious at Íirst. I slipped the clutch out
slowly, waitingÍo feelsomething different. I
was ready for almost anything, from a dragging feeling to a loud snap or an out-ofcontrol wheelie. Surprise! The ride was both
easy and under total control.
I was most aware of the trailer when I went
around very slow comers, mostly because I
was checking that I would clear the curb, not
because of a safety concern. The other time
I was very aware of the trailer was while
trying to back up. I recommend you don't
evcn try it. It is much more pleasant to park
the bike in such a manner thatyou can
simply
ride straight out without fussing with the
handle the assemblyprocess. All youhave to
do is be patient and follow the instructions.
Make sure, however, that you do not pinch or
damage the electrical wire hamess or the air
How about at highway speed? Well, I'll
deny it if a policeman asked, but the trailer
line that leads from the valve stem to the
running hard to get ahead ofthe next wave of
I
asked why I should pay more
since we both have fourwheels.
Her answer? Wheels don't count, just
a;i.les. I smiled and explained the trailer
didn't have an axle, but it didn't matter.
more.
The Ride
a
car
The [osl
The Bushtec trailer sÍarts at $1,195
dependingonwhatoptionsyou want,
can range up top anywhere to $3,800.
The important thing is that the the base
unithas the same safety and performance
and,
handling features. The base model comes
with a white gel coat inside and out, a flat
lid, wire wheels and a black tongue. Each
trailer is custom built. {.
Buzz Kanler is publisher of TÀM Com-
municatiors, Inc.
trailer or bike.
was
rock stable
at 75 miles an hour (we were
For more information on the Bushtec
line of lrailers, contact: Bushtec Mfg,
Dept MT&T'., Rt #1, Mount Paran Rd.,
Jacksboro, TN 37757. (615) 562-9900.
AUTUIíN 1993 IyíO]'ORCYCLE I'OUR & I'RAVEL 59
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF ROAD RIDER MAGAZINE
COPYRIGHT FEBRUARY 1S2 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 2
Product Report:
On the road the Bushtec proved to be
superior in road holding and
trackabiliry. The prop stand, however
(visible at ieft under the leading edge
of the trailer body), was aflimsy
affoir-well below the high standards
found elsewhere in the design.
joint: the elimination of virtually all
slack in the connection, especially in the
fore-aft plane. This results in positive
and instantaneous trailer feedback during acceleration or deceleration without
the inertial jerk and counterpull often
associated with standard ball-and-hood
type setups.
Bushtec Cargo Tt'aller
b:: Bob Carpenter
ushtec trailers came on the
motorcycl'ng scene around
1982. Thc basic design was
fairly well-received, but the mediumsized cargo units didn't really take off
until John and Sally Preston bought the
company in 1989 and implemented a
comprehensive upgrading program on
the useful little cargo trailer.
Since then, the Bushtec has become
widely recognized as one of, if not the
most popular tagalongs in its class. Is
that reputation warranted? To find out,
One of the stafl members jumps up and
down on it.
if
the bracket can survive
approximatelv 200 pounds of curious
RR staffer in a parking lot, we Íigure it
will be adequate for up to 100 pounds of
trailer tongue weight out on the road.
When put to the RR torture test. the
Bushtec bracket didn't even budge. We
gave it lull marks and moved on to the
coupler lnd related part:.
The Bushtec is one of the Íèw units
(if
we hitched an option-packed Bushtec to
not the only one) in the mororcycle
a
trailer market that employs a captured-
Four thousand miles later, here's a
report on the popular Bushtec-from
ball coupling system. In this arrangment-also known as a Heim joint-a
steel sphere is semi-enclosed rvith an
stem to stem.
One area in which some bike-trailer
makers cut corners aÍ J cos;s is in frame
manufacture. They are able to do this
because prospecti,/e buyers rarely pick
up a trailer to look at the bottom. As a
result, simple, inexpensive rectangular
frames are the rule, even though this
design is inherently less reliable and can
create handling problems.
To the credit of the Prestons, the
Bushtec frame is a fine piece of work
with no engineering shortcuts taken to
trim costs" It is constructed of steel tubing. The center strut and tongue is a
two-piece arrangement of heavy-wall
tubing that extends from the hitch all the
way to the rear edge of the trailer.
Coupling System
a GLl500 and went off in search of
long way home.
Frame
Heavy-duty L-shaped plates serve as
body attachment points and as mooring
points for the triangulated, independent
suspension struts. A sway bar helps stabilize the lateral moment of inertia
around the longitudinal axis. High-den-
sity plastic bushings are installed
orbital coilar. The ball is free to swivel
latitudinally and longitudinally inside
the collar, hindered only by the stem
that attaches the ball to the mounting
faces. In all it is a sophisticated and
effective design.
straight-forward U-shaped yoke. It
bracket.
Suspension
attaches at four points: via bolts near the
The disadvantages of this type of
hitch are: 1) it is more expensive, and 2)
the exposed, greased portion of the
The Bushtec's suspension matches
the frame in terms of sophistication and
Mounting Bracket
Preston's Bushtec bracket
is
a
lower swing-arm mounts, and to the aft
section of the Honda subframe with Ubolts. The concept is to integrate the
mounting bracketry solidly to the rear
structural members of the GLl500.
The official Road Rider test for
mounting bracketry strength is simple.
between all moving, metal-to-metal sur-
efficiency. Twin air-assisted shock
sphere can be pretty messy when hook-
absorbers are mounted in a trailing link
ing or unhooking the trailer. T'hough
configuration.
this latter trait can be irritating. the dis-
grated via crossover tube; the lead line
advanta_ees are outrveighed to some
extent b1,' the big advanrage of a Heim
exits at a semicircular grounding strap
on the trailer tongue for easy access.
Air lines are fully inte-
ROAD RlDERiFebruar,-
1992
19
Is this the best frame in the
motorcycle t argo trailer busine
ss ?
d cle si gn, h i g h- qua I ity
m 0t e r ia I s and painstakin g
canstruction standards make a strong
argument for a ",tes!" answer.
S
The idea is to add air to the suspension system as the load gets heavier.
Preston's standard "eyeball" rule is to
add air until the wheels set perpendicular to the road after a shoff, around-the-
block "settling" ride. During the test,
this advice proved workable under most
touring conditions.
The disadvantages of a fuily independent but integrated shock-absorber system are weight, bulk and cost. The
advantage-and it is a signif,cant oneis superior road holding. As tested, we
could make the wheel
when
it
lift momentarily
encountered rocks or other
obstacles, but there was no sign of any
secondary bounce once the wheel
returned to the ground. It was very
impressive.
John Preston delights in demonstrating the effectiveness ofthe Bushtec sus-
pension at motorcycle rallies. He lifts
the trailer about two or three feet off the
ground and drops it. The tires hit, the
body compresses the shocks, but there
is virtually no rebound and the tires stay
simply could not make the trailer
glued to the ground. Again, very
wheels leave the road surface under normal riding circumstances. At one point,
we even pu1led over to the road shoulder and let the right trailer wheel travel
along the unpaved portion. This way we
impressive.
Body
The Bushtec's body is a stylishly
sculpted, one-piece f,berglass box. It's
op h i s tir: at
e
made of a combination of hand-layered
giass and chopped glass, which yields
good structural strength and flexibility
while holding the costs down. Wheel
wells (legally required in some states)
are molded into the one-piece design.
The buyer has a choice of two lids: a
simple, relatively flat, no-frills top, and
a top with a fashionable air-foil molded
into the rear section. Whether the "air-
foil" is functional or not would make an
interesting campfire debate, but it does
add a sporty flair to the trailer's topside.
Both lids feature a welded steel subframe of 314-inch tubing for exceptional
strength in this area. Preston claims the
lid alone is rated to 75 pounds of carrying capacity. During the last 1500 miles
or so of the test trip, a set of used tires
weighing in the neighborhood of 20
pounds or so was strapped to the
Bushtec lid with absolutely no adverse
results noted.
Options
As tested, the Bushtec traitrer featured
As tested, the trailer featured
all the options Bushtec offers.
The lid-mounted garment bag
was a greaï way to keep
fancy duds neat and tidy.
several options: eight-spoke mag
wheels, special lid, garment bag, luggage rack, spare tire (mounted), interior
carpeting, light bars, ice chest, custom
paint, stone-protection "bra", key-operated coupler lock, etc. Of special note
are the luggage rack, the garment bag
and the ice chest.
The luggage rack is through-bolted
solidly to the lid's steel subframe.
Otrviously, this is a far more reliable
method than bolting a rack to the f,berglass lid or, as some manufacturers do,
20
ROAD RIDER|Februarl' 1992
gluing the rack directly to the lid. The
Bushtec rack featured an adclitional
option: adjustable, sliding, bungee-cord
tie-downs. A useful option for those
who anticipate stacking odd-shaped
Bushtec is almost alone in offering
an aircroft-qualiry Heint joint as o
coupling system. A zirc fitting is
iocated just aft of the coupler; the
c aptur e d- ball aru an g eme nt p r ov i de s
no-slop feedback; a key-operated
coupler lock is available.
duffel to the trailer top.
For those who plan to do a night on
the town, the garment bag is a winner. It
is a simple, zippered vinyl bag that
attaches to the inside of the trailer lid,
but it is worth its weight for keeping
nice clothes nice.
The ice chest is a lightweight foam
unit that attaches to a bracket mounted
on the tongue. The cooler came with its
own zippered vinyl case. So many
trailer tuggers l'alor this arrangcment
that it isn't easy to argue with them. But
for the sake of stirring things up, the
lact is that a lull ice chesl carrlint several pounds of ice. water, other liquids
or canned goods can add considerable
weight to the tongue-weight of a trailer.
The standard Bushtec design is quite
well balanced fore and aft; adding the
ice chest adds downforce directly to the
motorcycle's rear tire. Depending on
the loads being carried by the bike
itself-co-rider
and iuggage-this
could help increase tire wear.
On the other hand, the cooler did not
seem
to affect the trailer's handling in
any way, so perhaps the issue is a matter
of personal priority.
Test Summary
On the road, the Bushtec proved to be
The Bushtec luggage rack is boltecl to
the lid's steel subframe; adjustttbLe
sliding btmg,ee-cord hooks make lidtop cargo carrying a snap.
a worthy caboose for motorcycle use.
The 4000-mile jaunt turned up a few
complaints that should be recorded.
First, and most annoying, was the trailer
prop attached to the tongue. On the test
trailer, the spring-loaded prop was
attached to the tongue at the leading
edge of the trailer body. The sideplates
containing the retainer notches hung
down far enough to scrape over driveways, speed bumps and other road-sur-
face irregularities. It finished the trip
much the worse for wear: bent out of
useable shape, and covered with travel
scars. Worse, the stand itself did not
prove to be all that sturdy. When
deployed, it was a pretty shaky proposition that would not have stood up to
mild abuse. In short, the prop did not
reflect the high standards of construction or design available in the rest of the
trailer.
Second glitch: a section of the
optional chrome trim pulled loose from
the leading edge of the trailer during the
trip. It was repositioned-no harm, no
tbul. Preston reports that an improved
gluing technique has already been
implemented.
Finally. the lid latch proved to be
a
The.fully optioned version is stylish
ÖLl mucho expensive! Depending on
options selected, it is possible to
spend more than $3,000 on
a Bushtec trailer.
ROAD RIDER|Februarv
1992
21
stinker under real-world use. The bad
news is that the spring catch is very
difficult to manipulate with one handwhich is usually how many you have
available when loading a trailer. The
good news is that the strength of the
spring catch would deter most common
trailer thieves, who would have to resoÍ
to crowbars if they wanted to break into
a locked Bushtec.
Probably the most-often repeated
cliche about motorcycle trailers is the
one that goes: "You hardly know it's
there." Over the years this magazine's
combination was being ridden by
another rider. The Bushtec tracked
faithfully, even at speeds approaching
90 mph in the mountains (Washington
Highway 20 through the Cascades).
Only during hard deceleration to set up
for the next curve would the Bushtec
evidence any appreciable back-and-
foÍh weaving.
Subsequently, on a rainy day in
Oregon, we finally broke the Bushtec,s
tires loose by deliberately shoving the
bike into a curye so that the trailer tires
slid over the wet highway striping. All
in all, the Bushtec earned our highest
marks for trackability. No trailer we've
staff has pulled dozens of trailers, thousands of miles. Based on that experience we suspect the "hardly know it,s
there!' comment is either wishful think-
ter performance.
ing or insensitive riding techniques. In
fact, trailers feed a variety of informa-
Value
tion back to the operator. Lateral
motion-usually the result of trailer
weave-and longitudinal motion-most
ofter the feedback associated with
trailer bounce or transverse surface
irregularities-and the added braking
distance are, or should be, easily
identified by the rider.
Having said that, it can also be said
that the Bushtec is one of the least
noticeable cargo trailers we've ever
tested. The minimal input is due to the
excellent suspension system, the hightech chassis and the positive Heim-joint
coupler system.
During the test we had occasion to
ride behind the bike and trailer while the
John and Sally Preston aren't
resting on any laurels. New for'92:
special4-ply (6-ply rated) tires made
especially for Bushtec by Kenda.
The tires carry the Bushtec name.
Also new: a clever valving system that
automatically adjusts the suspension
air pressure tofit the cargo weight.
22
ROAD RIDER|February 1992
ever tested has managed to tum in a bet-
At $1195 plus rax for the basic
Bushtec trailer (which includes: white
gel coat, black tongue, flat lid and wire
wheels-no frills), it's fair to say that
SpeciÍications
BUSHTEC TRAILER
Weight (empty, in basic trim): 125
Ibs.
Weight as tested (empty. Íuily
optioned): 155 lbs.
Length overall: 80 in.
Tongue length (coupler to axle):
60 in.
Coupler: Heim joint/captured ball,
aircratt quality.
Wheelbase: 34 in.
Cargo measurernents: 52 in. long,
36 in. wide. 30 in. high
Volume: 23.2 cu. ft.
Tires: 2-ply (4-pty rated) 3.00 X 16
Chen Shing
Price: $1195 in basic trim; g3090
as tested.
the Bushtec is a pricey unit. As tested,
with every option offered by Bushtec,
the price tag climbed to an ostentatious
$3090!
As always, howeYer, the cost must be
weighed against the value received by
the consumer. In the case of the
Bushtec, the engineering, construction,
material quality and overall design are
superior. It is possible to pay less to tow
a trailer behind a motorcycle, but it is
virtually impossible to buy a trailer that
offers as much in terms of reliability,
handling and performance.
After a few thousand miles in the
company of the Bushtec, we believe the
trasic price offers good value, considering what the consumer is getting Íbr
his/her money. As for adding options
and running up the tab . . . well, that,s a
matter of choice. If you've got the
bucks, I guess there are worse places to
spend'em.