Refrigerators & Coolers
You can get a small electric cooler for your bike. Generally these use about 50 to 60 watts, the same power draw as a headlight. The soft sided coolers keep the food about 30 degrees cooler than outside temperatures. The hard sided coolers have better insulation and keep the food about 40 degrees cooler than outside temperatures. These coolers work with "peltier" devices - more silicon magic. They use electricity to get a panel hot on one side and cool on the other. By reversing the electric current, the hot and cold sides switch, so you can use these to warm things up, too. If you're using them as a cooler, then the hot side must have airflow to bleed off heat, so you can't lock these in your trunk or trailer. 30 degrees means if it's 100 outside, your cokes are at 70 degrees, a big improvement but hardly ice-cold.
If you're a do-it-yourself guy, you could buy one or two of these coolers, remove the peltier devices, and mount them in the walls of your trunk or saddlebag. You would also want to add some insulation to the walls of your saddlebag or trunk. You can buy peltier devices directly and inexpensively - just add wires, a heat sink, and perhaps a computer fan.
The coolpaks below are available from the manufacturers, or at a discount price from Ebay, or places like Walmart, Camping World, Amazon.com, CheaperThanDirt.com or Campmor.com. Search for "12 volt cooler" at Ebay or Amazon.com, or on Google and select "shopping." There are other models available with different dimensions, I've put up a representative sample from the largest companies.
The Velleman peltier device is about $6.
It's about 1.6" by 1.6" by .15", and draws about 6 amps. You would also need a heat sink and a computer fan to use this.
The koolatron 29 quart cooler
is about $100. It's about 16" by 16" by 18". Since it's hard sided it's good for about 40 degrees difference.
The koolatron D25 25 quart cooler
is about $80. It's about 16" by 18" by 9". Since it's soft sided it's good for about 30 degrees difference.
The Coleman 16 quart cooler is about $100. It's about 15" by 15" by 10". Since it's hard sided it's good for about 40 degrees difference.
The Roadpro RP12SB 8 quart cooler
is about $60. It's about 10" by 10" by 9". Since it's soft sided it's only go0d for about 30 degrees difference.
The Wagan 2495 12 quart cooler includes a radio and two speakers, about $80. It's about 16" by 15" by 9". Since it's soft sided it's good for about 30 degrees difference.
Trailers
An article on the Motorvation web site on choosing a trailer. I've never pulled a trailer with a motorcycle, I don't personally have an opinion.
The Motorvation Grand National is about $1650 - $4000. 14 or 20 cubic feet, 400 or 566 liters. Weight and cargo capacity unknown.
The Cycle Mate Windraider is about $2100. It weighs 185 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 225 pounds. 19 cubic feet, 538 liters. Cycle Mate has 7 models available from $1800 to $3000.
The For Bro Timeout is about $5500. It weighs 300 pounds. For Bro has10 models available from $1800 to $5500. They sell both pop-up campers and cargo trailers.
The Kruzon Silhouette is about $4800. It weighs 185 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 250 pounds. 23 cubic feet, 650 liters. Optional cooler shown.
The Kruzon Shadow is about $3400. It weighs 125 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 250 pounds. 17 cubic feet, 481 liters. Optional cooler shown.
The Kruzon Splash is about $2100. It weighs 125 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 175 pounds. 17 cubic feet, 481 liters. Optional cooler shown.
The Kruzon Splash is about $2000. It weighs 95 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 175 pounds. 16 cubic feet, 453 liters.
The MBT1 is about $1000. It weighs 150 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 100 pounds. 14 cubic feet, 400 liters.
The UCT1 is about $1300. It weighs 220 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 250 pounds. 24 cubic feet, 675 liters.
The Uni- Go Trailer is about $2400. It weighs 70 pounds empty and has a maximum cargo of 110 pounds. 145 liters.
Photo by Henry Yonce.
mctrailers.com has a bunch of trailers, and an impressively incompetent web page with no pictures.
bushtec.com has a bunch of trailers. They want you to download a .pdf brochure. I don't understand what's so hard about putting up a picture and a price on a web page.
The Classic Industries Trailer Hitch is about $175 + shipping. Part #TH43
The hitchdoc Trailer Hitch is about $235 - $300 + shipping.
