At Carolyns suggestion, I ordered an additional tire and wheel for a spare and mounted it to the front of the rail:
Yesterday I took the trailer to the highway patrol office to get it inspected and a VIN assigned. Here is the inspector stamping the VIN on the frame after grinding the brand new paint away. He was impressed with the design of the trailer and the quality of the paint and steel. The more I work with the trailer the more I am also impressed with Mike's work......lots of quality touches and good workmanship.
After the inspection I went to the Department of Licensing to get it registered and plated. A few years ago a voter initiative in Washington set the vehicle registration fees at $30, but since then the state has been adding fees to everything until it has become ridiculous. Check this itemized list of cost for the registration:
Registration filing 4.50
Title Filing 5.50
Plate Reflectivity 2.00 (really!)
Original Issue Plate 10.00
Registration License 187.50 (extra cost because it never needs renewal)
License Plate Technology .25 (good lord!)
Dept. of Licensing Service .50 (I thought that is what all these fees were for)
Title Service Fee 15.00
Registration Service Fee 8.00 (so what's the difference between the first two and these last two?)
Vehicle Title Application 15.00
VIN re-assignment 5.00
Since these fees keep going up, I figured the life-time registration would pay for itself in a few years. In addition to these fees, I paid $30 for a three-day trip permit to allow Mike to bring the un-licensed trailer down to my house, and then I paid $8 for a one-trip permit to take it to the highway patrol for inspection.
Today Carolyn and I loaded the bike up and went for a test drive.
I also found the tongue weight by using a bathroom scale and determined it was 57 pounds. This doesn't even cause the back of the car to sag.
The combined weight of the trailer and motorcycle is about 700 pounds, and with the tongue weight of 57 pounds we are well within the specified limits for the car of 1000 pound trailer and 200 pound tongue weight.
Since we will often be staying in motels, security is a concern. The bike will be locked to the trailer, and the trailer will be locked to the hitch ball. The receiver will also be locked to the car's trailer hitch.
The test drive was very encouraging. There was no difference in the way the car drove and handled, and only a very slight need for more power on hills. Carolyn took her turn towing and quickly got used to it so we can share driving duties.
We are ready to go!
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