Enclosed Motorcycle Trailers: Sizing, Tie-Downs, and What to Look For

The right enclosed motorcycle trailer is sized for the number of bikes you haul, has a rear door opening tall enough to clear them, loads through a ramp door, and has solid anchor points and a wheel chock for every bike. A standard enclosed cargo trailer handles motorcycles well if you check those four things before you buy. Here is how to size it, what to measure at the door, which tie-down hardware to use, and how to strap a bike down.

Key takeaways: A 6x12 fits one motorcycle with room to work around it, and a 7x16 is the standard choice for two. Measure your tallest bike against the door opening, which runs about 6 inches shorter than the interior height. Use a wheel chock and rated D-rings or E-track for every bike. Strap to solid anchor points and recheck the straps after the first few miles.

What Size Enclosed Motorcycle Trailer Do You Need?

An enclosed motorcycle trailer is an enclosed cargo trailer used to haul one or more motorcycles behind a truck or SUV, with walls, a roof, and locking doors that protect the bikes from weather, road debris, and theft. Size comes down to how many bikes you carry and how much room you need to strap them down and walk around them.

Sizing by Number of Bikes

The table below shows the enclosed trailer sizes NC Trailers sees buyers use most often for motorcycles, based on the sizes the dealership stocks. Interior heights vary by build, so check the exact trailer you are looking at.

Width matters as much as length, because you need room on both sides of each bike to reach the anchor points and tighten the straps. If you plan to carry gear, a toolbox, or a third bike later, size up now rather than trading in next season. Our enclosed trailer size guide covers every common size from 5x8 to 8.5x24.

Door Height and Loading

Interior height gets the attention, but the rear door opening decides whether a tall bike fits. The header across the top of the opening, where ramp door spring hardware usually lives, makes the doorway shorter than the inside of the box.

Measure Against the Door Opening

On most enclosed trailers the rear door opening is roughly 6 inches shorter than the interior height. A 7-foot interior gives you about a 78-inch opening, which clears most motorcycles on a wheel chock. A 6-foot interior leaves about 66 inches at the door, which can catch a tall windshield or a bike on a lift. Measure your tallest bike, with mirrors and windshield, against the door opening of the actual trailer.

Why a Ramp Door Makes Sense for Bikes

A ramp door is hinged at the bottom and folds down to become the loading ramp, so you can roll or ride a motorcycle straight in without separate ramps. Spring assist lets one person raise and lower it. For bikes with low ground clearance, look at how the ramp meets the trailer floor, since a sharp break at the top can catch the underside. Our guide to ramp doors vs. barn doors explains how each door style loads.

Tie-Down Hardware Inside the Trailer

Inside the box, the anchor points matter most. Plan the hardware before the first bike goes in, because adding it later means working around whatever is already mounted.

Wheel Chocks, D-Rings, and E-Track

A wheel chock holds the front wheel and keeps the motorcycle upright and stable during transport. D-rings are D-shaped anchors mounted to the floor or wall that give your straps a solid hook point, and recessed versions fold flat when not in use. E-track is a rail system that provides adjustable anchor points and is especially useful in enclosed trailers, since you can move straps, hooks, or shelving along the track as your load changes.

Rating Your Anchor Points

Check the stamping on every D-ring before you trust it with a bike. A common recessed pan D-ring is stamped with a 1,665 lb safe working load and a 5,000 lb minimum breaking load, a 3 to 1 design factor. Rate your tie-down points off the safe working load, not the breaking load, and choose straps rated for the weight you are securing. Our step-by-step guide on how to install D-rings in a trailer shows how they mount with a backing plate.

How to Tie Down a Motorcycle in an Enclosed Trailer

A consistent routine keeps the bike upright and the straps tight on every trip. The steps below are a general approach, and your motorcycle owner's manual takes priority on approved tie-down points and anything that could stress the bike.

Step-by-Step Tie-Down Routine

1. Roll the front wheel firmly into the wheel chock so the bike stands upright on its own.
2. Attach soft loops to solid points on the bike, following the owner's manual, so hooks never touch painted or chrome parts.
3. Run front straps forward and outward to anchor points on each side, then tighten them evenly until the bike stays upright.
4. Add rear straps to keep the back wheel from shifting side to side.
5. Push on the bike from each side to confirm nothing moves, then secure loose strap tails.
6. Pull over after the first few miles and recheck every strap, because straps loosen as the load settles.

Tightening one side far harder than the other can pull the bike off center, so alternate between the left and right straps as you snug them down. If a strap slips or a chock moves, stop and redo that step instead of adding another strap on top of it.

Matching the Trailer to Your Tow Vehicle

Motorcycles are light compared with most enclosed trailer loads, so the trailer itself often makes up a big share of the total weight. That makes curb weight, GVWR, and your tow vehicle's rating worth checking before you buy.

Single Axle, Tandem, and Frame Material

Single-axle 6x12 trailers typically stay under 3,000 lbs GVWR, while tandem-axle versions step up to about 7,000 lbs GVWR with brakes. All-aluminum enclosed trailers, like the Cargo Pro Stealth line built by Alcom, weigh less than steel-frame builds of the same size. Read the numbers for the exact trailer you are buying and check them against your tow vehicle's ratings.

Enclosed Trailers for Motorcycles at NC Trailers

We sell enclosed cargo trailers at both our Thomasville and Winston-Salem lots and stock D-rings, backing plates, straps, and other cargo control hardware. If you have fought a bike through a short door or found nowhere solid to strap it, we can check your bike's measurements against a specific trailer and set it up with the right anchor points. Our service team can install D-rings for you, and rent-to-own is available on enclosed trailers, with no credit check required to start, through our enclosed trailer rent-to-own program.

Bring your bike's height and width measurements to either lot, browse our enclosed trailer inventory, or call 336-475-5054 and we will help you find a trailer that fits how you ride.