Took some time off of work to enjoy a short trip with the Kompact Kamp MiniMate. Wife and I visited a KOA while our kids were off at Youth Camp. This video shows some of the features and our packing for this trip as well.
My mini mate is older the shell is 1986 but the trailer is newer 2014. Love the mini mate always have a great time camping with it. Come November I'm heading out west and beyond.
So nice to be seeing another channel showcasing the Mini Mate. Nice job you've done on your power mods. I picked up my new Mini Mate several weeks ago, and I absolutely luv it. Will be camping next week in Lake Placid, I can hardly wait to get riding. Last year I almost upgraded my ride to a Gold Wing, but I'm getting up there in age and decided on a Spyder RTL, to allow me to travel many more years into my upcoming retirement. Thought I'd suggest one item that was a great find for me, it allows me to carry just about anything I want. It's a roof top storage bag, 34" wide, 44" long, and expands up to 17" high, fits very nicely on the Mini Mate. To put it into perspective, it has up to 15 cu ft of storage, which is the same as the interior storage of the Mini Mate. A wee bit ptricey right now, $89.96 but I must of lucked out, i got it for $54. It has more straps and tie down options than you could ever need, including a net, and an anti slip matt, and its waterproof. If you ever start thinking you could use a little more storage space, you might check it out. I'll leave a link below. I pack it just like the camper, heavier stuff at the rear, lighter stuff in front, to help with tongue weight. Anyhoo, thanks for sharing your Mini Mate experience. Oh yeah, I decided to buy mine after watching most of the videos on "Old Guy on a Bike" channel. Here's the Amazon link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QDR48MZ?pf_rd_r=XS6H7VVRX2P8C2BF4KX3&pf_rd_p=89879054-2e37-4233-9fd7-bd5a93dd076a&pd_rd_r=902ebdad-2f06-4c66-88d8-3954ab75c46c&pd_rd_w=C3xb2&pd_rd_wg=4V60V
Hi hope I’m not trying to teach your granny to suck eggs, but the heavy stuff should always be over the axle of the trailer and for stability reasons you need more weight on the tongue side of the axle than the weight aft of the axle. Thks
@@MrBeracah Tks for the grandma comment. But you must counter balance when there's excessive tongue weight, as I'm sure you would know. Propane tank and fridge on the tongue, spare tire under the tongue, tongue weight well over the Manufacturer specified limit for the bike, solution is weight distribution to achieve a tongue weight between 10% and 15% of the gross towing weight, and not significantly over the max tongue weight capability of the bike, but I'm sure you likely have all this knowledge.
I love love love your Minimates and the way you set it up, now don't get me wrong I love my Travel Lite camper also LOL, but I like the space that you get with the Minimates and you make it look so neat and organized I'm jealous!...lol. I hope you and your wife had an awesome time look forward to more of your up-and-coming cabin videos stay well my brother!👍
Very nice camping setup! I noticed you had a PA plate. I’m in the Pittsburgh area myself and love moto camping. I don’t have a camper yet but I pull a trailer and use a pretty good sized tent. Great video!
Hi, we have a BMW R1200RT and a KTM Super Adventure. Hoping we can tow a Mini Mate like yours with either of our bikes. Congratulations for your video. Thanks
Thanks for the detailed video. I was impressed at how much gear can actually be packed inside, and your organized manner with action packets, etc. really made it impressive. I have a 2014 wing and have been debating whether to invest in a mini mate or look for a hard shell solution, to reduce dampness. I’d prefer not to have to deal with so much “wet tent” feel when waking up.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, the damp canvas on a dewy morning can be a downer if you are having to pack up and leave. I have had to re-open at home to let things dry out after a weekend trip if I packed up damp. But, it is a great little camper and lightweight. What ever your end solution is for a camper, be sure that you can slow it down easy and that it doesn't create to much wind sail area for you. Motorcycle camping is great!
Yes, I am not current, but have flown many training aircraft (C150, 152, 172, Diamond Da-20, Piper 180, Cub, Steerman, and a short flight in T-34 Mentor). Went to OSH-2012, and thinking a return next year or in '25 is due.
Hi, does that main floor hidden compartment come standard with the mini mate camper? I like the storage on this little camper but I wasn't aware it had that storage hidden.
The MiniMate comes with that lower well in the rear which you stand into normally. This cover is just a piece of plywood I cut to fit over the well and covered in carpet. Allows me to store things there I don't regularly need to get to and also raises up the floor to. Works well. You will find this and many other modifications that people do on the MiniMate Facebook group.
Hi, I have been looking at bike trailers for awhile and I am curious about the size of the trailer wheels. I noticed they were even smaller than your ride on mower tyres. What speed are they rated for? Enjoyed the video. Cheers from Australia.
I’m getting the Sondors Metacyle small electric motorcycle. They are small but have a lot of torque. I’m wondering if I would be able to pull the mini mate with the Metacyle. also it looks like I would be able to run a 5k btu a/c unit where the door opens up. I would be so hooked up for camping if I could pull all this off.Let me know what you think.
Not familiar with the Metacycle, but you have to be sure that you have enough braking power as well as the pulling power. Having 300-400 lbs behind you takes a bit of adjustment and awareness, mostly with braking and downhill curves. Do your research and be safe.
The weight of the trailer should be as a maximum half the weight of the motorcycle pulling it, otherwise you will have stability problems, especially with strong side winds. Thks
The yard stick is wrapped with clear packing tape, and then the LEDs are adheared to that side. I have velcro on the other side which I can directly attach to the awning. And, then I have little velcro loops, so that when using the add-a-room I can still loop the velcro over the add-a-room seam and velcro it to the awning strip.
So far, the two batteries out last our camping needs or a backyard party for the kids using it as a BT radio. I recharge with a battery tender using the SAE port I installed. See my build video for a little more info on how I did that. I placed it where they would usually have the glo-cup for ice fishing.
I would think an 1100 or higher would be sufficient. It isn't a heavy trailer even when loaded, but you will need a bike that is capable of pulling and stopping. There are many other videos online you can watch too for ideas and sizes of motorcycles pulling storage and camp trailers that may help you out.
The lights were just LED strips off of Amazon that I found had good reviews. So far, so good. The power box was one that I purchased as a kit from IceHole Power, they have quite a few options. I chose one with the speakers and Bluetooth, but only use that when my wife is around and we are hanging around at the campsite. It has enough power to charge my phone, run the lights, and play some music for a long time. More than typically would be needed on a camping trip. www.iceholepower.com/
Sorry; I want to see the camper; not how you’ve packed your things: SORRY! (Each person using THIS camper will have to decide what/ where to store THEIR “stuff”…entiendes??!! OTHERWISE, this was acceptable…. 😐😃👣🩴
