You want to go camping with the family, but you also want to sneak out and bike a bit of the enticing weave of scenic roads just outside camp. You can do both, and you don't even need a camper van towing a toy trailer or a seven-figure expedition vehicle with a bike lift. The new Opus Moto trailer packs the fold-out comfort of the original Opus together with a trailer-top motorcycle carrier and lift system.
We took a look at the Opus camping trailer at the 2013 Düsseldorf Caravan Salon and were quite impressed with its ability to pack an amenity-filled suite into a trailer box, so much so that we named it one of our favorite campers of the year. When packed up, the hard-topped trailer hauls sports gear like bikes and kayaks. But what it hasn't been designed to haul, until now, is motorcycles.
Opus has beefed up the frame, axle and trailer top to allow you to load up to 1,100 lb (500 kg) of moto payload (versus 165 lb/75 kg of trailer top capacity on the standard Opus). To help you get that 500-lb bike up there, it's fitted the trailer with a purpose-built lifting system. The crane-like lift slides out of an access hatch and relies on an electric winch, wired to the trailer's battery, to pull your bike (up to 551 lb/250 kg) up onto the trailer and lower it back down when you arrive. The loading and unloading processes take about 10 minutes each. The motorcycle-specific hardware includes a front wheel chock and ball-bearing rollers.
Beyond that, the Opus Moto is the same folding camping trailer we came to know and appreciate back in 2013. Its fold-out canvas packs enough space for four to six campers and includes a U-shaped convertible couch, kitchen area with two-burner stove and sink, electric interior lighting, heating and dual double-bed sleeping areas. The Opus options list includes equipment like a sound system and projector-based cinema.
Opus plans to launch the Moto camper at this month's Motorhome and Caravan Show in the UK. It will start taking orders there and begin deliveries in early 2016. The new model is priced from £15,995 (approx. US$24,500), which is £4,000 more than the base Opus folding camper without any gear racks or extras costs.
The video below gives a quick demo of the motorcycle lift dropping a bike off at "camp".
Source: Opus
