Adventures with Bike Trailers...

[Fat Charlie]

It's a great saga. Nice to watch the new ideas coming from lessons learned. Using it to move is even better.

[Sven7]

A couple more notes-

-Trailers like this almost always come with a little 'safety strap' that you're supposed to string around your chainstay in case the hitch fails. DO NOT TRUST THESE! I saw firsthand when my friend's custom hitch came loose- without a strap, the trailer simply spiraled to a stop. If it would have had a strap there, the hitch likely would have fallen straight into the wheel, likely breaking spokes, locking up the wheel, or similarly giving him a really bad day. Remove the strap and throw it in the trash.*

-The bike side of the hitch sometimes is a bit of a hassle to mount. Mine is currently clamped into my quick release 170mm rear axle. Getting the axle over both dropouts and keeping the hitch plate on the outside is a real chore. Above friend has come up with a novel solution- mounting the hitch plate to the rear disc brake mount! I am planning on doing this in time because it is just so slick. The brake mount is an integral part of the frame, and a solid mounting point for anything- after all, it has to stop 200lbs of rider and bike on a 9" lever. The hitch mount extends diagonally rear and downward from the brake mount, so the trailer hooks on just aft of the rear axle.

Edit for picture:


-The trailer I currently use is steel, and is rusting from the inside. I don't know how long it will last, but I may need to get it powder coated if I'm going to keep it long-term. This is something to consider if you're going to be out in the salt.

-I'm still battling road spray from the rear bike tire going onto the middle of the cargo. I tried doing a makeshift fender on the bike but it didn't stay put. The best I've come up with as yet is to cover my cargo with a tarp. Not exactly high-tech. One option would be to make a canvas cargo topper like a military truck. I'm open to ideas, but once I get a rear rack it the modular fender may become more plausible.

*This is assuming you are not hauling humans on the trailer. At that point it is up to you- would you rather sacrifice your wheel and safety, possibly crashing in the process, or take the chance that the trailer will spin out in the right direction, away from traffic? The best option is always to overbuild your hitch. There aren't many good options available on the market, so it's up to your ingenuity and possibly your proficiency with modding caster wheels!

[Piwoslaw]

Give your GF +1 for patience!

One of the morals of your story is: If you had a ground floor apartment, then you probably would have stuck with a less efficient design.

Originally Posted by Sven7

-I'm still battling road spray from the rear bike tire going onto the middle of the cargo. I tried doing a makeshift fender on the bike but it didn't stay put. The best I've come up with as yet is to cover my cargo with a tarp. Not exactly high-tech. One option would be to make a canvas cargo topper like a military truck. I'm open to ideas, but once I get a rear rack it the modular fender may become more plausible.

How about a front wall on the trailer? It would not only block spray, but also keep any cargo from shifting forward into the bike's rear wheel. You could make it removable, for any really unshapely cargo that won't fit otherwise, or when it's dry.
I made one for my son's Croozer trailer, as he was always covered in sand, even with the bug screen down. I got the idea from a picture of a Croozer on a Czech webpage.

[Sven7]

Well, I think I would have continued the design anyway, partly because of that awful hitch that clamped onto the rear triangle. But yes, the progress may have been slower!

That is one thing I considered, and I actually cut out a flat piece of plastic to extend horizontally forward from the trailer within probably 5mm of the rear tire. That lessened the spray, but did not eliminate it. A vertical wall could work in the right circumstance, I think, but I already have the axle block there to keep my bins from sliding forward. It might prevent me from hauling odd sized stuff for half the year, though, because winter.

Soon I'll be taking my truck's (rusty) wheels to the powder coater, then to the tire place to get new tires mounted, so I'll try to remember to get a picture of that. Last time I hauled wheels/tires it was quite a big job!

[Grant-53]

I use a 1 qt rectangular oil bottle to make a fender extension to reduce road spray.

[rumdog]

Great thread, heres two of my trailers, both built using old kids strollers. The short one has had way more use... the sides are newer addition... lawn mower fits nice as does wheelbarrow and a bunch of tools. Also did recycling trips with it before we got roadside bins. The long one has wood frame ontop of metal base, and is 8 foot long plus hitch! They pull real nice.

[Sven7]

Awesome! I assume the wheels are stock for the kid trailer?

Surprise! You can't haul things in a truck with no tires. I took them two miles down and back to get the tires dismounted. The gf wants the old tires for a flower planter project so I ended up having to find a way to get all the stuff back on the trailer. It wasn't easy.



Tomorrow, the ten mile ride to deliver the wheels and other bits to the powder coating place. Wish me luck!

[rumdog]

HOLY! now thats a good load sven7... i hope you live in a flat town!
Yes the wheels are stock 20 inch, but they are old steel rims, so fairly strong. And they polish up nice.
This thread got me pumped to fix my hitch on the smaller one. I broke the big plastic nut a while back, but i found a metric wingnut that fit yesterday.
Its fun riding round round town with a big load, hopefully it opens eyes to what is possible on a bike
nice front rack sven, it looks bomber. And did you make those mudguards?

[Sven7]

Yeah, all drained swampland so I only had a couple landscaped knolls.

Good luck on the hitch; it seems like all stock hitches have one issue or another. I too love hauling big loads with the bike- it's such a feeling of accomplishment!

The front rack is an Old Man Mountain Phat Sherpa. Works pretty well. I did make the fenders, and they work well!

[Grant-53]

An issue is the strength of the ball and socket joint on the low mount hitches. A tie rod end from a garden tractor or small car would be super duty strong and a grease fitting may be included.

Does anyone have brakes on their trailer?