Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by JSH

Very true, especially for people that live in a city. Finding a place to put a trailer is tough when the your entire lot size is 5000 to 6000 sq ft and there is no vehicle access to the backyard.

I live in a city. I got around it by buying a 4'x4' flat-bed trailer. With the tongue, it's about 7 feet long. I simply stand it on end at the back of my parking stall. with the tiny tires, it only sticks out about a foot.

[freebeard]

Mounting a Yakama rack with 8 foot round crossbars and two bike mounts (no bikes) dropped highway fuel economy by 11% (I have data on this one) and was REALLY loud. After a month I started taking the rack on and off as needed. That rack was incredible useful.

I took this picture of the green Superbeetle to record what was the easiest way to lift and place a rather large bicycle.



The rack has the advantages cited, but moans loudly at around 45mph. I made a redwood piece that mimics a Thule rack to quiet it down. I'll take a picture when I'm prepping the Shantung Gold Super for sale.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

Finding a place to put a trailer is tough when the your entire lot size is 5000 to 6000 sq ft and there is no vehicle access to the backyard.

A lot sized like that doesn't seem so small to my standards. Well, maybe because I live in an apartment...

[JSH]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I took this picture of the green Superbeetle to record what was the easiest way to lift and place a rather large bicycle.



The rack has the advantages cited, but moans loudly at around 45mph. I made a redwood piece that mimics a Thule rack to quiet it down. I'll take a picture when I'm prepping the Shantung Gold Super for sale.

How to you:

1. Keep the rack from scratching the bike
2. Lock the bike to the rack to prevent the bike from being stolen

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

A lot sized like that doesn't seem so small to my standards. Well, maybe because I live in an apartment...

True, all things are relative. People don't believe me when I tell them that 3 generations live in 600 sq ft apartments in Japan.

I'm fine with a 6000 sq ft lot - less grass to mow. However I would have preferred the house to be on one side of the lot so that I could have a gate large enough to drive a car into the backyard. My house is centered in the lot with 6 feet on either side. (Which I believe is the minimum distance to the property line for my local building code.)

That means that all my vehicles have to be in front of the house.

[gumby79]

One of the houses I looked at in Butte was 600 square feet the backyard that measured 20 by 30 landlocked only access to it was through a passageway that was 10" wide ,(big hole the other side was 6"). And yes the eves overlapping each other.. a nother one was 650sqft on a 600sqft lot, to make this one even more interesting someone else own in the yard back and side yards. The house stuck out into the street 2' ,(so did all the other 100year old houses on that side of the street).

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

I live in a city. I got around it by buying a 4'x4' flat-bed trailer. With the tongue, it's about 7 feet long. I simply stand it on end at the back of my parking stall. with the tiny tires, it only sticks out about a foot.

I'm sure that works for some people. I've seen too many trailers on the side of the road to trust tiny 8 inch tires.

[oil pan 4]

I use 12 inch rim wheels.
The quality of the 8 inch tires these days just sucks.

[mannydantyla]

Used trailers can be cheap, they are cheap to register, most states don't require insurance or inspections unless your trailer has brakes, no one ever asks to barrow your trailer and as long as you don't take it to work every day, no one askes you to help them move with your trailer.
I have noticed when you have a pickup it seems every one wants you to help them move something.

Bwahahaha! Man I gotta say, that is funny. Both because it's true and because it's a great reason to not have a truck!

I have both a trailer and a full size truck, and non of my friends do, so yeah I'm always having to haul sofa's and firewood and mattresses and drywall...

[redpoint5]

Was asked yesterday if I could bring my truck and trailer over, along with a chainsaw, and take a tree down and haul it away. I'd rather be useful than worthless though. Good people will reciprocate in their own way.