I've built several trailers and have 3 more in the works but by far the most useful has been what is nick named the "Lincoln Highway" trailer. Built on the chassis of an Instep (Schwinn), box made of Harbor Freight shipping pallet boards and painted in bright colors. I live just off the Lincoln Highway and our nearby grocery store is on the old Lincoln Highway route. 7 years of use and still going strong. Able to carry 50 pound bags of sunflower seeds, cat liter, etc. Lawn chairs and cooler for the summer concerts. More groceries than we'd like to pay for in 1 shot.
Instep is the maker of Schwinn and Instep trailers sold at box marts. They made dozens of versions with plastic or wire spoke wheels, various folding options and jogger stroller add-ons. they sold millions of them so they are plentiful. Leaving them out doors and neglect will ruin the nylon enclosure but the frame and wheels are much more durable. Once stripped down to the rolling chassis, they are surprisingly light. I used Harbor Freight pallets. Due to the nature of Harbor Freight products, the pallets are light weight. The slats are around 3/8" thick +/-. Why should their pallets be made better than their products? They are free at any HF store. "Real" shipping pallets are far too heavy. The wood, once painted has proven to be more durable than plywood or chip board. I left slight gaps between the boards. My original plan was to stain and varnish the wood for that vintage "Woody" car look but I decided that road visibility was more important that a classic. Red White and Blue are the Lincoln Highway sign colors. I also added a reflective slow moving tractor sign and blinky tail lights that keep getting knocked or shaken off. The Instep hitch requires a small receiver bracket to be attached to the pulling bike. Small and cheap and simple to use and will fit most bikes with bolt-on or qr axles regardless of fenders, racks, baby seats, suspension designs, etc.
Original stock photo
Stripped to the rolling chassis.
rough draft
At this point I want to say it didn't take alot for tools. Chop saw to cut the slats to length (could use nearly any saw for that), drill, small table saw to rip the corner boards to 1x1". Glue and deck screws at the corners.
floor boards painted.
I also point out the bare chassis is rather square and uses square tubing so it's easy to build on.
some of the fleet:
