bruceha_2000

Hi all,
My wife as rheumatoid arthritis and can't ride a regular bike. We are thinking recumbants and she thinks the trikes would be better because she doesn't have to worry about shifting weight to keep balanced. The only problem is the one (EZ-3 Trike) at the local store weighs about 50 pounds. Not something she can pick up and sling on to a bike rack hanging off the back of the car. Don't need a lot of weight capacity, just have to be able to push the bike up on the trailer. I've scrounged the web looking for very light weight (no big towing car available) trailers that could hold maybe 150# max. I figure if she likes hers, I might get one too, older knees not the best anymore. Also could put on some mounts for the kids bikes so maybe something 6' long and 4 ' wide would work. I haven't had much luck. Did find some that weigh maybe 300# and hold more but I really don't need that.
Does anyone know if there is a small flatbed trailer out there? I'm not talking about 1000 mile trailering, just getting from home to various bike paths which might include some interstate travel.

Thanks,
Bruce Alvarez
South Burlington, VT

GeorgeVW

Northern Tool has several. You might take a look at this one.

madpogue 

You're lookin' at about twice (or more?) the price, but:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=55060

bruceha_2000

I saw that as it was referenced in the first (ie most recent) post when I came to the forum today. It would probably fit in the back of her Subaru wagon though even at only 38#, it might be a bit of a bulky block for her to muscle around. As for the bike itself, I'm not sure the laid back sitting position would be all that comfortable. Also, the height of eye off the ground seems uncomfortably low. I see they have a distributor in West Newton, MA. I'll be over that direction in a couple of weeks though so I might give it a look. Never say never :-)

bruceha_2000

Thanks for the pointer. Still seems a bit heavy at 240 pounds (3/4" 4x8 sheet of plywood not included). I wonder if I could get away with this one: https://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...egoryId=274279
by extending the deck back a bit and creating a clamping system on the tongue for the front wheel (Presuming then only 1 bike). Too bad they don't make a 6' model :-) I don't think the trailer would have to tilt as she could deal with half of it at a time, especially if I created an "up the center" channel for the front wheel to ride in. Of course she hasn't looked at any recumbants yet (not that we have a lot of choices locally) so this is all still speculation and planning :-) I suppose I should also get out the owner's manual for her car - can't find towing capacity for 1997 Legacy L. 2.2L engine, not the current 2.5L.

madpogue 

Oh, yeah, mount one of these on the tongue. Wheelbase of the EZ-3 is 56", so if you put it, say 10-12" up on the tongue, you wouldn't even need to extend the deck. Just make sure the handlebar clears the back of the lead vehicle when cornering.


Total weight is gonna be about 200 lb; I wouldn't sweat it. The wimpiest econobox will tow at least 500-800 lb. I met a guy who had a Saturn sedan, and hauled a wee little pop-up trailer meant to be towed behind a motorcycle. Weighed about 300 lb, and he said he could hardly feel it behind him.

Oh, and point well taken about the road height of the Greenspeed. I'm sure she'd much prefer to be at least as high as the EZ-3.

bruceha_2000

Great tip! Thanks.

Nightshade

Check out Harbor Freight for a wide selection of lite duty
easy load utility trailers at low prices. Do a search for
"trailer" to find them.

https://www.harborfreight.com

Hal Hardy

I use one of these aluminum trailers to transport my canoe. It's more expensive than a comparable steel trailer, but well worth it IMHO. They can cobble up a trailer for just about anything.

https://www.trailex.com

hypnobassman

I'm for anything that gets us out riding our trikes.

Cal/HypnoBassMan
https://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...ent-trike-fun/

ComicDom1

I bought one of the fold up trailers from Menards. You can also get them on the internet. When you are not using it, you can fold it up like a roll away bed and push it into the garage. Its also relatively inexpensive compared to other trailers on the market.

Hope this helps!

Jason

madpogue 

Regional / context note: Menards is a midwestern (WI, IL, MN, IA?) chainette of home improvement / lumber yards. Closest national analog would be Lowe's or Home Despot. Farm supply stores also have trailers like those described.

bruceha_2000

Hi all,
Thought I'd drop back in to let you all know how things worked out.

I took my wife to the shop (Earl's Bicycles in South Burlington, VT). The EZ-3 had been rented out so she tried the AX - (some differences - aluminum frame, canted rear wheels, larger front wheel, disk brakes on both rear wheels, lighter - 50# vs 56#). She liked it except when her knee was fully back it hurt her right hip. The AX seat is a 2.5" of inches lower than the steel framed SX. I figured the SX would probably be OK and we could come back another day.
While we where there, she tried a few of the 2 wheel recumbants - a Rans, Burley and the EZ-1 SX and AX. Her concerns about balancing turned out to be unfounded. The EZ-1 AX seat is 4.5" higher than the EZ-3 AX and weighs just 34#, we took it home that day :-) The next morning (as the Subaru was in the shop), I left my older daughter and her bike at the skating rink. My wife rode to the rink later to pick her up. The distance is probably 15 miles round trip, relatively flat - bike path along the lake. Later in the day, they rode to the middle school where my daughter had a camp. More hill here and she made the mistake of stopping on an uphill to take a drink. She had to walk it a bit until the grade lessened. Having read that it takes a little time to get the proper muscles tuned and the fact that she hadn't ridden a bike for a couple of years, I was curious how it went. Her response? "Wheee fun!!!" Last Sunday she and both daughters (9 & 11) went back out the bike path, past the rink and over the new bike bridge spanning the Winooski river. Round trip over 18 miles. I was doubly impressed, my wife having NO trouble with her arthritis and the new bike, and my 9 Y/O (who FINALLY got brave enough to ditch the training wheels this spring) making that long trip.

Since we got the EZ-1 we don't need the trailer. I got a Saris Bones 3 bike rack. It fits the back of her wagon and my van well and is very sturdy and adjustable (if not cheap!). The instructions don't think it should be used for recumbants, but I scrounged the web and found someone's trip log where one paragraph started "I put the EZ-1 on the Saris Bones ....". Good enough for me :-) I imagine that depending on the design of the bent, it may not work for some. Since the seat is very adjustable, I was able to balance it in a position where the middle vertical support lined up with a Bones arm and strap. If needed, the seat could have been taken off. The front wheel sticks out past the edge of the car, but no farther than the side mirror.

madpogue 

I just sold my EZ-1-SC to a friend who has a Subaru (Forester?) with a Bones rack. Took a couple tries wrt position, but we found the same thing. We were a bit concerned that with the size of the seat, it wouldn't go in the position closest to the car. Turned out not to be a problem. She was also concerned that the seat would block her rear view; it doesn't. Yeah, it sticks out on both sides, but only about as far as the mirrors.

Cool that your wife is happy on a two-wheeler! Simplifies things, eh?

Big Steve Smith

Funny you should ask... because my wife and I have terratrikes, and we want to drive to various places for day (or overnight) runs on trails in the surrounding area.

First of all, a couple of years ago, we had a hitch put on our Lexus - 1 & 1/4"
Then I bought a very heavy duty HitchTight attacheable "basket" that plugs into the hitch.
It cost me, oh, about somewhere between 175 and 200.
I use it to haul other things than bikes--furniture, stuff from the lumber yard, etc. Very handy thing to own.

So, today, my wife and I said, do we really have to buy an expensive double tapole carrier for our hitch?
NO!!!

If I were you, and you don't have to carry two similar trikes, just one (for you ailing wife), I would get a plastic basket/carrier. It weighs much less that the steel one, and just clips into your hitch.

Then, what you do, is you lift and lay the trike into the basket. Because the basket rides at bumper level, one does not have to hoist the trike above your head... no contortions.

Play around with it, but it the way I did it was lay the trik upright with the two cross-members (to the wheels) so they just lay on top of the basket. Then, slide the trike until the rear wheel is INSIDE the sides of the basket. It's very stable. Very aerodynmic, and all you have to do is get either a shock cord cargo net, or just several individual cords to synch the trike down in the most appropriate places. Also, if you have any old camping pads or garden pad--something that won't get sopping wet, strategically place small pieces under the trike cross members where they rest on the basket. It works beautifully.

And, since we both have trikes, we wondered if we could somehow use this same all-purpose basket-carrier to carry BOTH our TerraTrikes. Would one nest on top of the other? We lifted mine up, gently positioned it over my wife's trike, and gently set it down. It fit! You have to stagger the wheels a bit and we put an old hardish foam sleeping pad between the two trikes, and there you have it!

What's good about this setup is that you can purchase just one little basket (again, I suggest plastic, but rated for poundage, and get them from Hitchtight, because they are very well built.

Then, you can walk her trike over to the installed carrier, lift it up about 2 feet? is all, and set it down on the basket as described above. Pad any places that might rub the paint off her trike, and then use several shock cords or a stretchy cargo net, to attach it firmly.

You'll be saving yourself some bucks, AND you'll have a nice 300 lb. rated carrier to keep in the garage to go pick up junk and stuff you can't put in a sedan.

yours, Steve Smith

Bent4Bill

I recently read a thread.. can't remember if it was on BROL or where.. but, the point was..they used a light trailer.. and it bounced and bounced and.. well, parts wound up bouncing loose on the bikes.. gone forever on the twisted highways of concrete and steel. Just a thought. Heavier trailers probably don't have the same problems.. kinda like putting a few sacks of cement in the back of a pickup.. smooths out the ride.

webskipper

Or get a Hitch Rider Bike Rack...
https://www.hitchrider.com

WB2WGX

I bought the small ( 4 FT ) trailer from Harbor Freight to haul my Greenspeed GT3.
It did bounce a lot until I lowered the tire pressure on the trailer to about 7 # .
It is Really smooth now. If I need the trailer for anything heavy like some lumber for
the deck,I just put more air back in.
Rich, WB2WGX

CAtrikerider

Try e-trailer.com - they have several different kinds of racks for recumbents.

Michael Gulvik

check out https://bicycletransport.webs.com
I make bik trailers, Michael Gulvik mgulvik@gmail.com