JoannaM

Hello everybody, wonder if anyone else has had this problem & found a solution (or maybe I've missed something fundamental in setting up the trailer).

We've just got a Burley Travoy & it connects fine to my husband's bike. However I'm much shorter so my seat & therefore the trailer hitch on the post are much lower.
This means the trailer arm has to dip below the horizontal to meet the hitch, resulting in the pin on the hitch which is vertical not aligning with the hole in the connector anymore.

This also makes me wonder how the trailer would connect to the new pannier rack hitch that is advertised as the trailer arm would have to dip below the horizontal to connect to that too.

Thanks in advance.
Joanna

TransitBiker

If its this model, i see a joint at the top where it connects to the mounting bar? Is adjustable? I see different mounting heights have different angles that the trailer then sits vs the ground?

- Andy

JoannaM

That's exactly it. Unless I'm being dense (quiet at the back!) I can't find a way to alter the angle of the connector at the end (or that matter the top hinge) to keep the arm horizontal or alternatively the hole in the connector aligned with the pin in the hitch once I've lowered it under my seat.

Joanna

TransitBiker

https://www.burley.com/shop/images/travoy_2010-2014.pdf

It says you loosen/tighten the top hinge by unscrewing the end bit on one side?

- Andy

JoannaM

I must be losing the plot I can't find that
EEK!

Joanna

fietsbob

the thing loosens to fold up small (as it was shipped in the carton) in the 2 places where those round peces are ...

Blonde? , < joke>

JoannaM

Nope. Mousy brown.
The hinges fold up shut agreed, it folds up & fits back into the lower carrier, but the hinge on the tow bar will only extend out to a certain angle which connects to the pin on the hitch when the tow bar is horizontal a therefore aligns to that hitch at a certain height.

I notice the spec on the website however says the tow bar height has a range of 28 to 34 inches. To allow for this range there must be a way of altering the angle of the tow bar hole to the hitch pin.
To do this I would need to extend the top hinge angle to be greater than normal so it maintains a horizontal aspect at a lower height. I haven't seen this in the instructions anywhere.

Joanna

Eric S.

I think the flex connector will be fine with a little stress on it (I haven't seen the angle of incidence on your bike, though). Burley offers a hitch setup to mount at the back of a rear rack, and that would certainly put stress on it for any size bike.

I've had a Travoy for a few years and a some bumps have made it capsize. The flex connector was twisted a full 90 degrees or more but shows no sign of damage.

I should mention that I don't think I'd pay $300 for one; one December day in 2011 I looked it up on Amazon and it was priced at $200 and free shipping (no Prime required).

blakcloud

I think that on some bikes, the Travoy is just not going to fit. As you say the angle of the seat post is not going to work with the way the Travoy is designed. I own this trailer and love it, so I can understand your frustration of not having it fit. My best guess, as you have already mentioned is using the attachment on a rear rack. It at least keeps the pin at 90 degrees which is close the magic number of the trailer hitch fitting.

Three things I would suggest. First post photos her so we can all make sure we are talking about the same things. Second phone or email Burley and see what they have to say. Just to let you know I emailed Burley and they never responded so I am not that impressed. If all else fails the rear rack and attachment might be the only way to go.

I will go down and look at my trailer and see if there are minor modifications that can be made.

Good luck.

Leisesturm

Full disclosure, I am not a fan of the Travoy design on principle and I have never seen one close up. As to your issue, I concur, the problem is likely in that hinge. So study it some more. And study it some more, until you figure it out. If that fails, get a child to look at it. As I understand it young children are expert troubleshooters, mainly because they have no in-built skepticism to cloud their objectivity. They also won't get all smarmy and superior when they solve a problem you could not, like another adult might... I mean... there is a reason you came to us instead of DH?. This depends,of course, on presenting the situation in just the right way to your pint sized problem solver. I am confident you can do this. A BOB Yak would not present these problems, however. Just saying.

H

scroca

She doesn't want to fold it.

JoannaM

Thanks for your advice people.
The rear rack adaptor would be even lower so I agree the hinge must have to be altered.
I wonder if the whole thing would then fold flat.
I have already emailed Burley to see if there is an adaptor but not had a reply as yet.

Joanna

TransitBiker

Can it mount to rear rack? I have seen that too.

- Andy

fietsbob

is there ONLY a single angle that joint can only fit into? (i dont Own one)

as a Mechanic that sort of of place is where I would have a multi position
toothed clutch plate pair to make the angle adjustment a choice as you un fold the trailer from the box .

so the change from a short to a taller bike & visa versa would be ..

loosen that set of bolts hook it up to the other bikes seat post , let the angle at that bend point move to the new height line..

then tighten it up at that angle..

the toothed friction between the 2 plates holding the angle .. is a common way of doing such things..



perhaps both can be used to curve the rear wheel in closer behind the bike..



though there may be a single thick pin and hole , less prone to changing

if the owner-user did not get the bolt tight enough

considering user error is another design item occasionally factored in ..

fietsbob

So you own that trailer too? take it apart and try your solution and report what works

JoannaM

That's exactly what I would expect fietsbob, but all hinges/connectors seem fixed to maintain the trailer at 45 degrees (unless I'm missing something).
Of course that doesn't explain why the spec says tow bar height between 28 & 34 inches or how you get the angle of the dangle right for the rack adapter which will be considerably lower than a hitch on a seat post.
Nothing in the manual or Burley's website.

Joanna

fietsbob

Things changes since I was, briefly, there in 90. the Worker Owned company was put thru bankruptcy .
privately owned, now, the products are (what else) Outsourced to Asia.

blakcloud

Your solution with the plates would be a perfect solution and certainly make the trailer fit more bikes.

JoannaM

Yes that's right. But the hinge only OPENS so far which only allows the tow bar to be horizontal & aligned with the hitch pin if the hitch is quite high up the post.

Joanna

e0richt

here's the user's manual...


https://www.burley.com/shop/images/Travoy_Manual.pdf

supposedly there is a "twist grip" that you use to adjust the angle...
you might like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6AK5Jw5meg

JoannaM

Yes thanks for those links.

However to maintain the vertical hole on the tow bar in a position to align with the vertical pin on the hitch the tow bar has to be virtually horizontal.
To achieve this same horizontal position towards a lower sited hitch the twist grip on the upper hinge would need to be opened further to make the angle between tow bar and trailer more obtuse. However the twist on the top hinge won't go beyond the angle shown in the manual (maintaining the trailer at about 45 degrees and the connector quite high up), this prevents the angle from being opened beyond a certain point.

Joanna

JoannaM

Perhaps the twist hinge is faulty on my trailer & should rotate further.
I need to see how others have attached their Travoy to either a low hitch or the pannier rack adaptor.

Joanna

Burley Expert

Joanna,

I work at Burley and can answer this question for you (I know you guys don't like employees on here, just trying to answer her question though). You will still be able to attach the Travoy to your seatpost (unless the seatpost is so low that there is literally no room on the post to attach the hitch) even if the top bar will be dipping below vertical. You just lift up the back of the bike a few inches while you are hitching it so they are both level with each other for hitching. The black piece you see that goes on the hitch is a flexible piece that will bend without causing harm when you lower the tire again.

It would be the exact same with a rack hitch, just lift up the back tire of the bike a few inches and the hitch and receiver will align. The flexible black piece makes it work.

To answer other people speculation, the top joint of the Travoy locks into position at a fixed angle so that part it not adjustable.

Cheers

JoannaM

Thank you so much. I thought it would stress the connector or the pin too much.
This means I can use the trailer myself.
Brilliant.

Joanna

Sullalto

That's a nifty trailer.