KC8QVO

Thanks for the thought.

I have looked at a lot of bike trailers. What the commercial options tend to cater to is what is more normal/what the market will more largely accept. The BOB is quite popular as you note. However, it is a single wheel design and I want to try a dual wheel design. I also want a dry box design and not an open frame where dry bags (like I am using now) are set and strapped in. I'd like to be able to open the lid and access my stuff.

To that point - that is where compartmentalizing would really be nice. That and the idea of plenty of space inside so as to never need to strap things (generally speaking) to the outside of the trailer box. If the lid on top is what opens and I need to strap stuff to the top of it then to access the stuff inside the trailer it requires unstrapping and removing the stuff on top to open the trailer lid. I don't want that fiasco.

There will always be some gear on the bike - namely the handlebar bag. I never ride without the handlebar bag as that is where I put tools also. On shorter rides I pack everything in to it - spare tube, tools, first aid, snacks, etc. On longer rides/trips I spread the tools out between the hanldebar bag and panniers. With a trailer I would keep only routine stuff in the handlebar bag (allen wrench set, for example) then other tools/supplies in the trailer. If I had a flat, for example, I would want to be able to easily open the trailer lid to access the rest of the tools, pump, and tube. I think it might even be handy to mount some of that stuff in a box on the lid perhaps.

Maybe having multiple lids would be good. Maybe 3 sections - fore, mid, and aft - with their own lids.

I think no matter what I do I will make the trailer somewhat sectional so I can add to it. I am not sure how to do it just yet. I want the axle more in the middle and if I only add on to the front or rear then the axle position gets skewed. Adding to the front would make the most sense of the two, however the extra long portion ahead of the axle means as weight is added to the trailer the tongue will get heavier. That is the idea of the axle more in the middle - it is easier to get the balance right and keep the weight centered on the trailer.

I am sure some experimentation is on order for tongue weight vs tracking stability and ride stability on the bike, but with regards to bumper pull trailers on cars and pickups the rule of thumb is 10-15% gross trailer weight on the tongue. So if you have a 10,000lb trailer then 1000-1500lbs is your tongue weight. Gooseneck and 5th wheel trailers that % goes up to 25%. So for a 14,000lb 5th wheel, for example, 3500lbs is the pin weight. Of the two examples - bumper pull is the closest that equates to a bike trailer pulled with a hitch at the axle I would think. A hitch up by the seat post might equate more to a gooseneck/5th wheel set up, however being a 2 wheel cycle that leans in turns I am not sure how the weight distribution would actually work. And that is why my design would be an axle hitch design - not a seat post hitch. The pushing and pulling the trailer would do to the bike should be less at the axle than the seat post = better ride and easier to balance I'd say.