martin_at_gbc

Some recent pictures of our Maya Cycle Bicycle trailer. Absolutely brilliant weather in September in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, so we had a ride with water bottles, snacks and jackets just in case it got cold cold in the afternoon







Beautiful Oakville port area

CompleteStreets

How did you manage to fasten the bin to the trailer?

PatrickGSR94

Drilled a hole in each side of the trailer frame and matching holes in the plywood (just one each side), attached with hitch pins and cotter pins (just barely visible at the bottom edge of the pic). Then I hammered carriage bolts up from the bottom through 4 holes in the plywood with nuts on top to hold them in place, then fender washers and wing nuts inside the box.

CompleteStreets

Interesting. I don't have a ton of handyman experience, so I'm not entirely sure I understand the holes on each side of the trailer frame. You've got me thinking, though. I might try something similar.

PatrickGSR94

I actually made the holes originally to secure a piece of angle aluminum across the frame, underneath the trailer seat fabric, as a way to repair the child carrying functionality since the original strap supporting the bottom of the fabric seat had broken previously. The seat sags way down without it, but the frame cannot be folded flat with the angle aluminum permanently secured. So I had to have something removable.

Then I re-purposed the holes to provide a way of securing the plywood to the frame. I have to be able to remove the box for storage in the garage and also because my kid still rides in it. So the holes and the hitch pins and cotter pins provide tool-free securing and removal of the platform and box.

So when I get ready to use the trailer, I hook it up to the bike but leave the frame folded flat. I set the box w/ plywood base down on top of the frame, and line up the holes in the frame and the plywood. Then insert the hitch pins through the holes, and secure the hitch pins in place with cotter pins. Simple!

tramptrade 

I love some of the custom stuff you guys are doing for trailers! I considered building my own before I found a great deal on the one I have now.

I am currently using this setup to haul dogs, groceries, bikepacking gear etc. Cannondale Killer V 500 + unknown trailer built in the Netherlands I think. There are no manufacturer marks anywhere on the trailer. I got it from a local guy on Craigslist who told me his family has used it all over the world. Seems very sturdy and it pulls well, but it's a tad heavy.

The spring-based connector attaches with a clamp to the left side stay. The connector squeaks a bit on rough stuff but it's not too bad. I have lights and flag I can attach to it when riding on the road. That being said, it mostly sees mild trails and dirt roads.

So far so good.

Gareth

I think that This Guy has gotten us all beaten!

Solpower101

quick pic of my Bikesatwork 64AW/D, i had to get the dual axle after a few months and add it on myself and i didnt bother to get another pair of fenders... not needed as my contraption was running a little heavy wet. Its something i created called the Solstice CW and weighs about 350lbs with tounge weight about 40 lbs depending on the configuration. its fully self contained multimedia catering and power source station that has actually gone through several upgrades since this picture was taken. I pull this with the Raleigh SC40 First and the Diamondback 2nd, i should also mention i have a Stanton Friction drive bolt on with the Honda 50cc

mrblonde

I took a lot of inspiration from this thread, so I wanted to post my success with a trailer that I rescued off of craigslist and refurbished.

I'm pretty sure it was a custom made kid trailer from who knows how long ago. There were no branded markings or tags, only EMT stamped on all of the tubes. Which I know now is used for electrical conduits. Whoever made it did a really nice job with the welding and making the sides removable. The design looks a lot like the one from this guy.

So anyway, it went from this-



To this-



I removed all the old canvas, re-greased the hubs, added a lollipop ball mount to fit my existing chariot hitch, gave the frame a new coat of black paint, weaved on some nylon strapping, and bolted on a nice Plano plastic trunk.

I couldn't be happier. This will work nicely for having some flat bed space, along with a lockable storage trunk compartment while doing errands.

chaadster

Nice play on the webbing floor, @mrblonde. I don't follow the trailer trends closely, but I've been amazed at how many people totally overbuild their trailers and make them so heavy, using lots of wood, angle iron, and other heavy stuff. Yours is quite sane, although I think I'd have put the box forward on the bed, both for balance and flexibility loading oversize stuff, so that it can stick out the back if needed.

mrblonde

Thanks @chaadster!

Yes, I agree, it would add a little more function to have the box on the front. But with the way the frame was configured, it worked out better to attach it the rear tube and the cross tube. It was hard to find a container that was the exact width of the frame so that I could easily anchor it to the sides. Plus then the webbing would have been interrupted down the middle by the cross tube, and would have been less effective.

I'm pretty happy with the webbing so far. It definitely helped to keep it light. I should probably credit warmachine though, I got the idea for the webbing from him.

esmith2039

Got it painted and a deck today. Think I need to strength it a bit. Have various containers depending on purpose. Not sure what to do on wheels yet.

TheNormanRider

Aosom Elite II cargo trailer. Assembles quick and easy, and holds a good amount of stuff and weight.

steve-in-kville 

My Tourist pulling the BOB home from work.

Staypuft1652

I need to drill some holes to put a cob tail light on back, and get a cargo bungee net or fasten the lid. And probably recycle and junk. Wasn't sure for maiden voyage. May or may not need to add side ties, I am trusting at moment it wont move side to side on bars, time will tell.

Mopzilla

Here's my trailer I built last december. I used it to haul 3 loads up to 250# or more, up to around 45-50mph, along with several lighter loads at those speeds. Man do I wish I had trailer brakes.

Tires are 26x1.95"... The bed is 48"x19", overall width is 32" to fit in the back gate. The main frame rails are 1.5" square tubing, side and cross rails 1.25" square tubing, and the tongue is mostly 1" tubing. The hitch end of the tongue is 1.25" square tubing with spacers welded on the inside to have a near zero play connection to the hitch pin.

The corners of the trailer have short sections of corners of 4x4 box tubing, that I used to screw the pegboard and wood to. Overall this is a very solid trailer.

Here it is all painted for the rain season, cuz it lives outside. Rubber undercoat, bedliner bed and some frame, etc.

IMG_2897 by Tony K

IMG_2871 by Tony K

IMG_2856 by Tony K

I like a pin with a spring loaded ball on the bottom end. Hooking up takes about 10 seconds, put pin in and connect 12V hot wire.

IMG_2857

That frame is long gone, long story but I had braced the rear end with C-channel and box tubing, and doubled up the left side gusset for the trailer hitch. It was replaced with a frame stretched in a similar way but no trailer hitch, so I haven't used the trailer since winter. My new frame however, is going to have a quarter inch thick left side gusset and has .100" wall 7/8" tubing in the rear end, so we won't be seeing any issues!

Flux core welds

I lost the trailer once on a left turn when it was fully loaded, and the tongue snapped in the middle. it started rolling into the oncoming lane where there was a car coming... almost hit a corolla.... I fixed it out on the road with a "splint" of wrenches and gorilla tape that took me 30 minutes to make, and 30 minutes to remove

I want to take this bike on a lengthy road trip however, I probably won't be taking this trailer. It is just too heavy and massive. I'm trying to decide between a monowheel trailer or a leaning sidecar... one more wheel only.

Bholio

Here is my beach trailer. I ride it to the beach, the drag it across the soft sand, and tow it on the firm sand to where I want to set up.

An old Schwinn kid trailer, stripped, with wood floor.

The first iteration was nearly impossible to drag on deep, soft sand with the 20 x 1.75 tires.

I replaced the tires with 20 x 4 1/4" rear tires from a Schwinn OCC Sting Ray. I just forced the large tires onto the small rims. Used the original small tubes, there was no way I could get the fat tubes in there. I don't think the tubes are doing much, just a little bit of support for the tire bead, at best. I had one tire in my parts pile, and had to buy a 2nd one. I lost quite a bit of width squeezing those tires onto the narrow rims.

Much better with the new tires. Only bogs down in the ruts left by Jeeps and pickups.

The floor is thin pallet wood. The sides are incomplete, still using the kid trailer sides. I made the sides removable, attached with pins, instead of bolted in in, for quick disassembly.

elocs

Here is the trailer I purchased last January and have since modded, a Cycle Force Trail-Monster cargo trailer.
I bought this because it has a 300 pound hauling limit having complete, long welds rather than just spot welds.
The first thing I got rid of were the wheels because I didn't need 20" wheels with balloon tires that were quick release. The wheels that came with it were really junk so I replaced them with the 16" Tuff Wheels used by Bikes at Work that roll beautifully and the load is more stable being lower to the ground. I ultimately took off all of the railings and saved 10 pounds or 25% of the trailer weight and then used an under-bed storage unit that fit perfectly on the floor of the trailer and was just higher than the wheels and just used bungie straps to hold it down. This way I could use the trailer for small things or take off the lid if I hauled something higher than the top and it works well and rides quiet. Then I found the sides from a crib and used one to put on top of the under-bed storage unit and it gives me an additional 6" on the sides and a foot in length for when I need to haul bigger things.
I have no car, so my bike along with this cargo trailer is how I get around and haul everything I need to haul.

PatrickGSR94

You put smaller wheels on it? Doesn't that make it tilt backwards while hauling it? I know my trailer is like that with 16" wheels. I'd rather have 20" wheels for it, with a full-width solid axle.

PatrickGSR94

There was a patch of broken glass in the bike lane for like 3 weeks, city wouldn't do anything about it. So I hitched up the trailer and went out there with my broom and cleaned it up.

elocs

I put smaller wheels on the trailer to make it more stable because it would more easily flip with the 20" balloon tires on it, a complaint made by many who bought the trailer. The 16" wheels are exactly the same that are used by Bikes at Work on their heavy duty trailers.
https://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/features
"The nylon-composite Skyway Tuffwheels® used on our trailers are extra-strong and never require truing. They use standard 16" bicycle tires and tubes, and roll on precision replaceable sealed cartridge ball bearings."

My trailer is not perfectly level, but when I checked it this morning with a level, half of the bubble is between the lines and that's plenty good enough for me. The trailer pulls nicely and just hums along and is very stable (I often pull tall loads). Plus, I would have to pay more than twice as much to get a trailer with a 300 pound weight limit. So I am very happy with this trailer now and it suits my needs nicely.

elocs

I've done that. I've noticed glass being broken specifically where bikes ride and where it cannot easily be seen.
We have a place where a MUP goes under a highway and on one end there is a sharp turn off the street into the underpass and then a slope where you would coast. This past summer somebody dumped glass there, not a broken bottle but glass that had been deliberately broken up, and on a bike you would have never seen it until you were in the midst of it. Fortunately I came from the other end with my trailer and a guy was sweeping it up.
It's sad when somebody is so mean spirited to do that.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah my trailer's wheels (InStep kid trailer) are similar to those. I rigged up an extension off my bike's left dropout to lower the hitch down, which levels out my trailer even with the 16 inch wheels.

I'm thinking of having a solid steel bar machined with notches to make it fit into the QR latches, and then attach the wheels to those, which should increase the trailer's weight capacity.

Gareth

In Portugal there is a funeral directors that offer a bicycle trailer hearse to see you off in.

KD5NRH

Stopped to fix a flat about 10 miles out on a 70 mile trip.