The post your trailer thread.
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It's a very nice conversion. You're not in Ann Arbor by any chance?
#302
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I think the pull push feeling is from changes in the road. When the trailer wheels roll though a dip, you feel it pushing you forward, when it's going over a hump, it feels like it's pulling you backwards.
#303
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The rubber band feeling is from the inertia on the draw bar to the bike... I get kicked in my rig when the weight is heavy in the front of the trailer... it has nothing to do with the frame, tires whatever... physical laws are in effect. Although you can reduce your perception of the feeling by starting out slowly and smoothly and slowing down gradually - I am constantly running the Jakes in my truck to keep everything smooth. Just my take on the situation.
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The rubber band feeling is from the inertia on the draw bar to the bike... I get kicked in my rig when the weight is heavy in the front of the trailer... it has nothing to do with the frame, tires whatever... physical laws are in effect. Although you can reduce your perception of the feeling by starting out slowly and smoothly and slowing down gradually - I am constantly running the Jakes in my truck to keep everything smooth. Just my take on the situation.
A somewhat similar effect also happens with mono wheeled trailers when carrying heavy loads. The first time I had a heavy load of shopping on my mono trailer I though ooh! ooh! im going to crash. The feeling can only be discribed as akin to when you used to give your mate a piggyback ride on the back of your bike on the way home from school.... Remember that wobbly feeling? ...or was I just drunk
I think if we carried heavy loads in out trailers at ALL times we would eventually get acustom to the rubber band/wobbly feelings, but as our trailers are never full at all times, its a feeling we will have to put up with.
Regards
Tom
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It's a very nice conversion. You're not in Ann Arbor by any chance?
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Wholly unworthy of this thread, but here she is. A truk kiddie trailer I got at a garage sale for 40 bucks. It was set up in stroller mode and the guy threw away the shaft. Sooo, I used an old weed eater shaft as suggested by someone in this sub forum way back when. As you can see it puts a lot of weight on the hitch. (too much, it seems to me) Still, no probs so far. I just cut out the seat and slapped down a stiff piece of plastic for the floor. As ugly as it is, it keeps the groceries dry and the cars on edge. I've carried a propane tank and countless groceries including a fat watermelon and a bunch of 2 ltr. bottles. I wonder if there's a way to shift some of the weight to the rear.
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I used an old weed eater shaft as suggested by someone in this sub forum way back when. As you can see it puts a lot of weight on the hitch. (too much, it seems to me) Still, no probs so far. I just cut out the seat and slapped down a stiff piece of plastic for the floor. As ugly as it is, it keeps the groceries dry and the cars on edge. I've carried a propane tank and countless groceries including a fat watermelon and a bunch of 2 ltr. bottles. I wonder if there's a way to shift some of the weight to the rear.
A sheet of thinish plywood as a new loadbed - inside the trailer with a little hanging out outback - to carry your tinned goods, dont matter if tins get wet
Regards
Tom
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^^^ Aaaaah...thanx. It does flex a little when I hit bumps in the road. I'll shorten it a little and see how it goes. I like the basket attached to the rear idea as well. I'll have to look at it and see how I can mount one. Thanks.
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Very low indeed Roughrider, be carfull you dont hit any debris in the road or mount a kirb/sidewalk, you could bash in the bottom front of that lovely big box.
Any reason for the added box holder uprights sticking up? Looks as though that could be a little dangerous! I'd slice them off level with the frame.
All that's left to do now is wash yer wheels - give the frame a lick of black paint, and that'll be one cracking little trailer
Wish I could source out a nice big box like that
Regards
Tom
Any reason for the added box holder uprights sticking up? Looks as though that could be a little dangerous! I'd slice them off level with the frame.
All that's left to do now is wash yer wheels - give the frame a lick of black paint, and that'll be one cracking little trailer
Wish I could source out a nice big box like that
Regards
Tom
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Very low indeed Roughrider, be carfull you dont hit any debris in the road or mount a kirb/sidewalk, you could bash in the bottom front of that lovely big box.
Any reason for the added box holder uprights sticking up? Looks as though that could be a little dangerous! I'd slice them off level with the frame.
All that's left to do now is wash yer wheels - give the frame a lick of black paint, and that'll be one cracking little trailer
Wish I could source out a nice big box like that
Regards
Tom
Any reason for the added box holder uprights sticking up? Looks as though that could be a little dangerous! I'd slice them off level with the frame.
All that's left to do now is wash yer wheels - give the frame a lick of black paint, and that'll be one cracking little trailer
Wish I could source out a nice big box like that
Regards
Tom
I got those Skyways off of an old lawnmower, I still haven't gotten them clean! Paint is coming soon too once I think of a cool color.
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New Flatbed...
Last week I raked out some old angle iron and had my mate weld up an axle frame, this way I can bolt whatever I want onto it. The flatbed load area is 10mm marine plywood! I'll have to get something a bit thinner as this makes the trailer a little heavy. I used the new wheels that I got from the recycle center the other day. The tow arm is part of the legs of an old bed frame, and I employed the neat little ball hitch that I got from my mate Gareth. Thanks mate
All knocked up in a couple of days. It gets its first test run today down to the recycle center with a pile of old wood. I wonder what goodies it'll bring home
Regards
Tom
Last week I raked out some old angle iron and had my mate weld up an axle frame, this way I can bolt whatever I want onto it. The flatbed load area is 10mm marine plywood! I'll have to get something a bit thinner as this makes the trailer a little heavy. I used the new wheels that I got from the recycle center the other day. The tow arm is part of the legs of an old bed frame, and I employed the neat little ball hitch that I got from my mate Gareth. Thanks mate
All knocked up in a couple of days. It gets its first test run today down to the recycle center with a pile of old wood. I wonder what goodies it'll bring home
Regards
Tom
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I have decided to do a couple of mods to my two wheeler trailer; the one posted earlier in this thread.
It will entail welding on a bracket and guard to permenently fix a red rear light in the centre of the rear bar, and the addition of an extra tow point so that I can go "two up" with a second trailer; probably my home-made single wheel space frame trailer.
It will entail welding on a bracket and guard to permenently fix a red rear light in the centre of the rear bar, and the addition of an extra tow point so that I can go "two up" with a second trailer; probably my home-made single wheel space frame trailer.
Last edited by Gareth; 01-16-10 at 06:48 AM. Reason: bad spelling
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Just a little update to my flatbed trailer.
MUDGUARDS & REFLECTORS
I have a big sheet of plastic that was used as a shop sign. I cut a couple of strips off of it and screwed them onto two strips of wood. I also added a couple of white reflectors at the front and a couple of red at the back. Im going to add small LED lights inside the reflectors at a later stage.
FRONT
REAR
MUDGUARDS
The next step is to cut and add a couple of mudflaps from an old car mat.
I'll awaiting delivery of a flasher that im having made, so there will be yellow/amber reflectors added to the mudguards front/rear, but till then i'll get some wiring done over the weekend.
Regards
Tom
MUDGUARDS & REFLECTORS
I have a big sheet of plastic that was used as a shop sign. I cut a couple of strips off of it and screwed them onto two strips of wood. I also added a couple of white reflectors at the front and a couple of red at the back. Im going to add small LED lights inside the reflectors at a later stage.
FRONT
REAR
MUDGUARDS
The next step is to cut and add a couple of mudflaps from an old car mat.
I'll awaiting delivery of a flasher that im having made, so there will be yellow/amber reflectors added to the mudguards front/rear, but till then i'll get some wiring done over the weekend.
Regards
Tom
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Iv'e cut a piece of rubber and made two mudflaps.
Im going to put a small red reflector on the mudflaps. I have a set of reflectors which contain small Hand & Round reflectors...
Which do you think would look best?
Regards
Tom
Im going to put a small red reflector on the mudflaps. I have a set of reflectors which contain small Hand & Round reflectors...
Which do you think would look best?
Regards
Tom
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Oh my lord, he's at it again!
While shopping in my local ASDA I saw they were selling two rung step ladders for £5. While looking at it I didn't see a step ladder? I saw a TRAILER
Asda £5 step ladder looks like this one....
So if your looking to build a small cheap trailer get yourself down to asda before they sell out.
I'll update you all of this little trailers progress
Regards
Tom
PS....
Dont go putting ideas in my head
While shopping in my local ASDA I saw they were selling two rung step ladders for £5. While looking at it I didn't see a step ladder? I saw a TRAILER
Asda £5 step ladder looks like this one....
So if your looking to build a small cheap trailer get yourself down to asda before they sell out.
I'll update you all of this little trailers progress
Regards
Tom
PS....
Marrock
What, no chrome naked lady cutouts for the flaps?
What, no chrome naked lady cutouts for the flaps?
Last edited by BossCat; 01-19-10 at 11:54 AM.
#320
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Here is the final version of my all aluminum flat bed. The upgrade to the B@W axle and the Skyway 16's made a huge difference... she is very stable under load and tracks very smooth. I drilled 4 holes in the SmartBin to attach the straps thereby eliminating the need for over the top straps which leaves the lid accessible at all times. I made a stand for it that worked just fine when I loaded the dog bags in with the bike unattached on our dog food run - the stand pivots up out of the way secured by a heavy duty cotter pin set-up.
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Hey dzrthauler,
It looks nice, what I can make out BUT the picture is so tiny we can't see all your handy work
Regards
Tom
PS... Almost fininshed my step ladder trailer. Not bad for 3 hours work. Im going to do a step by step (excuse the pun ) of the Step Ladder Trailer.
It looks nice, what I can make out BUT the picture is so tiny we can't see all your handy work
Regards
Tom
PS... Almost fininshed my step ladder trailer. Not bad for 3 hours work. Im going to do a step by step (excuse the pun ) of the Step Ladder Trailer.
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STEP LADDER TRAILER
The two rung step ladder converted into a trailer. It still needs a piece of plywood to cover the load area, 900 X 450.
From This....
To This....
The good thing about this little trailer is I can take off the center bracer bar and slip a box inside like Roughrider504 has done with his trailer...
FIG1
The lip of my box sits neatly around the edge of the trailer frame, I would of course add holding straps for the box like in fig1, which I'll do at a later stage. I'd also have to alter my towbar.
Regards
Tom
..... Just remembered I have a big sheet of plastic in the back garden, that'll do nicely for load area
The two rung step ladder converted into a trailer. It still needs a piece of plywood to cover the load area, 900 X 450.
From This....
To This....
The good thing about this little trailer is I can take off the center bracer bar and slip a box inside like Roughrider504 has done with his trailer...
FIG1
The lip of my box sits neatly around the edge of the trailer frame, I would of course add holding straps for the box like in fig1, which I'll do at a later stage. I'd also have to alter my towbar.
Regards
Tom
..... Just remembered I have a big sheet of plastic in the back garden, that'll do nicely for load area
Last edited by BossCat; 01-19-10 at 12:00 PM.
#324
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Nice work on all of your trailers!! It seems you gear them toward more of a lighter duty type of use, correct? The drop out - 2 single axle type set-up wasn't really up to the stress of the heavier loads I pull regularly and the distance of travel to and from - hence the upgrade to the one piece heavy duty one running under the deck, and I see that that's the principle axle set-up you seem to favor. Interesting use of the step ladder, I have to give you credit for engineering a kitchen accessory into a trailer!!
#325
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Nice work on all of your trailers!! It seems you gear them toward more of a lighter duty type of use, correct? The drop out - 2 single axle type set-up wasn't really up to the stress of the heavier loads I pull regularly and the distance of travel to and from - hence the upgrade to the one piece heavy duty one running under the deck, and I see that that's the principle axle set-up you seem to favor. Interesting use of the step ladder, I have to give you credit for engineering a kitchen accessory into a trailer!!
The trailers that I build are not specificly designed for light use/hauls, although the latest one, the step ladder trailer is - this is very light to haul around and will do fine for shopping trips . I found that the last enclosed trailer I built was a little on the heavy side for towing. This may be due to the stainless steel door/lid I used...
I built my BIG trailer last June...
this was initially designed to be a camping trailer, similar to this one...
Im still working on the big trailer, but the trouble is that our roads are not built to accommodate wide long trailers hauled by bikes
The idea of the big trailer was to have an enclosed plywood box with a removable lid. Once at your camping/fishing site and the trailer was parked up, I would remove the lid/roof and place 4/6 poles in the trailer, then replace the lid/roof atop the poles and unfurl a tent/tarpaulin that sits inside the lid/roof down the sides of the trailer. The end result would look something like a 4 poster bed with wheels
I may have to rethink this design and go along with some type of folding trailer like this...
https://www.midgetcampers.com.au/bushtrekka.htm
As to the 2 single axle type set-up I use, these are easier and simpler to build. 2 pieces of angle iron drilled and bolted to frame and bobs your uncle The only trouble with using angle iron when your having your wheels cantilevered is you have to use thick angle iron, the thicker the better. I ran out of thick stuff when making the step ladder trailer and the wheels flex a little. I'll get thicker angle and redo the dropouts.
Also when using angle iron dropouts - Wheels are easier to come by, any type of bike wheel can be used. I did look into making a solid axle for bike wheels but this was a lot of hassle trying to find the right threaded bar with a metric fine thread that would take a bike wheels cone thread.
The best axle unit I have come up with of late was the other week with this welded up effort that I use on my new flatbed. The wheels dont flex on this unit
Building trailers is a learning curve, im always looking to improve on the last. I think thats why I build so many. One day I'll get it right
Regards
Tom
PS.... I sent cyclepup a PM?