building a bike trailer

Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. Hence a two wheel
design. Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?
Sources of hitch parts, wheels, axles?
Ideas???

has anyone built a carbon fiber trailer yet?????

Laran

On Sep 28, 12:36*pm, laran wrote:
Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. *It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. *Hence a two wheel
design. *Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. *Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?
Sources of hitch parts, wheels, axles?
Ideas???

has anyone built a carbon fiber trailer yet?????

Lots of ideas on Instructibles.com, but my current 'heavy' trailer is
a 4 wheel "garden cart" rated 300 lbs, with the hitch modified. It
cost about $100 on sale at a local hardware store, and was great to
have during our recent garbage strike. I certainly wouldn't take it on
a camping trip, assuming you mean a loaded tour - I just use bucket
panniers for that. The drag the cart adds is noticable, though thinner
tires would help.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...esh%2BCart.jsp

laran wrote:
Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. Hence a two wheel
design. Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?
Sources of hitch parts, wheels, axles?
Ideas???

has anyone built a carbon fiber trailer yet?????

Have a chat with Blue Sky before you start to re-invent that
wheel.

http://www.blueskycyclecarts.com/

Sadly the 'dealer discount' is less than the delivery
charges so you'll have to go direct. Great product though.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

laran wrote:

Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. *It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. *Hence a two wheel
design. *Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. *Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?

You can get plenty of information on the web at places like
Instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=...c=on&sort=none

or http://tinyurl.com/yethrhn

It's important to keep in mind that such instructions come with no
qualifications whatsoever, and it's up to you to evaluate them for
basic design competence.

Sources of hitch parts,

Thee hitch is the foremost challenge of a cycle trailer. Most
homebuilders get satisfactory results by making something sort of
loose and flexible rather than mechanically determinate. Think along
the lines of something lashed to the seatpost with a couple of turns
of inner tube, or a chainstay mount that incorporates a chunk of car
tire to allow the trailer to articulate in the pitch and roll axes.

wheels, axles?

It's both easier to get parts and more structurally sound to use
normal bike front wheels (and support them on both sides) than it is
to use stub axle wheels.

I've had good results using 4.80/4.00-8 rib tread wheelbarrow wheels.
These are about 15" in outside diameter, typically rated for 400 lbs.
each, and I rarely have to pay more than $20 for one including
bearings, tire, and tube. They come with 5/8" bearings usually, but
these can easily be swapped for 3/4" bearings if that works better.
Either size allows you to use a hardened bolt for an axle that can
bear a tremendous amount of weight even when cantilevered.

Ideas???

You'll benefit from the advice of Peter Cole if he chimes in on this
thread. He's a frequent contributor here who builds his own trailers
to haul light rowboats.

Chalo

"laran" wrote: (clip) Ideas??? (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I am sure a wooden deck and frame would be heavier than fiberglass or carbon
fiber. I built mine using electrical conduit and a pair of 20" front wheels
and forks. I think my hitch idea is worth considering. I brought the
trailer tongue up over the rear bike wheel, and connected to the seat post,
using a short length of reinforced 1" flexible plastic tubing. This is
strong enough to pull the trailer, and provides the freedom to steer and
lean. I welded up a T or Y connection between the tongue and the seat post,
using hose clamps.

On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:03:17 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

laran wrote:

Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. Â*It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. Â*Hence a two wheel
design. Â*Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. Â*Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?

You can get plenty of information on the web at places like
Instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=...c=on&sort=none

or http://tinyurl.com/yethrhn

It's important to keep in mind that such instructions come with no
qualifications whatsoever, and it's up to you to evaluate them for
basic design competence.

Sources of hitch parts,

Thee hitch is the foremost challenge of a cycle trailer. Most
homebuilders get satisfactory results by making something sort of
loose and flexible rather than mechanically determinate. Think along
the lines of something lashed to the seatpost with a couple of turns
of inner tube, or a chainstay mount that incorporates a chunk of car
tire to allow the trailer to articulate in the pitch and roll axes.

wheels, axles?


You don't want a 200 lb trailer on the seat post, and a coil spring
over a peice of hydraulic or fuel injection hose makes a real good
flexible coupling. My trailer connects using a heavy duty compressed
air "snap coupler" mounted to the rear axle nut
It's both easier to get parts and more structurally sound to use
normal bike front wheels (and support them on both sides) than it is
to use stub axle wheels.
Or do like Burley and use a perimeter frame, with 2 longerons inboard
and the wheels mounted between the 2 frame members on each side.

I cheated and bought a used and slightly abused Burley kid carrier.
Removed all the fabric and installed an aluminum "pick-up truck box"

I've had good results using 4.80/4.00-8 rib tread wheelbarrow wheels.
These are about 15" in outside diameter, typically rated for 400 lbs.
each, and I rarely have to pay more than $20 for one including
bearings, tire, and tube. They come with 5/8" bearings usually, but
these can easily be swapped for 3/4" bearings if that works better.
Either size allows you to use a hardened bolt for an axle that can
bear a tremendous amount of weight even when cantilevered.

Ideas???

You'll benefit from the advice of Peter Cole if he chimes in on this
thread. He's a frequent contributor here who builds his own trailers
to haul light rowboats.

Chalo

laran wrote:
Looking to build a bicycle trailer to carry stuff around to job sites,
camping, etc. It needs to carry at least 200 lbs. Hence a two wheel
design. Looking at building with a wood deck and possible laminated
wood frame. Possibly carbon fiber....

Sources of information?
Sources of hitch parts, wheels, axles?
Ideas???

has anyone built a carbon fiber trailer yet?????

Laran

Wood is an excellent material. If used carefully, it comes close in
performance to exotic materials and is cheap, easy to buy and easy to
work with.

I have built several trailers for hauling boats by bike. My most capable
trailer hauls a 16' boat with a couple of large lead-acid batteries and
assorted gear for a total of 250-300 lb. That one has an electric motor
assist for climbing hills.

I use dimensional lumber for my frames and tongues. Anywhere from 2x4
for heavy trailers to 2x3 or 2x2 for lighter ones. I typically fasten
the frames with lag screws. I find the easiest hitch is (with a high
tongue) to the seatpost. The method I use is to put a "V" notch in the
end of the tongue and lash (with innertube) a bit of rigid plastic tube
to it (PVC, etc.). Hitching up is just pulling the seat post & sliding
it through the tube.

For wheels, I just use whatever I find on trash day. I prefer 26" MTB
wheels. For dropouts, I just screw some angle stock to the bottom of the
frame, supporting both ends of the axle. I usually use the perforated
stock from the hardware store.

The thing to consider, particularly with heavy loads is the weight
distribution. If you brake hard with a big load the trailer will want to
jackknife, both vertically and laterally. You want to keep a decent load
on the tongue and use the rear brake more heavily than you would otherwise.

If you really want to build an extremely light and stiff trailer you
could make it from hollow box beams. These can be made from thin plywood
epoxied to wood stringers in the inside corners. You can thicken epoxy
(to glue with) with almost anything (wheat flour, dry spackle mix. etc.)
or you can use a construction adhesive like PL. Polyester resin doesn't
glue wood as well.

wrote:

You don't want a 200 lb trailer on the seat post,

It works fine. It's a lot less complicated, too. I have one dropout
hitch trailer ("BOB") which I've used a lot, and I've also used a
seatpost hitched trailer bike for years, both overloaded and both on
narrow mountainous trails. I prefer the high hitch.

For a cargo trailer, a high hitch is particularly nice in that you often
want to move the load around when unhitched. This is especially
necessary for launching & retrieving boats as I do, but I'd want that in
a grocery trailer, too. I always put a short crossbar near the hitch to
use as a handle.


and a coil spring
over a peice of hydraulic or fuel injection hose makes a real good
flexible coupling. My trailer connects using a heavy duty compressed
air "snap coupler" mounted to the rear axle nut


Innertube lashings are my choice. They're free.



It's both easier to get parts and more structurally sound to use
normal bike front wheels (and support them on both sides) than it is
to use stub axle wheels.
Or do like Burley and use a perimeter frame, with 2 longerons inboard
and the wheels mounted between the 2 frame members on each side.

That's the only way I know to support both axle ends.

On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:07:41 GMT, Peter Cole
wrote:

wrote:

You don't want a 200 lb trailer on the seat post,

It works fine. It's a lot less complicated, too. I have one dropout
hitch trailer ("BOB") which I've used a lot, and I've also used a
seatpost hitched trailer bike for years, both overloaded and both on
narrow mountainous trails. I prefer the high hitch.

Just don't get caught having to brake in a turn.

For a cargo trailer, a high hitch is particularly nice in that you often
want to move the load around when unhitched. This is especially
necessary for launching & retrieving boats as I do, but I'd want that in
a grocery trailer, too. I always put a short crossbar near the hitch to
use as a handle.


and a coil spring
over a peice of hydraulic or fuel injection hose makes a real good
flexible coupling. My trailer connects using a heavy duty compressed
air "snap coupler" mounted to the rear axle nut


Innertube lashings are my choice. They're free.



It's both easier to get parts and more structurally sound to use
normal bike front wheels (and support them on both sides) than it is
to use stub axle wheels.
Or do like Burley and use a perimeter frame, with 2 longerons inboard
and the wheels mounted between the 2 frame members on each side.

That's the only way I know to support both axle ends.

Short of mounting MTB forks to a steel frame crossmember (welded)

On Sep 28, 9:58*pm, wrote:
On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:07:41 GMT, Peter Cole
wrote:

wrote:

You don't want a 200 lb trailer on the seat post,

It works fine. It's a lot less complicated, too. I have one dropout
hitch trailer ("BOB") which I've used a lot, and I've also used a
seatpost hitched trailer bike for years, both overloaded and both on
narrow mountainous trails. I prefer the high hitch.

Just don't get caught having to brake in a turn.


Indeed.

Or like what happened to a friend of mine years ago: he got to an
intersection and raised himself up while braking to get a better
view. Yes, you can imagine what happened - with his butt off the seat
the trailer raised the back of the bike and dumped him in the
intersection. Ouch...

I have trailer plans at my site, but they are not great for over 150
lbs. without modification.

http://drumbent.com/trailer.html and

http://drumbent.com/trailer_big.html

Anything heavier I use my cargo trike, with which I've carried up to
350 lbs.

Mark