Bike Trailer Project

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agchawk:
tmike, I don't know how much extra cash @rcher has pumped into his but I picked mine up at a yard sale for $20. I cleaned it up, replaced the wheels, took the small seat out, and repaired/patched the cover for next to nothing. I LOVE what @rcher has done with his though....something I am going to look into this summer.

You are right too, you can haul a lot of stuff on these little trailers...they work great IMO.

CastleRocker:
I built mine, and packed out a decent bull with it two seasons ago, took two trips, but it was 9 miles one way, and it was a LOT easier than packing it out on your back! One word of wisdom....PUT DISC BRAKES ON IT!!! I had caliper brakes on mine and I had a real nasty crash on it. Also, put a handle on back to someone can help push up the hills. A buddy of mine that I work with built one as well, and packed out a 6x6 in Oregon in one trip. His is almost the same as mine, but he too had a bad wreck about 40 yards from his truck when he couldn't stop and crashed into the gate where he was parked. There are only two words I have to stress one more time...DISC BRAKES!!! I've got some pics of mine, (before I put the disc brakes on it and painted it), I'll post for ya. Next one will have one wheel, like the BOB Ibex, or BOB Yak type trailers. Of course it will have to pack a lot more than the 70-90 lbs that the BOB trailers do.

@RCHER:
Thanks, CR. Good points. I did talk to a guy about some composite wheels he had that were set up for discs. In fact, I've been thinking about how to built a remote (IR) master unit for a wireless disc setup. Would be great not to tether the bike to the trailer with cables.

AGC, if I remember right, I have a total of about $140 in mine. The trailer was free, it needed the new tongue/hitch assembly, tires, tubes, and the diamond plate was about $50. Most of the labor was in cutting the aluminum. Definitely a bit more swank than I set out to do. They don't need to be fancy. My biggest requirements were to find one that was aluminum and could handle over 100lbs.

FrankDown:
I dont have access to a TIG welder any longer. I have been thinking about the same thing with the single wheel. It seems the track would be better for offroad too, and hang out in traffic less otherwise.

Id been looking at the brushless motors for the electric propulsion that goes onteh front wheel. However the trails sometime says no motorized vehicles, and a mountain bike with an electric motor would be motorized. With a trailer you could have a bigger battery, I dont know what the weight to power would end up being though. Just one of those crazy thoughts. Sometimes they pay off, and I still have all my fingers too.

agchawk:
Great points @rcher/castlerocker. I have not had any issues as of yet as far as wrecks...but I have yet to bring it down a hill that is overly steep while fully loaded yet either. I think when I build my new one this summer I will certainly be putting disc brakes on it. My caliper brakes seem to work fine on the old logging roads that I've brought it out on however, I would rather be more safe than sorry. (Yea @rcher, your pics have convinced me to build a new one. I'll more than likely just modify the one I have...but it'll be fun)

I have 5 kids at home and we all mountain bike so I have plenty of spare parts, brake assemblys, etc. Hell, I think I have 6 older mountain bikes sitting in my garage right now. We just upgraded all our bikes last fall so that will give me all the "extras" I need.

@rcher, what's the most wieght you think you've carried in yours? Again, mine is not as nice as yours but I put a stronger axle on mine when I threw the bike tires on it, dropped a slab of plywood on the floorboard of it, and haven't had any issues with overloading. Of course, I think the most weight I've had in it is around 150-175 lbs....certainly not a whole bull elk.

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