motomech
10 MW
I first ordered the Sepnine Bike Commuter Cargo Trailer Alum frame with bag and handle 8007T;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWV0RPC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It was a good deal for $150 w/ a nice bag, but I could see right away it wouldn't hold up to my rough usage, especially the trailer arm to frame joint. So I sent it back(luv Amazon).
The other option is the Burley, but at $250 w/out a bag, I paused and thought about what I really wanted.
Folding to a sm. package wasn't important to me and neither was being able to convert it into a shopping cart to roll into the store(there are shopping carts there
What mattered to me was durability and the ability to handle dirt roads, so I decided to make my own using a hand truck.
To get decent sized pneumatic tires, one need to go w/ a serious truck, starting w/ a capacity of around 500 lb.s., so I went w/ this one;
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200596447_200596447
It's steel, but @ that capacity, the alum. ones don't weigh much less and cost 10 X more.
I cut off the loop leaving the angled stub at the bottom;
Then I built the arm out of mild steel tubing from Columbia River Mandrel Bending;
1)1.25" Mild Steel, 1.80" Radius, 16 Gauge, 18 Deg. Mandrel Bend Item #MS-16-125-180-018
2 Ft. of 1.00" OD, 16 Gauge, Mild Steel Straight Tube;
there was some slop in the way the pieces fit together, so I shimmed the tubes w/ a 1.25" thin steel kitchen sink down-pipe from the hardware.
View attachment 2
What makes this whole thing work is the Burley hitch system w/ the "flex" connector;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038LPOD6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GSQXUG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This set-up is really slick(the Sepnine hitch was a flimsy ball and socket).
.
Northern Tool forgot to include the axle for the hand truck, but it didn't matter as I wanted to widen the track for stability. I used a 1/2" hollow tube and 5/8" spacers and moved ea. tire out an additional 2 inches;
I had to cut off the big handle loop so my leg wouldn't catch it when mounting the bike. I left 2 stubs in case I want to use the truck as a hand truck and have a pr. of 1' Harley grips on order to cover them.
I thought about using a duffle bag, but saw this beautician's cabnet in the second hand store for $20 and went w/ it. It's lite, has tub/drawers and a folding locking door;
I haven't weighed it, but it's no liteweight and by the time I ordered the tubing off the Net, bought the hardware at the local ACE and payed for the hitch, I probably could have gotten the Burley.
But I don't have to worry about this Travoy breaking.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWV0RPC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It was a good deal for $150 w/ a nice bag, but I could see right away it wouldn't hold up to my rough usage, especially the trailer arm to frame joint. So I sent it back(luv Amazon).
The other option is the Burley, but at $250 w/out a bag, I paused and thought about what I really wanted.
Folding to a sm. package wasn't important to me and neither was being able to convert it into a shopping cart to roll into the store(there are shopping carts there
What mattered to me was durability and the ability to handle dirt roads, so I decided to make my own using a hand truck.
To get decent sized pneumatic tires, one need to go w/ a serious truck, starting w/ a capacity of around 500 lb.s., so I went w/ this one;
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200596447_200596447
It's steel, but @ that capacity, the alum. ones don't weigh much less and cost 10 X more.
I cut off the loop leaving the angled stub at the bottom;
Then I built the arm out of mild steel tubing from Columbia River Mandrel Bending;
1)1.25" Mild Steel, 1.80" Radius, 16 Gauge, 18 Deg. Mandrel Bend Item #MS-16-125-180-018
2 Ft. of 1.00" OD, 16 Gauge, Mild Steel Straight Tube;
there was some slop in the way the pieces fit together, so I shimmed the tubes w/ a 1.25" thin steel kitchen sink down-pipe from the hardware.
View attachment 2
What makes this whole thing work is the Burley hitch system w/ the "flex" connector;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038LPOD6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GSQXUG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This set-up is really slick(the Sepnine hitch was a flimsy ball and socket).
.
Northern Tool forgot to include the axle for the hand truck, but it didn't matter as I wanted to widen the track for stability. I used a 1/2" hollow tube and 5/8" spacers and moved ea. tire out an additional 2 inches;
I had to cut off the big handle loop so my leg wouldn't catch it when mounting the bike. I left 2 stubs in case I want to use the truck as a hand truck and have a pr. of 1' Harley grips on order to cover them.
I thought about using a duffle bag, but saw this beautician's cabnet in the second hand store for $20 and went w/ it. It's lite, has tub/drawers and a folding locking door;
I haven't weighed it, but it's no liteweight and by the time I ordered the tubing off the Net, bought the hardware at the local ACE and payed for the hitch, I probably could have gotten the Burley.
But I don't have to worry about this Travoy breaking.