Menu
What's new

Building a Bicycle Trailer

Stuart Ablett

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
As I mentioned in >> THIS << thread about restoring my old MT bike, I want to build a bicycle trailer for doing my daily deliveries around the area.

I've done a bit or research on this, here is part of what I found.....

This is a trailer that is being built and sold here in Japan.

>> Trailer on the move <<

>> How It Hitches <<

And I found this website, they sell the trailers ready to go for about $300.....

>> Bicycle Trailer <<

Overall, there is nothing wrong with that trailer, the size is not what I want, I have very specific dimensions I need to fit my cases of beer etc.
I do like his hitch and we contacted him about just buying that part, but he would not sell it, so I found the gimble or pivot part for sale for about $10, so I guess I'll just fabricate the rest.

Here in Tokyo, we have seen a lot of the courier guys now using electric bikes with trailers to do parcel deliveries.......
electric_bike_trailer.jpg electric_bike_trailer2.jpg

I also found a lot of information online >> HERE << about stability and hitch location.

I think I will have the hitch on the seat post, and I'll build the trailer bed fairly low to the ground, maybe 4" or so off the deck, well below the axle of the wheels. I've also decided to use regular 26" wheels, I'm told that they will give me much less rolling resistance, and I can get them with tire and tubes for free, when my local neighbourhood bicycle shop takes an old bike when a customer is buying a new bike.

I'm trying to make a SU drawing, but I'm having troubles, I'm not very good at SU :eek:
 
Looks like it will be an interesting project Stu. How much weight can one expect to load and pull on a bicycle trailer?

Those electric bikes look interesting as well. Are they regenerative (recharge the battery) as one is pedaling or coasting?
 
Mmmmmh Stu now you have me thinking. This would really give me a purpose to haul my bike out and get some exercise. Just thinking aloud but i do the grocery shopping in our house and my "going green" contribution could be going to get the groceries using something like a trailer.

I will have to talk to my buddy with the welder. I think the idea of getting a couple of forks from old bikes and using their front wheel and fork for the rear is a good idea i saw on the website you linked to.

There are many bikes that size that are simply put out for the garbage around here when the kids get too big for them. I am going to keep my eye open. This will be an interesting thread to follow. Way to go. I like the way you get round to building things. Really cool idea.:wave::thumb:
 
Stu do you have a TIG welder? Most of the new bikes are AL or some weird metal conglomeration that is lighter and stronger pound for pound than mild steel. Which is fine until you try to join them utilizing a stick or MIG welder without the correct filler rod. Or are you going to forgo weight for strength and ease of building and use 1/2" square tubing for your trailer frame?
 
No TIG, I wish I had one, but it has been YEARS since I TIG welded, and that is a VERY perishable skill set :eek:

It will all be fairly thin walled square tubing, 1" square and smaller, all MIG welded, I know I can do a decent job on that.
 
OK, my Sketch up skills are slowly improving, but this is a basic concept.......

delivery_trailer.jpg

I did NOT draw them wheels, they were drawn by someone named Ben Wood, I modified the wheels slightly, took off the brake disk, but that is similar to the wheels I'll have, well mine will be a bit thinner and a much more smooth tread on the tires.

I've got a lot more head scratching and SU work to do, but it is coming along.

The tubing is all 1" square in this model, except for the ones no the very bottom, I'm thinking I'll put light expanded mesh in the frame work, dunno yet really, still at the "Huh?" stage :D
 
Jonathan Shively said:
Stu do you have a TIG welder? Most of the new bikes are AL or some weird metal conglomeration that is lighter and stronger pound for pound than mild steel. Which is fine until you try to join them utilizing a stick or MIG welder without the correct filler rod. Or are you going to forgo weight for strength and ease of building and use 1/2" square tubing for your trailer frame?
Click to expand...

Actually, most cheap bikes are made of mild steel - and fairly thick stuff, at that. You're probably best using parts of Wal-Mart Huffys and the like.
 
I assume your going to use fork ends for the axle mounts? Then use bike axles to mount the tires? The one thing you will need to do is make sure both axles line up perfect. Your welding four different points so I would suggest mounting all four axle boss on one straight shaft to weld them in place. I would also suggest making sour the shaft is square with the center pull line not measuring off the frame. And make sure when you mount the hitch that you are on that same center line and square with it. I don't know how long or wide your going to build but I would say you need at least one cross member in the bottom to keep the mesh from sagging and pulling the sides in.
Just thinking out loud. Would an say ash slat 3/8" thick by 2 or 3 inches wide make a good floor :dunno:
It would eliminate the need for cross members and a mesh floor. Might be lighter in the long run.:dunno:
We used this stuff http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_building_material-ft1_polymax_wall_4;pg106835.html in a bran last fall. It would make graet light weight sides for your trailer. Of course I don't know if you can get some thing like that there.
 
Last edited:
The wooden slats on the bottom are a good idea, I even have some Ash that I can use :thumb:

Speaking of Ash, while Steve might get a kick out of that green trike, that sure don't look like Steve at all :D

Chuck you points on keeping every thing in line are good ones, thanks for the reminder.

Here is a picture from the side......
delivery_trailer_3.jpg

The wheels I'll be getting will have solid axles, so I'll just build some tabs for them to mount on out of angle iron. Should be easy to line them up as well.

I do want to be able to carry loose bottles in the back, sometimes that happens, a customer gives me a bunch of bottles with out a case, I can't have the bottles falling out of the trailer going down the road :eek:

I want a combo of strength and lightness, so maybe your idea of slats can work on the sides too :huh:

More work on the model is coming up!
 
I've been fooling with SU some more.......

delivery_trailer_back.jpg delivery_trailer_bottom.jpg delivery_trailer_front.jpg delivery_trailer_left_side.jpg delivery_trailer_top.jpg

I'd like a more elegant curve or whatever, but I don't want to make it too complex either, as the more cuts I have to make and the more welding give the it more points of possible failure.

Maybe I should invest in a pipe bender and then use some round pipe for this:rolleyes: :D
 
Stuart Ablett said:
...And I found this website, they sell the trailers ready to go for about $300.....

>> Bicycle Trailer <<

Overall, there is nothing wrong with that trailer, the size is not what I want, I have very specific dimensions I need to fit my cases of beer etc.
I do like his hitch and we contacted him about just buying that part, but he would not sell it,
Click to expand...


Maybe this is an obvious question, but when you contacted the seller, did you ask if they'd be willing to do a custom size? I would think that changing the length would be fairly easy. The width might be trickier.
I know you like building things, I was just wondering if this would be a lot easier + quicker.

OR!!!

I hope you're watching the local forsale ads... If you can pick up a 2nd hand trailer cheap, you'd get the hitch and the wheels, and then you'd just need to cut it apart to adjust the length/width to match your needs. That too, might be a quicker job.



Otherwise, I'll just sit back and watch...;)

:lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk:
 
Art Mulder said:
Maybe this is an obvious question, but when you contacted the seller, did you ask if they'd be willing to do a custom size? I would think that changing the length would be fairly easy. The width might be trickier.
I know you like building things, I was just wondering if this would be a lot easier + quicker.
Click to expand...

I think the guys is your typical grumpy old man working in a one man shop, when my wife called him, about the only thing he would consider is changing the color of the paint.... :rolleyes:

Was he interested in selling just the hitch....?

Nope..... :dunno:

I asked what if I had two bikes and I wanted to change bikes to pull the trailer.....? :huh:

Well, that kind of stunned him, he said that if I bought a trailer, he could sell me two hitches at that time.

I asked what if I changed my mind later and wanted a second hitch, or if I sold the trailer to someone else, and they wanted a second or even third hitch?

Things got quiet...... :rofl:

What if you were going touring, lets say 3 or 4 guys, you each get a hitch and load the camp equipment, like stove, lanterns etc on the trailer, you all take turns pulling it....... not outside the realm of possible, I thought :dunno:

At that point, he just sort of said.......

"The trailers cost 29,800 yen each, if you want one he could sell it to me.....

At that point, the idea of asking this guy if he could change a dimension was not really going to happen :dunno: :rolleyes: :D

Art Mulder said:
OR!!!

I hope you're watching the local forsale ads... If you can pick up a 2nd hand trailer cheap, you'd get the hitch and the wheels, and then you'd just need to cut it apart to adjust the length/width to match your needs. That too, might be a quicker job.



Otherwise, I'll just sit back and watch...;)

:lurk::lurk::lurk::lurk:
Click to expand...

I hear you, but most are not built for the kind of task I'm looking at doing, and in fact, I've not seen very many trailers here ever, even on cars.

I can get the wheels with tubes and tires for free, the steel might cost me $50, the gimble thing will cost me about $10.

I think this is another case where I know I can do it as good or better than what is out there, so I will :D :wave:
 
Go Stu Go:D:thumb::wave:

I am with you on this one. Yeah in my mind maybe there is a trailer guy out there with an appropriate trailer but heck you going to enjoy making this just like any project. Its the same as our woodworking. To me it aint about the cost etc. This is an adventure.:thumb:

The old geyser is paranoid about competition. He is not stopping to think that maybe he could be selling thousands of his gimble to all and sundry. Rather than a few trailers and gimble to a few. Oh well guys like that what can you do. They are everywhere.:D:)

Best of luck with the adventure. Looking forward to the rest of this journey.:thumb::wave:


Stu I just had a look at that gimble arrangement and its no more than a tow hitch ball mounted on a bar attached to the saddle pole. You could use a light weight pressed trailer hook as the gimble. Wont quiet look exactly the same but with work just as well.

I was thinking seeing the drawings, any chance of thinking of some led tailights with a dyno on the back wheel to drive them for the winter evenings. Just so you highlight the rear. Also some reflectors like a chevron on the back bars.

When i was a youngster we had a dynamo http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/products/4368608/Dynamo_Light_LED_lamp_Bike_lights.html which ran on the side of the bike tyre rim and we used it to power both our headlight and tailight that was mounted under the saddle. Given those were incandescent lamps i am guessing that with a few of the new low power high output led lights around one dynamo if they still available would do fine. Or even a pack of rechargeables mounted where a water bottle is normaly mounted below the cross bar.

Hey maybe something like this it even gives you indicators.

http://www.bicygnalsonline.com/indicators.php
 
Last edited:
Yep, that is all it is, I found one here for about $8 shipped to my house.....

mono32607687-090602-02.jpg

I do like his hitch, dead easy to use and should do a fine job.

Cheers!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top