10 replies to this topic

[myzeneye]

right guys...........

ive got a 2-3 bike trailer, its very well/professionally built etc etc..proper job for any kind of bike, probably even road bikes at a push.... but it weighs a ton ! i cant move it around as much as id like to for storage etc....

after seeing a few really smart chopped up ,trials bike specific bike trailers i think its time to get the angle grinder out............

im gonna chop it back to a rollin' chassis and go from there..... the best ones ive seen have a block/platform sat above the axle for the bash plate to sit on then, towards the front end, some kind of tray for one wheel to sit in, leaving the other simply hanging over the back of the axle....the bike is just sat on this platform above the axle and strapped down tight....

if you have made a trailer or can post a picture of yours to help me come up with the best design before i commit to killing my existing one, that'd be great.....

[hrc_monty]

Hi,

Obviously Angle Grinding,welding and designing is fun.

BUT, if your trailer is that well/Profesionally made. Why don't you sell it and buy a trailer as you described. Or even use the Cash to get a load of angle iron and trailer parts and make it from scratch.

Either way i could see you coming out of this with some Wonga in your sky rocket.

Also, if you scroll through the Trial Garage Forum, some where on there is a 4rt sat on a very nice trailer.

Just looked for you, it's user stkman.

Edited by hrc_monty, 14 June 2011 - 09:58 AM.

[RichT]

There is a company that makes bike trailers that fold over to shorten them and stand it against a wall, cmf-engineering.com
Not cheap but you could get ideas from it.

I'm using a Kliponoff 'Lite' which is light enough to move about (50kg) or it can be unbolted to lay flat on a garage floor and then park car over it.

Edited by RichT, 14 June 2011 - 02:39 PM.

[myzeneye]

well.... i thought about selling it, it did seem the obvious thing to do...... but to be honest ,the mither of advertising it and organising collection etc etc just put me off.....
if i sold it, i reckon at best it could fetch 300 quid, but when i weighed up the cost of building a decent one from scratch, the parts would cost at least 150 quid or maybe more for decent gear..... so for the sake of making a hundred quid or so, i couldnt be @rsed..... at the end of the day, i just wanted a better trailer, not to fussed about making a buck on it....

so, with apathy set in, and an angle grinder just in the garage it seemed the better option to get stuck in and have a bit of fun in the "man cave" (garage)hahahha

so, i chopped it to death...hahhaha (will get a photo up)but, its still boddy heavy with just an axle and wheels....
ive took some measurements and im ready to start the rebuild...... 2x1" box section should do it, well, thats whats lying around at my mates gaff so thats what we're using ! hahaha
going for a block above the axle to sit bash guards on and then front wheel drop in's for stability......

will get the finished thing posted when its done....

[Johnnyboxer]

You wanted trailer pics.....................here's mine, Klipponoff's finest.

Only have to transport 1 bikes at a time, so suits me

Tows well, very stable..................great trailer

[bigfoot]

I made a three bike one a few years back and the only issue is I never got round to properly rust protecting it.

Its a just a simple pair of light (250KG I think)independant suspension units mounted on a flat triangular trailer with another upright triangular frame that the bash plates site on. A strap across the seat is all that's needed. It's super light and can be easily stood on end for storage. Simples.

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[B40RT]

Your better building it from angle as you can paint it properly, box will rust through from the inside.

[myzeneye]

yes bigfoot, im looking at similar designs... want to be able to get two outside bikes facing forward and one bike in centre facing backwards...... think the design on the left will allow handle bars to miss each other a bit better but design on the right would be a bit simpler to make ...
box section is what ive got, so too late to switch angle now....

my only real concern is making places for fixings/lashings.... im gonna use eye bolts but wont have the spread out stability to lash out at angles if you know what i mean.... can anyone who uses this bash plate type of tariler confirm if just ratchet straping around the seat or foot pegs and getting the bike ratcheted down onto its bash plate alone is enough to make it secure ? the front wheels will be sat in drop in's

Edited by myzeneye, 18 June 2011 - 12:00 AM.

[myzeneye]

[Ross Brown]

It was a great day for traction. The farm pasture was lush and the cows had processed their share of it to leave behind voluminous 'cow pats'. However it shaped up to be an unpleasant end to the day when I had to sling my boots into the back of the car for a two hour drive home. The stinking boots couldn't go into the trailer along with the bike as the trailer has no tail gate (see pic below). This is because the rear tyre of the bike overhangs the end of the trailer and I'd had to remove the tailgate completely as it would not close. Not a problem for carrying a bike, but a nuisance when trying to carry loose items such as smelly wet boots as without the tailgate everything in the back is sucked out over the trailing edge and onto the road.

It was time to put a fix in on the standard 6x4 garden trailer (the Mrs thinks it's primary purpose is still as a 'garden' trailer). The new tailgate replaces my heavy wooden loading ramp and it locates the rear wheel firmly. Wheel is held by the verticals touching the tyre, not the rim. Many thanks to "Stkman" for three hours of extra welding around the mesh; you can see his home-built trailer in the TC garage section.



I used the opportunity to mount a high-level100mmm square LED brake light. As the rear wheel still protrudes beyond the trailer this adds some peace-of-mind to avoid being rear ended. And if only one bike is on board, the 'hole' for the other bike is plugged with crisscrossed nylon line from kayak left overs.

Next job: The trailer has cart springs–I know it is the wrong choice for a bike trailer but we live with what we have spent our money on– and is sprung for an all up weight including load of 1,000kg. Even with a fat 4RT on board I don't think it weighs more than a third of that when heading to a trial. At the 1,000Kg spring rate, the damn trailer approaches every speed bump as if it is a ski jumper looking for altitude. When I asked the manufacturer why the springing was so heavy handed and he said, 'everyone overloads a trailer sometime'. His attitude seemed to be that one day I would forget and overload the trailer to failure and then it would reflect badly on the manufacturer. Better to over-spring it and destroy the ride for 99% of its towing life. So with a view to 'gliding along' smoothly the next job is to the smallest (most rigid) of the two small leaf springs, of which there are two large and two small fitted as standard, and drop the spring rate by at least half.

Edited by Ross Brown, 13 March 2012 - 06:07 AM.

[Andy]

Ross Brown, on 13 March 2012 - 12:19 AM, said:

There's no easy way to tell you this so I'm just going to say it. Your dog's dead.