DIY Extendable Bike Trailer | No Weld | Quick Release
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- We just created a new DIY extendable bike trailer that requires no special tools or welding! It easily extends from about 3 feet to 6 feet long using a spring loaded pin.
Bike trailer replacement hitch coupler | amzn.to/30Hgcvk
Neodymium cup magnets 1.5" | amzn.to/2YJ4wrd
Full writeup coming soon @ www.eBikeaholi...
Music by DJ Quads
For the first 5 years of my retirement I had no car so I used my long wheel base recumbent and a cargo trailer I bought on Amazon that was 41"X17" with a 275 pound weight limit and all of the railings cam off to make it a flatbed. I was able to find a heavy duty 55 gallon storage bin at Home Depot and it only fit because its bottom was only 39" long and 14.75" wide while the top was 45.5X21. No over-engineering, I just used bungee cords to hold it on the trailer and it worked great. I carried hundred of pounds of stuff in that trailer including some big patio blocks. I was even able to strap some 6' boards and poles on top of the tote.
For carrying long boards I just took all the railings off and then used a 6' frame from a futon that was thrown away and some small totes to use to raise it high enough to get above the wheel level (the trailer came with 20" wheels that I replaced with 16" ones to make it more stable). Again, I always used bungee cords to hold it all on the trailer and they never failed me.
Somebody has had their thinking cap on !!! ...very well done 👍👏😃
Thanks!
I have a old, no canvas left but nice child trailer. Your video helped me out. Now to reconfigure. My Bike Friday has a nice connection for trailers. I've never in 30 years and thousands of miles had an issue with it. Take a look. Not for loads over 50 lbs tho.
Nice, I'll check it out, thanks for sharing. Sounds like a good idea I'll probably do the same thing when my kid outgrows his.
Thanks! I'm building a bike trailer at present, and you have some excellent ideas. You might want to write a book with plans of your designs. In my case I'd adapting a push child carrier for the purpose, so the wheels and axle are not an issue. The design issue has been finding a way to mount the storage. Also, you might look into using fiberglass. It's lighter than steel and more rigid than plastic.
Got to be my favorite all in one video about bike trailers, excellent video, well explained and presented. Loved all the different options. Now shall we turn them into e-trailers.
Cool! I want to see it hauling wood.
Definitely, I'll do a ride vlog with some lumber soon. Sorry I haven't responded to your last email yet btw, decided to take a couple weeks off now I'm backed up on comments and whatnot.
@@eBikeaholic Love it ! I want to see it hauling 4x8 plywood. No need to rent a truck !
With the success of euro truck simulator 2, I assume a bike on turbo trainer could in the future breed the creation of a bike-truck / cargo bike simulator
Super cool. I need to build this, but I would prefer a single wheel. Something I can use on both my 29er Mtb, and my Lectric XP ebike.
Yeah same here, I love how well single wheel trailers track. Making a hitch that's convenient and strong enough is a challenge but I do want to work on that again sometime soon.
I liked 👍 this video and these builds(Very ingenious.). I am also into cycling and bike trailers. Just to let you know, there is a company called “Wike” in Canada 🇨🇦 that sells fabricated trailers and DIY trailer parts as a resource you could tap into. My latest trailer build is over 12 ft. long with a tandem axle in the back and one wheel in the front to steer it with(Like what you’d see on a “Carla” cargo trailer.), it has been fun to build but, a lot of work.
my left ear really enjoyed this
Brilliant ideas 💡 💪 thank you for sharing .
Nice...make one that expands into a camping cot for touring
This squared tube in the middle can be doubled to increase safety of the whole thing. Thinking about making the wheel axis extendable also, to be able to adjust the width of the trailer for loads that require more room.
Interesting content.
I've just started cutting metal on a mk2 version of a trailer I've been using for approx 3.5yrs and one of the mods will be adjustable length.
As mine will have a central hitch point - as every trailer I've built has had - both sides of the trailer frame (16mm dia tube) need to be adjustable..
Whilst I've carried up to 3.6m long items on the current one, that's involved using a temporary extension towbar to relocate the trailer rearwards. Mods will help this some for slightly shorter items.
I also don't have a welder, so mine are built using standard fasteners and mainly drill/hacksaw using discarded / repurposed materials - but all seems to have held up as max load has been 50kg a few times.
Current trailer weighs 4.2 kg btw and folds so it can be stowed on the bike until needed.
Edit: Looking at the first few seconds of this video again, I can't help but wonder if you've considered a central hitch / tow point?
Yes, you'd have to provide such a point in 3D space behind the bike (relatively simple imo) - but it could then be used with any subsequent trailer and negates the need to have 'swan neck' connecting arms on each trailer.
With a big plus imo - a central / non - offset pull vector. If such is good enough for cars/ trucks/ artics etc - is it not worth investigating?
I have a suggestion for improving the bottom attachment for the tote in order to prevent having bolts that scratch/pierce your floor after removing from trailer: Buy some unistrut U channel in electrical supply store, and bolt it to the underside of tote with open side of U facing down. On trailer, affix some square tubing that will fit inside the U channel. Bottom rails of u channel distribute the load when set on wood floor, and can even be padded with hdpe tape or other thick tape to minimize scratching of floor.
That's a great tip, thanks for sharing! I'm currently prototyping a new trailer made from 8020 t slot extrusions... still sorting out some kind of quick release attachments. U channels might be perfect I'll give it a try in Fusion 360.
Answer to fish-tailing,try loading most of the weight FORWARD of the axial.
Yup for sure, that's a good tip. I've actually scrapped this trailer and made a few new ones using t slot rails and magnet mounts... will post some vids on those soon.
greetings from Australia,yes that is the fish tailing problem, you should apply the 60x40 formula, when mounting your axle to the load, 60 @ the front half & 40 towards the rear which will make your trailer track straight & true even if you try to enduce a fish tail it will only self correct its self, good luck !
Great video, but it is me or is the audio very much in the left side?
Hub motors( which is the most predominate ebike) Should attach trailers to back wheel as we see here. The hub motor in the rear wheel places enough strain at that point. A trailer hitch attached to the seat post is far more workable.
I am sort of laughing at myself, as I get the "DIY" urge and then usually spend a whole lot of time, only to find better ways of doing such in the long run. I am presently looking at doing a DIY trailer as you show in your first part of your video. However, I have little faith in the plastic bins. I had previously made a PVC pickle boat for my dog and ended up giving it away, due to a move at the time. I like using the 55 gallons plastic drum for it, as they are sturdy and would allow a medium or large dog to easily sit in it and not somehow collapse the sides. They are also stronger agains the UV rays which often allow plastic bins to break. Don't have it worked out just yet, but my mind is whirring after viewing your video. Thanks for posting. I have a HeyBike Mars, but it is to be shipped to me today. Can't wait to check it out and see what my work on it as to a trailer. The MOD Easy electric bike comes with a sidecar, but too expensive for me at present. I have always ridden a Ural motorcycle with sidecar, so having my dogs alone for the ride is old nature for me. A trailer seems to be a better idea and less costly than finding a sidecar that would work on my bike at present. Again, thanks for posting your video.
Have you ever used or even seen a Ventura Zinc Coated Bicycle Trailer Hitch for seat tube or seat post clamp? It is basically just like a smaller version of a regular trailer hitch and ball setup that attaches to the seat post.
Bada Bing, Bada boom
Not bad, nice. Can you test it with some quickreet ? Awesome, super nice though.
Yeah I was able to get four 50 lb sandbags on there but the axles and tires were not happy about it... was a very slow and nervous ride home. I'm in the process of swapping them with 16" stroller wheels and a 7/16" threaded rod axle... will have an update on that soon.
I'm actually in-the-process of DIYing a bike trailer using an aluminum ladder. I'm not sure if I want to use the entire ladder for extension purposes. Or to separate the 2 pieces, while just using the 1. Or for that matter using all 14 ft. of the ladder ...either the 2 or 1. I can see the appeal of having a 14 ft. trailer, but how it suits for inner town/city maneuverability, as well as having something TOO LONG that would create issues with the police. But the current plan is to use only 8 ft. of the ladder, so I can add a DIY'd micro camper, and perhaps(also questionable maneuverability) DIYing a tandem axle :)
Sper tolle Idee, klein und groß 😃
Make it a 3 wheeled tricycle style. Itll be very stable even at high speed.
I made mine using the steering neck from an old kids bike. Then youll attach the tow bar to the spot where the handlebar is attached.
Amazing instructional video!!
I'm trying to track down the video you mention about using steel NPT EMT and I can't find it 🤷♀️ any way you can include the link please 😊?
Thanks!
Very ingenious! I'd think your current axle would handle 50lbs pretty easily. 200lbs of groceries sounds too much.
A suggestion woudl be to use steel electrical conduit and a conduit bender to make your loops to support both sides of the wheels. Square tubing is an idea also, but would weigh more.
Thanks! Yeah I should invest in a pipe bender, steel conduit would be a great idea.
I did two grocery pickups with it; around 100-200lbs so far so good but yeah those axles will have to bend at some point. The heavier load around 200 lbs didn't feel so great but I think mostly because the bike chainstays have too much flex. I'll probably be getting four or five 50 lb sand bags this weekend, should be a good test.
I am looking into this because I am 60 old and no car my last shopping too heavy bags
Try using a kid trailer wheels used is usually $50...then you have most of what you need. Just remove all the canvas and add the bin with the magnets...
Fantastic bike trailer. Do you have blueprints that people can buy to build one? Great job and thank you.
@18:30 what you're referring to, I think occurs BECAUSE you have the horizontal hinge first instead of the vertical first.
Not sure if I fully understand... do you mean the hitch bracket would need the vertical shaft component, and the trailer bracket would need to connect to it at the top and bottom?
@@eBikeaholic, whatever hinge lets the trailer move left and right should be first, and whatever hinge lets the trailer move up and down should be second. You have the "up and down" travel first, as demonstrated when you lifted the trailer.
Have you thought of reflecting tape
Yes, I love reflective tape, especially the black one you can't see until a light flashes on it. 👌
@@eBikeaholic I literally just put a cargo trailer together for my bike I noticed that nobody was seeing it so I put reflective tape on the corners and reflective tape on the sides now it's not a problem that's the only reason I suggested that
@@joemartinez2694 great idea, thanks for sharing. Another good one is to use flags or those car trailer marker poles with the reflector on top.
nice! i like what you did.
Thanks! I have an even better one now made out of T slot rails... will have some vids on that out soon.
Can you build one for me and what your price?
Why did you stop doing videos?
Most of the totes I have seen and even used, had a bad tendency to crack, mostly due to environmental conditions as UV rays or freezing weather and weather changes. The sides seemed to be the weakest points of them. Even the nicer looking ones which are generally black and yellow or black and orange/red, still suffer from this. Any thoughts as to that issue? Thanks.
Would there be a benefit or negative to hitching the trailer to both ends of the rear axle? I've only ever seen them on one side. I'm still curious if it reduces, adds strain or would add any other problems.
Mounting to both sides is definitely stronger and feels more secure. There would be less pull from the one side, but that's only noticeable with heavy loads / uphill and whatnot. The problem there is engineering the hitch pivot to be centered behind the wheel.
Use the front fork from another bike
The single wheel trailer looks like the bin is too wide. If you want to haul 8 FT or 10 Ft boards, consider a seat post hitch arm connecting to a dolly trailer, and onto that hitch a flat bed trailer, Ive done this.
nifty!
Where can I buy one at or how do I get started with the parts !?
Love it!!! ...Any thoughts on SIDECARS, by chance?
🤓
Thanks. I actually haven't tried one on a bicycle yet. I rode one on a motorcycle once but didn't really care for how it felt. I suppose it's one of those things you need to get used to. Do you use one?
@@eBikeaholic Never had enough resources to buy one myself, alas. Our dogs would be so ridiculously cute in a sidecar, however, that I am extremely tempted to build one!
"fishtailing..?" many times, that is because the trailer is loaded with the weight too far behind the axle. 2/3rds of the weight needs to be ahead of the axle for the correct tongue weigh.. This is the cause of those travel trailers that get to whipping on the freeway and end up tipping the truck and trailer over on it's side. Weight too far back is not good.. and weight too far forward put a lot of stress on the bike axle.
Nice job on the trailer.
It looks like you do have a weight distribution design issue when only using the single bin. You have too much of the load weight behind the wheels. This is probably why you were getting the fishtailing you mentioned when attached higher. Here is one of the videos showing what weight distribution can do. th-cam.com/video/6mW_gzdh6to/w-d-xo.html
Yeah you're definitely right. I've since retired this trailer and developed a better version using t slot rails... just haven't had a chance to share videos about it yet.
Your Single Wheel trailer would work better if the center of gravity was closer to the ground.. You may be experiencing and exagerated lean because it is high.. I have a Bob.. the basket is level and just 5" off the ground.
that's a really good point... didn't notice that but will keep it in mind for the next attempt.
I followed "Full writeup coming soon @ www.eBikeaholic.org" but couldn't find it.
yeah sorry about that I've actually been working on a better trailer design - will have some new vids and a page on the site coming soon.
@@eBikeaholic cool. Thanks!
B
DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET TO THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this video is useless unless you actually show how to construct these trailers