That joint ya made is just genius level like! This has really helped coz I’m making a tiny home! To be pulled by me push bike! Thankyou so much, Stray1 Britain’s best Unknown stuntman that never was,
Thanks, glad you liked it! I've rebuilt and broken so many parts of that trailer over the last few years, I'm not sure what I could offer as advice or encouragement! Start simple and fix it as you go seems as good as anything! The biggest problem with that version was the wheels were way too little, they'd actually drop in and get stuck crossing cattle guards! The current trailer has 26" bicycle tires again. That seems to be the best idea.
Thank you! That's been a pretty popular project! Later on, I did a different trailer, with solar, hooked to an electric bike, and did about 4000 mile trip this summer. Look for the 22 States play list on my channel if you're curious! Thanks for the comment!
I just made one myself with an old heavy duty plastic bin for the box, and 26" wheels. It sits at the height of the center line of the wheels, and is about 18" wide, and 24" long. For the hitch, I used a "u-bolt" on my rear carrier, and a "eye bolt" screwed into the end of a 1" dowel.
That sounds great! The bigger wheels roll easier, no doubt. I think the hitch ended up being the most trouble of the whole trailer. Thanks for the comments!
Thats a good idea. A dolly makes a great bicycle trailer. I've been thinking about building a bike trailer. I'm leaning towards a goose neck seat pole hitch, maybe. I've just tried a different way of lubricating my bike wheel hubs with a grease gun. It did make peddling easer.
I've done so many versions of the bike trailers over the years, I did at least one version with the goose neck hitch, they all had pros and cons, its worth experimenting with at least.
Use a 2" length of "U" channel to make an axel mount like Burley. Drill a. Hole for the hitch pin. Use a dog plastic cheek bone as the flex link. Cut it into a more tubular shape before drilling. Holes in each end. Add a tubular extension to the side of your hand truck and pin the flex joint into its end.
Back in the late 1970's a friend of mine and I made two bike trailers out of hand trucks. We removed the original axle and replaced it with one that was almost twice as thick and was a foot and a half wider (9" on each side) which game them more stability. We change the cheap tires from some of better quality. Then we took a couple of Kmart frame backpacks off of the frames, and placed them on the hand trucks, and drilled cotter pin holes to mount them with. Then we had a stout curved tube welded on to each one to use as a hitch. The hitch mounted on the seat post with a U bolt. We pulled those makeshift trailers for 7,000 miles, and as bike trailers were basically unheard of in those days, just about everyone we talked to wanted to know how we made them. Total cost in 1976, about $40 each.
My late dad was a mechanical engineer designing buses and vehicles most of his life. He also drafted a bike trailer once, spending a lot of time to find the right pivoting point to ensure best trailing (staying on the same wheel track as the bike went on). The best pivoting point is cca midway between the bike's rear wheel axle and the trailer axle - if you put the pivot closer to the bike the trailer will always turn on a smaller radius as the bike rear wheel and much smaller than the front wheel, which could be a problem when negotiating tight corners. This, however, requires a relatively long bracket mounted on the bike, with its weight. Another big issue he tackled was suspension. A real suspension with springs and dampening adds to weight (and complexity) but measurably decreases towing force (would be easire to tow). Our guess for a first try was to use gas cylinders used e.g. to support a car's trunk door aloft. That would add both the spring and dampening. Finally a conclusion we had about wheel size is, bigger wheels have lots of advantages but some serious disadvantage. Limiting lateral load size is one disadvantage. Another disadvantage is it tends to keep the load higher and if the surface is not horizontal (e.g one wheel rolls on a rock when the other one does not) the entire load rolls/swings heavily to the side and back. Riding seriously uneven surface might lead to the trailer tipping to the side. Therefore it makes serious sense to consider monowheel trailers. That takes you to a trickier pivoting solution though.
Not gonna lie, hose clamps are great for bikes. I use old tubes as rubber isolation to protect the paint (i ride a ratty ATB) but they hold stuff super well and are dirt cheap
I totally agree! My current ebike battery is mounted to the frame with hoseclamps and duct tape :) I just didn't feel like fabricating something more elegant.
That Benny Hill song is called, " Yakkity-Sax". A double-leg kickstand might solve your bike tipping over problem. You might want to invest in a multi-speed bike to make your trips a little easier. Very nice process. I like your results.
Thanks for the info on the Benny Hill song, looking it up now! This video was made about 3 years ago, so I don't remember the details anymore, I'd changed so many things in the mean time. More recently I've started riding a recumbent trike that I made, which also has electric assist and solar to keep the batteries charged, you might want to check that out too!
@@ronyerke9250 The new one is a Delta design, I find it pretty good to ride, although its very heavy. Earlier I tried to build a delta using a lot of old bike parts cobbled together. That didn't turn out so well. Example videos of both are on this play list, look to the bottom for the Black Delta Trike episodes, that's the newest one that I ride now... ua-cam.com/play/PLRP61yXi60YVwWnyhOGq26BQYSAT9kH60.html
I was thinking about building a rack, but I've been ordering cases of beans, those are heavy on the bike. This spreads the load out nicely. Also, I already had the hand cart. I have over 100 miles on those little tires already, they're doing great!
Instead of the hitch contraption, consider a short piece of spring coil. Weld a fender washer to both ends and connect to trailer and bicycle with nuts and bolts.
what about ball joint? those would offer (limited) 3 side movements needed for stable ride with cargo. nice idea using hand trolley as base of trailer. i may use your idea ;)
I think after I tried everything else, the ball joint would be the best idea. I think I didn't try it because I couldn't find a small enough ball hitch, or it seems too expensive. But I would think it's the best option!
One way to do a hitch that won't bind up is two loops cut from an old flat inner tube, one fastened to one side vertically, the other fastened to the other side horizontally, the loops go through each other. A halfway point between hitching to the seat post and hitching to bars from the level of the back axle is to make a back rack and hitch to the back of the back rack.
That is cool, using a sack truck as a trailer. 1 thing did occur to me. Would it be worth using a towing ball/hitch configuration such as you would have from a car to a small "garden" 6 x 4 trailer. Welding the towing ball to the steel extenders from the bike frame and the hitch part to the trailer ? Just a thought.
I have a good idea to connect the pivot point use the rubber brackets at muffler shops use to hang the muffler pipe with its strong it's sturdy and it flexible perfect for the application ⚓
Hello loved watching your video for me my Pivot point i made mine using a Folding Lug wrench and 1 large spring and a motorcyle handlebar riser to attach it to the rear axl of my bike. I cut out the pivot leaving a coulple of inches on each side. the side that has the axl nut i insert a large spring the side that is used for the handle i attach the the trailer back to the spring i insert a inch of it over a bicyle seatpost. yhea i drill and bolt the spring on no welder anyways the seatpost that now has a spring on it i attach it to the bike using a motorcycle handlebar riser all i do is place a nut in the riser thread it on to my rear axl then slide the seatpost on when i want to use my trailer and it makes tight turns you can lay the bike down and the trailer be fully loader and will stay upright and its heavy duty. i know i didnt spend more than 5 dollars finding things at swapmeet and yardsales.
Thank you so much for the comment! I've been offline for a couple months so am just catching up now! I like your idea for the pivot, that seems like it would be strong enough. Ive broken bolts on that trailer out here...
Every Day is stealth off road out here, and yes, the bigger tires do help! I just updated the trailer to 26" wheels which are even better, new video here ua-cam.com/video/34_UO8sL2jY/v-deo.html
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Later made a one wheel trailer that I used for about 1000 miles, I'm now about 2000 miles from home on an electric bicycle with solar trailer. Check out the 22 States video playlist.
@@CarlinComm A great movie, so I added it to my favorites :), I am afraid of a one-wheeled due to this stability, because I would like to transport +/- 50 kg, maybe more. Tomorrow I will look for this movie 22 states. Have a good trip ... stay safe :)
I've gone through so many changes! One was just a hand cart, but those wheels were way too small. I've gotten some wheels from Northern Tools, Harbor Freight, etc. If you look at my recent video, I am doing long distance touring on my electric bicycle, pulling a trailer with solar to charge the bike. I've been on the road since March 😁
Nice vid! Hope you're dealing with the major heat events well. Here is my 2 cents; As you say; "Roll, Pitch, and Yaw". Your pitch (nose up and down) should gimbel at the rear tire axle. This puts all your tong weight directly on your rear tire axis. That way a load on your traylor doesn't try to make you 'wheely'. Your "Yaw" (side to side or turning bend) should be right behind your rear tire, but maintain horizontal strength (see Burly single wheel Traylor attachments for an illustration). Your roll, because you have 2 traylor wheels instead of one, should be right behind the Yaw axis but limited by bungees or springs to keep it 'wanting' to have both traylor wheels on the ground, (limiting side tip-overs). If you could cant your traylor wheels Toe-Out a bit it would add to the stability too. Nice project. You wound up my imagination with it, Thanks.
Thanks for the great comment! I have gone through several changes on this over the last year, its hard to keep track of everything since then! The basic hitch hasn't changed much though. If you're interested in making one of your own, yes, the ones you buy typically just connect to the bike at the axle, there are definitely advantages to that. I didn't feel they looked strong enough for what I'm doing, my road is really rough, and the loads are heavy. I've broken bolts, for example. Something I did consider was to hook to the seat post, with a goose neck connection. There are advantages to that as well, but I never really tested it. I think it might be worth trying a trailer hitch with a ball, like a regular car trailer but go smaller. One big issue to watch for, as you add up each axis, that is 3 wear points and 3 pivots, so each pivot adds slack. When I hit a bump, or a rock, the trailer oscillates, pulls back, then jumps ahead, and each slack pivot point adds to that. Gets really annoying after 20 or 30 miles! A ball hitch might do better there. And I feel I really need the roll axis, if I just lay the bike down, or it tips over. Often the bike's side stand won't support the bike when I'm loading the trailer, so it ends up being easier to just lay the bike down when I stop. Making this work well is more complicated than I thought it would be! Thanks again for the comment.
When you talked about roll, pitch, and yaw (and later, when the bike fell over), I thought about my experiences with a cheap bike trailer that I got off CraigsList. It had a "goose neck" with a fixed ring on it. The ring connected to the seat post. A rubber gasket was missing, so I put foam and duct tape on the seat post to deaden the banging. It worked pretty well. I never had a problem when I had two kids in it. One time, though, I only had one kid and the light side of the bike hit a curb. The trailer flipped! It was a good thing that the seat post through the ring limited the roll access. I quickly jerked the bike in the other direction and it popped back up. My son was strapped in and safely contained inside the sides of the trailer. If it had flipped all the way over it might have been an issue. I don't suppose you've had any troubles with the trailer tipping, have you? The other trailers we had were single wheel. They also attached to the seat post, but the roll was kept to as close to zero as possible because the trailer was supposed to lean with the bike.
Yikes! Glad to hear your kid was ok, that would be scary! The trailer has gone through many changes, but that basic pivot is still about the same, I upgraded some of the bolts, the 1/4" bolts were showing wear. I did manage to tip the trailer over once, I ran over a bush bigger than the trailer, which dragged me to a stop pretty quick, and it wasn't until I stopped, then the bush kind of sprung back then the trailer rolled over. Later versions have wider axles and bigger wheels. I like the 1 wheel trailers, but I'm hauling 40 pounds of groceries, so wanted to make a wider trailer to be more stable. Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm - After I left my comment, I found myself reflecting on cargo trailers, and I'm finding myself pretty fond of the one-wheel concept. I have no experience with chain-stay hitches (whether like yours or the very common type that kind of reaches around), but I'm very comfortable with seat-post hitches (even though the goose-neck can be long and awkward off the bike). The only instability, it seems to me, would be while loading it - and then you'd lean the bike against something. The whole rig would be linked together and you wouldn't have the bike fall over like it did in the video. All this said, I still have the old plastic trailer. Almost certainly I would press that into service before buying or building something new.
@@MrTwostring If I would have had bigger pieces of metal when I started, I had considered a goose neck hitch to the seat, that was the kind of bike I had seen a few times in the past, and it seemed simpler. Making the hitch part of the bike, off the lower frame like I did, works, but leads to other problems, mainly it gets in the way when changing tires, and I get way more flats on the rear, go figure! I also had to extend the hitch point past the rear of the tire, so that makes a weird leverage effect, so definitely not ideal. The later versions are better, I've changed this a few different ways since the beginning. And for me, the key point was I was using stuff I had available, so none of it was as good as it could be. Always good to bounce ideas off others who have different experiences!
@@CarlinComm - One additional thought. I still have the racks I used when I was a college student to buy groceries. Heavy metal rack with spring loaded clamp on it. Folding WIRE cages. I loved that thing. The grocery store wasn't far, but hand carrying groceries was harder than I imagined. I've yet to want to put that thing on any bike because the dang thing is so heavy. I used to buy no more than, I think, four bags of groceries -- then I consolidated to two and a half. These were the old-school paper bags. One on each side overloaded, and the half bag in the spring loaded giant mousetrap on top. You've got me wanting to bolt that thing on and taking a trip to my local grocery store to see how many pounds it can carry.
@@MrTwostring Yeah those sound great! I remember when I lived in Seattle, we weren't that far from the grocery store, I was married then, so we'd just walk for groceries. What doesn't seem like very much in the cart feels pretty heavy by the time you get home! Any kind of cart or rack is a huge improvement. Those sound awesome!
Youre fantastic sir....you should manufacture the bike hitch portion..100$ yes..there s huge demand for..no doubts n amazing skills on limited budget..wow
Thanks for the kind comments! I've been using this 2 or 3 times a month since July, and have made continuous updates. There is a more recent video of the "final" version here if you're interested. ua-cam.com/video/34_UO8sL2jY/v-deo.html
That looks like a good sturdy trailer. Very practical - and you did it yourself! So when you get your ebike done, that trailer should fit on it? You are recycling lots of items! Good for you!
That's the plan! Something I hadn't even thought of at the time, I've already put about 60 miles on those little tiny tires. I'll bet that is more than anyone ever expected for a hand cart!
Yeah I like them too because they a cheap or were cheap yesterday I was in harbor freight and the didn't have them so I was forced to go more expensive, 12 dollars on a long hsndle drill hammer with a wedge shape opposite of the hammer head
im trying to build a Trailer, using a Golf Bag Cart , with air tires, and Balance my load, but i didnt think about the Pivoting hitch, will think about that one , lol
I notice pulling weight off e bike is more stress on motor vs putting weight on top of the motor such as a rack. I experimented this using same weight on my e bike. The pulling weight forced a cut off of power to cool down the first 3 miles. Putting on weight on top of rear rack there was no cut off to cool down of riding 20miles on. Believe weight on top of a tire the air compensate the overall g forces. Pulling is just straight up rpm force of motor using more wattage than normal of course but the difference of wattage use was more less with weight on top. Used a 1500 watt 52v.20ah Gearless for experimenting. I'm sure using 1800 thru 3000watts makes pulling weight easier and the right specs range of power to pull. But the physics behind experiment actually makes sense of the dimension of air to bear weight.
Ok thanks, I think I agree with you. If I can eliminate the trailer I would have less rolling resistance and drag, and the trailer tires were small so they didn't roll very well on the gravel. Thanks for the comments and for the idea.
@@CarlinComm If you bearing items that has to be pulled off trailer, go for it! Keep riding awesome! It was just a side note to help others as I'm fortunate my items not too bulky to place on rear rack. The trailer I had is for items that I need to place and use but I rarely use trailer now but when I do I tend to use mid power over full throttle ( until the hills,lol) . It's also important not to fill air over psi,lol. I thought putting air to tire to rock solid feel help the weight but not, had constant air leaks and blow outs. But getting a fat tire in back will help. Ride safe buddy!
I've seen that done, if I had thought of it earlier, it would have been easier than building my own packs. Thanks for the comment! If you get bored, I've done updated videos about the trailer.
@@CarlinComm yes I'm going over your videos as we speak . The 3 speed internal gear video . The wheel building video , oh you have a update trailer video?. I will keep an eye out for it.
@@robertbrawley5048 Yeah that trailer has been changed so many times, I've lost count! Big wheels, little wheels, I think put at least 150 miles on the original 10" cart tires, the bearings started squeeking. Put some HF 10" wheels, they lasted one trip? haha it has 26" bicycle wheels on that are doing better. Many grocery trips were 40 to 50 pounds. Broke the hitch clean off once, that got fixed with electrical tape on the side of the road. Think that video hasn't been uploaded yet...
@@CarlinComm I was kinda of wondering about your big wheel based on this linked channel ua-cam.com/video/KaxLPxn4liA/v-deo.html You see in this linked video the host tried the hand cart wheels on his handcart trailer seen in another video. Then tried his bigger wheel seen in the cart setup on his hand cart trailer. I guess he prefers the smaller wheels Edit. Oh, @ the 4:22 time mark he say he is only using the harbor freight material handler wheels on the back because that is the only set he can attack a sprocket to until he figures out how to power the 20 inch wheels
@@robertbrawley5048 Haven't looked at that in a while, that's another project I'm working on, that's my other project. Anyway, let me see if I can summarize that one! "Turtle" will be a 4 wheel quad pedal with electric assist. It's not done yet though. I have a current batch of videos, the Blue Bike Electric Trike, in that same play list, where I'm testing systems for the quad Turtle. I haven't gotten steering working yet for the quad, so I just put 2 rear wheels on a bicycle so I could test the motor more. I've moved up to motorcycle wheels for the rears, I keep breaking bicycle wheels on the rough road with heavy loads. Anyway, the motor and battery and motorcycle wheels are working fairly well, I finally got a good test of that, got almost 8 miles of testing done. OH, I guess the actual testing video is scheduled to go live tomorrow, here's the most recent Trike video, same motor as what will go on Turtle quad eventually!
Just line the inside of your tires with old Thorn resistant tubes with the valve cut out and a slit all the way around the inside of the tube so it wraps around your tube that you inflate giving you an extra layer of thick rubber for flat protection
As for your hitch and trailer arm use one of those bent conduit pipes you have put a hole in the end of it attached a three-length regular chain to it and connect it to your bike frame on the left side yes side mount by way of a cheap seat guts stretch it out open it up and wrap it around your frame tube and put a quarter 20 bolt and nut through it attaching the chain then wrap the exposed chain with an old bike to really tight you get no rock or rattle it's the most solid way DIY out there trust me
When you started the video, the back end of the trailer was obviously too low. To me, this meant the cargo, as well as the load was all on the back end and causes undue stress on the bike, as well as can lead to issues with the cargo at every bounce in the road. It limited how much cargo you could safely carry, as well, I believe. You eventually changed that and even added some larger wheels. However, by the end, you had made a hitch, but it still all allowed the trailer to still sit low at the hitch, as well at the cargo bed & frame. Larger tires didn't help that issue and I am thinking that your main issue is that the whole trailer simply rides angled too low from the hitch point on back. The swivel hitch setup you made works well to allow any lean from the bike to happen. Your hitch setup should have the trailer nose more downward that at a straight angle or even reversed with the nose pointed up. This may be accomplished by modifying the rear axle location to actually make a set of pillars to move the hand truck frame up higher in the back area. If you check out barrel train cars for ideas about this, you can see how they set up their cars to ride well. I am probably getting too complex on this to actually work well for you to understand what I mean, but the rear end of your handcart should be even or a bit higher than the front end is at the hitch. Otherwise it will always have the issues of not being all that stable, especially under a heavy load. It would probably be even easier just to adapt the same type of hitch that is most commonly used with pet carrier/baby carrier trailers which are used with bikes. They have spring loaded hitches which allow movement sideways and such, so that you can turn or lean the bike easier. Fabricating one of them would likely be easier than making the hitch setup you came up with. I am not being critical in the least, as I love DIY things and am currently planning out a barrel trailer setup for my electric bike and maybe adaptable to my lawn tractor. Every time I start on the project, I seen to come across another idea which changes my plans dramatically. Finding videos as this give me inspiration. sometimes I give myself a face slap sometimes after expending so much effort on a project just to see someone else had a better and easier idea if I had only seen it first. ;-) Thanks for the video. ;-)
A lot of great ideas there, sorry I hate typing on the phone. I've changed so many things on the trailer... See my newest videos for details, made a one wheel trailer with solar for long distance touring, I'm going to California now for The Sun Trip. Doing 50 to 70 miles a day so far self contained, no external charging.
I'm about 100 miles east of El Paso Texas, have a little ranch out here, but At the moment I just rode a bike through Death Valley in California. Thanks for the comments!
maybe you could pour some polyeter resin into the tube to reinforce certatain parts... Boy I spoke too soon.. a very nice evolution. maybe a used child bike trailer might have been worth exploring ..new they are not cheap. compost any paper buried in the ground.. that bolt holding the trailer on seems a little small. But amazing.. good work.
Yeah its evolving! Will probably upgrade the bolt, 1/4" is pretty small, but it hauled 2 good loads from town already. Would love to foam fill the tires, but not solid, the road is so rough, leaving them soft helps a lot. Using the cart sure was easier than building from scratch though!
Just remember that foam needs moisture water the kick off if we act with Ashley water to so you have to spray in water spray as you're foaming attire anything else for to really set up so I'm told
I was thinking some kind of 2 part foam, like insulation foam or polyurathane foams? I can't remember what all they were. Floatation foam is another idea, but would want something that stays more soft I guess. There is a reason we still have air in tires after all this time.
@@CarlinComm You can buy solid bike tyres off eBay in most sizes and colours. I've been thinking about that for my trailer, but they look like they're a pig to fix into position without proper tools. I still might go for it though, because when they are on, they are on solid.
@@Teapot-Dave Yeah, Northern Tools has Cart Wheels, that are solid rubber. The biggest reason for air in tires is to soften the ride. I've been experimenting with air pressure on the bike and also the trailer, and it can make a huge difference in the ride quality, especially on the rough road. I'm riding about 10 miles on gravel, sand, and mostly washboard. There are times I slow down, just because the bouncing is so bad. When I air up the trailer tires, the rattling is pretty bad. Solid tires would last a very long time, but the ride would be terrible. I might look at a foam tire insert, have seen them before, but that later of air turns out to be very important. Seems weird that in the last 100 years, we've not been able to get a good airless tire that rides well. There are the honeycomb tires that are promising though. Thanks for the comment!
very narrow, and center of gravity is very high. Carlin, you might think about spacers on the axles to widen this. You are going to find it tips really easy on corners,
Yeah I've gone through a few revisions since this video came out. Ironically, I've only had it tip over twice, and both of those were off road, going over bushes. It's actually working much better than I would have expected, which is why it hasn't been improved much since I started. Its wider now, has more of a cargo basket on it, but the basic hand cart is the same. Same wheels and tires, same axle, that part is back to stock again. Those little tires have way over 100 miles on them, tires are doing fine, but I think I'm hearing bearing noise now. It was just a quick hack, that keeps on working :) Thanks for the comment!
I'm so used to buying online, but it's not a practical option when I was on the road. Oh, if you saw this video you might not know I just am getting back from 6 months on the bike tour.
it's a nice video, but the trailer is so bad... ... if it gets the work done, then it's ok, but it must weigh like 30 kg unloaded and the wheel base is so narrow it could be good for driving in tight streets with loads of cars beig just as wide as the handlebars...but a small stone will tip your trailer , and the cargo needs to be as close to the ground as possible
Yeah, it is pretty heavy, but it is very strong, some of my grocery runs are weighing 40 to 50 pounds on a rough road. I've been using this since July, and only tipped over once, when it ran over a bush, off road. I've updated it a few times since then, the latest version is much lighter, wheels are wider, you'd probably approve of that one more :) Thanks for the comment.
That's an interesting idea I hadn't even thought of! Another idea I did consider was to run the hitch up to the seat post, which I think would handle better. I've seen something like that before but haven't tried one yet. Thanks for the comment!
@@Charlemagne1367 Yeah I guess I thinking of how a 5th wheel trailer helps distribute the weight between the axles of the tow vehical better. I have seen child carriers that connected to the seat post, but since I don't have kids, didn't think much about it at the time :) I do definitely notice the weight with my trailer hitch sticking so far behind the axle.
When I was building this, I had time and scrap metal but not much cash. I saw some little ball Hitch which would have been worth trying. I just couldn't justify the cost at the time. Maybe next upgrade!
I get the DIY part of the deal, but Survival Off-Grid? It could just as well be used by a homeless person who has no other choice. Or a loading dock security guard in Puerto Rico. Off Grid or On Grid, it ain't much.
Naming a video is tricky. Oddly, this video is one of my all time most watched videos, I don't actually understand how that happened, so sorry if you were disturbed by the naming. Not sure if you watched it all, but it kind of does fit, I'm living off grid, I use this to get groceries and stuff to survive. I sold my truck, so its my main way of getting stuff from town, which is about 15 miles away. Anyway, best wishes and thanks for taking the time for writing a thoughtful commment!!
@@CarlinComm not disturbed by any naming, just a simple opinion about a subject (bicycle trailers) that I am involved with. And your success with your vids would override any meaningless comments from the hinterlands. But I am building a heavy strong Chinese based trailer with many upgrades, and I call 'em as I see 'em.
Great video. Thank you. I'm going to share this with my husband. He is gonna love it!
Thanks glad you liked it :)
That joint ya made is just genius level like! This has really helped coz I’m making a tiny home! To be pulled by me push bike! Thankyou so much, Stray1 Britain’s best Unknown stuntman that never was,
Thanks, glad you liked it! I've rebuilt and broken so many parts of that trailer over the last few years, I'm not sure what I could offer as advice or encouragement! Start simple and fix it as you go seems as good as anything! The biggest problem with that version was the wheels were way too little, they'd actually drop in and get stuck crossing cattle guards! The current trailer has 26" bicycle tires again. That seems to be the best idea.
I love the creativity 👏
Thank you! That's been a pretty popular project! Later on, I did a different trailer, with solar, hooked to an electric bike, and did about 4000 mile trip this summer. Look for the 22 States play list on my channel if you're curious! Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm I think you're a genius.
@@Jomonoupapjanmbliyew Thank You! Just trying to live up to my potential!
Very cool, I enjoyed the video - thanks!
I'm glad you liked it!
I just made one myself with an old heavy duty plastic bin for the box, and 26" wheels. It sits at the height of the center line of the wheels, and is about 18" wide, and 24" long. For the hitch, I used a "u-bolt" on my rear carrier, and a "eye bolt" screwed into the end of a 1" dowel.
That sounds great! The bigger wheels roll easier, no doubt. I think the hitch ended up being the most trouble of the whole trailer. Thanks for the comments!
Thats a good idea. A dolly makes a great bicycle trailer. I've been thinking about building a bike trailer. I'm leaning towards a goose neck seat pole hitch, maybe. I've just tried a different way of lubricating my bike wheel hubs with a grease gun. It did make peddling easer.
I've done so many versions of the bike trailers over the years, I did at least one version with the goose neck hitch, they all had pros and cons, its worth experimenting with at least.
Use a 2" length of "U" channel to make an axel mount like Burley. Drill a. Hole for the hitch pin. Use a dog plastic cheek bone as the flex link. Cut it into a more tubular shape before drilling. Holes in each end. Add a tubular extension to the side of your hand truck and pin the flex joint into its end.
Thanks, if I ever need to make another trailer I will try that!
I saw a guy used Velcro to attach the hand truck as it is to his rear bike rack worked good easy on and off.
I like it too!
Back in the late 1970's a friend of mine and I made two bike trailers out of hand trucks. We removed the original axle and replaced it with one that was almost twice as thick and was a foot and a half wider (9" on each side) which game them more stability. We change the cheap tires from some of better quality. Then we took a couple of Kmart frame backpacks off of the frames, and placed them on the hand trucks, and drilled cotter pin holes to mount them with. Then we had a stout curved tube welded on to each one to use as a hitch. The hitch mounted on the seat post with a U bolt. We pulled those makeshift trailers for 7,000 miles, and as bike trailers were basically unheard of in those days, just about everyone we talked to wanted to know how we made them. Total cost in 1976, about $40 each.
That's awesome! Do what you need to do, get it done! Thanks for sharing!
My late dad was a mechanical engineer designing buses and vehicles most of his life. He also drafted a bike trailer once, spending a lot of time to find the right pivoting point to ensure best trailing (staying on the same wheel track as the bike went on). The best pivoting point is cca midway between the bike's rear wheel axle and the trailer axle - if you put the pivot closer to the bike the trailer will always turn on a smaller radius as the bike rear wheel and much smaller than the front wheel, which could be a problem when negotiating tight corners. This, however, requires a relatively long bracket mounted on the bike, with its weight.
Another big issue he tackled was suspension. A real suspension with springs and dampening adds to weight (and complexity) but measurably decreases towing force (would be easire to tow). Our guess for a first try was to use gas cylinders used e.g. to support a car's trunk door aloft. That would add both the spring and dampening.
Finally a conclusion we had about wheel size is, bigger wheels have lots of advantages but some serious disadvantage. Limiting lateral load size is one disadvantage. Another disadvantage is it tends to keep the load higher and if the surface is not horizontal (e.g one wheel rolls on a rock when the other one does not) the entire load rolls/swings heavily to the side and back. Riding seriously uneven surface might lead to the trailer tipping to the side. Therefore it makes serious sense to consider monowheel trailers. That takes you to a trickier pivoting solution though.
Its definitely not as easy as I thought!
Not gonna lie, hose clamps are great for bikes. I use old tubes as rubber isolation to protect the paint (i ride a ratty ATB) but they hold stuff super well and are dirt cheap
I totally agree! My current ebike battery is mounted to the frame with hoseclamps and duct tape :) I just didn't feel like fabricating something more elegant.
That Benny Hill song is called, " Yakkity-Sax".
A double-leg kickstand might solve your bike tipping over problem.
You might want to invest in a multi-speed bike to make your trips a little easier.
Very nice process. I like your results.
Thanks for the info on the Benny Hill song, looking it up now! This video was made about 3 years ago, so I don't remember the details anymore, I'd changed so many things in the mean time. More recently I've started riding a recumbent trike that I made, which also has electric assist and solar to keep the batteries charged, you might want to check that out too!
@@CarlinComm is your trike tadpole or delta? People say tadpole is more stable on corners.
@@ronyerke9250 The new one is a Delta design, I find it pretty good to ride, although its very heavy. Earlier I tried to build a delta using a lot of old bike parts cobbled together. That didn't turn out so well. Example videos of both are on this play list, look to the bottom for the Black Delta Trike episodes, that's the newest one that I ride now... ua-cam.com/play/PLRP61yXi60YVwWnyhOGq26BQYSAT9kH60.html
hey thanks! You helped me realized something for my project!
Haha glad to help!
Good idea ! My mountain has a rack in back with saddle bags
I was thinking about building a rack, but I've been ordering cases of beans, those are heavy on the bike. This spreads the load out nicely. Also, I already had the hand cart. I have over 100 miles on those little tires already, they're doing great!
Instead of the hitch contraption, consider a short piece of spring coil. Weld a fender washer to both ends and connect to trailer and bicycle with nuts and bolts.
One of the bike trailers I have has a spring, that does seem to do well. I think welding a spring makes it brittle but I haven't tried it.
Looks like the adventure is going well
Yeah feel like I'm getting my wheels under me now :) haha
what about ball joint? those would offer (limited) 3 side movements needed for stable ride with cargo. nice idea using hand trolley as base of trailer. i may use your idea ;)
I think after I tried everything else, the ball joint would be the best idea. I think I didn't try it because I couldn't find a small enough ball hitch, or it seems too expensive. But I would think it's the best option!
One way to do a hitch that won't bind up is two loops cut from an old flat inner tube, one fastened to one side vertically, the other fastened to the other side horizontally, the loops go through each other.
A halfway point between hitching to the seat post and hitching to bars from the level of the back axle is to make a back rack and hitch to the back of the back rack.
Sure that sounds like it would work, thanks!
proper use of a jack stand. hammered into submission...my chuckles for the day.
Haha yeah :) I was scared to use those HF jack stands on my truck, but I use them all the time on the bicycle projects!
That is cool, using a sack truck as a trailer. 1 thing did occur to me. Would it be worth using a towing ball/hitch configuration such as you would have from a car to a small "garden" 6 x 4 trailer. Welding the towing ball to the steel extenders from the bike frame and the hitch part to the trailer ? Just a thought.
Yes, if I do this again, a ball hitch would be great.
You had benny hill in the states cool, I grew up on benny hill being 58 👍oops this is 2 years old 😂
Gotta love the classics!
@@CarlinComm 👍👍
I have a good idea to connect the pivot point use the rubber brackets at muffler shops use to hang the muffler pipe with its strong it's sturdy and it flexible perfect for the application
⚓
Great tip!
Hello loved watching your video for me my Pivot point i made mine using a Folding Lug wrench and 1 large spring and a motorcyle handlebar riser to attach it to the rear axl of my bike. I cut out the pivot leaving a coulple of inches on each side. the side that has the axl nut i insert a large spring the side that is used for the handle i attach the the trailer back to the spring i insert a inch of it over a bicyle seatpost. yhea i drill and bolt the spring on no welder anyways the seatpost that now has a spring on it i attach it to the bike using a motorcycle handlebar riser all i do is place a nut in the riser thread it on to my rear axl then slide the seatpost on when i want to use my trailer and it makes tight turns you can lay the bike down and the trailer be fully loader and will stay upright and its heavy duty. i know i didnt spend more than 5 dollars finding things at swapmeet and yardsales.
Thank you so much for the comment! I've been offline for a couple months so am just catching up now! I like your idea for the pivot, that seems like it would be strong enough. Ive broken bolts on that trailer out here...
If you ever have to go stealth off the road, those bigger tires are a must.
Every Day is stealth off road out here, and yes, the bigger tires do help! I just updated the trailer to 26" wheels which are even better, new video here ua-cam.com/video/34_UO8sL2jY/v-deo.html
Thank U 4 Your time :) , I learned a lot
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Later made a one wheel trailer that I used for about 1000 miles, I'm now about 2000 miles from home on an electric bicycle with solar trailer. Check out the 22 States video playlist.
@@CarlinComm A great movie, so I added it to my favorites :), I am afraid of a one-wheeled due to this stability, because I would like to transport +/- 50 kg, maybe more. Tomorrow I will look for this movie 22 states. Have a good trip ... stay safe :)
@@ahimsa1979 with a good hitch design the one wheel was very easy to tow, but I struggled with parking. Needed a bit more time to get it working.
where did you find your wheels? Thanks for the video You have a great idea.
I've gone through so many changes! One was just a hand cart, but those wheels were way too small. I've gotten some wheels from Northern Tools, Harbor Freight, etc. If you look at my recent video, I am doing long distance touring on my electric bicycle, pulling a trailer with solar to charge the bike. I've been on the road since March 😁
Nice vid! Hope you're dealing with the major heat events well.
Here is my 2 cents;
As you say; "Roll, Pitch, and Yaw". Your pitch (nose up and down) should gimbel at the rear tire axle. This puts all your tong weight directly on your rear tire axis. That way a load on your traylor doesn't try to make you 'wheely'.
Your "Yaw" (side to side or turning bend) should be right behind your rear tire, but maintain horizontal strength (see Burly single wheel Traylor attachments for an illustration). Your roll, because you have 2 traylor wheels instead of one, should be right behind the Yaw axis but limited by bungees or springs to keep it 'wanting' to have both traylor wheels on the ground, (limiting side tip-overs). If you could cant your traylor wheels Toe-Out a bit it would add to the stability too.
Nice project. You wound up my imagination with it, Thanks.
Thanks for the great comment! I have gone through several changes on this over the last year, its hard to keep track of everything since then! The basic hitch hasn't changed much though. If you're interested in making one of your own, yes, the ones you buy typically just connect to the bike at the axle, there are definitely advantages to that. I didn't feel they looked strong enough for what I'm doing, my road is really rough, and the loads are heavy. I've broken bolts, for example. Something I did consider was to hook to the seat post, with a goose neck connection. There are advantages to that as well, but I never really tested it. I think it might be worth trying a trailer hitch with a ball, like a regular car trailer but go smaller. One big issue to watch for, as you add up each axis, that is 3 wear points and 3 pivots, so each pivot adds slack. When I hit a bump, or a rock, the trailer oscillates, pulls back, then jumps ahead, and each slack pivot point adds to that. Gets really annoying after 20 or 30 miles! A ball hitch might do better there. And I feel I really need the roll axis, if I just lay the bike down, or it tips over. Often the bike's side stand won't support the bike when I'm loading the trailer, so it ends up being easier to just lay the bike down when I stop. Making this work well is more complicated than I thought it would be! Thanks again for the comment.
Nice work Sir !
Thank you! I just recently uploaded an update to this project, if you're curious! Still using it!
brilliant. subscribed.
Cool, welcome!
When you talked about roll, pitch, and yaw (and later, when the bike fell over), I thought about my experiences with a cheap bike trailer that I got off CraigsList. It had a "goose neck" with a fixed ring on it. The ring connected to the seat post. A rubber gasket was missing, so I put foam and duct tape on the seat post to deaden the banging. It worked pretty well. I never had a problem when I had two kids in it. One time, though, I only had one kid and the light side of the bike hit a curb. The trailer flipped!
It was a good thing that the seat post through the ring limited the roll access. I quickly jerked the bike in the other direction and it popped back up. My son was strapped in and safely contained inside the sides of the trailer. If it had flipped all the way over it might have been an issue. I don't suppose you've had any troubles with the trailer tipping, have you?
The other trailers we had were single wheel. They also attached to the seat post, but the roll was kept to as close to zero as possible because the trailer was supposed to lean with the bike.
Yikes! Glad to hear your kid was ok, that would be scary! The trailer has gone through many changes, but that basic pivot is still about the same, I upgraded some of the bolts, the 1/4" bolts were showing wear. I did manage to tip the trailer over once, I ran over a bush bigger than the trailer, which dragged me to a stop pretty quick, and it wasn't until I stopped, then the bush kind of sprung back then the trailer rolled over. Later versions have wider axles and bigger wheels. I like the 1 wheel trailers, but I'm hauling 40 pounds of groceries, so wanted to make a wider trailer to be more stable. Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm - After I left my comment, I found myself reflecting on cargo trailers, and I'm finding myself pretty fond of the one-wheel concept. I have no experience with chain-stay hitches (whether like yours or the very common type that kind of reaches around), but I'm very comfortable with seat-post hitches (even though the goose-neck can be long and awkward off the bike). The only instability, it seems to me, would be while loading it - and then you'd lean the bike against something. The whole rig would be linked together and you wouldn't have the bike fall over like it did in the video.
All this said, I still have the old plastic trailer. Almost certainly I would press that into service before buying or building something new.
@@MrTwostring If I would have had bigger pieces of metal when I started, I had considered a goose neck hitch to the seat, that was the kind of bike I had seen a few times in the past, and it seemed simpler. Making the hitch part of the bike, off the lower frame like I did, works, but leads to other problems, mainly it gets in the way when changing tires, and I get way more flats on the rear, go figure! I also had to extend the hitch point past the rear of the tire, so that makes a weird leverage effect, so definitely not ideal. The later versions are better, I've changed this a few different ways since the beginning. And for me, the key point was I was using stuff I had available, so none of it was as good as it could be. Always good to bounce ideas off others who have different experiences!
@@CarlinComm - One additional thought. I still have the racks I used when I was a college student to buy groceries. Heavy metal rack with spring loaded clamp on it. Folding WIRE cages. I loved that thing. The grocery store wasn't far, but hand carrying groceries was harder than I imagined.
I've yet to want to put that thing on any bike because the dang thing is so heavy.
I used to buy no more than, I think, four bags of groceries -- then I consolidated to two and a half. These were the old-school paper bags. One on each side overloaded, and the half bag in the spring loaded giant mousetrap on top.
You've got me wanting to bolt that thing on and taking a trip to my local grocery store to see how many pounds it can carry.
@@MrTwostring Yeah those sound great! I remember when I lived in Seattle, we weren't that far from the grocery store, I was married then, so we'd just walk for groceries. What doesn't seem like very much in the cart feels pretty heavy by the time you get home! Any kind of cart or rack is a huge improvement. Those sound awesome!
Youre fantastic sir....you should manufacture the bike hitch portion..100$ yes..there s huge demand for..no doubts n amazing skills on limited budget..wow
Thanks for the kind comments! I've been using this 2 or 3 times a month since July, and have made continuous updates. There is a more recent video of the "final" version here if you're interested. ua-cam.com/video/34_UO8sL2jY/v-deo.html
skill and resourcefulness shows with limited supply and limited budget. Kudos
Thank you!
That looks like a good sturdy trailer. Very practical - and you did it yourself! So when you get your ebike done, that trailer should fit on it? You are recycling lots of items! Good for you!
That's the plan! Something I hadn't even thought of at the time, I've already put about 60 miles on those little tiny tires. I'll bet that is more than anyone ever expected for a hand cart!
Glorious.
Thanks! Still using the same basic set up, have upgraded it a few times, bigger wheels etc.
It is a 2 lb. mechanics club hammer as far as I know.
A very handy hammer.
Good to know! I usually start out looking for the right thing, and then buy the cheapest what ever is close enough! It does work good though!
They are called drill hammers at Harbor freight . The used to be seven dollars.
Yeah I like them too because they a cheap or were cheap yesterday I was in harbor freight and the didn't have them so I was forced to go more expensive, 12 dollars on a long hsndle drill hammer with a wedge shape opposite of the hammer head
im trying to build a Trailer, using a Golf Bag Cart , with air tires, and Balance my load, but i didnt think about the Pivoting hitch, will think about that one , lol
There's nothing like building something to learn what is important!
I notice pulling weight off e bike is more stress on motor vs putting weight on top of the motor such as a rack. I experimented this using same weight on my e bike. The pulling weight forced a cut off of power to cool down the first 3 miles. Putting on weight on top of rear rack there was no cut off to cool down of riding 20miles on. Believe weight on top of a tire the air compensate the overall g forces. Pulling is just straight up rpm force of motor using more wattage than normal of course but the difference of wattage use was more less with weight on top. Used a 1500 watt 52v.20ah Gearless for experimenting. I'm sure using 1800 thru 3000watts makes pulling weight easier and the right specs range of power to pull. But the physics behind experiment actually makes sense of the dimension of air to bear weight.
Because of the use of air to support extra weight, I plan on using fat tires for rear.
Ok thanks, I think I agree with you. If I can eliminate the trailer I would have less rolling resistance and drag, and the trailer tires were small so they didn't roll very well on the gravel. Thanks for the comments and for the idea.
@@CarlinComm If you bearing items that has to be pulled off trailer, go for it! Keep riding awesome! It was just a side note to help others as I'm fortunate my items not too bulky to place on rear rack. The trailer I had is for items that I need to place and use but I rarely use trailer now but when I do I tend to use mid power over full throttle ( until the hills,lol) . It's also important not to fill air over psi,lol. I thought putting air to tire to rock solid feel help the weight but not, had constant air leaks and blow outs. But getting a fat tire in back will help. Ride safe buddy!
@@user619tlsdca5 a friend of mine's boy was running motorcycle tires on his ebike, way less flats. Lots of different ways to get it done. Keep riding!
Cool idea
Thanks! Its really worked out well. If I made a change, I'd move the axle forward for balance.
Very nice. Comparable to jury rigging Dewalt tool batteries to an ebike
I've seen that done, if I had thought of it earlier, it would have been easier than building my own packs. Thanks for the comment! If you get bored, I've done updated videos about the trailer.
@@CarlinComm yes I'm going over your videos as we speak . The 3 speed internal gear video . The wheel building video , oh you have a update trailer video?. I will keep an eye out for it.
@@robertbrawley5048 Yeah that trailer has been changed so many times, I've lost count! Big wheels, little wheels, I think put at least 150 miles on the original 10" cart tires, the bearings started squeeking. Put some HF 10" wheels, they lasted one trip? haha it has 26" bicycle wheels on that are doing better. Many grocery trips were 40 to 50 pounds. Broke the hitch clean off once, that got fixed with electrical tape on the side of the road. Think that video hasn't been uploaded yet...
@@CarlinComm I was kinda of wondering about your big wheel based on this linked channel
ua-cam.com/video/KaxLPxn4liA/v-deo.html
You see in this linked video the host tried the hand cart wheels on his handcart trailer seen in another video. Then tried his bigger wheel seen in the cart setup on his hand cart trailer.
I guess he prefers the smaller wheels
Edit. Oh, @ the 4:22 time mark he say he is only using the harbor freight material handler wheels on the back because that is the only set he can attack a sprocket to until he figures out how to power the 20 inch wheels
@@robertbrawley5048 Haven't looked at that in a while, that's another project I'm working on, that's my other project. Anyway, let me see if I can summarize that one! "Turtle" will be a 4 wheel quad pedal with electric assist. It's not done yet though. I have a current batch of videos, the Blue Bike Electric Trike, in that same play list, where I'm testing systems for the quad Turtle. I haven't gotten steering working yet for the quad, so I just put 2 rear wheels on a bicycle so I could test the motor more. I've moved up to motorcycle wheels for the rears, I keep breaking bicycle wheels on the rough road with heavy loads. Anyway, the motor and battery and motorcycle wheels are working fairly well, I finally got a good test of that, got almost 8 miles of testing done. OH, I guess the actual testing video is scheduled to go live tomorrow, here's the most recent Trike video, same motor as what will go on Turtle quad eventually!
if you getting thorns in tire use the pipe insulation method
or buy Kevlar tires
Most of my problem was from excess weight, the foam in the pipe insulation compressed a lot. Marathon tires do very well with thorns.
Just line the inside of your tires with old Thorn resistant tubes with the valve cut out and a slit all the way around the inside of the tube so it wraps around your tube that you inflate giving you an extra layer of thick rubber for flat protection
As for your hitch and trailer arm use one of those bent conduit pipes you have put a hole in the end of it attached a three-length regular chain to it and connect it to your bike frame on the left side yes side mount by way of a cheap seat guts stretch it out open it up and wrap it around your frame tube and put a quarter 20 bolt and nut through it attaching the chain then wrap the exposed chain with an old bike to really tight you get no rock or rattle it's the most solid way DIY out there trust me
Thanks!
I've been doing very well day trading in the stock market this year. 🤠 good luck on the bike adventures 💰🤠💰
Hey congrats that is great news, and thank you for your support!
There’s a huge metal weight in some of the older RV small washing machines, clothes washer. They make a great small anvil.
That's a great tip, thank you!
When you started the video, the back end of the trailer was obviously too low. To me, this meant the cargo, as well as the load was all on the back end and causes undue stress on the bike, as well as can lead to issues with the cargo at every bounce in the road. It limited how much cargo you could safely carry, as well, I believe. You eventually changed that and even added some larger wheels. However, by the end, you had made a hitch, but it still all allowed the trailer to still sit low at the hitch, as well at the cargo bed & frame. Larger tires didn't help that issue and I am thinking that your main issue is that the whole trailer simply rides angled too low from the hitch point on back. The swivel hitch setup you made works well to allow any lean from the bike to happen. Your hitch setup should have the trailer nose more downward that at a straight angle or even reversed with the nose pointed up. This may be accomplished by modifying the rear axle location to actually make a set of pillars to move the hand truck frame up higher in the back area. If you check out barrel train cars for ideas about this, you can see how they set up their cars to ride well. I am probably getting too complex on this to actually work well for you to understand what I mean, but the rear end of your handcart should be even or a bit higher than the front end is at the hitch. Otherwise it will always have the issues of not being all that stable, especially under a heavy load. It would probably be even easier just to adapt the same type of hitch that is most commonly used with pet carrier/baby carrier trailers which are used with bikes. They have spring loaded hitches which allow movement sideways and such, so that you can turn or lean the bike easier. Fabricating one of them would likely be easier than making the hitch setup you came up with. I am not being critical in the least, as I love DIY things and am currently planning out a barrel trailer setup for my electric bike and maybe adaptable to my lawn tractor. Every time I start on the project, I seen to come across another idea which changes my plans dramatically. Finding videos as this give me inspiration. sometimes I give myself a face slap sometimes after expending so much effort on a project just to see someone else had a better and easier idea if I had only seen it first. ;-) Thanks for the video. ;-)
A lot of great ideas there, sorry I hate typing on the phone. I've changed so many things on the trailer... See my newest videos for details, made a one wheel trailer with solar for long distance touring, I'm going to California now for The Sun Trip. Doing 50 to 70 miles a day so far self contained, no external charging.
@@CarlinComm on an electric bicycle right? With no trailer or with one?
@@robertbrawley5048 with a trailer for the solar panels, and the camping stuff.
What part of the Sonoran desert are you in kinda looks like Yuma maybe Parker
I'm about 100 miles east of El Paso Texas, have a little ranch out here, but At the moment I just rode a bike through Death Valley in California. Thanks for the comments!
maybe you could pour some polyeter resin into the tube to reinforce certatain parts... Boy I spoke too soon.. a very nice evolution. maybe a used child bike trailer might have been worth exploring ..new they are not cheap. compost any paper buried in the ground.. that bolt holding the trailer on seems a little small. But amazing.. good work.
Yeah its evolving! Will probably upgrade the bolt, 1/4" is pretty small, but it hauled 2 good loads from town already. Would love to foam fill the tires, but not solid, the road is so rough, leaving them soft helps a lot. Using the cart sure was easier than building from scratch though!
Just remember that foam needs moisture water the kick off if we act with Ashley water to so you have to spray in water spray as you're foaming attire anything else for to really set up so I'm told
I was thinking some kind of 2 part foam, like insulation foam or polyurathane foams? I can't remember what all they were. Floatation foam is another idea, but would want something that stays more soft I guess. There is a reason we still have air in tires after all this time.
@@CarlinComm You can buy solid bike tyres off eBay in most sizes and colours. I've been thinking about that for my trailer, but they look like they're a pig to fix into position without proper tools. I still might go for it though, because when they are on, they are on solid.
@@Teapot-Dave Yeah, Northern Tools has Cart Wheels, that are solid rubber. The biggest reason for air in tires is to soften the ride. I've been experimenting with air pressure on the bike and also the trailer, and it can make a huge difference in the ride quality, especially on the rough road. I'm riding about 10 miles on gravel, sand, and mostly washboard. There are times I slow down, just because the bouncing is so bad. When I air up the trailer tires, the rattling is pretty bad. Solid tires would last a very long time, but the ride would be terrible. I might look at a foam tire insert, have seen them before, but that later of air turns out to be very important. Seems weird that in the last 100 years, we've not been able to get a good airless tire that rides well. There are the honeycomb tires that are promising though. Thanks for the comment!
very narrow, and center of gravity is very high. Carlin, you might think about spacers on the axles to widen this. You are going to find it tips really easy on corners,
Yeah I've gone through a few revisions since this video came out. Ironically, I've only had it tip over twice, and both of those were off road, going over bushes. It's actually working much better than I would have expected, which is why it hasn't been improved much since I started. Its wider now, has more of a cargo basket on it, but the basic hand cart is the same. Same wheels and tires, same axle, that part is back to stock again. Those little tires have way over 100 miles on them, tires are doing fine, but I think I'm hearing bearing noise now. It was just a quick hack, that keeps on working :) Thanks for the comment!
great idea ~!
Thanks! I'm still using parts of it, but it has changed a lot in the last few months!
Grate...... 🌹🌹❤️❤️💯%
Iam Abdul Latheef from India kerala
Thank you for the comment! Hello to India from Texas!
Innovate and iterate, wash, rinse, repeat. Now take out a patent!
haha right ;) Step one, look at the pile of parts you have available, doesn't matter, just grab something! haha
Amazon has replacement bike trailer hitch
I'm so used to buying online, but it's not a practical option when I was on the road. Oh, if you saw this video you might not know I just am getting back from 6 months on the bike tour.
Too much pressure on the drawbar, weight using a scale?
That's a pretty old video, I made a much better balanced trailer later on. Thanks for the comment.
I just build a long John cargo bike with a big cargo deck instead. It can easily carry a few tote bins.
Oh those are cool!
it's a nice video, but the trailer is so bad... ... if it gets the work done, then it's ok, but it must weigh like 30 kg unloaded and the wheel base is so narrow it could be good for driving in tight streets with loads of cars beig just as wide as the handlebars...but a small stone will tip your trailer , and the cargo needs to be as close to the ground as possible
Yeah, it is pretty heavy, but it is very strong, some of my grocery runs are weighing 40 to 50 pounds on a rough road. I've been using this since July, and only tipped over once, when it ran over a bush, off road. I've updated it a few times since then, the latest version is much lighter, wheels are wider, you'd probably approve of that one more :) Thanks for the comment.
His cargo isn't sitting much higher than my Amazon bought cargo trailer.
It's a KLR!
Which is worse, I load my bicycle like a KLR, or I have e KLR and only ride the bike?
Why not just use and steel front wheel fork, which you can widen to fit the rear axle, as hitch ?
That's an interesting idea I hadn't even thought of! Another idea I did consider was to run the hitch up to the seat post, which I think would handle better. I've seen something like that before but haven't tried one yet. Thanks for the comment!
@@CarlinComm lower center of gravity makes for better handling i think, that's why the majority of bike trailers attach axle height.
@@Charlemagne1367 Yeah I guess I thinking of how a 5th wheel trailer helps distribute the weight between the axles of the tow vehical better. I have seen child carriers that connected to the seat post, but since I don't have kids, didn't think much about it at the time :) I do definitely notice the weight with my trailer hitch sticking so far behind the axle.
Super Idee
Yippee 😊
Ala class trailer
Thanks, glad you liked it, its been working really well.
Large Suitcase
With big wheel
Totally!
fyi... a guy in England used the same idea... except he cut out the metal handle in the top part and conneect it to a bike rear rack
This is definitely not an original idea, I've been surprised how many people are watching this! Thanks for the comment!
Amazon sells bike trailer ball hitches they are so tiny and cute
When I was building this, I had time and scrap metal but not much cash. I saw some little ball Hitch which would have been worth trying. I just couldn't justify the cost at the time. Maybe next upgrade!
My name is Stacy out here id like to connect with you put here in the sunset ranches area
Hi Stacy what did you have in mind?
I’m trying to figure out: what is the point of those gloves?. 😂
Mostly a fashion statement
🍀✌️😁✌️🍀 ... try Tannus never flat tires ... I have some on my bike ... Tannus guarantees 5000 km ..
Oh thanks, good tip! Thorns out here are tough on bike tires.
Solar and ebike ;)
That's what I currently ride!
Are you off grid?
Yes, I live off grid. At the moment I am on my solar powered electric bicycle in Montana, home is Texas.
Lost me after so many ads found another trailer idea that didn't force one to watch so many commercials for about 10 minutesutes of video
Yeah sorry about the ads, that's my main source of income since being out of work most of the last year. Best wishes.
PLEASE MAKE YOUR BIKE ELECTRIC
I don’t want to see you pass out the video was good tho
Thank you. Working on the electric bike now.
I get the DIY part of the deal, but Survival Off-Grid? It could just as well be used by a homeless person who has no other choice. Or a loading dock security guard in Puerto Rico. Off Grid or On Grid, it ain't much.
Naming a video is tricky. Oddly, this video is one of my all time most watched videos, I don't actually understand how that happened, so sorry if you were disturbed by the naming. Not sure if you watched it all, but it kind of does fit, I'm living off grid, I use this to get groceries and stuff to survive. I sold my truck, so its my main way of getting stuff from town, which is about 15 miles away. Anyway, best wishes and thanks for taking the time for writing a thoughtful commment!!
@@CarlinComm not disturbed by any naming, just a simple opinion about a subject (bicycle trailers) that I am involved with. And your success with your vids would override any meaningless comments from the hinterlands. But I am building a heavy strong Chinese based trailer with many upgrades, and I call 'em as I see 'em.
@@dehoedisc7247 Sounds good to me :)
At what point do you just buy a trailer lol😂😂😂
2 years later, after breaking the trailer I bought, I've made 4 others!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
And with a dollar you can buy a coffee.