I've been down this road myself... The problem is that trail-a-bikes aren't made for such things--they're "recreational," not utility-oriented--so they don't have rack mount eyelets, for example. Or when you jerry-rig a rack made for a 26 inch bike it just looks weird, as you pointed out. My solution was a bit elaborate. I added a back rest to the trail-a-bike, to which I attached a seat-post rack. Mind you, it's not a strong rack, holds maybe 25 pounds max and won't hold panniers because it has no support legs. But I put a basket on it which has made it very useful. My kids and I call it "the trunk" and it works great for holding backpacks, an extra bag of groceries, etc.