Utility Cycling - Trailer good for long items?

Hi everyone, new poster to BikeForums here, I just noticed this section and remembered--

The folks down at the friendly neighborhood organic farm have a few fields 1/2 mile or so away from the farm, and they sometimes use bikes to get down there. They'd like to obtain or build some simple trailers, mainly to carry tools and water and lunch and misc small supplies. (harvest requires coaxing the old truck into a few hours of running, too much stuff). So the main issue is how to load/mount long handled tools. In thinking about trailers and looking at some examples, my favorite kinds are the narrow one wheel kind riding on an old fork. I figure we could maybe add rack "arms" to each side to place the tools on, at a sufficient angle to balance between compactness (not too long) and avoiding whacking the rider in the side of the head during turns :) And then a box on the back for misc stuff, or be able to attach a box to the rack instead of tools.

Has anyone used a trailer to carry long objects like this? Have any ideas?

B.O.B. trailers makes a tool rack. Even if they don't want to go to the expense of purchasing the trailers and racks this is a good way to get some ideas for do-it-yourself trailers.

http://www.bobtrailers.com/acsories/accessory.php?accessories_id=18

If you decide not to build one bikes at work make a trailer with an 8 foot cargo area and a 300 pound weight limit. In reality it holds more than 300#'s and you could have something overhanging in the back.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s76/bobpicture/pictureforian1.jpg

Wow, great! Thanks.

Another option is to just have a rack attached to the seat post that sticks out back beyond the rear wheel, and holds things vertically, maybe?

Maybe something along the style of a golf trailer, like the one Wike makes.

http://wicycle.com/gct.htm

My father had one we made out of a golf handcart that he could also fit with a large baseball gear bag, or his largest duffle bag. With that angle you can fit some pretty long tools on it easily.

I've carried long pieces of lumber on my BoB, just gotta make sure you flag the ends to help keep friendly motorists from aiding you in your journey.

Bikes at Works wins hands down in the ability to carry long, long stuff. An extracycle is also an option up to a point.

Aaron:)

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/model-96a-bike-trailer.html

Somewhere, I've seen a picture of a bike pulling a long ladder on a trailer, but don't remember where or what kind of trailer.

I have pulled 9 2x4's on my Burley Flatbed. There was too much weight in the back so the bike wouldn't sit on the kickstand. But it handled fine when I rode it.

http://bikecart.pedalpeople.com/


Check out their gallery. :D

Thanks everyone. I'll share some of these great ideas and sites with the folks at the farm. Always good to have some winter projects lined up :)

By the way the new BikesAtWork model is modular. So if you get the 96" version you can convert it to 32" or 64" whenever you want.

They changed models literally about 4 weeks after I got my trailer.

The new one looks much better and I especially like that you can move the axel. It would save me some spokes if I could move the axel on mine.

Many local commercial yard care people carry their rakes, shovels, etc in vertical pieces of PVC tubing fixed to their work vehicles.

A couple of trailers with canoes:
http://pics.equinoxtrailers.com/Canoe-Kayak/
http://www.seairdyn.com/marine.htm#CarryPort

Just had thought, there was a post on here a while back where someone built a trailer out of an extension ladder. If your people are handy and hit the trash dump on a regular basis...:D

Aaron:)

I just now ran across this listing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bicycle-cargo-trailer-bikes-at-work-industrial_W0QQitemZ280164514281QQihZ018QQcategoryZ64648QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem