Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - trailer building

I want to build a trailer for my bicycles. I want to be able to put my double bass, yes this means a stand up double bass, on a custom made trailer and pull it behind my bicycle for some of our gigs. We may play at certain places along a bicycle path on a railroad bed, and I don't want to carry the thing for 15 miles, but wouldn't mind riding there.

I can weld so that is not a problem. My questions are:

Is it better to make something mount to my seat post or to the rear axle area?

How long should the tongue be for better hauling?

Instructables.com has some free plans for building bike trailers that you could use or adapt. It seems like hooking to the axle would offer better handling and capacity than using the seatpost. Good luck, and you need to post a picture for us if you get it together.

I'm planning on building a trailer this winter as well. There is a really good basic plan that can be customized that I found here:

http://www.carryfreedom.com/bamboo.html

That website was down for some reason. I will check later.

I want to build a trailer for my bicycles. I want to be able to put my double bass, yes this means a stand up double bass, on a custom made trailer and pull it behind my bicycle for some of our gigs. We may play at certain places along a bicycle path on a railroad bed, and I don't want to carry the thing for 15 miles, but wouldn't mind riding there.

I can weld so that is not a problem. My questions are:

Is it better to make something mount to my seat post or to the rear axle area?

How long should the tongue be for better hauling?

Here is mine (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=463905&highlight=), built recently. It is from electrical tubing, which is not guaranteed but so far it is holding just fine. My maximum load was 160 pounds brought from Costco 12 miles. No problem at all. The handle flexes bit up the hill when you mash, it is better to spin. The flexing handle gives you small pushes if you get my point.

The axle level is better for not affecting bike handling, especially loaded up. Any forces put on the bike have much less lever arm with a low hitch. On the other hand, from my experience, it is not that big of a deal. If you stay under 100 pounds, you will not feel too much difference in bike handling. I recon there are not many hills in your area either:)

I have a lot of hills, but where I would really use it would be on some trails that are pretty flat. I really hate to build something that I would only use once a year for this special event on a trail, but I also don't want to walk a few miles hauling a double bass either. Maybe I will build a standard trailer that I can make a change or adapt to haul a double bass rather easily.

I saw the picture of your trailer, and unless I ground off all of the galvenizing, I wouldn't trust the welds on EMT. I will probably just get some thin wall 1/2 square tubing and do it that way. Similar weight and less chance of bad welds. I have welded galvenized before and it usually does not hold up for long periods of time. But my situations were in industrial situations and probably more abuse than a few pot holes on a bike trailer. I really like your design though.

As delicate as a double bass is, you might consider some kind of "soft ride" suspension. I don't know of any thing commercially available, but it is an opportunity to be creative.

John

As delicate as a double bass is, you might consider some kind of "soft ride" suspension. I don't know of any thing commercially available, but it is an opportunity to be creative.

John

It would depend on the bass case, there are three types of cases used:

1) the soft cloth type, which will keep an instrument from getting scratched, but will not prevent other types of damage, such as puncturing or dropping.
2) The hard transport case, while it adds weight, most of these cases are quite good at protecting the instrument from light to moderate damage. The issue is that the caae needs to lie flat, and be entirely within the trailer, this can make the trailer quite long.
3) The shipping case, these are designed similar to a Pelican case, hard plastic with thick foam liner, designed so that an instrument can be tendered for air transportation, and baggage handling without damage. With one of these you can overhang the back of the trailer, although a orange or red flag to indicate an over length load should be attached to the back for legal street carriage and for trails, where someone might not realize that the item overhangs the trailer and runs into it.

I have a lot of hills, but where I would really use it would be on some trails that are pretty flat. I really hate to build something that I would only use once a year for this special event on a trail, but I also don't want to walk a few miles hauling a double bass either. Maybe I will build a standard trailer that I can make a change or adapt to haul a double bass rather easily.

I saw the picture of your trailer, and unless I ground off all of the galvenizing, I wouldn't trust the welds on EMT. I will probably just get some thin wall 1/2 square tubing and do it that way. Similar weight and less chance of bad welds. I have welded galvenized before and it usually does not hold up for long periods of time. But my situations were in industrial situations and probably more abuse than a few pot holes on a bike trailer. I really like your design though.

Pardon my ignorance but hills in Iowa?:) I think the problem with EMT is what is it made off, the galvanizing pretty much burns off even under MIG. But EMT has no guaranteed strength b/c it does not need it for what is it made for. I used EMT, because all the tubing was like $12. To compensate for the material I made sure that whatever main part under stress is bent, not welded and the whole structure is boxed to make it more sturdy. If it brakes beyond repair, I will buy structural 1/2" steel tubing (maybe even thin walled DOM) and use the tubing bender again.

Also important thing is to lower the load platform under the axle of the wheel to make it more stable.

Good luck with your build and post pictures when you are done.