oldngray

So my kids are all grown up and we decided to get a new pup. Problem is, my wife doesn't like leaving him at home in his crate too long, so our long rides on the tandem evaporated. I did a bunch of research on pet trailers and found a few fairly decent pet-specific options in the $130-$300 range. Even the low end price seemed like a lot, especially without knowing how the dog would like it. I read about folks who used kid carriers, but most of those have cloth floors and a "sling" seat - not too reassuring for the pup. Others ditched the original cloth floor and canopy and strapped a crate to the frame. Let's be honest - I'm already embarrassed enough about taking the dog on a ride - that's just too much me.

I did find an ideal trailer for Ollie. It's an old (discontinued) InStep Prowler, which by all accounts made a horrible kid carrier, but makes a pretty good dog carrier. It has a plastic tub for the base with a cloth canopy. The floor is solid and nearly flat. There's a steel shaft and 16" composite wheels that run on bearings (cheaply made, but work fine). You can even use one of the shoulder straps to tether the dog in the cockpit.

We took Ollie for his first ride yesterday. He barked like crazy for the first mile or so and then settled down and enjoyed the ride. We just tossed his doggie bed in to make him comfortable.

I bought the trailer for $20 in someone's front yard. A quick search of Craigslist (using crazedlist, crazedlist rules) showed many of these available across the country for a reasonable cost.

Just wanted to toss this in, as I didn't find a lot of good options in my recent searches.

The trailer does cost us a little bit of speed, but being able to go for long rides without my wife worrying about the dog - priceless.

Kommisar89

Geez, don't let my wife see this How big is Ollie? I saw a guy the other day with his black lab in a trailer. We live in hill country and I couldn't figure how he gets a 30-lb trailer + 80-lb dog up the hills and he told me the dog has to get out and climb the hill himself which worked out fine since he would only be going 5-mph or so at that point anyway. Then the dog would jump back in the trailer for the downhills and flats.

oldngray

Sorry - I meant to include Ollie's stats in the original post. He's a cockapoo and weighs about 20lbs at 6 months old, trailer about 25lbs. The trailer that I mentioned could easily fit two dogs his size. Link to pictures (not mine) of the trailer below:

https://www.support101.com/trailer.jpg
https://jogging-strollers.wowshopper....tory/sp200.jpg

badmother

Embaressed you said? Get your dog a proper bike man!

And stop asking the dog what he wants to do, just tell him

The "dogbike" came in handy approx three weeks ago when my friend here cut himself on a broken bottle in the forrest. He rode almost all the way home on the bike. Approx 5 km from home I dumped the dog and my son outside a shop and rode empty bike home to get the car and pick them up. 25 kg of dog up hill and down hill is alot when you just have to.

He rides in a trailer to- when I tell him to (the one in the background in the second picture)

tulip

No offense to the OP's dog, but a Border Collie is going to be alot more willing to jump in a trailer or on an Xtracycle than is a cockapoo.

Glad it's working out. But I do agree, it's a bit strange to see adult folks with their dog on a bike ride. Why not just get a cat? Cats can just stay home and do their own thing.

Juggler2

Because dogs are our buddies, silly!

no motor?

Haven't you seen the pictures of Bailey on the trike yet? He's got it made!

tulip

Nope. Is Bailey the Border Collie? I might be getting a dog soon for the first time since I was a kid. But I'm not going to go riding with it. For one thing, it'll be a dog-dog, not a little dog. I'd love a Border Collie or mix (rescue, of course). My childhood dog was a BC or close mix. She was awesome, but chased everything as is their nature.

My new house has a fenced yard and I do need a buddy. I'm allergic to cats, and you are right about them not being very buddy-like, for the most part.

2manybikes

Bailey in his trike.



A kid trailer ripped apart and a dog crate added. We like the trike better though.

oldngray

Not that's not a bad "crate on trailer" job. Here's a pic of Ollie before his first ride - it gives a good idea of how big his space is. He looks *much* happier now when we stick him in the cockpit. I've got to get a pic of the tandem with the trailer - we're about 12.5' long, so we kind of stick out. People smile when they see us coming; then they see the dog looking out the back window and start laughing. We did hit our first big hill last night and had to use the granny gear - yeah, I'm one of the idiots who hates to use the smallest chain ring. I hope that I never have to walk the dog up a hill in the trailer....
....anyway, we're having fun and probably getting a better workout.

Keith99

No way am I getting a dog trailer. I have been thinking of getting a tandem and making my beta male dog my stoker. He is 105 lbs. and has a far better weight to strength ratio than I do.

one_beatnik

This couple on Crazyguy takes their dog on tours! https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p..._id=74673&v=dI

one_beatnik

There was also this guy I saw on my first RAGBRAI. (Photo came from the Des Moines Register)
I took this picture of a lady from Chicago who always takes her dog on RAGBRAI:

2manybikes

[quote=oldngray;7450002]Not that's not a bad "crate on trailer" job. Here's a pic of Ollie before his first ride - it gives a good idea of how big his space is. He looks *much* happier now when we stick him in the cockpit. I've got to get a pic of the tandem with the trailer - we're about 12.5' long, so we kind of stick out. People smile when they see us coming; then they see the dog looking out the back window and start laughing. We did hit our first big hill last night and had to use the granny gear - yeah, I'm one of the idiots who hates to use the smallest chain ring. I hope that I never have to walk the dog up a hill in the trailer....
....anyway, we're having fun and probably getting a better workout.



The crate has better ventilation, which was important in this case. But, a lot of usefull space is lost. It's nice to have all the space of the unmodified trailer. We only use the trike anyway. It has a few advantages over the trailer. The advantage of the trailer is, it folds up and can fit in the car.