paperbackbiker

https://www.aosom.com/d-12/Aosom-Larg...ailer-Red.html

This is my trailer, and I use it regularly. It is $119 right now. Though I like the look of the spoked wheels, they aren't exactly true! Can carry 180 lbs.

noglider 

Folks, what do you think of lengthening a trailer by merely lashing a sheet of plywood to the top? My dog is very tall and wouldn't fit in these normal trailers. Extending it this way would put the center of gravity behind the trailer's axle, but is that so bad? She weighs only about 55 pounds, much less than I've pulled on several occasions. She's a greyhound, which is why she's so tall and lightweight.

Carley P.

I just wanted to share my trailer. I found a $30 trailer off of craigslist and took off the canvas part. I had an old dog cage, so I used on of the fences off of it as a base or bottom for the trailer. It's light and strong. In this picture, it has a complete dog cage zip tied onto the base so I can carry my two dogs (or anything else I wish to carry). There really isn't much I can't carry with this setup, and I usually just keep the dog cage on the trailer because it keeps all my things on the trailer without having to use a bungee chord in most cases.

It's pretty strong. I sometimes use it to transport another bike to play bike polo or take it to the shop.

That trailer you posted seems like a good deal for the money, but I'd rather wait a few weeks (or months) and save $170 or so by making my own cargo trailer.

Leo H.

Try this site: https://www.tonystrailers.com/ for ideas to augment your existing trailer, but I don't think you're going to find anything suitable for less money, not even if you made it yourself probably.

I didn't have the money, but I don't regret taking a loan out for my https://www.equinoxtrailers.com/trailers/ dog trailer I got from this company. I'm now noodling an additional section that rests on top of the frame, but can be removed and set next to the trailer to make it a sleeping platform for camping. Not a fully enclosed tent trailer, but more of a sleeping platform off the ground.

Leo H.

It might work, but I'd be concerned that the balance would really affect you if she were to shift around any. Whether it was to compensate for the road condition or for any response she might make while you were moving. I can't say for sure, based on my experience with my well behaved dogs in my trailer, I don't think having a tall, standing dog behind the axle of a trailer behind me would be a safe load to pull in traffic. My opinion.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'lashing plywood to the top'? Do you mean to the frame bottom for the dog to stand/sit on? Don't forget to consider when you're carrying something that important and that much weight, how the trailer is attached to your bike. That's another important feature to not skimp on.

If you can spring for it, I recommend considering https://cycletote.com/ dog trailers or https://www.equinoxtrailers.com/trailers/ these trailers. In particular, look at the hitch connection on the Equinox Trailer, but the CycleTote trailer has a substantial attachment system as well.

If you have a small animal and are just tootling around a bike path, I have no issue with fashioning something from a used kid trailer.
If you have a hunk of dog or dogs to tote around though, in particular if you plan to pull them in and around traffic, personally I want that design focus a purpose built platform takes into consideration.

noglider 

Leo, you make good points, but I don't see myself spending hundreds of dollars to get this going. For the time being, I still have a car, and towing her with the bike is mostly for some extra fun, not utility.

I would definitely make it so that she would not stand up. Being a greyhound, she's pretty top heavy already.

Those adult-towing trailers are interesting. They don't look comfortable to sit in, but I could be wrong. I've often wished I could tow someone home from my commuter train station.

By lashing plywood, I meant to the frame bottom, not to the upper part of the trailer.

Leo H.

gotcha. It was an investment, but people have spent more for more foolish things :wink: I don't fault anyone for going a more home made route.

I really searched for months for pet trailers and I just couldn't pull the trigger on one of the Doggyrides or the AOSOMs. I don't know why Cycletote or Equinox aren't higher in the search hits. I stumbled across them at differently times months after I started looking. Along with Chariots.

I wonder if haltering her seated in a largish Rubbermaid tote, or similar wouldn't be the simplest and safest route? If you can get a tote large enough for a seated greyhound, obviously. Good luck.

10 Wheels

$25 at a yard sale:

ItsJustMe

3/4 mile is like a 10 minute walk. I'd probably just walk with some kind of a cart with my groceries at that distance, if you consider not having to lock the bike up when you get there and unlock it when you come out, having to hook up and unhook the trailer every trip, and if you have a push cart you can just go into the store with it, it would probably save you a lot of time to just walk with a cart than to use a bike and a trailer.

There are a lot of folding personal shopping carts on the market for pretty cheap.

veggie

Where is the fun in that though? and the closer​ one is less than a mile. And that is just the grocery store.

fietsbob

general trailer weight balance, if there is more length needed , the wheels should move back,
some too, so it wont be like a teeter-totter. and then towing oddly.

robert schlatte

I recently bought a Croozer cargo trailer for $179 on amazon with free shipping. It works great for me and my wife's weekly trip to the grocery store. It is fun to come up with different uses for it. Last week our car battery died and I hauled it to an auto parts store and then back home with a new one.

acidfast7

shop more often. we really fill a 20L backpack with 2 days of groceries. a set of panniers would easily hold almost 5 days of food.

what am I missing?