I currently live at home with my parents, but am planning on moving out within the next month or two. The apartment we(my girlfriend, another couple we have known for a while and I) are looking at, and are pretty sure is the one is about 3/4 of a mile from an HEB and about 3 or 4 from the more upscale "Central Market" HEB. I would love to be able to pick up groceries for at least my girlfriend and I by bike. I was planning on buying a set of panniers for commuting to work when I get a job closer to home(I currently work at a bike shop about 12 miles away and my schedule doesn't allow enough time to ride to work), but I have a feeling that panniers wouldn't have enough have enough room for a full load of groceries. We currently have a sunlite cargo trailer at work and it got me to thinking about trailers. I can get the sunlite for much less than the 180 retail.




But I have to wonder, are there any better trailers out there for <$200?

Unless you built it yourself or find a used trailer I don't think you'll have a lot of choice under 200$

You can always try Craigslist! My dad got his at a flea market for $5.
Granted, its a slightly worn child trailer, but it will still haul things just fine, it's just not as pretty as a new one. If you don't like the canopy or its too worn, you can trade it for a plywood floor or make a new cover.
I rarely have cause to use mine, and I would not get rid of it for anything- its so handy to have. Eventually I might get to transport my niece in it (thats if I don't get her on her own Strider-type bike first!), or my dogs (they're learning).

Good luck with both the search for a trailer and your move. Roommates can be a hassle or a ton of fun.

That's what I was thinking... you could convert a kiddie trailer. Some of them are pretty nice and they can handle a cargo.

If I were to seriously consider buying a trailer, I would probably go with a Bob trailer. I don't know how much they cost, but I have seen people use them on long bike tours. If you are a decent packer, you can really put some stuff on one of those.

There is a product that has been getting a lot of buzz recently that was designed more or less for exactly your purposes and environment. You might qualify for a discount through the LBS or you can scour CL for the Burley Travoy.

I did a quick search on cl for kid trailers and the pickings are slim

The bob trailers are way out of my budget.

Meh, I came across those earlier and they don't really appeal to me. They don't look like they would be ideal for any sort of distance or are able to carry near as much as the sunlite or similar trailers.

Well, you could always get a pair of Arkel Shoppers on the rear and then put a front rack and smaller pannier up front, as well as wear a MSW Vandal. Of course, it would take time to set that up with your budget.

I do​ plan on eventually getting panniers.

Those burley trailers are also pretty expensive.

The Burley Travoy is capable of long distances -- see some of the discussion on the touring forum.

That said, secondhand kid trailers are inexpensive. Check kid-related secondhand shops? I see several here at the local "Kid-to-Kid."

Chariot (Burley too?) makes kid->cargo conversion kits -- mostly the kit adds a stronger floor panel and masks-off the windows, iirc.

What I would really love is a trailer from https://www.bikesatwork.com/, but at upwards of 5 bills, I don't see that happening in 2012. I'll probably pickup that sunlite from work and save my pennies for a bikesatwork trailer

Perhaps you can use the trailer you have in the original post. I would take it a step further and make a wood "grid" that had a box for each grocery bag. If you use the reusable bags, this would be a snap and then using bungy cords to "lock" the bags down when commuting home.

And a thought, perhaps posting this question in the utility section of the forum and also the car free section too. I bet those folks will have better answers for you.

This thread gives me and idea. How about a "trailer-share" program at your local Bike co-op? Unless you have kids you don't really need to have one sitting around all the time. Even grocery hauls are not that frequent when you can supplement your supplies with pannier size loads frequently.

I'll second the "used kid's trailer." (I use a trailer all the time to haul kids.) A common thing to fail on a kids' trailer is the restraint straps ("seatbelts"), and once those fail it's not much use for kids but is still fine for cargo.

Don't know about better trailer, but there's a less expensive one on the Houston CL right now.

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/3281894869.html

I got my Burly (co op) trailer for $200, .. 7 years ago..
they are slightly different,then, vs now...

similar to kid trailers when they too were 406 wheel..

https://www.wicycle.com/cargo_diy_kit...le_trailer.php

These are pretty cool, well built, and a very good price. Once I get to that point (i.e., I have a BOB now and will likely sell it and replace it with one of these) I go here.

In December 2011, Amazon's price for the Burley Travoy dropped to $200 so I swooped in and got one. I don't know if the price has ever dropped like that again.

I have Wald folding baskets attached to a rear rack on my mtb commuter. Along with a backpack, I can fetch a fair amount of groceries.

I would hit thrift stores, pawn shops and garage sales. You are bound to find one...

That's what I was planing on doing, possibly building a second "story"


I did notice that one, but I think I can snag the sunlite cheaper.

Something to consider.



I actually hit a buch of thrift stores the other day and found nothing

The way to do craigslist is to check daily. One will come up that you like. I got one I love for my girls for $20. I also have an old burley that was given to me that doesn't have the canvas anymore. I modified it slightly to make it a flatbed for hauling stuff. The utility forum has a thread where folks post their homemade trailers or modified trailers. Great place for ideas.

Craiglist is your friend. I'm always seeing a kiddie trailer on the local CL. Mostly they tend to be low-end varieties.

Although I bought one (Instep) of these about 5 years ago and have been using it to lug groceries for most of that time, at least twice a week. For me it's a 1.5 mile roundtrip.

I'm actually quite surprised at how long my trailer has survived and shows no sign of packing it in. One important modification I did make is to get a Burley trailer hitch and replace the unit that clipped on the chain stay.

I bought an eco shopper trailer from BicycleR Evolution a couple years ago. It's fairly inexpensive and does the job. I believe you can also just buy the hitch and frame if you want to make your own.
Here's their web site: <https://www.bikerev.com/index.cfm>
The guy who owns it is the brother of one of the founders of Greengear (Bike Friday).

https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/3347659890.html
https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/3334499709.html
https://houston.craigslist.org/bik/3330365751.html

2 out of three of those were posted after​ I said that...