TuckertonRR

Yesterday, I took the trailer out for a ride to the garden guy to buy some tomatoes and flowers for the house. I use 18 gallon plastic containers to carry stuff in the trailers, and never have had a problem.

But, when I got the plants into the containers, the bouncing from the road messed the plants up! (well, not that bad, but still, I don't want to have to clean up a bunch of dirt).

Next time, I might get a thin piece of board and make the trailer a "flatbed" to carry the plants. But would any of you have any ideas to reduce the bouncing from the road? Adding some sort of springs as a shock absorber is the only thing I could think of.

Oh yea, also, the trailer trips the red lights around here to turn to green! The bike only doesn't do that.

BTW, it's a 5'2 bikes at work trailer

LandLuger

Larger, lower pressure tires on the trailer? BTW, did you sprinkle the pots with water to keep the loose soil from bouncing out? The adhesive action of water will hold the soil together just as it does when transplanting.

brianp

On my flatbed I took a couple of those tubs, and drilled holes in the sides and thread the straps through there instead of lashing over the top. It gives the tub a little vertical play, and seems to absorb most of the hard shocks on my rides. I've been successful with beers in the boxes without padding in between them.

The other thing you can do for plants is tape newspaper over the soil, I've seen that in a lot of my mail-order bamboos.

CommuterRun

Save your plastic grocery bags. When you buy plants pick up a roll of masking tape. 3/4" is fine. Put each pot in a bag and tape the top shut around the base of the plant, 1-2 wraps will do.

Firmer inflated tires will give less rolling resistance. A lower inflation pressure will give more shock absorption. Too little tire inflation for the load may cause a pinch flat.

I've had this happen with my Burley Flatbed.

atman

To cause red lights to turn green with a bike only, glue a couple rare-earth magnets to the pedals or bottom bracket of your bike. I haven't bothered because my city doesn't work like that, but I'm told it does the trick.

likeakidagain

thanks nice tip..I usually just ride the bike to the press here to cross butoon..and press!

mobilemail

I had an idea a while back that I've never had an opportunity to experiment with. If you do put a thin flat board on your trailer, mount the board to the trailer with screws that skewer tennis balls between the board and the trailer frame. I think it will create a cheap shock absorber! Alternatively, an MTB innertube between the board and the frame might do the same thing with some creative application.

Nightshade

Since most,if not all, bike trailers are solid axle (no springs) I've
found that s-l-o-w is best for delicate loads. Package the item well
then ride slow and steady home.

Reduced speeds allow the trailer to r-o-l-l over bumps instead of thump/bounce
over them.

TuckertonRR

actually, the idea of springs supporting a piece of plywood to cover the whole thing doesn't sound bad...
But right now I'm working on a car horn for my bike project. One major bike related project at a time!