Slingerland

Has anyone ever tried putting a rack on a BOB trailer?

I'm planning a short bike trip of about 250 miles. Due to how short it will be, and that it might be my last one, I don't want to buy any new camping gear. The sleeping bag I have is a Kelty Callisto 0° rectangular bag that's a great bag, but it's kind of bulky. I also have a Kelty self-inflating sleeping pad, and a 3 person dome tent that I plan to use. As a result, my camping gear takes up most of the room available in the BOB's dry sak, and there won't be much room for anything else. I still have to add in food, water, and a couple of changes of clothing, etc. Even though this gear is bulky it isn't all that heavy.

I have a rack that I had on the front of my old bike I can't put on my current bike because it's has a suspension fork, so I decided to put it on the trailer. I don't plan to put anything on top of the rack, and the load in the pans will be relatively small. The entire load is less than 70 lbs, which is the maximum for the trailer. I weighed it fully loaded and the total is 74 lbs. The trailer itself weighs 13 lbs, so the rack, the pans, and everything else comes to 61 lbs.

I've tried a couple of full load trial runs and it seems to work pretty well. The trailer tracks as well as it ever did. I don't notice it being top heavy at all, so I don't think the center of gravity has been altered all that much.

Any opinions or ideas about this?

skilsaw

I think the load may have a high center of gravity and be prone to tipping if you hit a pothole.

I would pack every small item in Bob's bag, put your sleeping bag and mat in waterproof bags of their own and put the tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag on top of Bob's bag.

Slingerland

I tried that. The load isn't top heavy with the rack and pans setup, but it is if I pack the trailer that way. It sits too high like that. Packing it the way I did makes the load longer and puts some of the load over the tire. Not to mention that waterproof bags large enough to put my sleeping bag and pad in would cost quite a bit more than I have already spent for a short trip. I did however, consider replacing the pad with a standard Ensolite pad to save weight and space. But my old bones rejected that idea after a night sleeping on one.

fietsbob

I put a pair of panniers over the rear wheel of my BoB..
They carried the straps to tie stuff down, and a tarpaulin to wrap the load up in.

Aushiker

Would love to see some photos of your setup.

Andrew

fietsbob

already sold the trailer , [took no pictures, would have been on film anyhow]
I mounted Blackburn Low rider parts with Flat aluminum pieces
I got from the hardware store , and fabricated, myself.

You can always Just buy this thing, here:
https://www.biketrailershop.com/green...er-p-1385.html
Since you are in Australia you can buy it direct from Greenspeed.

Aushiker

Thanks. I was just curious. I have sold my BoB so no need for one now. I now tow an Extrawheel Voyager instead.



Andrew

Trikin'

I thought to do that as well, with a bike front pannier rack, but just opted for dry sacks

Aushiker

That looks like a good setup. I like the wind sock too. Might have to pinch that idea

Andrew

ClemY

Is that a brake hub on the trailer? Do you ride in mountains? The brake hub certainly looks heavy. I have a Jack Taylor trailer that is very similar to the BOB: single wheel, flat loading space. I have ridden mine with my children in it, in hills, behind a tandem with no problems.

Trikin'

CLEMY....that's a 500W hub motor, the 36V Lit-Ion battery is mounted on the trailer.
I ride in the the mountains as that is pretty much the terrain around here (B.C. Canada)

Most tours are on Vancouver Island, the gulf islands have only uphills (seems like it)

My E-BOB (pusher trailer) assists me on the hills, the best investment to continued cycle touring for me

Slingerland

Wow... You guys are just full of great ideas. I particularly like your hub motor, Trikin'. I considered putting a dynamo hub on there to run my lights. I guess there is more interest in putting racks on BOB trailers than I was aware of. I thought perhaps I was over-doing it just a tad... My rack, which is a standard rear rack for a 26" wheel mountain bike, sits what appears to be about two inches higher than the top of a Greenspeed rack for a BOB trailer, based on some photos I found on gregw's website. (He's also a very inventive fellow full of great ideas...) Plus since I already had it I didn't have to buy one. I used it on my last trip as a front rack. It was a bit large for that purpose but it worked. Now with a pair of orange Ortlieb Front-Rollers on it it's a rear rack once again...

Thanks, guys!

ClemY

That's cheating. I like it!

Trikin'

THANKYOU...my little "cheater" (E-BOB) has been a great assist on tours, keeps me going!

ClemY

How much does the bike weigh? It looks like it could be a little heavy.

Trikin'

If I'd have to guess, I'd say about 45-50lbs with the fairing , pannier's, rack and trunk.
Don't ask what the loaded trailer might be.