jawnn

my trailer was always a bit difficult to keep from twisting. After about 8 years it was twisted once too often, and broke the PIN hole.

https://commutercycling.blogspot.com/...es-review.html

cj82

FLIPPING NORA! where do you ride? the outfall of some chemical plant?

CabezaShok

^+1 .......looks like it would have gone on longer if it had periodic rust treatments with paint/grease/wax...but ive never owned a B.O.B trailer

dougmc

I've heard good things about their customer service. Maybe they'd repair or replace it for free, or give you a replacement at cost since you're such a good customer? Doesn't hurt to let them know about it, anyways.

jabantik00

broken fender, lost flag, broken bag compression strap, broken bag handles, broken bungee, broken bottom. despite this, i feel that my bob trailer has held up reasonably well to 7ish years of (ab)use and is a quality product. i don't know if i'll do any more tours with it (i mostly travel on my xtracycle now), but i do like that it allows me to carry stuff with any of my bikes without anything more than a special skewer.

wahoonc

I would consider that wear and tear. I haven't messed with a Bob Trailer in quite a few years, but I would expect some failures after 8 years of use and abuse.

Aaron

jawnn

The paint started coming off because the metal flexes. And the rust is from leaving the thing out side under tarps for a year after it broke.

But the rust had nothing to do with the small amount of metal braking off.....I should have expected the thing to fail. It just wasn't made to back up with a full load. (less than 100lbs)

Cornflakes

It's IS repairable. Maybe not to like new factory, but very functional condition.

A little grease will go a long way to protect against friction ware and RUST.

cj82

i'm pretty sure that the rust had a lot to do with it. the lumpy texture of the rust is basically little tiny bits of metal that have come away from the main structure. corrosion is often the start point for stress cracks.

weld a new bit on the end, drill a hole and the trailer will be good for another 8 years :-)

CabezaShok

I agree. A welder could fix that in an hour. My last job i was welder, so id quote an hour, no more. And today i bought a used older BOB that has been towed from L.A. to Grand Canyon and back!....and it looks like it can do many many more trips like that...its got surface rust at the attachment points im going to deal with ASAP with OSPHO and self-etching primer then topcoat with spray paint...then i plan to hit it with Boeshield T9 once a month.

jawnn

You say I could have it welded then drilled?

CabezaShok

Yeah i just noticed that problem too....so id say NO because you cant fit a drill in there at that angle. Show the welder the other side (un-damaged) and tell him to use those dimensions for criteria. He will see that he has to drill a piece 1st and THEN weld it on....preferable using TIG. Ideally the strongest way would be to machine-out/cut-out a new dropout with holes drilled and weld onto the old drop-out then stretch to fit the wheel....But that will take longer/more $$
hope this helps. Dont give up! Maybe find your local welding Vo-Tech and maybe they will do it for free/donation.

fietsbob

Perhaps they will ship the Tow Fork as a replacement part.

jawnn

Thank you for contacting BOB. The suggested retail on new trailer forks is
$49 and any BOB dealer could order those in for you if they do not have them
in stock.

Customer Service
BOB Trailers, Inc.

this is the place to get them:
https://www.biketrailershop.com/bob-t...rts-c-130.html

Chop!

What size rear wheel did you have? I had terrible rear flex when using a standard wheel yoke on my 20" folders, I now have a Bob Yak with a standard yoke & a Bob Ibex with a shortened yoke, I use the shortened yoke for my 20" bikes & at times I have put the Yak behind my Long-John with the Ibex attached to the back of the Yak! No flex at all!

CabezaShok

Chop! did you take pictures of your shortened BOB yoke project? Was it tricky? Id like to do the same thing to mine if i ever save up for a Brompton.

Sixty Fiver

It is an easy fix but it looks like the replacement is pretty reasonable.

Friend of mine has used his Bob for 25,000 plus miles of hard touring and has had it repaired a few times... problem has been at the pivot on the frame and not with the hitch assembly and he admits to overloading it... "just a little".

Have never liked single wheeled trailers much as they have a higher load at the mount (your axle) and cause a lot of lateral stress to wheels in turns and it seems like many people tend to overload them or load them properly.

Much prefer a frame mounted two wheeled trailer.

qmsdc15

My BOB trailer fork got bent. I think someone backed into it when I was parked close to the curb. I replaced it for $49 with a newer one that had a much improved design. The fender broke and I lost the flag. When the hub crapped out, I rebuilt the wheel with a bolt-on BMX hub, stock rim and custom cut DT spokes. That was not a cheap repair, but the new wheel is sweet. Sections of the floor came apart from the frame on both sides. I sewed one side back together with used gear cable, the other side was reattached with zip ties.

How it looks today: