flatbed trailer: converted burley d'lite
 

i bought this burley d'lite from a thrift store for $3.99. it didn't have any wheels and someone had stripped the canvas and bolted a plywood deck to it.

i found a sheet of aluminum in the scrap metal pile at work that i was able to cut to the right size. i riveted it to the frame. at some point i may add some aluminum angle iron cross members under the deck, i have a feeling if i put too much weight in the middle it might flex a little more than i'm comfortable with. i'll also need to add some tie downs.

it's pretty light for what it is.

i need to find a set of 20" wheels. these were stolen off my other doggie trailer.

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Looks good and functional. Win, win.

SWEET!!! What a steal, I thought I got a bargin when I found a Instep kid hauler, top tubes and vinyl bent and tattered for $20 for my utility conversion! Hey if you find a good deal on "bicycle style" wheels like you have, let me know, I'd really like to bail the "plastic mags"!! Thanks:thumb:
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i have a burley flatbed, hauls the dog very well, 14 and a half years now. built some sides, a front and rear, she loves it. best investment. looks kinda like a chariot. only small trips around the neighborhood now, and not that often. sucks dogs have short lifespans.

The one burly made just used truck tarp instead of a metal sheet , and put low sidewalls so stuff didnt go in the wheels

there was a movie Younger Arnold did before being Governator.. one of the plot themes was
a Repet corporation, Identical replacement pets through Cloning.

well, i had an idea to secure this pro tuff bin using 4 short ratchet straps, one in each corner to secure it to the trailer. i'll buy 4 matching master locks. i will drill a hole in the ratcheting handle and frame of the straps and run the padlock thru the hole so they can't be opened.

after i set it on there i realised there is no way to attach ratchet straps to the bin so the idea may not work.

i know if someone wants the box they'd just cut the straps. its not intended to be high security. i'm not going to haul it to the grocery store and leave it outside while i go shopping. it's intended for situations where i'll remain within sight distance of the bike.

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You have seen the "stroller kits" that some of the more expensive trailers come with? If
you could manage to hook up something like that then you can just take it with you and use it as a shopping trolley. if you are the lucky owner of a foldingbike you can dump it in the container and take it with you innside. No securityguard needed.
http://bikeportland.org/2011/05/25/l...ndraiser-53592

How thick was the aluminum you used? I made a flatbed with some old plywood, but it could be lighter.

according to the tape measure, it's right at 1/16th of an inch thick. i'm not sure what aluminum gauge that is. they use a different unit on sheet aluminum. .03-something-or-other. i work with sheet steel 99.99999% of the time. i can tell you it's close to 16 gauge sheet steel.

i would have preffered to use thicker aluminum, but this was free. i would have preferred 1/4" treat plate. but that stuff is outrageous. i could buy a new trailer, the one i want, for the cost of a sheet of 1/4" aluminum tread plate, enough to do the trailer.

pics, ocsawdust?

these look great, folks! been wanting a trailer, but <$.

out in the open, here goes, i'm a dork who does not know how to post a pick. the pm i tried to send you to be discrete was rejected , you need to have 50 posts and i'm not there yet.

1/16" would be .0625 which is close to 16 gauge steel. It may be .060 which is one of the stock thicknesses in sheet aluminum. If you have mid supports you probably could drop down to .040 and still be okay. FWIW I work with a variety of metals and it can get very confusing.

Aaron :)

here ya go. i built these cross members at work last week.

they're 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch. it took some fancy fabrication. they're so small, the piece wouldn't fit in the brake once i made it to the 3rd and 4rth brake. i had to do some of it with a rubber mallet and by hand. i did it before work so i didn't have time to take pictures.

i finally got around to riveting them to the frame/deck. it really added a lot of support to the deck. i can stand on it now and it doesn't act like it's going to cave in.


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Looks good! You could also buy some 1"x1" aluminum square tubing, or even 1"x1" aluminum angle and get similar results. One of our shops has a power brake that will get down to 3/4", unfortunately it isn't ours.

Aaron :)

yeah, i went to ace hardware. i could buy a 4 foot stick of 1x1 aluminum tubing for $11. this stuff i pulled out of the scrap pile at work was free. i broke it by hand on a brake that's probably older than you and i combined. just like every other piece of equipment at our shop. i sheared it on a Cincinnati 10 that was built in the early 60's.

anyway, the build cost is still $3.99. i'm still looking for a set of wheels and tires.

Dunno... I am pretty old:50::roflmao2:

I am all for using scrap when available and if possible. I was welding (well sticking two pieces of metal together) the other day for something down on the farm. I have a fair stock of tubing, angle, etc. Fortunately there was a piece of schedule 40 4"x4" tube stock in the pile, made the project that much easier.

Aaron :)

here's an update.

i added some tie downs. some D rings from harbor freight. i attached them with 1/4 inch rivets. i had to buy a heavy duty riveter, also from harbor freight as my hand riveter and electric riveter weren't big enough to handle 1/4" rivets.

the only problem now is the d rings rattle when i tow the trailer unloaded.

my only concern is that the rivets will hold. they seem to be the weakest point. well, the rivets themselves will hold, but they might pull thru the aluminum deck and frame. but beings that it's just a bicycle trailer i won't be applying a whole lot of stank when i tie down my cargo.

all this work and i haven't even used the trailer yet. it's been cold and snowy. when it's not snowing it's raining. when it's nice out i'm working.


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Back up washers would have been a good idea..

String two bungie cords between the D rings, the light tension will stop the rattling . I dig the build so far, looks good.

Good stuff. I want to modify my trailers (one in each home) to carry my dog. I hope she likes riding in it. The trouble is that she's really tall. She's very small for a greyhound, but that's still taller than most dogs. She's 25" tall at the shoulder and probably more than 36" from nose to base of tail. I think she needs at least a 30" by 36" rectangle to lie down. What are the dimensions of your flat beds?

Of course, I would build walls and a harness for my trailers.