Trailer Ball Hookup

Intro: Trailer Ball Hookup

This is the completed trailer, the hookup is pretty self explaining and will change depending on your bike. I went with an ABS 1 1/2 in trailer tongue and filled it full of expanding foam. Strong  but lite weight. parts needed will be
1 - 48 in. aluminum 1 1/2 angle bar   2- 13 in . tires from Harbor freight  1- 36 in threaded rod cut down to 26" for axle. 1- old hand truck.
1- 4" x 7 1/2 " x 1/4 " alum. plate for mounting trailer ball. This will fit on the Arms that are cut to 18" and mounted to the two metric threaded holes on each side of frame m
aking sure they do not extend past the frame on the inside and hit the wheel sprocket.
you will need a grinder to notch the bars around some welds and the wheel nuts.
The blue bin I found at Big Lots!. and it is BIG!  28" long x 16" wide x 18" deep, inside.  12.50 , a good price for that big a bin and it has snap over locks. I found plastic chain for safety chain more for deco but strong enough to get the job done.
the 1 7/8 trailer ball and hitch can be found on line at Etrailer but perhaps cheaper locally.
Any further questions you can reach me at my junk mail address, [e-mail]

Comments

[joemlocey]

Nice

[Icetrike]

Good idea until you pop a wheelie with all the weight pressing down on your back wheel...your 220lb are also on the back wheel...

[druidrat]

Nice job. I would love to see more detail. I believe you might want to move the trailer axle forward to balance the load to reduce stress and loading on your rear wheel and your hitch asembly, as a fellow 230+, I've broken more than my share of spokes

[fatcamper]

well maybe if I build another one I'll use a sliding bar design so I can have a sliding axle like semi's do, with spring loaded lock pins or even a double axle then I could come by in the middle of the nite and move your house,LOLOL. I just sold this bike and trailer for $275.

[nevadavic]

looks heavy duty!

[fatcamper]

Well not real heavy duty, but ok for picking up a few goodies at the supermarket. Safely maybe 40 lbs. It needed a metal hitch bar. I used what I had, 1 1/2 in ABS filled with expanding foam.

[fatcamper]

BUrly, Is that good? must be. I just sold it for $275. $ 100 for the bike and 175 for the trailer. I bought a pickup so no need for it any longer.

[zymie]

BUrly!

[Wazzupdoc]

I like the design, but I have some caveats:
(1) as long as the loads are very light you will continue to have few problems.
(2) When loads increase your control will suffer....maybe catastrophically due to
tongue-loading forces placed into your bike. (I experienced this).
(3) Rotating the load-arms 90 degrees, and placing the hitchball-containing
cross- bar between them will help immensely.
(4) A triangulating vertical support brace should put you on the road with load.
PS- Sometimes I put some rocks in my front basket to act as a counterbalance.

.

[fatcamper]

well thanks but it works just fine for a few groceries. I have counter balance of 270 lbs of fat to keep it on the groundLOLOL:OL

[bluesmanhell]

Good

[MikeSr39]

I to would like to see an actually picture of of a side view of the bolt connections at the axle area so as to see what the connection looks like. Sorry,but have head injury and cannot visualize what the connection looks like.

[onemoroni1]

Very simple and nice. I have a trailer instructable and have an upgrade to post that is almost identical to your design. I will post the upgrade soon and pictures. I used the existing bike frame tapped fender/rack holes as you did and the same configuration for the hitch except I used a quick release ball connect for an articulated arm. Great minds think alike.

[dwebb5]

No I do not want you to make this for me. I just wanted to see the connection on the frame.

[dwebb5]

That's all I was asking for. For you to SHOW the connection. It's not clearly visible how it connects to the frame NEAR the axle.

[Suslee]

I plan to modify this to use with my mobility scooter. Right now, I'm attaching my trailer with a carabiner--not very satisfactory. Mine is several years old and I need to replace the bin soon. I cut a piece of plywood to fit inside the bottom of the bin and bolted through it to attach the axle. I think your frame looks sturdier than my arrangement. FYI, I'm 69 and use mine for light hauling (laundry, shopping) as well as for hauling garden supplies. My biggest load was two 25# bags of potting soil.

[Althenuker]

Excellent design. One suggestion is to use an old aluminum ladder section instead of the hand cart as the trailer base. In this way you could relocate the wheel axis as needed for various loads at different locations through the hollow wrungs along the ladder frame. I saw this trailer design somewhere on the internet where someone was hauling a canoe in one photo and a couch in another.

[dwebb5]

This is nice but it does not SHOW how it connects to the bike frame.
Can you add a close up photo of that connection at the axle?

[pheenix42]

Simple and brilliant--going to see about fabricating this for my moped!

[Dr_Stupid]

Only one problem that I see is that all of your weight is pressing down on the hitch (trailer should be balanced towards the middle, which would be best served with larger wheels in the middle), otherwise that weight is going to make your front light and difficult to control in a panic stop, because as you break your front will lift up.