Trailers! Trailers! Trailers!

[KnottedYet]

http://biketrailershop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=44&osCsid=bcf966fe7ba9acc6139ca247e5d3b96b

Now I'm having serious trailer-lust.
Envisioning a Costco run with my Surly and a trailer with a big ol' case of toilet paper bungeed atop my cases of SPAM, V8, cheese, eggs, Lara Bars, mushrooms, broccoli... :D

They also have racks and panniers and bags and such. (cheaper than lots of places) And they have a sales page. (Ortlieb handle bar bag, anyone?)

[Wahine]

Knott, I'm not the best person to comment on these, but I was looking at getting a trailer a few years ago and the best model at the time was the Bob Yak. They had one at Recycled Cycles when we were there last week.

I'm sure there are a lot of touring peeps on the board that can give you better info though.

A trailer definitely counts for retail therapy.

[KnottedYet]

I've been yearning after the Burley Flatbed (Recycled had one a few months ago) Stable, not too expensive, can put the dog on it in his kennel crate, drag stuff in the rain in one of those Rubbermaid lock-lid tubs, carry a full Costco load, even drag SKnot's bassoon or guitar or whatever, or drag SKnot in a lawnchair like Melavai set up!

http://biketrailershop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=152

[Trek420]

Hmmm, they have http://biketrailershop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=207

which is big enough for my mutt. ;)

[Wahine]

That is very cool. I'd be all over it. You did notice the 100 lb weight restriction right. I don't think I'd try putting SKnott on there, those I'd looooooovvvvvvee to see it.

[KnottedYet]

Sknot is just over 100. Might have to get a Bikes At Work trailer, 300# weight limit! :D ;)

Hmmm, that Croozer is 8 inches wider than the Burley Flatbed... wonder if you can take the cover off and use it as a flatbed trailer? For $40, it might be worth getting instead of the Burley. Dog container, cargo cover, hmmmmmm

[Trek420]

The mutt and I just back from a 45 min walk. I want to haul the doggeee. The Burley Tail Wagon we saw as Recycled cycles is rated for a top weight of 50 lbs of doggeeeee goodness. Mae's just above that although with new longer brisker walks who knows :) Both ends of the leash may loose weight.

I'm thinking it would be fun to get a ride in and take her with, also as she gets older and can't walk as far this would be a way to go outside.

I may just wait and see what's left after the remodel :rolleyes:

[mimitabby]

Knot, Sknot is only going to be "a little over 100" for short months. He's eating a lot, isn't he? He's got a LOT of filling out to do in the next couple of years...

[divingbiker]

If you want to spend a boatload of money on a dog trailer, look at this (http://www.cycletote.com/doggy_tote.html). I've got my eye on it for when my ship comes in.

[KnottedYet]

Oooh, those CycleTotes are cool. I like that they use full-size bike wheels.

Just too bad they are seat-post hitch.

[Trek420]

Why is that bad? I would think it would be better?:confused:

And the Doggeeeeee Tote is made in USA! :)

[surgtech1956]

Knot - SPAM. You like SPAM? How do you prepare it????

[KnottedYet]

thru an amazing series of coincidences, I'm now the proud owner of a Croozer trailer!

SPAM is good stuff! Musubi, fried, cold, sliced over rice or potatoes, mmmmmm!

[mimitabby]

aw, come on KNOT, how did it happen?

[Wahine]

Which one did you get? I googled it and there are several models.

[SouthernBelle]

Last year a couple of people were talking about building a trailer. Maybe Kit was one??

did anybody ever build?

[KnottedYet]

I got the Croozer Dog trailer, which Trek had just sent me a PM about.

I played hooky from church and went to my LBS. Meandered over to the trailer section, and there was a woman with a Croozer and a Burley comparing the two.

Turned out their Croozer was too big for their dog, so they wanted to sell/trade for a Burley Tail Wagon. So I bought it! She trusted me (not even knowing my last name or phone or anything) to take it home and just "send her what i thought it was worth." Well, gawd, I couldn't do that! So we asked the LBS guys what they thought a fair price was, and we agreed.

She still let me take it home without knowing anything about me. I'm sending her a check tomorrow.

the Croozer is big enough for my dog AND big enough to be used for a serious Costco run. It will also easily hold enough stuff for a good long camping trip. It folds flat, and could be used as a flat-bed trailer for awkward shaped things.

I'm so excited!

[Beane]

but the critical question... will your dog voluntarily go into the trailer?

p.s. pictures of said dog in said trailer would be appreciated :D

[KnottedYet]

he knows the command "in the crate", so I'm guessing we can expand on that behaviour a little. The trailer is just a little smaller than his crate. He's a 70lb dog.

Honestly, I want the trailer more for shopping trips than anything.

And for camping.

The dog trailer has a nice cover that zips shut so it won't lose my toothpaste, and it looks like it will hold a case of toilet paper from Costco.

[Xrayted]

Jeez Knot, what are you doing with that much toilet paper? What exactly are you eating? Back away from the lentils... :eek: :D

Good score with the trailer! Congrats. I can't believe she trusted you to just send a check. I mean, you are a bit shifty looking. I'm just sayin' :rolleyes: ;) :p

[Kitsune06]

Huh. Back in the day, when we bought a case of TP, we just did our green duty and pitched it back to the trees where it belonged. *sigh* Ah, nostalgia and raking paper mache after homecoming... :rolleyes:

[KnottedYet]

Jeez Knot, what are you doing with that much toilet paper? What exactly are you eating? Back away from the lentils... :eek: :D

Good score with the trailer! Congrats. I can't believe she trusted you to just send a check. I mean, you are a bit shifty looking. I'm just sayin' :rolleyes: ;) :p

All the LBS guys were greeting me by name, so I think she figured I must be ok. :rolleyes: Little did she know... ;)

Lemme tell ya, tp from Costco is a beautiful thing. A year's worth for $14. The problem is finding places to store it. I'm on my last roll now, but I'd better buy some more before Trek gets here for the weekend, which means using the car. (otherwise I'm riding in the dark; no thanks!)

My cholesterol (to quote my doc, exclamation point and all) is "very high!" So maybe I'd better be eating more lentils. If she wants to put me on statins, I'll tell her how much better it is when I really get some exercise. I'd rather spend $$ on riding than on meds. The best it's ever been was 205, and my good chol was high which made it ok. I was riding a lot then.

Must. Ride. Bike.

[KathiCville]

Hi........A few months ago I bought one of the kids' "Trans-It" trailers for my 45-lb border collie, for what I thought at the time was a good price: $200. Ack! (Impulse purchase at local Performance shop....) I discovered too late that I could have gotten the darned thing for less than half that price at Nashbar, sigh..........Now that I've seen the Croozer and other models on this thread, I wish I'd dug around more before kicking out the cash!

I tuck Sam's comfy dog bed in the bottom of the trailer, both to provide a "floor" for her and to give her a sense of safety and security when we're out on the road. (See my avatar for an on-the-move shot.....) She hates the screen and plastic cover that pull down, so I just leave 'em up. Fortunately, once she settles in and lays down, she doesn't seem to be tempted to move around much, and definitely has no interest in jumping out while we're moving. One of the first times I took her out in it, we were rolling down (actually UP) a pretty (and quiet) paved road at a slow pace when a deer popped up right next to the road, not 10 feet away. I held my breath, thinking Sam would be itchy to get out; instead, she just gazed at it contentedly as we rolled slowly by. (In fact, I could envision her doing the 'parade wave' with her paw.....) It *helps* that she's 9 and has a touch of arthritis. She loves to hike, but seems to know that her jaunts in the trailer are all about sitting back and enjoying the ride!

[xeney]

I am jealous. I am really looking forward to the day when Penelope can ride in the trailer (she's pretty strong and we managed to find a teeny helmet, so hopefully around her first birthday), but I am also regretting a bit that we bought the ultra-slick Chariot single trailer instead of a double Burley. We were thinking we'd mostly be doing family picnic rides every weekend on the bike trail, and at the time we were choosing the trailer there were a bunch of stupid barriers up on the trail that my husband thought would be difficult if not impossible to navigate with a double Burley.

But I am all about utility and being able to haul what I need to haul. Right now I am a pedestrian -- I've got a stroller with a huge shopping basket, and Penny and I run all the errands on foot, which I love. (While I was pregnant I was getting gas often enough that the guys at the gas station knew my due date. Now I'm back to filling the tank every three months -- have only filled it once since she was born!) This stroller will only fit her for about nine months, though, and the big kid strollers just don't have the storage space. I hope that we can do the shopping with the Chariot plus the baskets on my bike, but I might have to reconsider the whole single-speed situation!

I told my husband I was eventually going to get an Xtracycle and he said, "Not with my baby on board, you aren't." Apparently Mr. Let's Take The Baby Rock Climbing! thinks that the little surfboard seating arrangement is totally unsafe. And I have to admit that it looks a bit precarious. The one person I know who rides one with kids has dumped her seven-year-old at least once, too.

[Tuckervill]

Can't the baby car seat fit in the trailer? Think how safe she'd be if you could attach it to the trailer (cargo strap?) and put her in the 5 point harness of the car seat.

My baby trailer has a soft bottom (I use it for my dog), and I undid some screws and disconnected the little sling seats so I could put something stiff in the bottom for the dog (used pillows, but I want something else). If your trailer's like that, then the car seat might not work. But if it's a hard bottom trailer, I'll bet you can work something out.

Karen

[xeney]

Oh, it can definitely fit and that is how many people go riding the first year. But it's against the law in my state -- or at least, it is against the law to do it safely (go figure). It is not safe for a baby under a year old to wear a helmet, because they don't have the neck strength, and it is very unsafe to wear a helmet in a carseat. (The seat isn't meant for a helmet so it pushes the neck forward.) California law doesn't prohibit babies under one year in bike trailers, but does require bike helmets for any kid riding in a trailer. So we'd either have to break the law or be unsafe.

My personal feeling: a baby in a carseat secured into a trailer, without a helmet, is just as safe as an older kid wearing a helmet in a trailer. And I am not really above scofflawing if there is a good reason. But she's not ready to ride in the trailer for reasons unrelated to safety, anyway. (She doesn't even like to face forward in a stroller -- she is still young enough that she really needs to be able to see Mom or Dad when the world is too overwhelming.)

[SadieKate]

Xeney - the Chariot is a cool design with all the (expensive) attachments. I have friends who have been riding with their baby (just turned 1 yr a month ago) in one for sometime now and they even took him on some dirt roads in August. Jason was careful not to highside the trailer on a rut, but Ryder would get fussy if we stopped. Since he can see Jason in front of him he doesn't get worried, and he'll zonk out cold the minute the trailer starts moving. They also use it as their stroller so it's plenty big for baby (and Ryder is huge) and a few groceries. Aren't there bags even on the back that could be used for a few groceries?

The helmet even in a bike trailer seems odd. A well-built (maybe that's the problem) with a strapped-in child rolls onto a frame like a roll bar and the kid is hanging upside down, not dumped on it's head. Maybe the law should govern safety design of a bicycle trailer instead. They're definitely more stable that a child seat on a bike.

I think an Extracycle and Chariot combo would haul all the groceries and baby you'd care to power along.

I'm hoping they'll get the sled conversion so we can all go snowshoeing this winter. If not, I need to find a used Kifaru/Mountainsmith kiddie adaptor (anyone have one? :rolleyes: )

PS - Jason was hauling Ryder uphill on dirt roads using a singlespeed mtb. Oh, to be so fit.

[Tuckervill]

Who would have thought any state would have enough time to regulate such a thing? Oh, right, California! :) In Arkansas, our legislature only meets every other year!

Karen


Oh, it can definitely fit and that is how many people go riding the first year. But it's against the law in my state -- or at least, it is against the law to do it safely (go figure). It is not safe for a baby under a year old to wear a helmet, because they don't have the neck strength, and it is very unsafe to wear a helmet in a carseat. (The seat isn't meant for a helmet so it pushes the neck forward.) California law doesn't prohibit babies under one year in bike trailers, but does require bike helmets for any kid riding in a trailer. So we'd either have to break the law or be unsafe.

My personal feeling: a baby in a carseat secured into a trailer, without a helmet, is just as safe as an older kid wearing a helmet in a trailer. And I am not really above scofflawing if there is a good reason. But she's not ready to ride in the trailer for reasons unrelated to safety, anyway. (She doesn't even like to face forward in a stroller -- she is still young enough that she really needs to be able to see Mom or Dad when the world is too overwhelming.)

[sgtiger]

Why is that bad? I would think it would be better?:confused:

And the Doggeeeeee Tote is made in USA! :)

My $0.02 for what it's worth:

I'm not sure if the same problem would exist with the trailer as we have with our tag-along bike that is seat post mounted but having the attachment there seems to affect Dh's center of gravity enough that he has to compensate for it and he really feels it when DS is wiggling around. Friends who have tried both the seat post mounted and rear-rack mounted tag-along bikes prefer the rear-rack mounted ones because the additional weight is then distributed over the rear wheel which they have reported feels more stable. I know with our Chariot, which is mounted on a rear wheel skewer attachment, I do not have any issues with DD's movement affecting my balance. Then again, the problem might not be as bad with the trailer because the weight of the load is lower and distributed between two wheels and the seat-post mount, as opposed to the load being only on top of one wheel and it's attachment point.

Perhaps someone who understands the mechanics of it better can chime in and explain it better.

[KnottedYet]

The Summer 2007 issue of The Practical Pedal had a nifty article about trailers, trailer physics, etc., and had a big influence on my trailer preferences.

I'm sure there's an online version, too. (I have the paper one)
www.practicalpedal.com

[Trekhawk]

Xeney - the Chariot is a cool design with all the (expensive) attachments. I have friends who have been riding with their baby (just turned 1 yr a month ago) in one for sometime now and they even took him on some dirt roads in August. Jason was careful not to highside the trailer on a rut, but Ryder would get fussy if we stopped. Since he can see Jason in front of him he doesn't get worried, and he'll zonk out cold the minute the trailer starts moving. They also use it as their stroller so it's plenty big for baby (and Ryder is huge) and a few groceries. Aren't there bags even on the back that could be used for a few groceries?

The helmet even in a bike trailer seems odd. A well-built (maybe that's the problem) with a strapped-in child rolls onto a frame like a roll bar and the kid is hanging upside down, not dumped on it's head. Maybe the law should govern safety design of a bicycle trailer instead. They're definitely more stable that a child seat on a bike.

I think an Extracycle and Chariot combo would haul all the groceries and baby you'd care to power along.

I'm hoping they'll get the sled conversion so we can all go snowshoeing this winter. If not, I need to find a used Kifaru/Mountainsmith kiddie adaptor (anyone have one? :rolleyes: )

PS - Jason was hauling Ryder uphill on dirt roads using a singlespeed mtb. Oh, to be so fit.

We have a Chariot and love it. When we first got here we only had one car and I would walk my youngest everywhere in it in all sorts of weather.LOL my friends up here now tell me that they though I was hardcore because they would see us walking home from school in some major weather. Well the rest of us got pretty wet but the youngest was warm and snug in the Chariot. We also have the bike attachment and my youngest loves to go for rides in it even though he is getting pretty big now and its quite the work out for the one pulling it. We thought about selling it but decided it would be good for hauling stuff from the market or maybe taking our future puppy for a ride. The ski option looks cool but alas no snow where we will be going.:(

[Kitsune06]

I'm still hot on the xtracycle idea. I'd have to run new hydraulic hoses and rear derailleru lines, but.. mmmmmm... hawt. Someday. Someday.:rolleyes: :cool:

[DebW]

My $0.02 for what it's worth:

I'm not sure if the same problem would exist with the trailer as we have with our tag-along bike that is seat post mounted but having the attachment there seems to affect Dh's center of gravity enough that he has to compensate for it and he really feels it when DS is wiggling around. Friends who have tried both the seat post mounted and rear-rack mounted tag-along bikes prefer the rear-rack mounted ones because the additional weight is then distributed over the rear wheel which they have reported feels more stable. I know with our Chariot, which is mounted on a rear wheel skewer attachment, I do not have any issues with DD's movement affecting my balance. Then again, the problem might not be as bad with the trailer because the weight of the load is lower and distributed between two wheels and the seat-post mount, as opposed to the load being only on top of one wheel and it's attachment point.

Perhaps someone who understands the mechanics of it better can chime in and explain it better.

I'll second that. I've ridden both with a child in a trailer attached to the rear dropout and with a child on a trail-a-bike attached to the seatpost. The trailer is perfectly stable. The trail-a-bike is not. Probably due to the high attachment point at the seatpost combined with the high center of gravity of the child. There also seems to be some play (or dual stability?) in the way the trail-a-bike attaches, because you can see and feel the trail-a-bike lurch from one side of the adult bike to the other when the child moves. I've also found that the drops feel more unstable than the hoods when towing a trail-a-bike (because they are below the seat post attachment point?).

Can someone name a brand of trail-a-bike that doesn't attach to the seapost?

[KnottedYet]

I emailed the Xtracycle dudes about putting an Xtracycle on my Dew. They were pretty enthusastic about it and said it makes a great Xtracycle. (buy the 700c kit, and don't run tires wider than 35 is what they told me. I think. or maybe it was 38. Anyway, there was a clearance issue if I used tires wider than what the Dew was spec'd with. I sent them the Dew specs and they were all smiles about it.)

hey, and WHERE are the pictures of your new bike!?!?

[xeney]

Thanks for the feedback on the Chariot, SadieKate and TrekHawk. We have the bike attachment, the regular stroller attachment (so we can go places on the bike and then detach it and use it as a stroller), and the jogger attachment, although I might return that one to REI because we just bought a smaller 3-wheel stroller that has a locking front wheel, and that might be enough for my sad attempts at running.

What I want is the attachment that allows me to harness up a dog to the Chariot and let him pull her up hills. That'd be awesome.

The only drawback to the Chariot that I can see so far is that it is really big -- even the single doesn't fold down very well, so we have to remove one of the seats in our car and then there is no room for anything else. Also it has limitations as a stroller because of its size, and because it puts Penny right at the level of strange dogs and mean geese. She rides a bit higher in our other stroller.

There is a bag on the back that could hold some groceries. Probably not the full $130 shopping trips I've been doing with our other stroller, alas, but I don't think any other stroller is going to handle that sort of madness.

[sgtiger]

Can someone name a brand of trail-a-bike that doesn't attach to the seapost?

The Burley Piccolo is the one our friends have. As far as I know it can only be mounted on their special rack that was designed for it. It is more expensive than the Adams and others but I've been told that it's well worth the difference. Dh and I have considered upgrading to it but we don't use our trail-a-bike enough to justify spending the money right now.

Here's a link with some pictures:

http://www.bikesandtrailers.com/trailer-bikes/roland_add_bike.html