instructables
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer
by Tsanabe
A bicycle trailer is a great way to increase the carrying capacity of a bicycle. This tutorial will show how to create a flatbed bicycle trailer using recycled items without the need to weld.
Step 1:
Step 2: Repurpose Items Destined for the Landfill
I picked up an old baby stroller that was well used but no longer functional. I instantly knew that I wanted to make a bicycle trailer with it. I also was able to use parts off of an old golf caddy to make the arm that connects the trailer to the back of the bicycle.
It is always a bonus to make things using discarded items and give them new life.
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 1 Step 3: Remove Unneeded Components From the Stroller
To create the bed of the trailer, start by removing the Next use a small punch to drive the rivet body into the handle from the stroller and then remove the footrest tube and free the footrest from the stroller handle from the handle. (Photo 2).
The footrest is attached with rivets. To remove the Remove the cushion grip from the stroller handle and rivets, I used an electric drill and a self-drilling sheet remove the hook and loop fasteners from the handle metal screw to drill through the rivet head. It works as seen in Photo 3. The handle will be used to form just as well as using a drill bit and it saves my drill the frame of the trailer bed. bits from wear. With just a small amount of drilling, the rivet head falls off as seen in Photo 1.
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 2 Step 4: Attaching the Outer Frame to Trailer
The next step is to attach the handle to the trailer to opposite side. Ensure that the screw heads are form the outer rim of the trailer bed. placed on the underside of the trailer bed as seen in Photo 2. At this point you may wish to cut off some of the end of the handle to form a shorter flatbed trailer. For now With the handle firmly attached to the short segments I left the handle as is to see how well I like a longer of the trailer, drill two holes .25 inches (6.5 mm) flatbed trailer. diameter through both tubes on one side of the trailer (Photo 3), insert bolts in the holes then secure with a Use four screw clamps large enough to clamp the nut as seen in Photo 4. Repeat for the other side of handle to the existing part of the trailer frame (Photo the trailer bed frame. 1). The outer frame of the trailer is now complete as seen Start with one leg of the handle and clamp it to the on Photo 5. short outer portion of the frame using two of the screw clamps. Once attached, connect the other leg to the
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 3 Step 5: Attaching the Inner Supports to the Frame
Now that the frame is in place use a threaded rod to the threaded rod (Photo 1). connect the two inner supports to the frame. The size of the threaded rod will depend on the hole size of the Once the rod is inserted through the inner supports fittings. Mine allowed me to use a .25 inch (6.5 mm) and the frame, tighten the nuts and cut off the excess diameter threaded rod. threaded rod as seen in Photo 2.
Starting from one side, insert the threaded rod The trailer bed supports are now united. through the plastic fittings and place washers and nuts on either side of the plastic fittings as you insert
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 4 Step 6: Making the Arm That Connects the Trailer to the Bike
The arm that connects the trailer to the bike is made trailer arm as seen in Photo 5. Insert the smaller of from the leg of a nonfunctional golf caddy (Photo 1). the flattened supports and insert a .25 inch (6.5mm) diameter bolt, 2 inch (52 mm) long, through the Start by removing the leg from the golf caddy and flattened support and then into the trailer arm (Photo remove all unneeded components as seen in Photo 5). Next place the larger of the flattened supports 2. directly on the top of the smaller flattened support as seen in Photo 6 and secure with the bolt. Place a nut Take a .75 inch (19mm) conduit support (Photo 3) on the bolt and tighten. Place a second set of and use a hammer to flatten the base of the support flattened supports midway along the arm. so that it appears as shown in Photo 4. Do the same for a 1 inch (25 mm) conduit support. Flatten one Use a U-bolt, placed on the arm at the farthest point more of both sizes. possible to connect the trailer arm to the trailer frame as seen in Photo 7. Attach the arm to the outer rim of the trailer frame and secure with the flattened conduit supports. Use The arm is now attached to the flatbed trailer frame. existing holes or drill new holes into the edge of the
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 5 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 6 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 7 Step 7: Making the Trailer Hitch
The trailer hitch is probably the most interesting and terrain and for making turns. challenging part to create so as to provide a secure but flexible connection. Thanks to the many authors Start by removing the wheels from two casters as on this site, and elsewhere who shared their creations seen in Photos 1 and 2. and ideas, I was able to weigh the pros and cons of the various types of trailer hitches and eventually One of the casters is attached to the bike frame and settled on a hitch that uses two casters to make a the other is attached to the arm of the trailer. The trailer hitch. This type of trailer hitch allows for three- casters are attached to each other with a hitch pin as directional movement and is ideal for trailers with two seen in Photo 3. wheels as it allows for better handling over uneven
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 8 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 9 Step 8: Attaching the Casters to the Bike Frame and the Trailer Arm
Attach one of the casters to the rear of the bike on the Finally use a hitch pin to connect the two casters left side as seen in Photo 1. I was fortunate in that together as seen in Photo 3. The hitch pin allows for a existing threaded holes on my bike matched the quick and convenient way to connect and disconnect mounting holes on the caster. If necessary, drill holes the trailer and bike. in the base of the caster to match mounting holes on your bike. Use existing holes in the caster and drill The three-directional movement of the hitch allows only what is needed. Attach with the appropriate- the bicycle and trailer to move, sway and pitch sized bolts that match your bike. I used bushings as without greatly affecting the other. As seen in Photos spacers to keep the caster mounted in a level 4-6, the bicycle can lie on the ground, on either side, position. while the connected flatbed trailer remains unaffected and upright. Take the other caster and use two .5 inch (13 mm) conduit support brackets to connect the end of the trailer arm to the caster (Photo 2).
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 10 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 11 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 12 Step 9: Attaching a Safety Catch Cable Between the Bicycle and Trailer
A safety catch cable is connected to the bike frame As seen in Photo 4, cut about 4 inches (102 mm) of and the trailer and is designed to "catch" or constrain the cable housing to expose the cable. the trailer if the hitch should come apart. A hitch may come apart if the fastener fails or the hitch pin was Use a cable ferrule to create a loop in the cable and improperly connected. crimp the ferrule with a crimping tool as seen in Photo 5. The stroller did have a cable-activated side caliper brake, as seen in Photo 1, which is perfect for making Loosely wind the looped cable through the end of the the safety catch cable. Disconnect the caliper brake trailer arm and attach to a steel carabiner that is but leave the brake lever in place as it has a attached to the bicycle frame (Photos 6 & 7). Ensure mounting bracket that will be used to mount the cable that the cable is loose enough so that it does not to the trailer frame. interfere with the movement of the trailer hitch.
The best way to contain the cable itself is to locate it Attach the other end of the cable to the bicycle frame within the trailer arm. as seen in Photo 8.
To do this, enlarge an existing hole near the end of The safety catch cable is now in place and ready for the trailer arm (Photo 2) and run the cable through the inspection (Photo 9). hollow trailer arm and pull it out of the trailer arm through the enlarged hole (Photo 3).
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 13 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 14 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 15 Step 10: Making the Wooden Flatbed
In keeping with the underlying theme of reusing diameter than the diameter of the screw you are using discarded items, I chose to use wood salvaged from to fasten the boards together (Photo 3). unwanted oak pallets to make the wooden flatbed. Once you have the short board fastened to the top of You will need enough boards to cover the length of the three long boards, place a second short board at the trailer frame. In addition you will need three the bottom of the long boards just as was done with shorter boards for supports. the first short board and fasten as seen in Photo 4.
Start by separating suitable boards from a pallet free Finally place the third short board midway between from oil or other contaminants as seen in Photo 1. the two short boards and fasten (Photo 5).
Sand the boards and lay faceup with a space of about To further strengthen the flatbed, I drilled holes .5 inches (13 mm) between the boards. Place one of through the boards and attached bolts .25 inches (6 the short support boards underneath the long boards mm) in diameter and 2 inches long (51 mm) long. I roughly 2 inches (51 mm) from the top of the long used two bolts per board at each place where the boards, oriented perpendicular to the long boards as board was supported by the short board as seen in seen in Photo 2. Draw lines where the boards Photo 6. intersect and label as needed. As seen in Photo 7, I made sure to place the location Flip the boards facedown and reposition. Drill holes of the bolts so that the bolt would also secure the through the short board into the long boards below fasteners which secure the flatbed to the trailer frame. taking care not to drill completely through the lower boards. The hole should be just slightly smaller in
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 16 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 17 Step 11: Adding Reflectors
To finish the trailer, add reflectors to the rear of the trailer. Start by cutting a board 14 inches (356 mm) long and attach it to the end of the flatbed trailer with a hinge as seen in Photo 1.
Flip the flatbed rightside up and place two reflectors and secure with wood screws as seen in Photo 2.
Photos 3 and 4 show how the reflectors add visibility during the day and night.
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 18 Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 19 Step 12: Securing the Flatbed to the Frame
Place the flatbed on the bicycle trailer, and align into its final position on the trailer frame as seen in Photo 1.
Secure the wooden flatbed to the frame with .75 inch (19mm) and 1 inch (25 mm) conduit supports (Photo 2) to fasten the wooden platform to the trailer frame.
The Flatbed Bicycle Trailer is done!
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 20 Step 13: Safety Considerations
It is a good idea to practice towing the flatbed bicycle damaging to the aluminum frame. The wheels have trailer, making right and left turns and braking. It is steel rims but again, the original design was a stroller best to ride in areas with bicycle lanes or roads with for a young child. All of the fasteners used to wide shoulders. construct the trailer are steel but not rated for use in constructing a trailer. The flatbed bicycle trailer is made primarily for loads that are lightweight. I made this flatbed trailer without Hauling anything too heavy could result in failure of sidewalls to keep the weight down, relying on straps the trailer, fasteners and connectors. Any failure while to secure the load. in motion could result in injuries and damaged goods.
My plan is to use it to primarily haul groceries, Hauling heavy loads would also affect handling of the lightweight building materials and recycling/garbage bicycle while in motion and increase braking items. distances.
Hauling loads that are too heavy would most likely be
Step 14: Maintenance
Keeping up with trailer maintenance is another way to may cause some of the fasteners to loosen over time. stay safe. Therefore it is important to check fasteners periodically and retighten as needed. Because this is a no-weld project there are numerous fasteners with screws and bolts. While lock washers Maintaining proper air pressure in the tires is and lock bolts were used for most fasteners, the important as well. vibrations from riding on smooth and rough roads
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 21 Step 15: Final Thoughts
The Flatbed Bicycle Trailer is easy to make using hand tools and an electric drill. Using discarded items keeps costs down and allows us to do our part in reducing contributions to the landfill.
Best of all, the Flatbed Bicycle Trailer allows us to expand our use of the bicycle in that we can transport lightweight items that are large and bulky. Using our bicycles instead of cars whenever we can is always a good thing.
I have a very similar old jogging stroller that I want to convert to a bike trailer, so this is good to see. I'm glad to see caster hitches are getting used more! I used one on my first bike trailer project (kid- to-cargo conversion, which I plan to finally post in a couple of days ;) ) and it works extremely well. I'm planning to use them on all of my trailers, and maybe even on both ends of each trailer, so I can do a train. I did my hitch a bit differently, though. What's the weird bike frame?
Hello Ian! Glad to know that you are a fan of the caster hitch. I look forward to seeing photos your trailer/s!
The amazing bike you saw in the photos is my Montague Paratrooper!! It is a folding bike, and was used by paratroopers who would leap out of airplanes with the folded bike and parachute to the ground. Once on the ground, the bike was unfolded and ridden to the next destination.
https://www.montaguebikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Paratrooper-Airdrop-6x4.jpg
I don't leap out of airplanes with it but I do take it with me on the train as carry-on luggage. When the train arrives at my station, I leap out of the train, unfold the paratrooper and ride off to my next destination.
https://www.montaguebikes.com/product/paratrooper/
love the hitch
Hi chuckstake! The hitch is amazing in its own way. It is facinating to watch how it instantly adjusts to the movement of the bike and trailer. When I first hitched the trailer to my bike the hitch instantly
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 22 rotated 180 degrees when I released my hold. The laws of gravity and physics operating faster than the eye can see!
Some good ideas in this Instructable. And a few more in similar builds: https://www.instructables.com/id
Hello arvevans! Thanks for checking this out! I agree with you on the great ideas that others have posted. It seems like there are so many creative ways to do things.
One question. What prevents the hitch from rotating about both ends until the hitch pin is horizontal? Going around a corner then would be disastrous. Perhaps the oscillations in normal use return it to vertical?
Hello sconnors! The hitch is very dynamic and is constantly in motion as the trailer and bicycle are rolling down the road. The three-directional movement of the hitch along with the weight of the trailer arm seems to return and keep the hitch pin in a vertical position. I have made left and right turns with no problem.
It looks like a properly done caster hitch to me, as far as the arrangement of axes goes. The 'vertical' axes of the two casters are perpendicular to each other when the trailer is behind the bike. Only when turning left sharply will they be close to in line, and nobody turns so consistently that it would have time to rotate much, if at all, before the 'vertical' axes were no longer in line.
Nice build. Your project mirrors a project that I did as a teen 40 years ago, except back then we used a couple old bike wheels and lumber. Our connection point was to a universal joint connected just beneath the seat. This allowed us to make sharp left or right turns. I used to use the trailer as as my friends and I toured the construction sites after hours collecting beer bottles left by the construction workers. We'd score about two cases of 24 a day during the summer. Then we were off to the beer store for the refund. These trailers are terrific for hauling lots of different things and are certainly an eco friendly solution for those that want to leave their pickups in the driveway. And it was surprising how much of a load we could actually haul. Of course we made sure our brakes were in to notch condition before setting out. Hats off to you for creation! Good job.
Hello COREi64! What a great story about your 70's Teen Trailer! It's fun to read about the things we did as teens to earn money. My teen effort to make money was to collect worms at a worm farm to supply the local fishermen. I collected thousands and thousands of worms that summer. I even dreamed about them at night. It was worth it to me though because I made enough money to buy a new 10 speed bike!
Great story! My wife had a good comment about my story when I told her about it. She was surprised that the construction workers building houses would drink all day long. In my youth I
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 23 recall the workers building houses ALWAYS had a stubby beer bottle or wine bottle in their hands. We'd pick up wine bottles and beer bottles by the case every day.
Funny how what was apparently acceptable behavior (for them I guess) back then is not acceptable behavior today! For us it was great pocket money!
Like "Corei64" I also built one back in the early 1970s. I used two front forks from junk Stingray Bicycles ( who knew they'd be collector items?) and my trailer hitch was a piece of flat stock steel bent so it could attach to my rear heavy duty rack. I was 12-13 years old then and I had not one, but 2 newspaper routes with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. One was in my immediate neighborhood and the other was several blocks away. I used the trailer on Sundays when the paper was thickest. I was able to load all of my papers at once instead of having to make multiple trips back home to refill. Your idea of using the stroller was great! But for those of you who can't find an old "jogging" stroller, check the local thrift stores for small toddler-size bicycles, then use the front forks and wheels. But get the junk/damaged ones and leave the Star Wars and Princess ones for the kiddies :).
Hello Cliffystones! Another great 70's teen trailer story!! As teens without cars, our bicycles were our best friends! They expanded our horizons and were foundational to our schemes and plans. Your bike enabled you to take on two newspaper routes while mine took me to the worm farm (see below)! Thanks for sharing.
NIce job! I made something similar for a motor scooter. I used wheelbarrow wheels. I also made the attachment high behind the seat so that as you lean the scooter into the corner it helped to steer the trailer in that direction. Not 100% it helped though. PS I think you have a very cool upmarket land fill compared to ours in South Africa :-)
Hey Spike! Your trailer sounds interesting as well! Did the wheelbarrow wheels hold up well following your scooter?
Yes they did. They carried a lot of weight but did not do huge distances. The trailer and 50cc scooter were used to carry 4 or 5 20Lt cans of diesel around the harbour on Corfu for re-fueling charter yachts. If you were to do a higher mileage then it might make sense to fit them with proper ball bearing races. It was some time ago now - I wish I could find a photo!
I agree, the flexible joint to the bike is the most complex part having to accommodate the relative bike movement but at the same time carry the load. Also attachment to the bike is also important so as not to stress or warp the bike frame. I am quite jealous of the quality scrap you have there! I did not have any luck finding reasonably sized spoked wheels locally. PS Dude! Oil that chain! ;)
Flatbed Bicycle Trailer: Page 24 Hello MC! Good points everyone needs to consider when building a trailer. Everyone needs a good scrap source! Too bad there isn't anything in your area. BTW, my bike thanks you for the oil recommendation!
Awesome! It seems like the wheel position would put a strain at the attachment point to the bike. How did you determine their placement?
Hi Ryan, I didn't think too much about wheel placement as I just went with the original configuration of the wheels. I also had in mind that I would only be using the trailer for lightweight items, so I wasn't too concerned about stress points. I try to place the items on the trailer just in front of the trailer axle so that the trailer is carrying most of the weight. I hope my assumptions are fine and that the trailer will serve me well over time.
Nice usage of discarded items. I've built trailers to pull behind ATV's using bike cycle rims. Amazing how much weight they can support. Only issue I had was when I over loaded the cart, the side forces when turning caught up with me. So bike rims work and can carry an amazing amount of weight. But be careful on side loads when traversing hills or slopes that increase side loading. But I have to say, ingenuity is the mother of invention and the best way to create things. Bravo sir, Bravo.
Right. 20 inch wheels are a great deal stronger when side loaded than larger sizes; lighter and lower too.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with bike trailers. It is good to know that you have had success in using the trailers you made and that they do handle heavier loads. As you have experienced, the laws of gravity and the laws of physics always win when challenged, so I will keep in mind your words of wisdom about side loads while traversing slopes. Thanks for the encouraging words!
Wow, this looks great! Clever use of materials, too. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Uncle Kudzu! I am glad you liked the flatbed bike trailer! Half the fun in making things is to come up with ways to repurpose unwanted items. I pass by a metal recycling donation center as I cycle to work and can't help but visually scope out all of the interesting metal objects they receive. It's probably a good thing that they are closed when I pass by...
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