Haulin' Colin

Standard Trailer Features

1. MIG welded steel frame.
2. Exterior grade plywood deck.
3. Secure, stable, easy to use hitch.
4. Durable powder coat finish.
5. Quality wheels & tires.
6. Reflectors and flag.

MIG welded steel frame

Steel is a wonderful material. It is relatively cheap, very durable, easily welded and formed, and the most recycled metal in the world. Steel is especially great for bicycle frames and the properties that make it so are also applicable to trailers. The A36 structural steel I use requires no specialty welding processes or heat treating, and can be repaired by anyone with arc welding or brazing experience.

Exterior Grade plywood deck

I use exterior grade AC plywood for the trailer deck. It is lightweight, but still very strong, and looks beautiful with the "A" side up. I treat it with a clear finish after cutting to size for additional weatherproofing.. The plywood is screwed down to the trailer frame. Should the plywood ever break, it is easy to remove the screws and attach a new sheet.

Secure, stable, easy to use hitch

The hitch is the part that attaches to your bicycle frame and provides a pivot point between the bicycle and trailer. It is the heart of a smoothly functioning trailer. A good hitch must balance several qualities.

First, it must provide a stable connection with a wide range of movement. My hitches clamp to the chainstay and seatstay of a bicycle, just forward of the dropout (where your rear axles goes). This puts the pivot point in line with, but just under the level of the rear axle of the bicycle. With the hitch in this location, the trailer is very stable, even while standing to pedal with a heavy load. The piece of hardware that allows the turning and tipping of the bicycle is called a rod end. It's basically an eyebolt with a bearing trapped in the eye.

The second feature of a good hitch is a secure clamping system. The hitch must attach to the bicycle frame without damaging it, but with enough force to prevent slipping. This is especially important with trailers meant to carry heavy loads. My hitch uses specially shaped clamps to hug the bicycle tubes, distributing the force over a large area so as not to damage the frame. I make these clamps in a variety of sizes to accomodate different sizes of bicycle frame tubing.

Last but not least, a good hitch must be easy to use. My hitch adapts to a variety of bicycle frame sizes and can be quickly attached with a single 5mm allen wrench. For different tubing sizes, the clamps can be swapped out while the bolts are retained in the main hitch body. There are no loose washers or nuts to juggle. Once installed, the trailer can be connected and disconnected by pulling out a single locking pin.

Durable powder coat finish

Unlike conventional wet paint, powder coating uses a dry powder which is attracted to the metal via an electric charge. The powder is then baked on in a large oven. There are many advantages to this method, including the elimination of the toxic solvents used to keep conventional paint wet, and the ability to produce a very thick, tough finish.

Quality wheels & tires

Most of my trailers are designed for 20" wheels. Made for BMX riding, these wheels can easily take the abuses of a heavily laden trailer. Large, slick, high volume tires provide a smooth, gentle ride for the trailer contents.

Reflectors and flag

Two rear reflectors and a flag are standard safety features. The reflectors screw into two tabs on the rear corners of the trailer. These tabs will also accept rack mount style blinky lights. The flag slides into a tube built into the left side of the trailer.