I ain't goin to lie I did want something that moved all axis like a trolley swivel wheel but just haven't found anything like that yet. Tbh it ain't goin to be used for 2 much weight just the odd bits of metal I find here an there. Yh a stupid idea I no but really wanted to get started an With the snow just didn't won't to wait. I'm abit in patient. Yes using a sealey mighty mig 100 using flux core. As I'm new to welding I didn't Evan no that could happen but defiantly won't make that mistake twiceHmm: I'm not convinced attaching the hitch to the bike post is the ideal way to be pulling a bit of weight. OK I guess if you are pulling something un-valuable like a child at no real speed on a Sunday through the park.
From what I have learned since using the trailer I built -
Ideally you want the hitch to move around all axis. Think when you are 'leaning in a corner'; you want the bike to tilt but trailer to remain flat. Or, if you are bumping up curbs or such.
I used the wheelchair castor as it is what I had laying around, but equally, If you have any spare bike wheels perhaps you can butcher the axle and bearings into a swiverly thing. Hack a compressor coupler to that and you have your release mech.
If I were tempted to build a MK2 I would definitely think of building in some sort of 'absorption' into the towing arm. Cannot remember the correct terminology but 'buffeting or snatching' will have to doThis becomes more apparent for me if I tow heavy loads.
**I would be very wary of welding indoors! The hot sparks WILL damage your glass and floor (Or you may be making space on the trailer for a tent!)
Are you using shielded wire, hence no shrould?
Finally: Don't underestimate how much damage you can do to yourself welding without covering up - please!
- Thread starter Hammy
- Start date
Plus haven't got no fancy tools like metal bending devices otherwise I would of put it to the back wheel. Plus if I get a kids bike trailer I can then just take the seat post hitch off and attach that.
Just need to get it made up for now to get the gas bottles before they end up getting taken by the council
Just need to get it made up for now to get the gas bottles before they end up getting taken by the council
james butler
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most trailer hitches are a pretty tough spring that attaches between the trailer and the bike, it allows movement in any direction and takes a fair bit of weight.
i would have thought an old trampoline spring would be ideal.
for easy removal, my trailer has a piece of pipe thats attached to the trailer, this slides over a smaller piece of bar secured to the bike rear wheel lug.
a hole drilled through the pipe and the bar lines up when slid together so a r clip gos through it securing it together.
i would have thought an old trampoline spring would be ideal.
for easy removal, my trailer has a piece of pipe thats attached to the trailer, this slides over a smaller piece of bar secured to the bike rear wheel lug.
a hole drilled through the pipe and the bar lines up when slid together so a r clip gos through it securing it together.
Have you got any pictures ?
Spot the welders dog
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Yes you have; use the welder!
One way to form a curve in box for instance: Cut horizontal slits down the lenght, pull into shape, and then weld the slits. The same techinque as I used to pull the tow arm into a curve.
One admentment I keep fogetting to do is to fit a rear mast to warn followers of the trailer. Twice I have been rear-ended whilst queueing in traffic!
Gareth0123
You'll need 16 pigs to do the job in one sitting!
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As many of you already know, I make cargo carrying bicycles, tricycles, utility quads, bike trailers and a whole host of other associated pedal powered vehicles, machines and items. Although these days I do seem to be spending a lot of time doing design and contract fabricating and welding for a lot of the smaller to medium size European cargo bike manufacturers. That also includes Carla Cargo who are mentioned a few posts above this one.
By the way here is the link to a set of Carla Cargo Open Source plans & Instructions License: Carla Cargo crowd of Carla Cargo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Back in 2010 I did an awful lot of research into bicycle cargo trailers, drawbars and connection/tow hitch positions and by far the safest, most versatile and with the greatest steering arc is the over the rear wheel type of drawbar and the optimum position for the hitch is forward of the rear wheel’s axle/centre; after all this is where articulated commercial vehicles have the 5th wheel trailer connection located. I also concluded that an imposed drawbar load (AKA tongue weight) of between 10-15% gross trailer weight was ideal but it became dangerous when the imposed drawbar load was greater than 20% of gross. This did not surprise me as these imposed load figures were almost identical to the tests I conducted when I was a development engineer for Sanderson/Claas/Caterpillar.
My trials and tests also indicated the best position for the hitch to be fixed to is in the area of the top of the rear triangle and I use the top of the seat stays to fix hitches to. Basically in this position the loads are easily transferred into the rest of the bike frame and across several welds: especially on aluminium frames.
Fixing the hitch on the chain stays near to the axle is not as safe as it may seem and I cannot understand why it has become the normal position to attach a drawbar to a bicycle. My tests concluded that when a hitch for a cargo trailer is fixed to a chain-stay the bike and trailer can easily be jack-knifed in either direction and as the skid begins the forces from the trailer actually push up and reduce the physical ground contact and therefore friction of the bicycle’s rear tyre which of course compounds this issue. Chain-stays can also be pushed as far as flexing and bending and this will affect the wheel alignment and efficiency of the brakes; both Vee and disc brakes.
OK, I am not going to let you into all of the discoveries I made and all of my secrets, but I am going to show how in 2009 I upgraded the hitch on my steel tube cargo bike trailer I original built in 1999 and is still in regular usage by me today in 2018.
This particular set-up is based around an M10 quick release ball joint which is commonly used on car bonnet, steel cabinet doors and access panel struts. These can be sourced for only £3 or £4 from most component suppliers and engineering factors. My one secret I will let you into is that although I have never encountered a single problem with this M10 ball joint even towing loads up to 125kg, I have since upgraded my “on the shelf” stock to M12 ones to reduce my inventory and improve purchase discount rates.
So here are a few photos I took back in 2009. The components and materials I used are as follows, M10 quick release ball joint. M8 BSP cap screws, M8 nylock nuts, and M8 flat washers. The plates are made from 3mm MS and the bar is 16Ø MS mitred and welded, drilled and tapped to suit. You will also notice that I have made provision for a chain and padlock. This serves two purposes:
1) Security when parked up.
2) As a safety chain if the hitch should ever become detached in use (which it never has).
By the way here is the link to a set of Carla Cargo Open Source plans & Instructions License: Carla Cargo crowd of Carla Cargo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Back in 2010 I did an awful lot of research into bicycle cargo trailers, drawbars and connection/tow hitch positions and by far the safest, most versatile and with the greatest steering arc is the over the rear wheel type of drawbar and the optimum position for the hitch is forward of the rear wheel’s axle/centre; after all this is where articulated commercial vehicles have the 5th wheel trailer connection located. I also concluded that an imposed drawbar load (AKA tongue weight) of between 10-15% gross trailer weight was ideal but it became dangerous when the imposed drawbar load was greater than 20% of gross. This did not surprise me as these imposed load figures were almost identical to the tests I conducted when I was a development engineer for Sanderson/Claas/Caterpillar.
My trials and tests also indicated the best position for the hitch to be fixed to is in the area of the top of the rear triangle and I use the top of the seat stays to fix hitches to. Basically in this position the loads are easily transferred into the rest of the bike frame and across several welds: especially on aluminium frames.
Fixing the hitch on the chain stays near to the axle is not as safe as it may seem and I cannot understand why it has become the normal position to attach a drawbar to a bicycle. My tests concluded that when a hitch for a cargo trailer is fixed to a chain-stay the bike and trailer can easily be jack-knifed in either direction and as the skid begins the forces from the trailer actually push up and reduce the physical ground contact and therefore friction of the bicycle’s rear tyre which of course compounds this issue. Chain-stays can also be pushed as far as flexing and bending and this will affect the wheel alignment and efficiency of the brakes; both Vee and disc brakes.
OK, I am not going to let you into all of the discoveries I made and all of my secrets, but I am going to show how in 2009 I upgraded the hitch on my steel tube cargo bike trailer I original built in 1999 and is still in regular usage by me today in 2018.
This particular set-up is based around an M10 quick release ball joint which is commonly used on car bonnet, steel cabinet doors and access panel struts. These can be sourced for only £3 or £4 from most component suppliers and engineering factors. My one secret I will let you into is that although I have never encountered a single problem with this M10 ball joint even towing loads up to 125kg, I have since upgraded my “on the shelf” stock to M12 ones to reduce my inventory and improve purchase discount rates.
So here are a few photos I took back in 2009. The components and materials I used are as follows, M10 quick release ball joint. M8 BSP cap screws, M8 nylock nuts, and M8 flat washers. The plates are made from 3mm MS and the bar is 16Ø MS mitred and welded, drilled and tapped to suit. You will also notice that I have made provision for a chain and padlock. This serves two purposes:
1) Security when parked up.
2) As a safety chain if the hitch should ever become detached in use (which it never has).
Last edited:
Spot the welders dog
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Gareth0123 Nice; I'm sure that'll help Hammy no end with ideas.
Thank you Gareth0123. A lot of good info in there and with me not working with metal prior to this project it's simply straight to the point with no fancy wording I don't understand. Other comments have mentioned ball joints but wen I searched for them I wasn't getting the quick release 1s up and was wondering how I wud fit it but your pics and item list are guna help a lot thank you
james butler
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https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=959#imgrc=w64pefoZmIKJTM:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...9#imgdii=-YbdANqXtfdK5M:&imgrc=miDQWRSC2SqG0M:
you can actually buy the hitches as a replacement
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...9#imgdii=VAof8y9ri87uXM:&imgrc=DEZcqULmS8hYwM:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...9#imgdii=-YbdANqXtfdK5M:&imgrc=miDQWRSC2SqG0M:
you can actually buy the hitches as a replacement
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...9#imgdii=VAof8y9ri87uXM:&imgrc=DEZcqULmS8hYwM:
james butler
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Gareth0123
You'll need 16 pigs to do the job in one sitting!
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@Hammy here is something else for you to throw into your melting pot: simple to make Single wheel (skeleton) folding trailer which can easily handle 2 X full 25 litre water containers.
How cud I fit the m12 quick release into the 1 inch square tube as that's all I have atm ? Well managed to get the 1 bottle before It went with my original hitch idea but defo needs the m12 quick release hitch as its just not Gud to pull
Gareth0123
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Drill your box section through both sides with a 12mm bit on a 20mm centre from the end. Get an M12 connector nut and file until it is a tight fit inside the box section. Across the flats it should be OK, but you may need to take some material off across the points of the hex. Whilst the connector nut is still a tight fit hammer it home into the box section so that two flats of the nut line up with the holes and then weld the nut to the box section through the 2 X 12mm holes you have drilled.
If you look carefully at the photo of my bike trailer above you can see where I filled the holes with weld in the drawbar to fit the hitch.
Which 1 of these do I buy is any of them bigger than 10mm as don't understand the other sizes ? Sorry for the stupid ? But the bigger the better to fit into 1inch square tube
https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/Quick-Release-Spring-Loaded-Ball-Joints-3730-c
https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/Quick-Release-Spring-Loaded-Ball-Joints-3730-c
Gareth0123
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This one: M10
what is the size of your box section, and what is it's wall section?
I am going to have a guess at 25mm X 25mm X 2.5mm wall thickness
what is the size of your box section, and what is it's wall section?
I am going to have a guess at 25mm X 25mm X 2.5mm wall thickness
Thank you Gareth you've been a great help while on this project.
I just wasn't sure on the sizes as some of those Fraction sizes were more expensive so thought they would be bigger
25 X 25 X 2mm
so to finish it properly now put some nuts in the box section use threaded bar to attach it then weld them together ?
I just wasn't sure on the sizes as some of those Fraction sizes were more expensive so thought they would be bigger
25 X 25 X 2mm
so to finish it properly now put some nuts in the box section use threaded bar to attach it then weld them together ?
May be a stupid ? But do I need to grind it down first? And which part the bit connected to the bike or the trailer ? Thanks for the advice tho
