Back when my kids were young, I had one of those bike trailers that you could toss the brats into, hook up to the bike, and drag them away from the TV for a few hours at the park.
It was a really nice trailer. I could dump a hundred pounds in it, hook it up to the trike, and barely even feel it back there.
A couple of decades have gone by since then. The aluminum frame, bearings, wheels, hitch, and all of the other mechanical parts are still in great shape. Unfortunately, the nylon covers didn't fare quite as well. They are now dry-rotted and pretty much useless.
So I figured, why not tear it down and rebuild it?
I would love to buy a new, purpose-built cargo trailer. As a matter of fact, here is the one I really want:
VEVOR Bike Cargo Trailer
Unfortunately, there is one small problem with that plan.
I can't afford it.
At this point, it's basically just a wooden box on wheels.
The floor is made from 1/2-inch plywood. The sides are 1/4-inch hardboard—the same kind of stuff you find on the back of inexpensive furniture and pegboards.
The blue is nothing fancy. It's just some cheap vinyl wrap I put on it because, well, if you're going to build something out of plywood and hardboard, you might as well dress it up a little.
It may not be the prettiest cargo trailer in the world, but I'm hoping that with a little work, I can turn this old trailer into something that will actually be useful.
And I have a few very good reasons for wanting a trailer for my trike.
Fluids
I'm a Type 2 diabetic, and one of my problems is that I stay thirsty pretty much all the time—especially when I'm out riding my trike.
I've been carrying two water bottles and a thermos, which gives me about a gallon of water.
That sounds like plenty, and it is...until you're riding around outside on a hot day.
The problem is that the water bottles get hot, and after they've been sitting around for a while, everything inside them gets pretty nasty.
What I really want is a small cooler that I can put in the trailer. That way I can keep my drinks cool for a lot longer and make those longer rides a whole lot more enjoyable.
Radio
The next reason is radio.
I want to be able to take some of my radio equipment with me when I go riding. The idea is to be able to stop at a park, set up somewhere comfortable, and operate portable for a couple of hours.
The trailer gives me enough room to carry the radio equipment, batteries, antennas, and whatever else I need without trying to figure out how to strap all of it onto the trike.
It also means I don't have to choose between taking my radio gear or taking everything else I need for the ride.
Food
Food is another big one.
For the same reason I need to carry plenty of fluids, I need to have something to eat with me. I also need to have my diabetic medication along for the ride.
Having a trailer means I don't have to cram everything into a backpack or find creative ways to attach it to the trike.
I can have the things I need with me and still have room left over.
Video
And then there is the video equipment.
I'd like to take along a few pieces of video gear so I can record some of my adventures and share them with you.
I'm hoping to document some of these rides, the places I visit, the radio operations, and probably a whole bunch of other things that seem like a good idea at the time.
That's one of the reasons I'm excited about rebuilding this trailer.
It's not going to be just a trailer for hauling stuff.
It's going to become part of the whole adventure.
So that's where the project stands right now.
I started with an old trailer that has been sitting around for a couple of decades. The mechanical parts are still good, but the original fabric has given up the ghost.
Rather than throw the whole thing away, I'm going to see if I can turn that old frame into a useful cargo trailer.
I'm not a professional builder, and I'm certainly not the best craftsman in the world.
But I figure I can probably hobble something together.
Let's see what I can build.
