Advice wanted re bikes and trailer combo

T-Maxx

I have a Erde 142 trailer (with soft canvas cover) and would like to take a few bikes along this year.

The available ABS cover adds quite a bit of volume which is nice but it's extremely overprized, add the necessary bike racks etc and from a cost perspective this option becomes a non-runner.

A simpler roof rack type system - not cheap either mind you - is problematic with regards to the attachment mechanisms and interface with the cover.

I've thought of somehow attaching a normal bike rack to the trailer's drawbar, but it's quite short and turning movement could become an issue.

Has anyone fabricated something that works and wouldn't mind sharing? Or any other possible solutions that I haven't thought of?

cdaly_

I just bolted a pair of 1" box steel bars across the trailer frame and mounted bike racks to that. That would work with your soft cover but not the ABS cover. For that you'd have to come up with some kind of riser outside the cover.

From the perspective of adding volume to the trailer, if you wait a couple of weeks, there'll be thousands of redundant election posters which, together with a hand riveter, can be fabricated into all sorts of lightweight covers, storage boxes etc. 9-12 posters should make a fine cover for the Erde142.

Regarding a tow-hitch rack, you could consider attaching a tow-ball to the top front of the trailer body as opposed to the drawbar and mounting the bike rack on that. You would have to do some reinforcement work to the body for such a mount. That would allow the bikes to overhang the trailer but they would likely foul the ABS cover.

T-Maxx

Bolting anything to the top of the trailer is going to allow water to leak in, unless the detail is extremely well thought through.

I can live with the volume as is, it's just that the abs cover makes it so much easier to fab up a rack on top.

martyc5674

I put a towball onto the drawbar of my trailer, allows me to clip my Thule bike carrier onto the drawbar..

cdaly_

How did it work for height clearance or fouling the back of the car? Also, did the drilling for the towball weaken the drawbar or did you fit it in some other fashion?

T-Maxx

martyc5674 wrote: »

I put a towball onto the drawbar of my trailer, allows me to clip my Thule bike carrier onto the drawbar..

This is the direction I'm leaning towards atm. I need to check out prices and see how the bikes will impact on the back of the car as the drawbar is pretty darn short on the 142.

Any chance of a pic of your setup please Marty?

martyc5674

Yes no prob..pm me an email address and I'll send you a pic.
Marty.

martyc5674

cdaly_ wrote: »

How did it work for height clearance or fouling the back of the car? Also, did the drilling for the towball weaken the drawbar or did you fit it in some other fashion?

No prob at all with clearance,can even open the boot which is a tailgate...the towball came with about a M20 or so threaded side(needed I guess if your towing a horsebox)...I milled it down to m10 or m12 and threaded it. My drawbar is 50mm box section IIRC so drilling a 10mm hole in it wasn't going to weaken it. I also slid a spacer into the drawbar to prevent it collapsing upon tightening of towball