Little Hawk
09-05-2008, 06:32 AM
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/andy1canada/KootenaysBike-Cart2.jpg
Howdy,
Finally found the couple of pics of my bike-cart my buddy & I built 3-yrs back.
What this thing did was turn my old 200' into a haulin'-machine for game, firewood and even my buddy himself when he needed a lift (2or3 kms) back to his bike.
The thing handles like a dream and mostly you don't even know it's behind you. The only sore spot is that with the standard automotive receiver/coupler that we used (cheap & strong) the cart has limited rotation on the ball of the hitch in the event of a wipeout. One could easily devise a reach that has full rotation capability but since I haven't had a bad fall (yet) I'm not too worried about it.
First pic is buddy Ray standing by his old faithful CT90, second is of me after loading the whitey for the 8-km ride back to camp.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/andy1canada/KootenaysBike-Cart.jpg
Don't know why this thing only let me paste one of the two pics. As you can see it put the link only for the second pic.??? I don't pretend to know what I'm doing with this Photobucket thing.
Here's the skinny on how we built it.
You need:
- one furniture moving cart with the inflatable 10-inch wheels
- one 1 7/8 or 2-inch receiver and coupler (cheap at Crappy Tire)
- one wheelbarrow tray. (I chose plastic to keep the weight down)
- assorted nuts & bolts to attach the tray
- one 5/8ths (I think) X 32 to 34-inch rod for the axle... (the stock width
on the furniture dolly is not wide enough for stability)
- approx 4/ft of 1 1/2 - 2" angle iron (bed rail works good)
- approx 4/ft of 3/4 or 1" angle iron for additional axle/struts
- approx 2/ft of square or round tubing (bent to the correct angle) to make a reach.
- square or round tubing to bend/weld to bike to then weld 1/4-inch plate to with hole drilled for trailer-ball
With the furniture dolly behind bike, tilt it forward (with the wheelbarrow tray resting on top of it) till you determine the angle you want. Then figure the best place for the tray mounts (1 1/2 inch angle iron) for good support of the tray bed. Weld the tray mount bars then drill them for 3/8ths bolts.
Use large washers inside the tray (or metal bar straps) to spread out the purchase on the tray.
You can also use the factory strut assembly already on the furniture dolly. Once the longer axle is tack-welded in place, measure the width of the wheel hub (plus and extra 3/4" or so for the outer washer & cotter-pin hole) then weld on the heavy backing washer on the axle. It is behind this washer where you will attach the ends of the two additional struts for extra support.
Mounting the platform atop your bike will be a real custom endeavor. We basically extended the seat support and made a steel loop out behind the seat onto which we welded a piece of plate with the ball mounted on it.
This thing weighs next to nothing and I love it.
If you look around you can find these tires for about $10 each. (made in China but you get: tire, tube, rim & bearings) I don't get more than one two-week trip out of these cause they ain't designed to move over rough ground at 40 mph. Always take a spare and spare cotter-pins.
Any more questions on how to build one of these beauties, feel free to PM me.
Cheers,
Terry
Howdy,
Finally found the couple of pics of my bike-cart my buddy & I built 3-yrs back.
What this thing did was turn my old 200' into a haulin'-machine for game, firewood and even my buddy himself when he needed a lift (2or3 kms) back to his bike.
The thing handles like a dream and mostly you don't even know it's behind you. The only sore spot is that with the standard automotive receiver/coupler that we used (cheap & strong) the cart has limited rotation on the ball of the hitch in the event of a wipeout. One could easily devise a reach that has full rotation capability but since I haven't had a bad fall (yet) I'm not too worried about it.
First pic is buddy Ray standing by his old faithful CT90, second is of me after loading the whitey for the 8-km ride back to camp.
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/andy1canada/KootenaysBike-Cart.jpg
Don't know why this thing only let me paste one of the two pics. As you can see it put the link only for the second pic.??? I don't pretend to know what I'm doing with this Photobucket thing.
Here's the skinny on how we built it.
You need:
- one furniture moving cart with the inflatable 10-inch wheels
- one 1 7/8 or 2-inch receiver and coupler (cheap at Crappy Tire)
- one wheelbarrow tray. (I chose plastic to keep the weight down)
- assorted nuts & bolts to attach the tray
- one 5/8ths (I think) X 32 to 34-inch rod for the axle... (the stock width
on the furniture dolly is not wide enough for stability)
- approx 4/ft of 1 1/2 - 2" angle iron (bed rail works good)
- approx 4/ft of 3/4 or 1" angle iron for additional axle/struts
- approx 2/ft of square or round tubing (bent to the correct angle) to make a reach.
- square or round tubing to bend/weld to bike to then weld 1/4-inch plate to with hole drilled for trailer-ball
With the furniture dolly behind bike, tilt it forward (with the wheelbarrow tray resting on top of it) till you determine the angle you want. Then figure the best place for the tray mounts (1 1/2 inch angle iron) for good support of the tray bed. Weld the tray mount bars then drill them for 3/8ths bolts.
Use large washers inside the tray (or metal bar straps) to spread out the purchase on the tray.
You can also use the factory strut assembly already on the furniture dolly. Once the longer axle is tack-welded in place, measure the width of the wheel hub (plus and extra 3/4" or so for the outer washer & cotter-pin hole) then weld on the heavy backing washer on the axle. It is behind this washer where you will attach the ends of the two additional struts for extra support.
Mounting the platform atop your bike will be a real custom endeavor. We basically extended the seat support and made a steel loop out behind the seat onto which we welded a piece of plate with the ball mounted on it.
This thing weighs next to nothing and I love it.
If you look around you can find these tires for about $10 each. (made in China but you get: tire, tube, rim & bearings) I don't get more than one two-week trip out of these cause they ain't designed to move over rough ground at 40 mph. Always take a spare and spare cotter-pins.
Any more questions on how to build one of these beauties, feel free to PM me.
Cheers,
Terry