Bike trailers

[coffeejo]

I am rather taken with the idea of taking a tent, some camping gear and the dog and going Somewhere for a few days but since the dog is limited as to how many miles she can run, a trailer seems like a sensible way forward.

I've had a look online, but there's a myriad of choices and my head is a bit

Has anyone got any experience of dog trailers, or would one for children be just as suitable? Or ... would it be a relatively simple job to convert a standard cargo trailer?

Help!

 

[zexel]

Sorry I can't be of more help, but the camping/trailer dog idea sounds ace.

Not sure they make a trailer big enough for my dog!

 

[mark barker]

My kids trailer is soft bottomed, and when my dog stood in it she wasn't happy at all. Maybe a solid based kiddy trailer would be OK? On the odd occasion that I need to use this trailer for load carrying I put a sheet of MDF in the bottom, but that gets a touch heavy!

 

[ufkacbln]

Forgetting the dog for a minute........

Trailers are excellent ways of carrying tents, sleeping bags and all the other gubbins. However this adds weight, and the towing bike will need to have good brakes to cater for this.

Equally good balanced packing with the heavy stuff at the base is essential to maintain stability and make it easier to pull.

Now back to the dog........

There are excellent dog trailers, in many ways slight adaptations of the kid type trailers

However as the dog is on the base, it would mean putting weight up higher makin a less stable load.

How big is your dog?

 

[Mawsley]

My dog (English Springer) has a pathological hatred of our trailer, he simply won't remain in it.

Might be worth going to somewhere local and renting one for a go.

 

[coffeejo]

Hmm, I can see this might require more thought. She's a Labrador, came in at 26kg last time I weighed her.

 

[Crackle]

She's a light Labrador then. Mine is 35Kg and there is no way I would contemplate towing him in one and I've thought about it. I liken it to towing the kids on their trail-gators when they were small. The furthest I did was 17 miles and that was with ocassional assistance from the stoker and they only weighed about 15Kg at the time. Ruddy hard work.

There's also the small matter of getting him in one. I'm not entirely sure how he'd react, he has some phobias about new things.

I'm not saying don't do it though, just don't underestimate it and to show it can be done, read this

 

[coffeejo]

She's small for the breed and I try to keep her lean, especially since having her spayed last year.

Thanks for the link, that's fascinating. My idea would be to make her do at least the hills herself.

Would it work better to load the majority of the equipment onto the bike itself, using front and rear panniers, leaving the trailer free for her?

 

[ufkacbln]

She's small for the breed and I try to keep her lean, especially since having her spayed last year.

Thanks for the link, that's fascinating. My idea would be to make her do at least the hills herself.

Would it work better to load the majority of the equipment onto the bike itself, using front and rear panniers, leaving the trailer free for her?

May I be impertinent?

Why not try a B&B tour first - there are lots of pet friendly ones around that would allow a well trained dog.

Then once you know you can cope with that then add the tent etc to the weight

 

[Gareth]

Sorry I can't be of more help, but the camping/trailer dog idea sounds ace.

Not sure they make a trailer big enough for my dog!

But I do and often a bespoke bike trailer hand built by me costs about the same as run of the mill cargo trailers available in the shops, is often lighter, and a lot stronger.


example, my personal utility trailer is now 12 years old, has covered many thousands of miles, and has carried several loads in excess of 100 kg. The design allows me to fit up to 4 pannier bags; one in front of, and one behind of each of the wheels leaving the cargo deck free.

 

[palinurus]

I remember an article in the CTC mag sometime in the last couple of years describing a (pretty laid-back) cycle camping tour with a couple of kids and a dog. I had a clear out recently but maybe someone on here has it?

Or.. members download here, June / July 2010 (don't forget the dog)

 

[palinurus]

Took a while to load the pdf... not a trailer but a load-carrying bike. Some relevance though.

 

[tubbycyclist]

Met a couple with a rather large chocolate labrador last week whilst cycling in the Cotswolds. They were on a tandem trike and used a DoggyRide trailer. One advantage of the trike was that the combination was rock solid, unlike a solo which can sometimes be a handful whilst manoeuvring a loaded trailer. I spoke to the owner about it. Apparently the most useful features are the leash hooks, and the non-slip rigid mat, to prevent the dog slipping and they had the largest size trailer - their lab was a typical shape for an older labrador.


Their lab seemed perfectly happy in the trailer, and they were doing around a 50 mile trip that day. I have contemplated a similar idea with my Cocker Spaniel but not had the temerity to try it out yet.