Heavy duty trailer

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
pedalsabout
Posts: 4
Joined: 14 Feb 2021, 2:52pm

Heavy duty trailer

Post by pedalsabout »

Hi,
Can anyone recommend a fairly heavy duty trailer for general use about town (not touring) - carrying lots of groceries, taking stuff to the dump etc. It doesn't need to fold up or be lightweight or anything.
This sort of thing:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/vidaXL-Trailer ... KBNK&psc=1
The ones on here seem quite expensive and not obviously better and weight limit is 40kg which doesn't seem like THAT much:
https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/bicyc ... ck-561829/
Thanks
xerxes
Posts: 142
Joined: 10 May 2013, 7:22pm

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by xerxes »

pedalsabout wrote:The ones on here seem quite expensive and not obviously better and weight limit is 40kg which doesn't seem like THAT much:
https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/bicyc ... ck-561829/
Thanks

What on earth do they mean when they say it can be 'playfully folded'? A few things lost in translation here I think.
Jdsk
Posts: 24640
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Jdsk »

"eenvoudig worden gevouwen".

... easily/ simply

Jonathan
User avatar
gaz
Posts: 14649
Joined: 9 Mar 2007, 12:09pm
Location: Kent

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by gaz »

pedalsabout wrote:... weight limit is 40kg which doesn't seem like THAT much

40kg will most likely get your shopping home but fall short of taking a washing machine to the dump.

My Raleigh Mule is a similar style, I think I've once loaded it up to 50kg. I'm not sure that either I or my bike's brakes would want to haul any more.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
AndyK
Posts: 1498
Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 2:08pm
Location: Mid Hampshire

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by AndyK »

gaz wrote:
pedalsabout wrote:... weight limit is 40kg which doesn't seem like THAT much

40kg will most likely get your shopping home but fall short of taking a washing machine to the dump.

My Raleigh Mule is a similar style, I think I've once loaded it up to 50kg. I'm not sure that either I or my bike's brakes would want to haul any more.

My ancient trailer is also a similar style but slightly smaller dimensions. (Fifty quid from the Freewheel branch in Reading, sometime in the early 'nineties.) I sometimes load it up with three 50-litre bags of manure for a total weight of about 66Kg and I certainly wouldn't want to haul that further than the half-mile to the allotment. Even then the downhill section, on a loose gravel access road with lots of potholes, is hairy. So is the bit where I have to turn right onto the main road from an uphill start, as the ensemble has all the acceleration of (to quote Blackadder) an asthmatic ant with some heavy shopping.

And that's with the weight optimally distributed: the base is exactly the right size for a 50l manure/compost bag laid flat, the manure is dense so the centre of gravity is low, and the load is evenly spread and doesn't shift about much.

Admittedly my old rigid MTB with its U-brake was better at this job than the current one, as the front suspension exacerbates the see-saw effect of the load.

Two bags (44Kg) are manageable over a longer distance. So yeah, a 40Kg weight limit doesn't matter that much because you'd struggle to control much more than that on a trailer of that design, unless all your utility routes are dead flat.

IMG_20201130_153524 (1).jpg
GeekDadZoid
Posts: 166
Joined: 21 Aug 2020, 7:01pm
Location: Stockport

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by GeekDadZoid »

This one claims to be ok for 80kg, but I do not like the seat post mounting.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Trailer ... 1517059960
Jumbosausage
Posts: 7
Joined: 29 Oct 2019, 12:28am

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Jumbosausage »

Jumbosausage
Posts: 7
Joined: 29 Oct 2019, 12:28am

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Jumbosausage »

Tompsk
Posts: 195
Joined: 6 Nov 2014, 9:35am

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Tompsk »

The Burley flatbed looks to be a good option, with a 45kg max load. Obviously a heavy trailer changes the dynamics of riding a bike and AFAIK (for cars) any trailer over half the weight of the car needs to be braked, so around 40kg seems a rough equivalent for a bike. Perhaps the limits for motorcycle trailers may point to suitable safe limits that could be applied to bikes?

Also found the following with a 65kg limit, lots of other trailers on the same site. For that kind of capacity I'd probably want to take it very easy, gradually increase the weight and have plenty of practice away from traffic.

https://www.manomano.co.uk/p/bike-cargo ... g-11997881
User avatar
gaz
Posts: 14649
Joined: 9 Mar 2007, 12:09pm
Location: Kent

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by gaz »

Tompsk wrote:The Burley flatbed looks to be a good option, with a 45kg max load.

45kg outside of Europe, only 40kg in Europe :wink: . https://www.manualslib.com/manual/45978 ... =12#manual

Which does leave me wondering whether there's some EU standard or other at work with the 40kg limit so often quoted for cargo trailers.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
User avatar
Tigerbiten
Posts: 2503
Joined: 29 Jun 2009, 6:49am

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Tigerbiten »

I've just checked the max load of my large Carry Freedom trailer.
I knew it could "carry" a heavy load.
It's 90 kg but only 50 kg with QR-Axle.
But if you're going to do long distances (+10k miles) with it then you need to upgrade the wheel bearings.
I found the original ones tended to fall apart around that range.

Luck ........... :D
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Vorpal »

I have an old Ammaco child trailer with a similar capacity. It is steel-framed, so, IMO, the actual limitations are wheels, hitch, and bike brakes.

I have overloaded my trailer on several occasion with kids & garden supplies, cat litter &/or building supplies, and never had any real problem. I did get a puncture once & couldn't eliminate the possibility of a pinch puncture. It was only on one side, but I suspected that I caused it going over a gap between a raised crossing and the kerb, at an angle, with an overloaded trailer.

Otherwise, I have carried up to 85 kg in my trailer without a problem.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Mike Sales
Posts: 7883
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Mike Sales »

I used to have a hub towing trailer when I lived on a steep Welsh sreet. If I overloaded it (newspapers for the recycling usually) I found it impossible to walk the rig down the hill. Even with both bike brakes applied the trailer lifted the rear wheel so that it pushed into a jacknife.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
User avatar
Tigerbiten
Posts: 2503
Joined: 29 Jun 2009, 6:49am

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Tigerbiten »

I tend to have trouble getting off my bent trike on a steep uphill slope when my trailer is heavily loaded.
The back wheel parking brake would easily hold with my weight in the seat.
But getting out of the seat would reduce the grip between the tyre and road so much that the whole rig would then start to slide backwards.
In that situation I had to jam a foot behind a front wheel to keep the rig in place while I got off.

Luck ........ :D
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Heavy duty trailer

Post by Vorpal »

If I needed to carry loads like that frequently, I would buy a cargo bike or trike designed for it. I have only occasionally overloaded my trailer, and would prefer not to so frequently. But the capacity is enough for normal shopping.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Post Reply