Cycle trailer for gardening tools

[Tinpotflowers]

Help needed

I seeking a cycle trailers to carry my gardening tools to my allotment. I see there is wide range of prices .

It needs to be able connect by rear axle.

I am on a budget can anybody help?

[Brucey]

it might help if you say what size and weight is to be carried.

If you are just trying the idea out and not sure it'll be a long-term arrangement, there is something to be said for getting a cheap and/or used trailer; you can get something 'proper' later on if needs be. Cheap trailers appear on e-bay; they are not brilliant quality but they may do for occasional use.

cheers

[Tigerbiten]

The cheapest trailers are secondhand kiddy trailers.
Take the top cover off and mod the rest as needed to convert it to a cargo trailer.
If you leave the roll bar on, you may get away with strapping long handle tools upright against it to keep the load shorter.

Luck .......

[gaz]

You might get lucky and find a suitable cargo trailer second-hand, I did. Picked mine up and upgraded the hitch for <£40.

TrailerLoad.png

If not, as said above, kiddy trailers do the job. Further modification is possible but not essential: http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert ... -cargo-ca/

[PT1029]

+1 for the one in the photo, my partner has used one for her gardening tools.
If resting forks/spades etc in (like the green handled cutters in the photo), its worth putting some old card board or some such to protect the fabric from the fork/spade.
Similar versions of that trailer (as good as identical) used to be available from different makes, all mounting on the rear wheel axle (QR/wheel nuts OK).
The trailer in the photo (if like my partners) folds flat and the wheels pop off with out any tools needed for compact storage.
used to be I think £125 new. If you need a used one, may be an ad in the wanted section might get you something.

[Brucey]

FWIW you quite easily tow (or adapt parts from) a golf trolley to make something that will haul a few gardening tools.

cheers

[rjb]

Plenty of information on trailers in this forum even pics of mine made from a pushchair salvaged from a skip.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14609
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=77175
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18003
viewtopic.php?t=14786

[jonk]

I use one of these for my tools. It’s been really good actually. Longer tools can be poked through the holes or bungeed to the sides and then I just stuck a big plastic box in it for the bits and pieces.

If you are near Worcestershire you could buy mine cheaply because I’m not using it at the moment.

[pwa]

How long are the tools? My own garden tools would not fit in a trailer. My hoe is almost as tall as me, and the rake isn't much shorter.

Is there nowhere you could safely leave a set of the longer tools at the allotment?

[Cunobelin]

Before they became popular, we bought a second hand "kiddy trailer"

Used it for some 5 or so years for utility use, and even moved house with it.

One of the advantages of this type is that it has a cross member to the frame that holds the canopy

You can zip-tie some of these on to the cross member



This is then ideal for garden tools, the business end down and clip the handle in to hold it securely


There are quite often second-hand ones around for a few quid, and most have axle and /or stay fittings

[Gambino620]

Hello everyone,

I know this discussion is a bit old, but I came across it while browsing the forum, and I really recognized myself in your exchanges. Like some of you, I'm just starting out in gardening and I'd like to get serious about it when the good weather comes back.

In fact, I'm also looking for an inexpensive beginner's trailer, so I can carry a few tools and get organized to work on a small vegetable garden or allotment. So your advice on modified children's trailers and second-hand cargo trailers has been very inspiring.

But a few questions are on my mind: in your experience, what's the budget for finding a good-value trailer? And, are there any brands or models that are best for beginners?

Thanks in advance for your answers, your experience sharing is super-helpful!

[TrevA]

If you are looking for new, then the HOMCOM trailers available from Amazon and other places look like good value for money if a little basic.

https://www.gardenchic.co.uk/bicycle-ca ... ce93b42f40

It seems to be similar to the Aosom Wanderer, which is reviewed here

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/b ... go-trailer

I’ve no personal experience of the above, but I do have a DoggyRide Mini dog trailer, which has done several hundred miles, towed behind my touring bike, whilst carrying our 7kg dog around. Mine has a hitch that attaches to the rear axle of the bike and tracks very well.

[gaz]

General consensus is that trailers that attach to the rear axle handle better than those that attach to the seatpost.

Higher end brands tend to be lighter, fold/pack down more easily, come with better hitches (elastomer) and have spares support.

How important those things are for taking some tools to the allotment rather than kids to the park or luggage on tour is your judgement call.

If in doubt start with a basic second hand trailer. If you like it but still want better, keep an eye out for something pre-loved popping up local to you or something new at a discounted price.

[Carlton green]

At one time I had an allotment, it was arguably more trouble than it was worth but I enjoyed having it. I did use a trailer to and from the allotment but it contained my terrier and maybe small tools and / or produce. The Terrier that I have now rides in a large box that securely sits on my rear rack - another way to do things. My wheel barrow - an old and rushing thing that I rescued from somewhere - lived ‘outside’ on the allotment. My tools lived in a locked oblong box / chest - protected from the weather by shed roof felt - and never got tampered with. As best I can recall I walked my wheelbarrow there from home, but I might have used my car for transporting the tools. Canes can be left outside within a long piece of pipe. Indeed second hand garden tools don’t have much value and could be left wrapped up in an old weather proof tarpaulin.

Trailers are great enablers but - even before they are loaded - they are also a noticeable additional weight to shift; instead of using a (heavy) trailer, it’s better (lighter) to first try loading everything (safely) onto your bike. In the past spades and hoes were sometimes strapped to bikes, that’s a bit Heath Robinson but folk got by.

Edit. I now recall that my trailer isn’t small, its width was nearly too much for the allotment site paths and navigating it around the sharp corners between adjacent plots was a challenge. It’s maybe counterintuitive - often is to me - but sometimes smaller really is better than bigger. Looking for the ‘Goldilocks’ size isn’t easy, and there might not even be one; for what I’ve actually used a trailer for something smaller would have been easier to use and still big enough for the task. Hauling a trailer along the road usually isn’t particularly burdensome (assuming a reasonable load and mostly level terrain) but you do need to both accept a bit of drag and allow space for it as you move along the road (‘cause you’ve just become a longer, wider, and articulated vehicle). Manoeuvring a trailer can sometimes involve reversing, there’s an art to that …

[Tigerbiten]

My trailer weighs around 10 kg empty and slows me down by roughly 2 mph. That works out to be around 1 mph due to the added wind/rolling resistance and the other rough 1 mph from the 10 kg weight on the gentle slopes around home (Northampton). So I find a trailer doesn't add that much extra time to a trip unless it's an all day one and the advantage it brings on a large shopping run more than outweighs the extra time.