DIY: Bicycle Campers
Bike campers come in all shapes and sizes and can be quite expensive to buy. However, you can build your own bike trailer at home for less than $30 and in just a few hours. This trailer is a very basic design that can be modified to make much more complex trailers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Moving trolley
- Hacksaw
- Tennis ball with small hole cut into it
- Small plastic crate
- Cable ties
- Drill
- Drill bits
- Metal screws
- Electrical box cover plate
- Eyebolt
- U-clamp with adjustable screw
- Elastic cord, 15 cm long
Instructions
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Buy or obtain a moving trolley with straight arms if possible. Saw off one of the mover trolley's handles at about the halfway point with a hack saw. Attach a tennis ball with a hole cut into it to the freshly cut end for safety.
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You can also attach a wooden crate if it better suits your purposes. Lay the trolley down and place the bottom of the small plastic crate on top near the trolley's base. Attach the plastic crate to the trolley at five points -- at the corners and in the middle -- in one of two ways. Either drill metal screws through the crate bottom to attach it to the trolley or tie the crate on with cable ties. If your crate does not have holes in the bottom, drill them in so the cable ties can be threaded through. Try to move the crate to ensure it is well secured.
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Drill a hole in both ends of the electrical plate. Build the bike attachment. Drill a hole into one end of a palm-sized electrical cover plate. Bolt this end to the bicycle wheel frame. On the other end of the electrical cover, drill another hole and attach an eye bolt. This will be used to attach it to the trailer.
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U-clamps are small and fairly inexpensive. Drill a hole in the end of the trailer arm and thread the U-clamp through it.
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Climbing rope is a good option as it will give the trailer room to move. Attach the trailer arm to the bicycle eye bolt using the U-clamp. Tie the connections together with elastic cord, such as climbing rope, for extra security.
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Take your new camper for a test drive. Go slowly at first and avoid any sharp turns.
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References
- Photo Credit bike image by mangia from Fotolia.com hand trolley image by green308 from Fotolia.com pumpkins in a crate image by Alexey Stiop from Fotolia.com Electric drill with a drill on a white background image by terex from Fotolia.com Coins clamped by a clamp and laying on a white surface. image by Yuri Bizgaimer from Fotolia.com rope image by cherie from Fotolia.com
