I’ve been meaning to post something up about this Heavy-Duty, Custom-Built bike cargo trailer built by Peter Eland of Velo Vision. While this trailer could be categorized under our Do-It-Yourself bike trailer list, the attention to detail and purpose built features, set this trailer apart into deserving a post of its own. That being said, this would be a great design to duplicate for anyone looking to build their own XL sized bike trailer built to last a lifetime.
There are quite a few outstanding and unique features to point out. The industrial-strength hitch offers 3 directions of mechanical rotation. The hitch design required that Peter welded 3 braze-ons to his bike frame to mount the hitch plate to. The hitch arm for the trailer is a unique shape that offers almost 90 degrees of turning the bike in relation to the trailer. While this much turning is not generally necessary while bicycling, it can come in handy when maneuvering a load in tight spaces for doing something delivering like a large load to a doorstep.
The body of the trailer offers plenty of flexibility for a variety of large loads. The cross members with the hole pattern means that finding a tie down spot will never be an issue. The cargo-stop up front offers another lashing point and more importantly will prevent loads from sliding forward while braking. The 20″ wheels look great with the Schwalbe Big Apple tires. Finally, Peter’s method for mounting the wheels with sturdy wheel blocks mounted on top of the trailer frame, allows for the loading area of the trailer to sit a little bit below the axles of the wheel, lowering the overall center of gravity.
Go to Peter Eland’s site for even more photos and a complete description of this bike trailer.