Self-Powered Bike Trailer

[stuee147]

you would keep warm in the winter if you followed a bike with a jet engine lol could be difficult sneaking home late at night mind

 

[_aD]

"They’re a cheaper and often less stressful way to get around a big city, but compared to a car, bikes kind of suck when it comes to hauling cargo. A trailer certainly helps if you’re willing to put in the extra effort needed to haul it..."

"Kind of suck"? "Willing to put in the extra effort?" If you stop whining for long enough you'll have the energy to put your back into it! Er, not you. Gizmodo. You know what I meant!

 

[young Ed]

i like it im still not decided on what trailer to build im still in the planing stage and working out different sizes and shapes, its a lot harder than MK1 and MK2 the plans for them both went well but i just cant seem to get the trailer how i want it.
i like the idea of the trailer being virtually weightless for the rider they must use some form of pressure/force meter to prevent the trailer from pushing you forward, i wonder if they have a auto braking system too, im planing on using wheels with disk brakes for my trailer and iv more or less figured out how im going to conect it up similar to a caravan so it will apply the brakes as i go down hill or slow down and im also going to have a handbrake to stop the trailer rolling when unhooked from the trike.

you're not over engineering this are you? great idea!
could you fit a little micro switch to the brake system like you have for the brake lights and then have some sort of electronically activated brakes and it would plug in via a plug to the trike? does this make sense?

here's a automatic hitch operated one that is much simpler and makes more sense

the black line going from the words to various parts are arrows the only line that actually means anything is the long straight one labelled as brake cable
Cheers Ed

 

[raleighnut]

you're not over engineering this are you? great idea!
could you fit a little micro switch to the brake system like you have for the brake lights and then have some sort of electronically activated brakes and it would plug in via a plug to the trike? does this make sense?

here's a automatic hitch operated one that is much simpler and makes more sense

the black line going from the words to various parts are arrows the only line that actually means anything is the long straight one labelled as brake cable
Cheers Ed

Caravans/trailers manage with a cable op system.

 

[stuee147]

you're not over engineering this are you? great idea!
could you fit a little micro switch to the brake system like you have for the brake lights and then have some sort of electronically activated brakes and it would plug in via a plug to the trike? does this make sense?

here's a automatic hitch operated one that is much simpler and makes more sense

the black line going from the words to various parts are arrows the only line that actually means anything is the long straight one labelled as brake cable
Cheers Ed

its a good idea but its a bit beyond me lol im fine with basic electronics but for electronic brakes you would need a variable switching system so it wont over brake and probably some for of solenoid actuator to give the varying degrees of breaking needed.
the method im thinking of is just like a caravan where a strong compression spring is put between the trailer hitch and the trailer and its set up using some 8mm rod i have laying around so as i brake the trailer will push on the spring compressing it which in turn will pull the leaver made out of 8mm rod and this in turn will be connected to the brake cables on the trailer giving auto braking. it works well on caravans all im doing is a lighter version for a trailer lol

but i have a couple of waterproof connectors (5 pin one made for pond lighting ) and one part of that will be fitted to the back of the trike and the other half on the trailer that way when i have the trailer on the back i can conect it up so i then have lights and indicators on the trailer.

 

[raleighnut]

its a good idea but its a bit beyond me lol im fine with basic electronics but for electronic brakes you would need a variable switching system so it wont over brake and probably some for of solenoid actuator to give the varying degrees of breaking needed.
the method im thinking of is just like a caravan where a strong compression spring is put between the trailer hitch and the trailer and its set up using some 8mm rod i have laying around so as i brake the trailer will push on the spring compressing it which in turn will pull the leaver made out of 8mm rod and this in turn will be connected to the brake cables on the trailer giving auto braking. it works well on caravans all im doing is a lighter version for a trailer lol

but i have a couple of waterproof connectors (5 pin one made for pond lighting ) and one part of that will be fitted to the back of the trike and the other half on the trailer that way when i have the trailer on the back i can conect it up so i then have lights and indicators on the trailer.

If you fit a motor to the trike the trailer could carry extra batteries and even a solar panel to recharge them.
BTW I'm actually thinking of doing this myself and have quite a lot of the bits its just battery weight and aesthetics (how it looks) that need some design work/thinking about at the moment. The 30w solar panel kit I've got is about the same size as the chassis of my trailer.

 

[stuee147]

If you fit a motor to the trike the trailer could carry extra batteries and even a solar panel to recharge them.
BTW I'm actually thinking of doing this myself and have quite a lot of the bits its just battery weight and aesthetics (how it looks) that need some design work/thinking about at the moment. The 30w solar panel kit I've got is about the same size as the chassis of my trailer.

i have a small solar system fitted to my trike that charges a 6v battery under the seat, that gives me front and rear lights indicators on the back and even a brake light. it also gives me a permanent usb charge point for phone or satnav. and if i need a boost to the battery at night i have a dynamo on the back wheel that can charge the battery. and iv been thinking of how to get a good enough solar power to charge the batteries for a e-bike conversion iv seen this on atomic zombie

i like the idea that the solar panels can be raised when parked but they look very heavy

you could always make like a spare battery box in the chassis of the trailer that would keep the weight low and make the trailer more stable it would also hide the batteries completely from sight so aesthetically pleasing to. iv been thinking of something similar for the trailer im planing im trying to fine tune the design i want it light and versatile for every day use (shop runs ect) but i would also like it to be tough and rugged for touring and camping i was thinking of building a box frame chassis out of 20mm x 20mm box section and having a strip in the middle where the axle would be (if it had a single axle) and putting a couple of spare batteries there then at the front the box chassis will have a area for a tool kit and space for bike locks and spares like inner tubes tiers ect and the back would be somewhere to store whatever i need. the battery section will probably only be accessible by emptying the trailer and getting in from above but the front and rear areas i was thinking of having either a drop down door arrangement to get access without the need of emptying the trailer or if im feeling really fettely then i could make like a large draw type arrangement.
it sounds like your a lot more ahead of me in the trailer set up im still trying to learn about solar charging lol

 

[raleighnut]

i have a small solar system fitted to my trike that charges a 6v battery under the seat, that gives me front and rear lights indicators on the back and even a brake light. it also gives me a permanent usb charge point for phone or satnav. and if i need a boost to the battery at night i have a dynamo on the back wheel that can charge the battery. and iv been thinking of how to get a good enough solar power to charge the batteries for a e-bike conversion iv seen this on atomic zombie

i like the idea that the solar panels can be raised when parked but they look very heavy

you could always make like a spare battery box in the chassis of the trailer that would keep the weight low and make the trailer more stable it would also hide the batteries completely from sight so aesthetically pleasing to. iv been thinking of something similar for the trailer im planing im trying to fine tune the design i want it light and versatile for every day use (shop runs ect) but i would also like it to be tough and rugged for touring and camping i was thinking of building a box frame chassis out of 20mm x 20mm box section and having a strip in the middle where the axle would be (if it had a single axle) and putting a couple of spare batteries there then at the front the box chassis will have a area for a tool kit and space for bike locks and spares like inner tubes tiers ect and the back would be somewhere to store whatever i need. the battery section will probably only be accessible by emptying the trailer and getting in from above but the front and rear areas i was thinking of having either a drop down door arrangement to get access without the need of emptying the trailer or if im feeling really fettely then i could make like a large draw type arrangement.
it sounds like your a lot more ahead of me in the trailer set up im still trying to learn about solar charging lol

Not further ahead but I've got the chassis from my trail-a-tot on which the nylon has succumbed to UV that's made of inch box section as a starting point and a solar panel kit that's pretty light I originally got for the summerhouse now its just trying to work out how to charge 36v dc from 12v dc without going through a mains inverter and the 36v dc charger that comes with an e-kit ( back-up plan)
Plus trying to stop the whole thing weighing too much to be practical.

 

[stuee147]

Not further ahead but I've got the chassis from my trail-a-tot on which the nylon has succumbed to UV that's made of inch box section as a starting point and a solar panel kit that's pretty light I originally got for the summerhouse now its just trying to work out how to charge 36v dc from 12v dc without going through a mains inverter and the 36v dc charger that comes with an e-kit ( back-up plan)
Plus trying to stop the whole thing weighing too much to be practical.

i have read somewhere about using i think it was a staged inverter and just inverting to the volts you need IE: 36v instead of going 240v then stepping down to 36v if you know what i mean. i will troll threw my saved sites and try to find the page and ill post a link for you if i can find it lol i found the page a bit technical for me it used a lot of big words i had to keep looking up but after a bit of translating to a level i could understand i found it very useful loads of info about different types of solar cells and how they can be used ect