Trailing

[ROD]

I think what we've all forgotten is that there are restrictions of length/width on what can be towed behind a trike!

[terry t]

I think what we've all forgotten is that there are restrictions of length/width on what can be towed behind a trike!

What sizes are they then Rod

[ROD]

Cant remember! There was a thread/discussion on it a while back. Something like 2.5 metres from centre of trike rear axle to furthest point on the trailer. No more than 1 metre wide.The length should be ok for a Tear  drop,but if 1m width is correct,thats too narrow I reckon.

[hunter]

Going on those mesuerments you would have an internal size of approx 1.5mtrx1/2mtr.

[terry t]

Cant remember! There was a thread/discussion on it a while back. Something like 2.5 metres from centre of trike rear axle to furthest point on the trailer. No more than 1 metre wide.The length should be ok for a Tear  drop,but if 1m width is correct,thats too narrow I reckon.

Thats for a solo motorbike. motorbike and sidecar.

[bitzman5]

AS ABOVE THIS IS FOR A SOLO CYCLE a teardrop comes under a different categorize in size and weight if you look under THE PICO-LIGHT IN YOUR SEARCH ENGINE YOU WILL FIND DIFFERENT SHAPES OF TEARDROPS IF YOU CLICK ON Plans and illustrations in PDF file THY WILL OPEN UP AND GIVE YOU ALL DETAILS TO EACH TEARDROP JUST CLICK ON PIC OF TEARDROP YOU WANT AND THAT WILL OPEN ALL PLANS SIZES WEIGHT ETC

[ROD]

Hmmm....I stand to be corrected,I hope Im wrong TBH,but didnt we have this discussion when BikerGran bought a trailer to tow behind her trike? I was sort of quoting from memory on what was said back then.

[ROD]

So ..continuing on with trailers behind trikes.......Sorry,cant do links,so unable to illustrate my thoughts......Ive seen quite a few pics of trikes towing trailers,some with smaller diameter wheels(eg about 10" trailer rims)or car sized (13"?) look better. Ive got a pair of rims (15") that are the same as the ones on my trike and Im wondering whether they may be over size,so cant decide. I personally think that trike trailers with the smaller diam (usually white painted)wheels look like they have been just hooked onto the back of the trike,while trailers with nicer looking wheels make the trailer look part of the complete unit. A lot of the American trike trailers have larger diam wheels,but English ones tend to have just a pair of white basic trailer type wheels.Whats your thoughts?

[trikerpete]

When I get around to modifying my lightweight trailer I intend to fit with matching 15" wheels that are on trike. Like you say std 10" wheels look silly

[ROD]

Looking on the practical side ,there are pros and cons using wheels that are same as the trike rears. Pros being you will probably have a spare for the trailer,therefore its a spare for the Trike.And as mentioned ,the whole rig will look more of a unit. That spare for the trailer is gonna take up a fair bit more space than a smaller wheel!

[bitzman5]

There's also the question about the center of gravity being lower with small wheels less pron to turn over

[nabsim]

There's also the question about the center of gravity being lower with small wheels less pron to turn over

Think you can drop the chassis below te wheel centre as they are usually stub axle or indispension type units. Would give you bibber wheel arches though

[ROD]

Yes you could mount the units inside the trailer body,ie above floor level.I dont think it would greatly affect the load space,or stability. A while back I mounted the units like this when I built a flat bed trailer that needed to be as low as poss for loading stuff from a drop down rear ramp.

[hunter]

There is also the weight difference,
The fifteens will probably be three or four times heavier.

[BikerGran]

As someone who tows a trailer, here's my five pennorth.

The trailer with small wheels looks fine behind the trike (if I can find a pic I'll post one)
I don't carry a spare, this was a conscious decision because of the weight, as my trike isn't very heavy and the law says that the maximum weight of unbraked trailer and load should not be more than half the weight of the towing vehicle.
My trailer is technically slightly oversize for the regs, so little in it that I don't worry about it, but I wouldn't want wheel arches taking up any of the space - also it would be less stable with the wheels inside.

Pic below is the trailer not actually hitched to the trike but gives the general idea.  It's an Erde 102
External Dimensions
Overall Length    1.74m    5’8”
Overall Width    1.25m    4’1”
Overall Height    0.82m    2’7″
Internal Dimensions
Length    1.06m    3’5”
Width    0.85m    2’9”
Depth    0.32m    1’2”