Will likely go with the alum. wheels and the quick release as I may be putting it in the back of my van and it would slip under the seats with no problem. Plus, gives me more options to store it in my garage.

Thank for the help.

The quick-release button is awesome once you’ve used it, but you probably won’t miss it if you’ve never had it. The key question is how often you’re going to be taking the wheels off. If you do it every day, you may appreciate the button release; the clevis pin retainer will do fine if you’re not disassembling the trailer every day.

On another note it looks like you went with the steel rims. Wike said I could swap to the plastic, or pay $45 to upgrade to aluminum. I know the steel will rust here in the humidity (Florida) so I will go with plastic or alum. The alum has a button quick connect and the others use a clevis pin. Have you any opinion on the plastic, vs. Aluminum and on the clevis pin?

Thank you for the quick reply and you have a nice site.

With my length of 48″, there’s a bit of wiggle room left for my three totes, but I don’t think there’s 6″. If you have three totes already, place them together on the floor and measure around them to see how big your bed needs to be. When you’re sizing, remember that the angled brackets will cut into your bed by about 2″ on each side.

Did you use .062 wall or .125 wall on the aluminum tubing. Looks like the .062 is about half the weight (of course 1/16th inch vs. 1/8th inch). I can get a 21 foot section of .062 locally and that would allow me to build a 24×42. Do you see any trouble going to 42 as opposed to your 48? Looks like it would still handle 3 totes (at 24×16 each).

Also, Wike said if you want to make the load limit of 150 lbs. to go with 1/8th on the axle and tow bar – at least, if not for all tubing. However, that is double the price and double the weight, but I can get a 24 foot section allowing me to build the 48 inch long trailer!

Now you see why my question….

Thanks for the input, just ordered the kit. Still playing around with dimensions in my head but I think I will probably end up close to the same dimensions as yours. Soon as I settle, I’ll make a trip to Metal Supermarket, same as you. Do they carry the endcaps for the tubing or did you purchase those somewhere else? Been looking around and can’t seem to find them in the hardware stores.

The width I chose (2′-long cross pieces) puts the trailer pretty much dead centre behind the back wheel. It may be a bit to one side or the other, but not enough to noticeably affect handling. Going any wider would put all of the extra width to the right side unless you bent the tow bar to re-centre the trailer.

I like the hitch; it’s easy to use and has proven to be sturdy and practical. The only minor issue I have with it is that it can be difficult to line up the hitch pin if either the bike or the trailer is sitting at an angle. I was initially worried that the rubber wouldn’t be sturdy enough for heavy loads, but it’s been quite durable. The rubber piece also looks like it’s user-replaceable if it does wear out. That said, I also have a Carry Freedom City trailer and really like the ball-and-socket hitch design that it shares with Chariot trailers. I’d be happy to use the single design for both trailers, but it’s not a priority.

I get very little bounce when the trailer is empty, certainly when compared to a single-wheel trailer. With a two-wheeled trailer, I do experience more of the pull-push sensation when accelerating or braking. It can feel a bit awkward for a couple of seconds.

Putting the wheels all the way at the back will increase the tongue weight at the hitch and will affect handling under load. It’ll also cause the trailer to track farther inside the rear wheel when you’re turning, forcing you to make even wider turns. I can’t think of any advantages to putting the wheels at the back of the trailer. I put mine just behind the centre point because it felt right in my mockups.

When I’m loading the trailer, I just try to keep the weight roughly centred over the axle as much as possible, with a bit of weight on the tongue. Even when the trailer’s fully loaded, I can still easily lift the tow bar up to the hitch. And as long as there’s some weight on the tongue, it won’t ever try to lift the back wheel of my bike off the ground or reduce traction. It’s pretty much like a car trailer; you want about 10% of your load weight at the hitch.

I’ve been trying to settle on a trailer for my bike for some time now and stumbled across your DIY kit from Wike. Really beautiful trailer! I think I will probably put some coin aside and order the kit soon. I was considering the BOB Yak, but I think I have settled on a two wheel trailer that can prefer multiple duties, as well as being able to manage two small dogs from time to time.

I have a few, questions I was hoping you could answer.

First, how does it “centre” on the bike (is it a little more to one side than the other)? I am assuming width on the design will play a factor in this due to how the arm attaches to the bike. I am considering making my trailer no wider than my handlebars on my bike.

Would you consider the hitch setup decent? or would you prefer a different hitch setup?

Does the trailer “bounce” when empty? Is the ride better with a load? Would you say there is an optimal load or load placement.

Also, I have seen another Wike kit with the wheels all the way at the back. Thoughts?