Hi there,
Dan here. Yes, I did build my trailer to haul recumbents. You can follow the link in my signature panel to visit my site.
My intent was to have a trailer that would do three main things and a couple of extra things when needed:
1. Hauling recumbents
2. Open air galley
3. Occasional solo camping
The extras are:
4. Hauling building materials
5. Taking my leaves to the recycling center
So far it has worked out fine. I did have visions of having the pod removable for greater use of the trailer for utility purposes but have since decided that it is really too much hassle to take it off and put it back on just to take the yard tractor for a tune up or to haul one of my small boats. In the Spring I will simply buy a Harbor Freight trailer for those rare hauling jobs.
The trailer is usable and has been on several trips. It is not "finished" and will probably be undergoing changes for quite a while. Wood is easy to work with and the finish is latex paint so I don't really mind chopping away at it and slapping on some more paint. I did just add a 750/1500 watt heater that will operate in fanless mode for a good night's sleep. One of the next projects will be insulating the sidewalls. I have decided that I do want to do some winter camping after all.
BTW and back to the main question... we have two EasyRacer EZ-1 Lite recumbents and they fit just fine. Anything larger would require a longer main cabin. We also throw lots of gear in the trailer along with the bikes. It's comforting to know that we can leave the car and trailer parked while we visit an attraction or a restaurant and not have to worry about our bikes.
If you plan to load the bikes through the side door, you will need to make it wide enough for the bikes to negotiate the bend. Once you have one bike in place, the interior space will be half as wide while you jockey the second one into place.
We have used bike tites mounted to a board this past year but next year the bike tites will be mounted on drop down panels at the front of the cabin.
My first suggestion would be to figure out how much folding or knock-down of your bike you are willing to deal with. I was only willing to remove the front wheels to secure the bikes in the bike tites. The mesh seat and rear carrier stay in place. Unless you fold your seat down or forward, you may need an interior height of 4'-8" or slightly more.
Measure, measure, measure. Next, build a cheap mock-up to the dimensions of the INTERIOR of the cabin space out of cheap 1x2 firring strips and cardboard. If you can fit the bikes in without destroying the mockup, you may be on the right track.
Remember that cabinets and shelves added after the fact may need to fold up to accommodate the bike. Also consider that you may need to get into the cabin along with the bikes to get at that very important item that you forgot to remove before you put both of the bikes in. And plan for something to secure the rear wheel in place so the bikes won't move from side to side and bash holes in your beautiful birch ply paneling. We use Velcro strips screwed to the floor.
Now for the kicker. Where are you going to put your mattress? Whenever we take both of the bikes and cargo inside the trailer, we sleep in our tent. We both still really prefer the tent with comfortable cots and pads--call us strange. When I solo trip there is room for both my single width bed and wonderful memory foam mattress along with one recumbent while traveling. At night the bike comes out and is chained to the tongue. This leave me lots of room to move around in the trailer.
So anyway, its doable. Just plan it all out and test before you spend lots of time and money.
Have fun and a Great New Teardrop Year!
Dan Jones
by tjdale » Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:02 pm 
