Bike cargo trailer – anywhere local stock them?

[brendan]

@TwoWheelsDC 49924 wrote:

So my wife and I are planning to get a trailer to haul our dog and/or groceries and maybe camping stuff for an overnight trip. I’ve been looking at used kids trailers, but I get the sense that the way they’re configured would make it difficult for the dog (45lbs hound mix) to sit/lay in it comfortably, particularly if we wanted to carry extra gear. Instead, I was thinking of picking up a cargo trailer, like this, so we could just lay the dog bed in there for cushioning, along with any other gear we need. Problem is, I’ve never seen any in a local store and I’m hesitant to just order one online, sight unseen and based only on some short reviews. Are there any shops/stores around here that carry them in the area? Ideally, I’d love to take one for a short ride to see how the weight is, but it’s not a deal-breaker if I can’t.

Thanks!

If you haven’t already ridden with a trailer attached (esp. if you’re considering pulling one for loaded camping overnights), I think it might be useful to go to the ABCs of Family Biking event and try out the feel of trailers in general, loaded and unloaded. Biking with a dog counts as Family Biking too.

Brendan

[dasgeh]

Welcome to the world of shopping for cargo bikes. Ugh

[rcannon100]

That’s a nice trailer! How good of a dog do you have. If you tell your dog to stay, will it (in all circumstances?). Our first dogs were labradors. They were the best. Labradors would probably do well in that. You could probably convince them that its the back of a pickup truck, and they would be happier than clams at an oyster bake.

Consider whether your dog will jump out. Also consider what happens when you crash. I dont crash that often, but when do, its because I drank Dos Equis. Seriously, if you have a bump in the road that causes a short stop, or some irregularity, or even something big…. what happens to the dog?

I had thought about retrofitting a used kid trailer into a dog trailer. I am one of those who believes everything is a DIY project. Ultimately I did not like it. If my dog got thrown for some reason, I did not like what the dog was going to get thrown into. Instead, I ordered a HoundAbout trailer.

This is basically a dog kennel on wheels. Its a very good space for the dog. The dog is not going to get out if you dont want it too. Its comfortable. If the dog get’s thrown, its going to hit cloth walls (not bars or other objects). I actually have only used it a few times so far. Once was the new years ride at Hains Point and once was the Mardi Gras parade. My dog got out and walked during the parade; some kid I did not know crawled it. Tim had placed the mardi gras beads in the trailer and the kid popped up in the trailer and started flinging beads. It was wonderful.

So do you get a cargo trailer that you put your dog in…. or do you get a dog trailer that you can also haul stuff in? Houndabout is a pretty good trailer. You can certainly take it for a test ride sometime.

[Author]

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