Cycle trailers. Usage there of.

[quixoticgeek]

I'm thinking of treating myself to a carry freedom Y Large, cycle trailer, with the longer arm. I will be using it with my Brompton for urban errands. Going to the DIY store, ikea, the tip, etc...

Thanks to the wonderful work of Kim, I know that the hitch will work with my Brompton's rear hub. But I am left with two questions:

1) How do you lock up this trailer when you're at a store? I'll be folding the Bromoton and taking it in with me, but I'm not sure how feasible that is with the trailer. Could I pop the wheels off and stick it all on the trolley like I do the Brompton? If I do leave it outside, what's the best way to lock it? U lock through each wheel and through the cut out of the board? big long chain?

2) What do people use for for a crate on the load bed? am thinking something durable for filling up with stuff to take to the tip primarily. My balcony has become a collecting ground for stuff pending a trip to the tip.

Any other advice?

J

[Kim]

I tend to just stick a token cable lock through one of the trailer wheels to whatever's convenient, and gamble that nobody realises they're quick-release wheelchair hubs.  Of course, this is in Middle Earth where cycle trailers are a mysterious novelty item, rather than something people might want to nick, and I'm rarely leaving it for more than an hour.

I have a 145 litre Really Useful Box, which is a perfect fit for the load bed.  I think those may now be unobtanium, even in the less-durable transparent flavour.

[quixoticgeek]

I tend to just stick a token cable lock through one of the trailer wheels to whatever's convenient.  Of course, this is in Middle Earth where cycle trailers are a mysterious novelty item, rather than something people might want to nick, and I'm rarely leaving it for more than an hour.

I have a 145 litre Really Useful Box, which is a perfect fit for the load bed.  I think those may now be unobtanium, even in the less-durable transparent flavour.

680 in stock in .NL, but only in the transparent.

J

[Cudzoziemiec]

On the general topic of security, a couple of streets from me there is someone who owns several car-drawn trailers. This might be thought to make them both more attractive to thieves – everyone knows what they are and there must be a ready market for them – and slightly harder to steal, in that you (probably – some of them are really quite small) would find it hard to just walk off with them. But of course they can easily be towed away or just slung in the back of a van. The security on them is of the cable lock through a wheel and round a lamppost type.

[graculus]

I use a cable loop, this sort of thing:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kryptonite-loop-cable-Krypto-Flex/dp/B000NOTQ5S/ref=asc_df_B000NOTQ5S/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310164787656&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1711337654957308892&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045444&hvtargid=pla-450117849810&psc=1&th=1&psc=1
(except mine is black plastic coated, 8mm diameter and 1.8m long).
I pass one end through one wheel then pass the other end through the loop on the first end, then over the box (Really Useful Box88L) and through the other wheel and then lock that up with a U-lock. Hope that makes sense.

edit: mistake on name of box corrected

[road-runner]

2) What do people use for for a crate on the load bed?

I bought two recycling boxes with lids and used plastic nuts and bolts, the type used to hold number plates on cars, to hold them onto the base.

[nikki]

2) What do people use for for a crate on the load bed? am thinking something durable for filling up with stuff to take to the tip primarily. My balcony has become a collecting ground for stuff pending a trip to the tip.

IIRC It's the 175 litre offering from here:
https://strataproducts.co.uk/product-category/home-and-office-products/heavy-duty-storage-boxes/

I've taken the wheels off the box (they just click in and out) and added rubber bung style feet to locate into holes in the trailer platform and prevent against slipping sideways.

[Paul H]

I have a Radical Designs trailer, it's a different sort of design with a permanent bag, but I think the wheels pop on and off in a similar fashion - If I were to leave it somewhere I was concerned about security, I'd up end it to lock to something and take the wheels with me.

[Defblade]

I feel that any sort of cable that locks the bike and the trailer together through at least one wheel so that the whole thing won't roll, and you'll put off most passing opportunists - the two bits can't the separated, it can't be ridden away, even picking it up and putting it in a van is going to be more hassle with it all flopping around, plus the extra length.

Given that weight is less of an issue, I'd have a u-lock through the frame/rear triangle of the bike, another U-lock through trailer wheel and load bed as you suggested, and then a reasonably long cable with a loop at each end to join the 2 together, and maybe also go around your chosen immovable object. Save carrying the bike in, too.

Or, put the folded bike in the trailer and wheel the whole thing in like a trolley!

[Kim]

Another trick that works with a Carry Freedom style hitch is to use a suitably sized padlock instead of the usual locking pin.