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Is there some sort of towing attachment I could put on my bike that would create a center pivot point for the lawn trailer?

For more context, I have a typical garden wagon -- 4 wheels, the front two turn, the back two are fixed, it can pulled with a handle or towed with a garden tractor using a clevis pin attachment that is centered in the lawn tractor.

enter image description here

I was wanting to look into towing it with my bike -- I've been looking at trailer arms for bikes and see that unlike with my garden trailer, the bike specific trailers have the towing arm offset to one side of the trailer. I suspect this has something to do with how the trailer "follows" the bike -- the offset arm allows it to follow directly instead of to one side. If also see that in the trailer arms for bike trailers it looks like the pivot point is on the bike-side attachment, so if I were to use a similar arm to tow my garden trailer it would have two pivot points, which would be difficult to manage and possibly dangerous.

I'm thinking instead of something that attaches to one side of the back wheel (on the bike) and pivots near the wheel, I could use something that attaches to both sides of the rear fork (maybe not on the wheel nut) and stays in line with the bike, allowing the trailer to pivot on the clevis pin only.

enter image description here

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    For context, I realize that the garden trailer may not always be the ideal trailer (heavy, not suspended, high rolling resistance with four thick wheels); that is not in the scope of this question, I'm looking to have a human-powered grocery getter from the store that is less than a mile away on a level trip. I already own a garden trailer -- if I can avoid buying and storing a bike trailer I'd happily deal with a weekly slightly harder bike ride.
    – Sidney
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 16:46
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    Whatever you do, please remember to come back in the future and update us with both positives and negatives.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 3, 2022 at 10:26
  • I have a team of students building a portable book bike that is looking at exactly this setup. A center mounted (bike seat post) or whatever that is needing attached to a trailer very similar to the one shown. I'm not sure anything exists for this without having to do welding to customize. If there is, please share links and pics if possible! Thank you.
    – Mark M
    Commented May 30, 2023 at 16:35
  • @MarkM I actually took the cheaters way out! I bought an aluminium bike rack from target (one that attaches at three points, I think the weight would be too much for on that just clamps to the seat post), cut the reflector tab off and drilled a hole through it for the two pin. It's not a super great solution (you can't lean into a turn, your turn radius is limited, etc) but it works! Its currently raining but I'll try and get some pictures when it dries out a bit outside.
    – Sidney
    Commented Jun 1, 2023 at 18:00

3 Answers 3

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I have exactly the same wagon. I have not tried what you're proposing.

I would look into mounting a hitch on the seatpost: there are some trailers and trail-a-bikes that mount this way, so you could perhaps buy a pre-made hitch. Remove the handle from the wagon, and use a length of conduit pipe to join the hitch and the wagon at both of the handle's connection points (you'll want a rigid connection there). You'd need to bend the conduit pipe just so, and drill some holes in it, but that shouldn't be too hard.

One thing to keep an eye on is shimmy. Bike trailers are not steerable the way this wagon is, and I can imagine slight side-to-side movements when you pedal being amplified at the trailer, making the whole bike-trailer system harder to handle. You might look into locking the steering on the wagon somehow, although you'd then get tire scrub when turning.

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    I have tried something like that in the past, using a Trailgator link and a sackbarrow. It was okay going forward, but turning was weird - the trailer's momentum pushes the bike outward on turns, and has a fair amount of leverage due to the height. More-so on faster turns, so better for slow riding.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 0:22
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It's going to take some creativity to make what you want to do work.

There are devices called "Universal Bicycle Trailer Coupler Attachment Hitch" or "Universal Bike Bicycle Trailer Coupler" that are sold to attach trailers to bikes. enter image description here

Ideally these products would work by unbolting the end of the wagon handle and bolting this device in its place.
Next best would be a solution that required purchasing extra hardware to get the wagon to work with the coupler.
Last best is the possibility that it would take some welding on the wagon to get it to work.

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  • Can you clarify what you're thinking with welding on the wagon? It sounds like I'd weld a non-pivoting point on the wagon that is offset to the side and use the pivoting mechanism on the universal bike trailer coupler?
    – Sidney
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 17:10
  • @Sidney Your description sounds good. Bottom line is this will take some experimentation. You'll have to evaluate what the coupler offers and then determine what is needed to get it connected to the wagon.
    – David D
    Commented Feb 1, 2022 at 22:48
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    Most bike trailers have an "elbow-bend" in the drawbar so the bike can turn both left and right. Presumably this will just offset the trailer a small distance to the left of the bike's centerline, but the straight drawbar will foul the rear tyre when the bike turns right. Shallow turns would be fine, but a sharper turn could be exciting.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 0:24
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Your trailer is self-supporting and should have zero nose weight, unlike single-axle trailers that have to balance.

I would go the other way, and work to make a "draw bar" that duplicates the function of your garden tractor's hitch.

That might take the form of something hanging on the back of your bike, behind the rear wheel. It would need at least one stay on either side, plus something going upward to support the weight of the hitch.

Your solution would also need to allow for vertical movement somewhere too, for when going over non-flat ground.

Something vaguely like the "Topeak Journey Trailer" mount, which looks like this: enter image description here

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    Good idea, but shouldn't the pivot at the trailer end of the existing arm provide enough vertical movement (as it does with a garden tractor)? Then you could use a sturdy pannier rack to make a good start on the attachment to the bike. I have a wagon of a similar construction (but meant for pulling kids and kit round campsites etc.) and have contemplated doing something like this
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 9:23
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    @ChrisH I hadn't even considered starting with a pannier rack -- I'd need to verify the appropriate angle of the wagon handle to ensure it wouldn't interfere with the back wheel, but it might be as simple as welding a tab between the two bars on the pannier.
    – Sidney
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 15:37
  • @ChrisH maybe - but its going to be getting quite long with that length of drawbar. You'd want the trailer closer - a long bar helps with reversing at the expense of following a track that will cut corners closer, so more inclined to clip things on turns.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2022 at 18:18
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    @Criggie true. The OP could use the existing break in the drawbar to shorten the arm, while I'd pick up off the handle on the end. They could also invert the drawbar to improve tyre clearance while attaching high on the rack, over rather than behind the wheel. Cornering wide is something I have be careful of even with my trailer (currently adapted to carry a 24" kid's bike)
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 3, 2022 at 9:04
  • @Sidney I personally have a kiddie trailer that has two main wheels and a removable front wheel, foldable draw bar and a handle. Its essentially a wide ugly pram, so in theory I could tow it to the shop, push it around the supermarket as a trolley, and simply hook it up to ride home. The one downside is that stowing/retrieving the drawbar requires access to the underside, so lifting the nose to about 50 degrees, letting all the shopping roll around or move. You could walk around the supermarket pulling this behind you :)
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Feb 3, 2022 at 10:39

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