DIY Rack/Mount In Trailer

Question

I have a 4x8 utility trailer with 3/4" plywood floor and "barn fencing" (for lack of a better term) around all 4 sides. The floor is solidly bolted to the frame but the fencing around the outside feels a bit flimsy - I don't plan on leaning (or strapping) anything heavy on it. The trailer's main job will be to haul a couple of bikes and a few other bulkier items that don't fit well in the car on trips to... all over. For right now I just want to focus on A bike.

I want to place 1 fixed mounting system for a standard 28" 2-wheel eBike in one of the front corners of the trailer. i've considered 3 methods:

#1

At first, I was going to use the method described in this post for securing a bike in a pickup truck bed, which would just require me to mount a D-Ring in each corner of the trailer, but for the bike that will most frequently be used, let's just say that removing the seat and flipping it upside down would be opening a whole other can of worms that is pretty far off topic for this post. If anyone thought a similar method would work without having to flip the bike upside down, I'd love to hear it.

. . . .

#2

Next I started looking at wheel mounts that will hold the bike upright with the intention of securing it the rest of the way with tie-down straps.

The only ones i've found that look like they are intended to be fixed to the floor were these: 4 brackets for 2 bikes... and they're actually meant for a specific hitch-mounted cargo holder. As far as that is concerned, I don't see why they wouldn't work for any surface they can be bolted to, but please feel free to point out any reason why I shouldn't mount these to the 3/4" plywood floor in my trailer. If you look at a couple photos posted in users' reviews (or even the manufacturer's product photos, they simply have them mounted so that one of these brackets "cradles" each tire and then a single tie-down strap is used to secure the bike from the middle.

I was pretty skeptical about when i first viewed the manufacturer photo:

I thought there was no way that bike would stay upright after driving down my driveway, much less a 200 mile trip to/through the mountains. But then I saw a few other photos from actual users with pretty similar setups who swear it works for them:

This one is on top of a popup camper with a single strap wrapped around the down tube at the water bottle cage and connecting to the bracket holding the front wheel. I'm still having a hard time believing that bike will hold steady. My skepticism is supported around 3:33 of this video (completely unrelated to previous photo - different people) where the guy does the 1-strap configuration and shows how much side-to-side movement there is. He states that he's going to have to use more than 1 strap BUT he also says "they probably won't fall off"... and he doesn't sound all that concerned about it.

Has anyone used these brackets, either with their intended cargo carrier, or on some other fixed surface, with the configuration shown in the photo(s)??

OR

with a setup similar to this (with the brackets secured to the floor of my trailer), can a 2-wheel eBike be safely secured upright using at least 2 tie-downs (one for front half and one for back) and maybe a Voile strap securing each wheel to its bracket? What potential issues am I missing?

. . . .

#3

My other thought was to use something NOT intended to be secured to any ground surface, rather just placed on top. Something like this:

and then I would fix it to the floor using an appropriately sized one of these (4 of them actually): And then secure the rest of the bike with a couple tie-downs and Voile straps (same as #2). To me, just one of these seems like it would hold the bike far more stable than 2 of the others (from #2). And then maybe adding a 2nd for the back wheel and of course the tie-downs and the Voiles.... The fact that this is not made to be fixed to any surface concerns me a bit... but maybe this (using either just a single one or two of them) IS the better way to go - it looks like it "contains" more of the wheel thus less side-to-side movement.

Any thoughts on this method in general or in comparison to the 1st idea?

Answer 1

I have towed my daughter's bike on a bike trailer adapted from an old child trailer. That had to be light, an extra constraint to your case

First I ran a length of extruded aluminium channel along the base, for the tyres to sit in. A successful but fiddly tie down method was 2 straps from the joint where the toptube meets the seat post, one to each side, guying it down.

A single strap is possible, but harder to get right. You really need to be able to tension each half, to equalise them, without slippage at the toptube.

For easier and quicker loading I fitted an upright next to the fork, with an eye through the top for a strap, and another strap round the back rim where it sat in the channel.

In both of those cases I could turn the trailer on its side without the bike coming loose - far worse than anything it will experience on the road.

The inspiration for my design, and a suggestion for you to use with modifications, is the sort of bike carrier designed to go on a car roof. They feel flimsy but get their stiffness from the roof bars and are secure.

With a heavy bike especially, I wouldn't want to rely on holding it up by the front wheel. Racks that do that area called wheelbenders for good reasons.

Answer 2

Since the floor is sturdy, I would suggest using pickup truck bed quick release fork mounts. They will be strong enough to hold the bike upright without needing to flip the bike over. Ideally your bike would already have quick release axles. They are easily available online. Here's an example:

Answer 3

Alternative approach to maximise your trailer load space:

Permanently bolt a T-style carrier to your trailer's drawbar area. Or fit a towball and mount a removable carrier here. Or construct a tray tha the bikes can rest on and be strapped to the verticals.

Downsides - this space is often used for a spare wheel. On Caravans this space may hold gas bottles and/or batteries. Poor positioning may result in contact with the car while doing tight turns. This point will have the most vertical movement, so secure the bikes well with straps/bungees etc. Theft would be easier from this spot compared to inside the trailer's corral.

Upsides - easy access from either side and the bikes don't take any of your trailer's load space. With the right fittings you could drop the trailer and simply use the carrier on the car's towball.

It would pay to check that this is legal in your location first - laws vary around the world.

Answer 4

OP here 👋
Thanks everyone for the great input. I decided to go with a modified version of #2 (in original post). I was blown away by how much support and stability those wheel brackets intended for use with a Stromberg Carlson CC-125 Hitch Mounted Cargo Caddy actually provided. So much so that I was able to go with just 1 of them (for the front wheel) and then use 2 cam buckle tie-down straps running from the seat bracket to D-rings anchored to the floor on either side of the bike.

Note: using a single strap wrapped around the top tube or down tube (as pictured in the manufacturer photo) was FAR less stable/secure than using 2 separate straps - it's definitely worth the extra ~$3.

It looks something like this:

The only thing not pictured here is a velcro strap I used to secure the front wheel to the wheel bracket in order to prevent the wheel from jumping out of the bracket in the event of some bumps in the road.

I think I will mount 2 more of them (the package comes with 4) side by side to cleanly fit 3 bikes in the "front row". And since the brackets are all the way in the front of the trailer and don't take up much space at all, the trailer can still be used to haul just about anything else when not being used for bike transport (or a combination of both).

I'll continue to test it out over the next week or so and will report back if any issues arise. I will try to get a pic with all 3 bikes loaded up as well, although the sides of the trailer make it hard to see what's really going on... hence the diagram above instead.

Answer 5

I'd put the "other bulky items" in the trailer, cover with a tarpaulin if required, and the lay the bike on top, and strap it down.

It really depends on how soft or conformal the other bulky items are.

Also make sure that your straps/ropes pull the bike down onto the rest of the load, and that they run fore/aft as well as sideways over the bike.