# Easy bike rack!!



## Jim_bo (Jul 31, 2011)

OK... I saw this forum and I thought I'd offer my input. I built a bike hauling trailer out of a cheapy Harbor Freight trailer, a sheet of plywood, some outdoor carpeting and four roof racks (three bought at a REI sidewalk sale and one from ebay). Two are Thule Sidearms and two are Thule Criteriums. I have less than $800 total in the trailer and I can pull it behind anything from a motorcycle or my wife's car. I unload and load bikes at the trailhead in less than a minute or so. The best thing is, when I get home, I unhook the trailer, push it into the garage and the bikes are stored! It takes about 45 seconds to do!! This is by far the easiest setup that my lazy ass could dream up. Actually, I did it because my wife refused to let me put a rack on her car... she was afraid I'd scratch it.

40-1/2" x 48" Small Utility Trailer - 1090 Lb. Cargo Capacity

Thule*-*594XT Sidearm

Thule*-*598 Criterium


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## Jim_bo (Jul 31, 2011)




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## Stupendous Man (Jan 12, 2004)

yea, but....how much was the goldwing?


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## Jim_bo (Jul 31, 2011)

More than the trailer!!


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## steadite (Jan 13, 2007)

Awesome...I think it's funny that you've got 4 bikes to the trailhead, but at most 2 people!


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## Jim_bo (Jul 31, 2011)

I have friends who ride motorcycles and mountain bikes... I guess I'm the mule!!


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## LWright (Jan 29, 2006)

I have a similar set up, started with the HF trailer, added an aluminum box and bike fork mounts with rear wheel trays. And before I put the trailer together I cut a foot off the width, just took the axle to a welding shop for piece of mind.


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## pimpbot (Dec 31, 2003)

I know that trailer well! It's been a huge help with the new house, and a big reason why I don't have to rent or own a pickup truck. It's already paid for itself in the rental fees it's saved me.





... and I was thinking of bolting some trays to the trailer, but the wagon can already carry 5 bikes between the hitch rack and roof racks.


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## CNCRob (Jul 20, 2014)

Jim_bo said:


> View attachment 798656
> OK... I saw this forum and I thought I'd offer my input. I built a bike hauling trailer out of a cheapy Harbor Freight trailer, a sheet of plywood, some outdoor carpeting and four roof racks (three bought at a REI sidewalk sale and one from ebay). Two are Thule Sidearms and two are Thule Criteriums. I have less than $800 total in the trailer and I can pull it behind anything from a motorcycle or my wife's car. I unload and load bikes at the trailhead in less than a minute or so. The best thing is, when I get home, I unhook the trailer, push it into the garage and the bikes are stored! It takes about 45 seconds to do!! This is by far the easiest setup that my lazy ass could dream up. Actually, I did it because my wife refused to let me put a rack on her car... she was afraid I'd scratch it.
> 
> 40-1/2" x 48" Small Utility Trailer - 1090 Lb. Cargo Capacity
> ...


I really like your setup. How has the trailer held up? any issues? Does it bounce any because of the bikes being so light? I really like the trailer and thinking pretty hard about buying one.


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## Jim_bo (Jul 31, 2011)

The trailer is an outstanding investment for creating a bike hauler. I have pulled it for thousands of miles and I frequently run in excess of 80mph. It pulls straight as an arrow and I have never had any problems. I can't say enough cool things about it. The hardest thing to do is welding up some angle iron to make a platform to bolt the Thule cross bars to. If you can make that happen, the rest is really easy.


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## CNCRob (Jul 20, 2014)

Thanks Jim_bo , I'm gonna check with the NC DMV tomorrow and see what I need to do and how much it will cost to get the trailer registered in NC. If it is a pretty simple process I will probably go ahead and buy one of the trailers.


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