BUILD YOUR OWN FREE UTILITY TRAILER!

• Converted Shopping Cart -Scroll down
• B-Train click here
• Flying Futon click here
• Downhill Demon Racer click here
• Shopping Cart Gallery click here
• Holistic Hitch click here

Yes it’s true you can and I will show you some pictures that will get you started looking for the free material to build your own cargo trailer. All the materials can be had for free; this includes a derelict shopping cart and old bicycles and parts. Of course you supply the labor and tools and equipment to do the work.

I must stress that you observe all safety precautions and make sure the welding is performed by a competent welder.

This initiative came out of a program to enable recycling of materials by those most disadvantaged in our society and in effect it produces a 100% recycled trailer or pushcart which when used for recycling is purely and simply the most effective and ecologically sound way to help save the Planet.

I have produced about 30 of these so far, looking at different ways of using whatever is available-there are many ways to go and your own initiative is given free scope-within some design considerations. We are looking to get schools and groups with access to metal working tools to participate-making these either for their own use or to donate to recycling programs.

Our ultimate aim here is to create a community bike shop to facilitate storage and repairs to keep the fleet on the roads with maintenance programs for the carts and the pulling bikes.

All the ones made so far have gone to the Homeless population here on this Island so the pix also show the nitty-gritty of life on the streets, which however is eased a little by using a trailer or pushcart for their possessions and to increase revenue from hauling more bottles and cans and other refundables.

"Tonys Trailers Utility Trailer is a page with lots of photographs showing you how you can build a utility bicycle trailer out of a redundant shopping trolley. This shopping trolley bike trailer is built from all re-cycled parts and looks to be a good all round weight carrier." - from Solson.

Let’s start with the largest item we need-the shopping cart. Most grocery chains are happy to get them recycled for free once they are rusty or the casters are wobbly or bent or the baskets bent so they won’t stack together anymore-lots of reasons. Just make sure to ask for them and don’t assume they are yours until the store agrees to give them to you. They may want assurance that you will take their name off them, although some are happy to be associated with a social entrerprise of this type. Getting the old bikes is easier and almost any kind and size works-some better than others.

I’ll show a few pix here to get you started and add more as I continue making a few more conversions.

There should be enough detail in the pix to help you-I hope so –Given the time constraints of running a one-man business I can't promise to answer any questions. I will though try to get more pix posted and some text.

"Thanks for the info! All you're designs are really inspiring." Garrett (www.hammertimetoolcoop.blogspot.com).

What is a possibility is that a social advocacy group will be looking for funding to generate a video and/or a manual to be made available to any person or group that wants to get involved and help make a difference to our poor suffering Planet!

Read Jason Youman's Monday Magazine article Hey, What's in the Cart?

"My boyfriend John came up with an idea yesterday. We were just finishing up lunch when he said: Darling beloved girlfriend of mine, have you featured old shopping trolleys on your terrifically awesome site Recycle This? Because there are currently three we’ll have to get rid of – the one half-buried in grass in the woodland next to our house and the two further down the stream in the woods proper (where all the rubbish collects )" Megan says: "make these sweet bike trailers!!" - from www.RecycleThis.co.uk.

THIS IS EVEN EASIER!

Another method for shopping cart conversions is where the axle and towbar are fabricated for bolting onto the cart. This saves welding on the carts which typically need to have the paint or chrome removed first-an unpleasant task which require masks and good ventilation following standard safety practices. The other advantage of this is I could supply these brackets for bolt-on (have to figure out a price) and you could supply your own wheels-I can tell you where to buy them. We can now cater to the general public who want a super trailer for low cost. Contact me if you are interested and tell me your postal or Zip code so I can get shipping costs.

NOW AVAILABLE. If you can get a shopping cart donated, make sure that it is all metal and looks almost identical to the one in the pictures. Then you take a hacksaw and cut off all the parts you don't see,( it's quite remarkable how easily this can be done-Some only require two cuts!). Then order a kit to make your very own trailer. I can tell you where to buy the Cart-type wheels (eg. Northern Tool sells them for about $25 each) if you can't salvage any from derelect kiddie trailers. The kit will include eveything else you need, including the 1/2 " threaded axles and nuts for the wheels. It will look a bit different from the pix as I am working at getting it into a smaller pckage to keep prices and shipping costs down. You'll end up with a super-strong, durable, long lasting trailer equivelant to one costing upwards of $600 ! The Introductory price per kit is $175 Cdn (US $164), plus packaging and shipping, if you give me your town and zip I can get a quote for that.

The B-Train

Continuing our campaign to get all recycling everywhere done by Human Power, we realize the need for more capacity, and while the larger shopping carts haven’t become available to our program- yet, we can still make better use of the regular sizes. We have proved in the past that trains work-haven’t tried more than three trailers-yet, but two is a good start and once again all the parts are available for free. WHAT A DEAL! Here are some pix of the prototype which will be in action in Victoria next week.

Why we need a B-Train.	B-Train in Action.
Faithful test crew ready to roll.	Simplicity itself the Pup hitch.
Introducing Bodner's Balls. Works great with all our hitches.	Tight turns no problem.

"The Flying Futon"

There's a wealth of opportunities for recycling and reuse out there in our great wasteland of planned obsolescence. Besides the shopping cart conversions, many other structures can fuel our appetite for building carts and trailers to be used for recycling or fossil-fuel-free hauling. The Futon falls beautifully into place, no need even for the cutting torch-it easily unbolted-not sure what sort of vibrations could have loosened the bolts so quickly as it was in like-new condition.( cost me all of $25 at the Thrift Store) Once unbolted it was just a matter of rearranging the pieces, adding wheels, axles and a towbar with the Holistic Hitch. Plus some scrap plywood. Result a floor, 7 feet by 2 feet, with flared sides giving it a truly capacious capacity-and room to sleep-with the obvious title of "The Flying Futon".

Futon- Before Pic.	Flying Futon. After recycling.
Damien a long-time client of Tony's Trailers tries out his new Flying Futon

Downhill Demon

Latest DD-The Silver Ghost.	Brake detail, Silver ghost, in case you want to stop!
	NDP MP Denise Savoie takes a spin!

This is possibly a staged joke. If not, and this is the first time it was used, I hope the wires were thoroughly cleaned of chrome, paint, or whatever the coating was. I can't see if there is a fire in the pit, but it could be a real toxic treat. Not recommended but the cart could stilll be converted to a trailer.

This pic has been around for a while, but only this one shot. I wouldn't recommend this until I'd seen it take a corner, especially with a loaded basket. But who knows -and I'm not about to build one to test it out. A serious consideration is the the reduction in braking power with there no longer being a front brake.

Ready for when we reach "Peak Wheel", (synonymous with "Peak Oil") and have to start making do with less bicycle wheels. Here is one solution undergoing testing as we speak! It confirmed what we say on the single-wheeler page about keeping the loads way down low for stability. It would also work better if the basket was cut down to only 6" high. Grab those extra wheels while you can and build two-wheelers.

These three pix are from the blog Gizmodo.com. Be interesting to know how it's kept from tipping, maybe the guy wires or supports are not in place in the pic. Interesting to see some similarities to the New York carts from 21 years ago, the N.Y. ones had the wheels slide out as you extended the cart thus keeping it from tipping.

This article was published in 1988, so after 21 years are we any further ahead with Homelessness?

Hi Tony, Love the trailers, I've just finished one that involves a lot of cut up shopping trolleys as well, a great resource eh? Big love from the other side of a pond, Andy (www.trailersfromtrash.wordpress.com).

......More cart conversions with a Gallic flare on this site. It shows how to use the rear-triangle from scrap bicycles, which allows you to use back wheels on your trailer. Good Idea! because pretty soon we will run out of front wheels. However theoretically back wheels are less able to handle the side-loads generated by a two-wheeled trailer in the turns, although In practice this may not be noticeable. But it doesn't hurt to go a little slower round the corners anyway with whatever wheels you are using.

Edar.org is an interesting project, looks well funded and is expanding. All based on an adoption of the, by now, Iconic shopping cart

Viggo Mortensen in The Road, with shopping cart.

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