Adding roofbars to a trailer

[zikkimalambo]

Hi All,

First of all, thanks to all who advised on my recent trailer extention. I got some 12mm ply cut to size by a local hanyman shop and put beading all round it and then slotted the panels into the trailer. This has extended it upwards by approx 6-8 inches adding a few extra cubic feet of capacity (just as well as a friend asked us to take a load of their gear down to camp!)

Instead of attaching the wood to the trailer with elastic and then attaching the canvas cover to the wood in the same way, I opted to put some loops of guy rope through the existing elastic on the trailer cover to allow it to still attach to it's original "buttons"

Next project is to add roof bars to the trailer so that I can then some bike carriers.

Anyone done this and have any tips?

The main options i've seen commercially are to attach a frame to the lower part of the trailer/chassis (see

).

Or to attach a couple of butch specially designed roofbars direct to the trailer (the latter are manufactured by Erde for their range of trailers, available from Wilstow and shown here.

trailer isn't either Sunncamp or ERDE, and I do have a spare set of roofbars designed for gutterless cars, also the above options are both a little expensive, 85 and 100ish pounds respectivly.

So, onto the questions....

Has anyone mounted a set of roofbars onto a trailer via DIY method?

How did you do it?

If not, how would people recommend doing it?

Emulate one of the above methods, or something different?

[Guy King]

The message from [e-mail] contains these words:

Mine's got a solid ply top so I screwed the bike carriers straight to the lid with a spreader underneath to stop them leaning over.

[Autolycus]

As a rough guide to the sort of strength you should be achieving, picture (or try) the trailer tilted forwards at 40 degrees, then sideways at about the same angle. If the load falls off, or over, or buggers the trailer, it will do the same under heavy braking or cornering.

Are the trailer tyres, wheels, bearings, suspension, and tow hitch rated for this extra load? Are they all in top condition? It will be a rarity among trailers if they are.

[zikkimalambo]

Dunno.

But I wouldn't have thought it would be a problem. We're talking about a maximum of 50 - 60 Kilos, could be a good reason to use the kind of carrier which puts the bike upside down though, as i'd imagine the top and middle is where most of the weight is.

The trailer is a modern (last 5 or 6 years) Conway Carrier, 10" wheels with taper roller bearings in the hubs serviced last year. I doubt it's done more than 1000 miles total in it's life, though of course the tyres are getting a little old and spend most of the year sitting in the same spot.

Wouldn't have thought it would be any worse than an ERDE with factory fitted hard top and load bars.