MOPED-TRAILER

A moped is often considered an expensive child’s toy. In fact, many of these two-wheeled machines will be acquired by the youth for purely entertainment purposes. And only a small proportion of mopeds being used as a vehicle for business travel. But if you suddenly have the need to transport any goods — for example, a gas cylinder, a few bags of cement or, in the end, bundles of hay! Can carry it all on a hand truck, while half to two “horses” mess around in the barn!

If desired, any moped to turn into a kind of a truck-trailer, and while he moped undergoes minimal alteration, and retains the ability to perform their regular functions.

Alteration of a moped is to charge him the towing device. It represents, curving of steel pipe with outer Ø 22-25 mm, wall thickness 2-2,5 mm. to Bend the pipe preferably in the bending, filling its pre-dry, sifted sand and warming up during the deformation, the location of the bend with a blowtorch (or pre — horn). The free ends of the tube flattened and drilled holes the diameter of the rear axle of the bike. The tow arc is fixed on the axis of the moped regular nuts on the rear axle and is further supported by two struts from steel strips with a cross-section 3X20 mm, the ends of which are bent in the form of a stirrup and is fixed by screws and nuts with thread M5. Finally, the tow arc is drilled hole Ø 12,2 mm for cardan coupling device.

The trailer-the trailer is a two-wheeled cart, complete with wheels from the moped, a simple suspension system and inertia braking device. The body of the trailer is plywood. For the bottom and sides were used as construction plywood 12 mm thick. the Assembly is made using aluminum profiles “corner” 40X40 mm with a flange width of 3 mm. Very durable and beautiful it turns out body, in which “parts” are located inside and outside; the flanges are firmly tightened to each other and the base, forming a rigid box. Edges of the boards also fringes dural “area” with the strengthening of the wooden rail section 20X20 mm, as shown in the drawings.

In the lower part of the body, on the base are mounted two longitudinal members of the wooden slats section 30X75 mm — they are the strengthening of the bottom; between them are placed damping members — the usual tennis balls. As shown, they are very reliable podruzamevaet body, can withstand a greater load, and their lifespan is practically unlimited.

The frame of the trailer-trailer is very simple and is a T-shaped structure welded from two steel pipes with Ø of 30 mm and a wall thickness of 2.5 mm. In principle, it is possible to use a water pipe, the so — called “inch”. Place of a joint of pipe reinforced by steel triangular gussets from sheet steel with a thickness of 3 mm.

And last, as for the suspension — struts brake drums. They are steel strips with a cross-section 6Х20 mm, welded in place to the strut.

 

Hitch is a universal joint, allowing the pole of the cart is free to deviate up and down, left and right and rotate around its axis. This system of coupling is quite reliable and the performance much easier ball lock: it can be done even at home.

 

The universal joint consists of two forks to make them more easily from strips of suitable steel channel or even a steel strip with a thickness of 3-4 mm and a width of 40 mm. “Spider” universal joint is made of aluminum (block, cross section 45X45 mm, length 60 mm, which are drilled two mutually perpendicular holes Ø 8 mm). The longitudinal hinge of the drawbar — threaded rod Ø 12 mm, fixed with two nuts on one of the forks and freely rotatable in the tow arc. To exclude samoorganizowaniu, nuts counter raskladyvanii projecting from their ends of the threaded rods.

 

In one of the forks is fixed also cross threaded stud with locking nuts raskladyvanii. Another plug and a second hole in the cross connect quick release lock — pin fixed in the plug with a special “pin”.

 

On the trailer hitch plug of a cardan is mounted movably, for which it is welded to the segment tube, free incoming to the pole. The ability of the fork to move freely in a shaft is used to drive the braking action of the inertial mechanism. Arranged it is not too difficult. When braking the scooter towing inertial force possessed by a moving trailer, striving to push the bike and overcoming the elasticity is not too hard of a spring, move relative to the shaft of the fork, or rather, that segment of pipe that is welded to it. The mutual movement of these elements and is used to drive the wheel brakes of the trailer. To this end, the drawbar propylene longitudinal groove, and a section of pipe welded to the plug, inserted the rod with two grooves-stops under the shell of the brake cable. On the drawbar installed two l-shaped slotted mounting bracket, as shown on the drawings. Brake cables are fixed on the levers of brake drums, no sharp bends are held on the frame and connected to drive elements on the drawbar.

 

Moped trailer:

1 — moped type “Riga-11”, 2 — brace towing arc, 3 — tow arch, 4 — panel body, 5 — reinforcement, 6 — mud flap, 7 — wheel 8 — T-shaped bogie frame, 9 — coupling of the propeller device.

 

Brake actuator and hitch:

1 — tow-arc, 2 — longitudinal hinge, 3 — screws 4 — u-joint yoke, 5 — a vertical hinge (bolt with nut), 6 — the cross of the cardan joint, 7 — cardan fork, 8 — brake cable, 9 — pole, 10 — spring, 11 — washer 12 — rod, 13 — blank, 14 — bracket, 15 — retainer-pin.

 

Device type:

1 — underbody, 2 — bars of the spar, 3 — nut, 4 — bolt, 5 — bolt-guide, 6 — frame 7 — ball-absorber.

Adjustment of braking purely experimental. Some test driving will allow you to choose the initial activation of the brakes, and the simultaneity of them on the right and left wheels. Is all this adjusting bolt on the brake drum of each wheel.

 

Fitting the body on the frame special difficulties is not. Its fixation is made using three steel clamps, bent from steel strips with a cross-section 4X25 mm and is directing at the vibrations of the body. Fasten the straps to the longerons on the bottom of body 6 mm bolts and nuts.

 

Mud flaps best, of course, to use (for example, from the front wheel of a moped), securing them with bolts with thread M5 nuts on the sides of the body. In principle, it is easy to make and plywood shields of the individual elements, the United dural “corners.” Nice looking panels, bent plywood strips with thickness of 4-5 mm.

 

Don’t have any particular problems if you operate the trailer with two speed moped-type “Riga”, “Carpathians”, “Verkhovyna”. However, the less powerful mopeds, equipped with motors type D-6 — D-8, rather weak for this purpose. Therefore, I recommend to slightly increase the gear ratio of a chain drive, installing on the rear wheel sprocket with more teeth. In principle it is possible to use the drive sprocket road bike, however, although the step computers and the diameter of the rollers and the same circuit parameters of a moped, the moped velocity much already. Therefore, the better the model of the Bicycle sprocket as a template to cut new ones — for example, from sheet duralumin D16T with a thickness of 4-5 mm. to Make it not too difficult with a drill and a drill of suitable diameter.

 

On the rear wheel of a moped are best installed at the same time, two stars — on sports bike. This gives you the opportunity to “switch” moped mode in normal towing, “cars”. For this you need to have cut the chain with a lock on it to install it or to remove only a few minutes.

 

If you intend to travel on roads, to equip the trailer at least reflectors-reflectors, and even better — a normal set of lights. It is strictly forbidden to carry this kind of trailer people, it’s usually necessary to grasp firmly. The transition from “automobile” variant to variant “towing” try not to forget that the dimensions of the composite vehicle has increased significantly, and not try to drive on it, for example, in the gate. And the last one. Do not load excessively the trailer — this can quickly damage the engine and drivetrain of your bike.

 

V. VORONOV, Solnechnogorsk, Moscow region.