I have a 75-lb malamute who loves the trails, or just going outside in
general; when I go mountain biking I follow her instead, because she cuts
very good lines. When we are back in the big city, however, I can't take
her and the bike together if I feel like riding to a nearby park or
somewhere. I don't want her to run along the bike, I've tried it and it's
dangerous due to cars and the heat is too much for her. I decided that I
would get a trailer, maybe a child trailer retrofitted fitted for a dog.
I've done some looking up and found a few candidates:

Burley Cub http://www.burley.com/products/trail...aspx?p=Cub&i=2
Wike Supreme http://www.wicycle.com/supreme.htm
Chariot Carriers Caddie
http://www.chariotcarriers.com/html_english/caddie.htm

I then thought of rigging up a DIY trailer or buying a simple flatbed
trailer and mount a plastic kennel, but I don't know how stable or safe that
would be. Safety and comfort for the pooch is the foremost important thing.
I'm wondering if anybody has a dog trailer and what the experience would be
like, recommendations, etc. The trailer will be for city riding only; off
road my dog will only be happy run on dirt. TIA.

snip


I'm wondering if anybody has a dog trailer and what the experience would be
like, recommendations, etc. The trailer will be for city riding only; off
road my dog will only be happy run on dirt. TIA.

http://www.cycletote.com


I have one of these. my dog is 54 lbs and it's been great. We haven't
done any touring with but, I hope to do so in the future. I do some
part time work gardening and i use it for that as well. I have the
bigger one with brakes. I like the hitch a lot but i don't have a lot
experience with other types.



josh

barbie que wrote:
I then thought of rigging up a DIY trailer or buying a simple flatbed
trailer and mount a plastic kennel, but I don't know how stable or
safe that would be. Safety and comfort for the pooch is the foremost
important thing. I'm wondering if anybody has a dog trailer and what
the experience would be like, recommendations, etc.

BicycleREvolution used to make a pet trailer, though with a 65 lb
limit. Their design is/was very similar to your idea. They still
sell the bare trailer chassis. I suggest you contact them and see if
their heavy duty chassis would work for you. http://www.bikerev.com/

barbie que wrote:
I have a 75-lb malamute ...

I then thought of rigging up a DIY trailer or buying a simple flatbed
trailer and mount a plastic kennel, but I don't know how stable or safe that
would be. Safety and comfort for the pooch is the foremost important thing.
I'm wondering if anybody has a dog trailer and what the experience would be
like, recommendations, etc. The trailer will be for city riding only; off
road my dog will only be happy run on dirt. TIA.

Hauling a 75 pound dog is going to make you strong! But anyway:

One of my best friends has hauled his dog on a homemade trailer for
many years now. In fact, the first dog died of old age a couple years
ago, and it's now the replacement dog that's on the trailer.

The trailer is pretty simple, althought without having it here, I can't
do a good job of describing it. Model 1 was made of plastic PVC pipe
with a carpeted wooden platform. It seemed too flexible to my friend,
so he tried again with aluminum tubing. ISTR it's about 1 1/4"
diameter, just a flat perimeter frame. The tongue angles from the left
front corner of the trailer to the left side dropout on the bike. He
has some sort of spring gizmo for a hitch. He's got a thin plexiglass
windshield (actually, road-spray shield) in front, about a foot high,
and shields to keep the dog out of the wheel spokes. 700 C wheels.

There is a book (out of print now, I think) on building bike trailers.
Nothing specifically for towing a dog, but you could look though and
get all the ideas you need. Ask your librarian to search inter-library
loan for this:

_The Cart Book with plans & projects_, William L. Sullivan, 1983, Tab
Books ISBN 0-8306-0512-6 (hardback) or ISBN 0-8306-1512-1
(paperback).


Actually, that book has plans for a "Dog Sulky." It's a trailer that
lets the dog pull you as you relax. With a 75 pound malamute, that's
_really_ what you need! Malamute's love to pull!

- Frank Krygowski

wrote in message
oups.com...

barbie que wrote:
I have a 75-lb malamute ...

I then thought of rigging up a DIY trailer or buying a simple flatbed
trailer and mount a plastic kennel, but I don't know how stable or safe
that
would be. Safety and comfort for the pooch is the foremost important
thing.
I'm wondering if anybody has a dog trailer and what the experience would
be
like, recommendations, etc. The trailer will be for city riding only;
off
road my dog will only be happy run on dirt. TIA.

Hauling a 75 pound dog is going to make you strong! But anyway:

One of my best friends has hauled his dog on a homemade trailer for
many years now. In fact, the first dog died of old age a couple years
ago, and it's now the replacement dog that's on the trailer.

The trailer is pretty simple, althought without having it here, I can't
do a good job of describing it. Model 1 was made of plastic PVC pipe
with a carpeted wooden platform. It seemed too flexible to my friend,
so he tried again with aluminum tubing. ISTR it's about 1 1/4"
diameter, just a flat perimeter frame. The tongue angles from the left
front corner of the trailer to the left side dropout on the bike. He
has some sort of spring gizmo for a hitch. He's got a thin plexiglass
windshield (actually, road-spray shield) in front, about a foot high,
and shields to keep the dog out of the wheel spokes. 700 C wheels.

There is a book (out of print now, I think) on building bike trailers.
Nothing specifically for towing a dog, but you could look though and
get all the ideas you need. Ask your librarian to search inter-library
loan for this:

_The Cart Book with plans & projects_, William L. Sullivan, 1983, Tab
Books ISBN 0-8306-0512-6 (hardback) or ISBN 0-8306-1512-1
(paperback).


Actually, that book has plans for a "Dog Sulky." It's a trailer that
lets the dog pull you as you relax. With a 75 pound malamute, that's
_really_ what you need! Malamute's love to pull!

- Frank Krygowski


Thanks for the DIY details!

Yes, in the winter I'm going to rig her up so she can pull me on my xc skis
or my bike, but for the summer, I'd rather I suffer than her, since her
tongue's hanging all the way down to the ground simply walking in this heat.