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Transporting the Quadracycle
While the quad is a handy way to get around the playa, sometimes it needs to hitch a lift to cover other distances. So, I've built a couple different ways to transport it. Fist up was a small trailer to move it about for local events. And then I built a rack for the back of my motorhome:
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I started by restoring my little fold-up trailer to carry the quad. However, I found the trailer was not up to transporting anything over large distances. For 2006, I was going to sleep in the back of the truck and haul the quad up on the trailer. But I didn't make it in 2006. In 2007 I had purchased a travel trailer, so the quad when up in the back of the truck. Here I've removed the plywood and and lights and pressure washed it. I have all new electricals since the old ones are now over 20 years old. |
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Still primering the front, and the back is getting its first coat of paint (yes, it's the same red I'm using on the quadracycle). |
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Almost finished. This is the configuration of the trailer while being stored. |
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Setting back on its tires, The next step will be to start making a jig to hold the quadracycle, which is a few inches wider than the trailer. |
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And here you can see the problem. Not only is the quardacycle wider than the trailer, it's exactly the same width as the caster wheels on the trailer. |
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This is going to make it hard to ramp the quadracycle onto the trailer. I'd rather not have to lift the rear of the quad since it's so heavy. |
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What I've come up with is to mount aluminum rails on 2 4X4's. 2 more rails will act as ramps so I don't have to lift the quad onto the trailer. 2 upright 2X4's on the front of the trailer will act as a place to mount my bicycle. |
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Here's the rails and the boards. |
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After cutting to boards and attaching them to the trailer, I tested the position of the bike. Using the ramps, the bike went right up onto the trailer with no lifting required. |
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The space on the front will allow me to strap the bicycle to the forward 2X4 posts. |
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I found I needed to add 2X2 supports to the ramps. The added weight of the cooler would quickly bend them. |
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Another setback! I put these tires on 2 years ago, but the valve stems were a little cracked. Big-O didn't find a leak, but they replaced the valve stem. |
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To properly balance the weight of everything on the trailer, I'll carry the quadracycle facing backwards. |
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And just to be safe, I purchased a spare tire. |
And then onto 2008:
Quadracycle CarrierIn 2008 I purchased a motorhome. So how can I carry the quadracycle on the motorhome? With a custom rack! Here's mockup photo of how I planned to mount it:
The rack was built in a single day. Getting it mounted took longer. I found the rack flexes too much and added reinforcements to the vertical rails. The bar on the top allows most of the weight to be taken by the roof since the back wall of the RV is only thin fiberglass and MDF.
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