The Busycle ready to roll!
July 28, 2006 no problem (c/o Masterful driving by David Hanzel)
The guys back in Boston presented us with an unusual challenge in getting the Busycle moved around behind a car. Get this: Because the engine (and its weight) was removed from the Dodge van chassis they used, the wheels spring out an extra THREE inches in width. What that means is that it will NOT fit on most of the car trailers that U-haul rents. While most of their trailers are 76" in width, the trailer we need must be 79" wide. And they do have them but they are far less common.
What makes this challenging is that most rental companies do not know if they are in possession of a 79" wide trailer. And so in order to find out, one must actually go in and measure. Can anyone help here? We gotta know very soon as we are going to San Francisco on July 28th!!
THX in advance!!
Discussion
7/24/06 Kewl - we next gotta talk about where/how to mount it. We'll need to mount temp brake lights to the rear. And lay out some kind of checklist to find out if it can do freeway speeds. What are the gotchas here?? - mk
7/24/06 Tow-bars are cheap! See http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/p-7514.html#details. We just do not have time this week. They are even cheaper on eBay. - dh
7/24/06 How about building a removable towbar on to the front of the busycle of which we can hide the two connecting posts pretty easily?? - MK
7/22/06 Went to Hengehold today. They had not a thing they could cary it with. All they c/suggest was a tow truck....... - MK
Anybody got a front-tow-trailer that will do around 79", or a flatbed? We have trucks that can tow.
We could build out a trailer at the touch points if it is too narrow.
We could also deflate tires and let it ride (only 1ton) and reflate (we have electric pumps or hand pumps) when we get there
7/24/06: U-Haul: Auto Transport Trailer reserved
Must have a maximum outside-to-outside tire width of 79.25"
Note: outside tire width over 75" must use late-model U-Haul Auto Transport (identifiable by silver galvanized color).
Local dealer didn't have any, after some quality phone-tag:
I have made a reservation with the Redwood City Office (Anthony) for one, 79.25" wide Auto Transport Trailer for p/u Friday morning. I will call 24 hours in advance to confirm. David H
Here are instructions: userguide-autotransport.pdf
From MM3
* Measured Front @ 76" and back @ 75.5" Martin & David H.
* Proposed tow-vehicle is Christy Wolf's Suburban: it has a large receiver and wiring.
* Still need a hitch and ball: Christy to check with husband and/or Doug M.
* David to determine ball size ;-> 2 inch dia.
7/25/06: Doug's hitch and ball works! I picked it up from Doug last night and have it in the vehicle! - CW
7/28/06: All the planning and preparation paid off, as long as we stayed below 50 mph the busycle trailered well. The leaf spring wore through one of the strap, so we used a pad for the return trip. DH
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