Build a small utility trailer for Zongshen Sierra 200?

[Jakhack]

DONE!!!

I finished last night with the final pop riveting. I found that on the end panel I apparently forgot to rivet the bottom of the panel to the lower rail. So I completed that and moved on to finishing the lights. I wired it up with a regular flat four wire plug. As I said in an earlier post, I only used a single LED tail and stop light, mounted in the center of the top rail. The photo below shows the finished product, hooked up to a spare cycle battery for testing purposes.



It is the brake light that is on and it it very bright. I don't plan to put turn signals on the trailer since the signals from the bike will be very visible.



To make the connections as secure as possible I soldered everything and covered them with shrink tubing. I am really happy how it turned out. It seems quite light and is very maneuverable. But I got a shock when I actually weighted it. I have been lifting it on an off my work table and thought it might be 55 lbs. But it actually weighed 86 lbs. That is much heavier than I expected, but I built everything pretty heavy duty except for the material used for the bottom and sides. I supposed the positive part of this is that is should not jump around a lot, especially when I might run it empty. I need to weight the stuff I plan to put in it, including extra fuel, water, and camping gear.

This is what the trailer looks like from the inside looking back towards the tail/stop light.



I moved the trailer out of my workshop and moved the bike in at the end of the day. Next week I will start on the hitch for the Zong. But for now I will just be dreaming of all the fun trips I can have with my camping gear in tow. I sure hope it works out well. More later.....jakhack.

[SpudRider]

You did a beautiful job, Jak. Thank you for documenting your work so others might benefit from your creativity. I am adding this thread to both the Dual Sport Sticky, and the Zong Sticky, so it can remain a permanent, future resource for others.

Spud

[FastDoc]

Your workmanship and design are outstanding. Perhaps you can devise some sort of removable divider for when it's not full that way stuff will not slide around in there. Even something as simple and light as a bungee net.

[Weldangrind]

Excellent job! I like the LED light; nice touch.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Excellent job! I like the LED light; nice touch.

Indeed, I also like the LED tail light very much. If you don't mind, please tell us where you bought it, and how much it cost.

Spud

[katoranger]

Looks like a trailer light. Should be available at NAPA, TSC, etc. For Canadians. Canadian Tire, Princess Auto.

[Barnone]

Jakhack,
Very nice job on the trailer.

[Jakhack]

Thanks for the comments.

The tail/stop light was from a local chain - O'Reilly Auto Parts. The part I bought has a rubber seal that goes around the whole light that is not shown in the photo on their website below. Also, the back of the light is white, so I sprayed the whole back with black Krylon plastic paint to improve the looks.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0389&ppt=C0335

It is an Optronics, a good brand, and retails for $19.99. I used it because it was LED and I did not know what the Zong electrical capabilities are. Also, it was advertised as weatherproof. If you look at the photo of the back of the light, you will see there is a plug in connector on the right side. I mounted it by silicone gluing a short piece of aluminum angle to the back of the light just to the left of the plug so that the bottom of the angle was even with the bottom of the plug. This is not shown well in the photos-sorry-everything's painted black! When mounted, the plug is well supported by resting firmly on top of the rear rail. It is mounted with a bolt through the glued angle, through the center hole in the top rail through a short iron flat under the top rail with a lock nut. It is very rigid and I think it will hold up well.

[mikedee]

you did a beautiful job man. it looks perfect !!

[Brainsquishy]

Just read this thread....extremely nice job!

[Jakhack]

Again, thanks for all the great comments and suggestions during the trailer building process. But now that the trailer is done, I have started planning work on a hitch for the bike side of things. I will start a new thread for that and will put a link in here shortly. The thread will be "Build a trailer hitch for Zongshen Sierra 200."

I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with the hitch, basing it on other hitches I have seen and some experience with sidecar mounting issues. BUT, I have not actually started cutting anything yet so if anyone has suggestions, photos of hitches on dual sport bikes, or other suggestions, I am VERY OPEN to your comments.

Thanks...jak

[Jakhack]

This project continues in a new thread with the build of a hitch for the Zongshen Sierra 200. That thread is found at:

http://www.chinariders.net/modules.p...wtopic&t=11601

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Jakhack

This project continues in a new thread with the build of a hitch for the Zongshen Sierra 200. That thread is found at:

http://www.chinariders.net/modules.p...wtopic&t=11601

Thanks for posting the new thread, Jak; I am subscribed!

Spud

[Jakhack]

I took the Zong and trailer on a little outing last week to test everything out with the trailer loaded. I didn't get to weigh the trailer, but had a full 5 gal gas tank, 2 gals of water, tent cot, sleeping bag, extra clothes, air mattress, cooking stove, and other gear. Oh, yes and my camping chair. This is pretty much what I will have on it for a longer trip I am planning this summer.

On my way to visit a friend, I stopped at a Veterans Memorial park under contraction in Staples, MN:



I went to see this buddy so we could discuss bikes, the trip and do a little riding. Plus try out the new local China eatery! Here I am parked outside his office, next to his brand new Yamaha WR250. I may end up riding the Yamaha, because the seat is WAY too high for my friend, but the Zong is perfect for him. There are numerous ways he can lower the WR, but I doubt he will get it ready in time for our trip in early June. I offered to trade the Zong and trailer even up for the WR250, but he balked.



Anyway, the whole rig worked great. The Zong is getting broken in and the trailer towed perfectly. I did not feel the trailer at all, unless I was on a trail or gravel road until I hit some rough spots, and I could feel it pull a bit. I think the swivel coupling and slight flexibility of the hitch mount itself, softened any hard blows, of which I took a couple. I could not be more pleased. The only trouble I had was in soft sand, and that is trouble for me without a trailer.

Next photo is in Nimrod, MN near Huntersville for those not familiar with the Minnesota hinterlands. I ran about 20 miles of gravel and dirt roads here and again, everything was very controllable. This area is close to the Spider Lake recreation area which has a lot of trails that I can test this rig on. That will have to wait till next weekend.



My test run was almost 200 miles. I had a great time and will take another trial run, probably next weekend, in the Spider Lake area to stress myself and the outfit some more.

In the meantime I am planning a short tour in western Iowa the second week of June. For those wondering why anyone would tour in western Iowa - yes, I am a bit daft, but there are actually hills here that are quite picturesque. Google "Loess Hills byway" and you will see that one of the national scenic bylaws in located in this area. Geologically, the Loess Hills are a very unique structure of dramatic hills, created at the end of the last glacial period by the prevailing westerly winds. There are some great gravel roads, cheap camping and other interesting things to see in the area.

Here is a photo of where we are headed. It shows some of the hills that run north and south for 2/3rds the length of western Iowa:



The second illustration is of a map of the general area and the route.



I do have one other addition to make to the trailer, suggested by my friend. Frankly, I am a little embarrassed I forgot about this. The oversight is - there are no safety chains on the trailer. They will be easy to add and there are convenient places to hook the chains to on the hitch. So this will be one of my bike projects for this week.

Later...................jak

[Weldangrind]

Wow. All of that discussion we had about your trailer, and I didn't even think about chains. I'm very glad that you got where you were going without a hitch (yes, pun intended).

Glad to hear that it followed you nicely. With the fuel, etc I'm guessing that you had about 50 lbs of cargo. Much as that WR would be terrific, your Zong sounds like a very capable soldier.

BTW, my buddy had trouble with the height of his WR as well, so he installed a lowering link. He now has the perfect bike.