Pull along cart

[vicrev]

I met a number of walkers in Europe using pull along carts for their gear.Does anyone use them in Oz ?......keep smiling ....Vicrev

[David M]

I have never seen one but I think the problem here is that Australian trails tend to be rough, rarely flat, level and well-groomed like centuries-old Euro trails and therefore there are few places these could be used.

[FootTrack]

I don't use one myself. Whilst travelling up north a few years ago I saw several people walking along roadsides with carts/wheelbarrows full of supplies though. Would have been tough walking in the heat I'd imagine and you'd want to have a strong nose/stomach for all the road kill you'd pass I reckon!

[michael_p]

I have thought about using a trailer. I think a trailer may work if you could access an area along an easy walking (or even a fire) trail to a base camp area from which you could explore the surrounding area via day walks. And not to mention the little extra luxuries you could sneak into the trailer. I agree with David M, don't think a trailer would be good on the rough tracks we have here.

Do a Google image search for: hiking trailer. Also you can find a number of videos on youtube of different trailers. I was surprised at the number of trailers avaliable including an aussie company.

Quick overview of some trailers here: http://littlegreentracs.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/05/long-distance-hikers-trolleys.html.

Apparently they are banned on the Bibbulmun: https://bibbulmuntrackwalks.wordpress.com/tag/hiking-trailer/.

[swills]

Just need to work out how to fit skis to it then I can cover all seasons!!

[michael_p]

Just need to work out how to fit skis to it then I can cover all seasons!!

Many trailer companies have a kit for attaching skis to their trailers. See here for an example: http://www.burley.com/page_3256_21/we_ski_kit.html.

Cheers,
Michael.

[vicrev]

Not all the tracks in Europe are well groomed....far from it.Some of the Pilgrim trails I have walked are like goat tracks,the carts seem to negotiate them quite well.....Maybe it's something I will have to consider on long walks ,anything is better than 20k+ packs...worth a try.........Keep smiling. ....Vicrev

[Strider]

If your pack is 20kg+ perhaps it would be wiser to invest in lighter gear?

[vicrev]

Thanks for stating the obvious,Strider....Unfortunately, not all of us can afford to upgrade our existing gear......I suppose I overstated my pack weight,at 72yrs it just seems my pack gets heavier every year,that is why i am looking for other alternatives, to take some of the load( please, no donkey/horse suggestions ..Vicrev

[Moondog55]

Only 20 kilos at the start I hope, still a 50 pound pack is heavy no matter what age you are, but I totally get the lack of discretionary funds to upgrade to lighter and stronger gear

[Strider]

I actually meant using the money planned for purchasing a cart could perhaps be better used.

[GPSGuided]

At 72 years of age, it's time to start to save on these for a lasting solution - An exo-skeleton for added carriage capacity. A cart may buy you little additional trail time.

[stry]

Aahh vicrev - I feel your pain, although I am well short of 72.

The brutal fact is that eventually the pace at which one's physical abilities are declining reaches a rate at which it starts to outstrip the ability of technology and one's wallet to keep up. Sorry !!

[Kainas]

That would be an awesome solution for family groups. All the gear in the cart, leaving one or two adults free to carry kids in Ergos.

[vicrev]

Loving the comments !!!! Age creeps up gradually , then all of a sudden,it's walking along side of you,but, this fella is determined not to take a step backwards & collapse into the dreaded Gods Waiting Room (Old Peoples Home )..........So,next year,the intention is to do the Venice Italy to Santiago Spain Pilgrim walk,no rush,about 6-7 weeks....I have walked Pilgrim trails in France & they are wonderful......Keep smiling .....Vicrev

[MartyGwynne]

I know of someone who could not fit all their gear into their pack for a walk to Wilsons Prom Sealers Cove, so he packed the wheelbarrow!!
He said he got some comments etc along the way but they were the only group to take a slab of cans in with them....
I don't think he bush walks any more though.
It could be adapted to make a lightweight wheelbarrow/cart to push or pull along flat easy tracks but I am not sure how you would go doing walks such as the Viking circuit in the Vic Alps.

[DarrenM]

Google Lucas Trihey.

Pretty cool hauling in good style...... http://www.escalade.com.au/simp_tpic.html

[vicrev]

Thanks DarrenM,for the link.great pics & info...the cart looks a bit big for me,I would probably need a donkey to pull it & going downhill with my luck, it would run over top of me .....Intend to make it a lot lighter,a bit smaller & looking at the pics I will need sand wheels to cut down the drag... Mmm,back to the drawing board....... ..Keep happy...or... Keep smiling....Vicrev

[photohiker]

I've thought of doing some salt lake walks of several hundred kilometres. I think a pull along cart would be ideal for those conditions where you have a lengthy walk and no water supply other than whatever you take with you. Once you take a cart on a bumpy track with elevation involved I think things will get hairy in short order.

[DarrenM]

They are fairly large for smaller journeys vicrev.

Lucas is quite approachable and has been helpful in regards to info on the building of his carts in the past. I did look into making one a few years ago but the project was put on the back burner. Fatbike tyres with heavy duty tubes and good quality hubs can take a beating.

I like the concept.

[vicrev]

I also like the concept DarrenM,.I have seen them work quite well & always asked the person pulling the cart if they were happy with it,they always answered yes,less strain on the legs,back,can carry more etc. etc.The ally frame for me is the easy part. The biggest drawback are the tyres,don't like the idea of punctures,carrying spares,maybe a wide resin flat rim would be the go,I don't know,it's going to be trial & error I think........

[DarrenM]

From the small amount of homework I did a while back, I figured you need a decent tyre based setup for shock absorption. Heavy duty motorcross tubes and specific tyres etc can and have reduced punctures to almost nothing across places like the Simpson. MTB wheel setups have been absolutely punished the world over for downhill racing and big mountain riding.

Think about the forces involved in hucking 80 foot drops onto rocky terrain. Punctures from sharp objects are reduced significantly with modern tube technology. I have downhill tubes for my MTB and they are twice the size and weight of my standard tubes, and as you are using it to haul, the weight is practically eliminated.

To be honest, I think the physical limitations of what and where you are hauling is the larger challenge.

[GPSGuided]

Then there's tubeless technology and no more puncture flats unless it's a significant slash. No tubes.

[Scottyk]

I've thought of doing some salt lake walks of several hundred kilometres. I think a pull along cart would be ideal for those conditions where you have a lengthy walk and no water supply other than whatever you take with you. Once you take a cart on a bumpy track with elevation involved I think things will get hairy in short order.

Yep, this is where they would be useful.
For really long trips into desert like environments they would really come into their own

[DaveNoble]

I would have thought that if doing a pilgrim walk - that you should be able to buy food en-route and not need to carry too much. Do you intend to camp? If not - then you could probably get away with a very small pack.

Dave

[michael_p]

Then there's tubeless technology and no more puncture flats unless it's a significant slash. No tubes.

I wouldn't go tubeless. Thorn proof tubes are the go. I've had the same set of thorn proof tubes on my mtb for years and never had a puncture. Important to remember that the weight of a trailer/cart full of gear is going to be a fraction of what a bike plus rider weighs.

In the event of a side wall tear vertical blind material can be cut to fit between the tube and the tyre. This works very well and you would be surprised how wide a tear can be fixed this way. I did this with a tyre a few years back and continued to ride for many more months before the tyre gave out. And I'm a big guy who runs relatively high pressures in my tyres.

Cheers,
Michael.

[TerraMer]

PUSHING IS BETTER THAN PULLING

most of us long distance walkers, who start with a cart designed to pull, soon discover, within the first 2000kms or so, that the human body is better designed for pushing a trekking cart/trolley/barrow rather than pulling. More efficient use of large muscle groups.
My first 2500kms of treks were with pull carts designed from bicycle trailers. By accident, as I started the walk around Australia, I had to push the new custom designed cart through a narrow winding path and suddenly discovered pushing is the way to go. Since my own discovery, I have read of others who also accidentally discovered the same thing some way into their own big treks.
these are much bigger treks than you will probably ever dream of and involve carrying heavy loads, especially between resupplies which can be hundreds of kms apart, so this advice may not be of any help to you if you're only planning to do short walks.

thorn resistant tubes and Bontrager tyres are the way to go. don't bother with tubeless unless you're looking at a small wheel like a shopping trolley. My set of thorn resistant tubes and tyres have travelled over 3,000kms across Australia from Perth since March this year without punctures, just one pinched valve on day 4 because I didn't put enough air in it. I have found through experimenting with a few different designs, since 2009, that the larger the wheel the better.

Of course, there are the exceptions. when trying to walk up rough hills with steps or tree roots across the path I need to pull it up backwards to get the best traction to bounce over these little obstacles but it is still using the quads and glutes more efficiently than pulling forwards.

[DarrenM]

Now we're talking. What kind of harness did you use Terra?

[TerraMer]

...What kind of harness did you use Terra?

The first trailer I used a shoulder and hip harness with chest clip but I soon dismantled it into just a hip harness and then threw it away within 500kms. Too much vibration travelled through the cart, handles and harness. It was easier just pulling without a harness, my wrists and elbows could buffer the vibrations. I designed the handles long and balanced comfortably at hip level with room for a long stride.

If you do design a pull cart consider that it will always be easier braking the weight if it is in front of you. You could fit a braking system but that too will be easier to operate if the cart is in front.

If you buy a bicycle trailer and fit handles or a brace system/harness think about the wheel design. Can you fit larger wheels to the design or do the wheels fit within a fixed frame? You might appreciate the flexibility to try different sizes. Burley Cargo was a great little light weight trailer except I often wished for larger wheels which the frame didn't allow for, they have since removed that outer frame. The Burley Commute looks like what you're after. Simple, light, good for short walks and can be pulled or pushed, it may get jagged on rocks and tree roots but can be hefted/bounced over easily enough or just fit bigger wheels. Great for lighter loads of less than 20kgs. My current barrow is designed for up to 100kgs (lots of water) but unloaded i can lift it with one hand. So far so good and the average weight has been about 55kgs, max 70kgs. The wheels are in the middle of the load, packed well, balanced, it can be pushed with 1 finger over flat terrain. Not so fun on any degree of incline or decline but that weight wouldn't be fun in any kind of cart design unless fitted with a motor or brakes.

[vicrev]

Thank you all for the input....so,a pull/push cart works ok in OZ......quite pleased to get so much positive feedback..lots of thinking to do ... ......Vicrev