My new SportsRig micro trailer should be delivered today. Here is the back story: My wife and I kept our old Ford Aerostar van for hauling boat sails and the occasional load of plywood and the like. We also used it to car-top our canoe and carry bicycles. After a couple of years with the Prius, it became obvious that the van was a waste of money and resources. We weren't driving it enough to keep it in good repair. It was only a matter of time before we would pay someone to tow it away. PriusChat to the rescue! After reading darrelldd's excellent write-up about his SportsRig trailer, it dawned on me that I could effectively replace our van with a small trailer. The SportsRig, while expensive, appeared to be the best option. We sold our van and bought a hitch and trailer. I installed a Curt hitch a few weeks ago, and then orderd the SportsRig. FedEx shows it on the truck, in five packages, and waiting to be delivered later today. I'll take some photos, and follow up with a review. In case you are interested, here is a link to the SportsRig website: SportsRig Micro Trailers: Kayak Trailer. Bike Trailers. Lightweight trailer for kayaks, bikes, canoes, cargo, camping gear, boats, storage boxes. Manufacturer and dealer. USA Made trailers for your vehicle. Eco-friendly trailers for fuel efficiency. Tom
How many sheets of 1/2" plywood can you carry? :madgrin: I know what you mean about letting a vehicle sit; I had to replace the battery in my Explorer a couple of months after buying the Prius because it got run down from sitting - now the battery is getting weak again from just sitting - every few weeks I have to put it on the charger for a few hours.
Let's see: 1/2" 4x8 foot sheets of plywood weigh about 50 pounds apiece. The SportsRig has a limit of 450 pounds, so that works out to nine sheets at a time. The overall weight including trailer would be about 600 pounds, so it shouldn't be a problem for the Prius. Now that you have me thinking about it, I helped my son re-roof his house over the weekend. We had to replace all of the decking, so we were hauling 1/2" plywood on the roof of his Honda van - 15 sheets at a time. That works out to 750 pounds for each load. It's a wonder we didn't wreck his van. Okay, FedEx just dropped off the five boxes with the trailer. I'm off to take pictures and start the assembly. Tom
Try batterytender.com. They make a $39 trickle charger that MAINTAINS your battery to a fully charged level. I've heard many good comments on their product. Battery Tender Jr. The Battery Tender Junior is much more than a trickle charger. It has a brain. It's lightweight, compact, and fully automatic; very easy to use, especially in small spaces. It will keep your battery fully charged so that it is ready to go when you are!
Unfortunately, the spot where the Explorer is parked isn't really a good location to run an extension cord to, so I either move the truck closer to the garage or remove the battery. However, if I could convince my GF to let me sell our camping trailer, then I would be able to keep the Explorer in a spot where I could leave it plugged in all of the time. But that's another problem and story. :madgrin:
We had a SportsRig micro trailer for a couple of years and it worked fine for two recumbant bikes. We didn't want to put a bike rack on the top of the car and my wife is short, making it hard for her to help load the bikes. Hope you don't have any trouble assembling yours. I did occasionally have trouble with the lights on the trailer. Seemed to have a loose connection now and then. I would just give it a smack and everything was ok for a while. I also had an issue with one the plastic fenders not centering correctly over the tire. The company sent me a replacement, but I still had to redrill the holes to get it to center. Oh, one more thing, one of the tire rims had a bad plating job, but the company replaced that too. They even paid for my shipping costs. Good company to work with. Sorry to be so verbose, but I thought you would enjoy the information.
