We recently started working on a totally custom Team Bicycle Hauler. These trailers are the best way to bring all your bikes, all your gear, and all the elbow room you need for some serious racing, traveling, and adventuring, even if you've got a full house to bring along.
With room for a dozen bikes or more, all the accessory space you can imagine, and the ability to move all those mounts at a whim, we sort of thought the Hauler was dialed. We were wrong. A new customer of ours contacted us and had some great ideas, and we've collaborated to make all of his wildest dreams come true. One of the key requests, however, had us a little daunted; solar power.
Solar panels would make the trailer almost completely self-sufficient, charging batteries inside while driving, parked, or in use. We'd never done a thing with solar panels or their cells before, but for our engineer squad, it actually ended up being fascinating and, to be honest, easier than you think!
Much of the roof is going to be covered, offering a big surface to catch sun and charge the battery stored inside the trailer. The panels will be able to offer enough power from the battery for most 120 Volt outlets, which means we'll be able to fire up a TV, computer, charge phones and GPS units, and maybe even an air compressor!
The rest of the build out will have a mix of bike and accessory mounts that will offer plenty of storage room for the whole family. The goal is to use the trailer as home base while traveling, riding, and exploring across the country, so it needs to be able to fit a lot of bikes and gear safely and securely. A combination of wheel-on and fork mounts will offer different solutions, as well as plenty of accessories storage options for gear, tools, and plenty of spare parts.
Check back for more on this project to see the other touches we're putting on this very custom Team Bicycle Hauler, and start thinking about what your team wants in their!