Sideways Music Trailer
I went a different route. Whether it is a better route depends on needs vs wants.
We drive a 10 year old CR-V with a four cylinder engine. It's our family's "big" vehicle. We really like this vehicle and bought it new 185K miles ago. We get ~25 mpg all the time with it. We'd like to have a huge SUV or van but don't want to fuel or maintain it the rest of the year. Or drive a large vehicle. We'll likely replace this CR-V with another CR-V in another 100K miles.
Our cargo/projects/camping hauler was once a simple 5x8 utility trailer with 12 inch tires. I upgraded that trailer to a wooden floor from expanded steel wire and welded up a steel tailgate/ramp for it over the years. We removed one of the leaf springs leafs so it had a little suspension movement. The axle was rated for 2300 lbs and we generally hauled 300 lbs on it. For ten years+ it was a good hauler.
The down side to that trailer was the open top. Nothing was secure despite bike locks and chains. Everything was exposed to the weather. We looked a little like the Clampett's arriving everywhere because the trailer towards the end of our ownership was needing a third paintjob. I also never installed proper bike racks or a cargo box. I was going to do that and then I had a different train of thought that I'll detail below. It was HEAVY despite it's small size.
We sold that trailer for about the same price as I originally purchased it for and sniffled a little as it rode away with it's new owner. Lots of our family history with that trailer.
The trailer you reviewed is a great upgrade from what we had for camping. Proper bike racks, some weathertight cargo space, etc. Still though it is open to the weather and I don't want $1200 worth of bicycles to be exposed to the road spray, the grit and the oil of the wet highways when we get caught out in bad weather. When we park somewhere with an opentop trailer I worry about being out of sight of the trailer and fear somebody would take our stuff. Just having stuff visible is half the danger.
Still I like the lightness and the ease with which this Yakima could be stored!
I looked at small enclosed trailers sold by several American manufacturers and most were either VERY expensive (the kind sold to the hot rod or motorcycle enthusiasts) or very large and heavy requiring more vehicle than we want or need for family commuter duties the rest of the year.
I spent three years in Italy back in the early 90s and the good people there had really small and economical trailers to pull behind their 1.6L family sedans and hatchbacks. These were basically plywood luggage boxes with wheels. Some had clever features like the ability to be stored on the tailgate beside a wall. I wanted something more substantial than that but it didn't have to be too HD b/c our bikes don't weigh much. They almost met our criteria. Covered. Lightweight. Lockable. Stands on the tailgate for storage. I began to price building one at home. I got prices for torsion axles, wheels, tongues, plywood, locks, and lighting.
I looked around some more on the European websites and more right ideas for a small but very useful trailer. (cue Thomas the Train music...)
There are a dozen+ brands of small steel galvanized trailers that I found on European websites. I began looking to see what I could buy in the USA from those companies. "Easyline" was an option but I not HD enough I thought. Wanted larger wheels. We decided that if we were going to sell our old utility trailer on which we had hauled our tablesaw, our VW Beetle body, our whole house-full of belongings three times when we moved around after college - that we wanted something in between a plywood box and an American style HD trailer.
I settled on a Thule trailer -errrr, a Brenderup actually. As I understand it Thule sold Brenderup trailers under the Thule name for a while and then gave it up to sell HD American style trailers. The Thule trailers are aluminum at least and lighter than their all-steel American-style cousins but much more HD than we wanted.
Another option was a modified teardrop trailer that I built so the kitchen section could be removed and bikes put into the sleeping area for travel. I could design it easily enough but to be honest I didn't have the time to build it. And the cost would be higher.
I was able to buy a Brenderup 1205S from the Midland, TX Brenderup distributor along with a second set of sides (it's modular) giving me a taller trailer when I want to install them (~10 minutes), and a plastic locking top. It's met all our needs. Lightweight at 300-400 lbs. Lockable. Covered. Weathertight (I had to add weatherstriping to the trailer in several places at very minimal cost). Stores on the tailgate if I want. It has an independent torsion-elastic suspension meaning no springs - just rubber mounted suspension that works very well under all the on-road and off-road conditions I have thrown at it. It's rated to carry 1650 lbs.
Using scrap wood my sons and I built an inside bike rack and bench/utility table over three evenings earlier this month. I ripped a pine 2x4 and place each stick along the edges of the floor beside the walls. If I remain settled on this design I'll rebuild the racks with oak or some other more durable wood and make them look better with stain and sealant.
Made two crossmembers out of aluminum and screwed them to the pine boards I placed along the walls. Bolted two $80 Yakima (?) "Honda OEM" bike racks to the middle positions and two Delta fork mounts at the outside positions. The middle positions are for child/teen sized bikes and the outer positions will fit anything. Actually I can carry four adult sized mtn bikes but the top is not tall enough. I could leave the top at home...
Those outer bikes need the handlebar stem to be loosened (one 6mm allen head screw) so the handlebars can be turned sideways. 3 mins to ready a bike to ride after a trailer ride.
Behind the bike is what looks like a wooden bench from a stage coach. It lifts out to be used for a bench or table or left in place it carries our stove/grille in the base and our camping gear on top. Left in place it is the prefect height for a work surface for food prep or camp repairs.
We "could" sew a tent to snap to the top and trailer and make an old style VW poptop camper from the trailer. Sleep on the trailer floor at night with the top up, haul bikes during the day.
The trailer has not been altered at all. Not even screws to hold anything in place. Just closing the tailgate locks the racks and bench in place. It can all be removed with no tools and 2 mins of work. We also built a removable floor that allows us to leave the bikes at home and place gear above the bike racks.
It is not as minimalist as the Yakima trailer which might be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your needs and expectations but it is well suited for my family. I want to do some serious cross-country travel and prefer everything buttoned up and strapped down inside the trailer rather than on or in our car with us.
This past weekend we hauled about 1/3 of a rick of firewood inside the trailer to a BSA campout. It was rainy and muddy. I could have gotten more wood into the trailer but didn't need to. It also carried all our weekend camping gear including our Coleman Roadtrip grill (bulky thing but nice to cook on). I drove about 70 miles at ~65 mph on the interstate without a wobble. The drive into the BSA campground was VERY muddy and/or gravel. We unloaded and had a good time. For the trip back without the firewood I reorganized the trailer into 6-8 Rubbermaid containers each carrying different parts of our gear. One had our trash. One had our muddy clothes and footwear. One carried the tents and poles and lights. One container had everything else. Our food container was back there too. Other containers were empty.
My mileage for the trip was still about 24-25 mpg.
My point in replying to this review is not to bash the Yakima or any other small trailer but the draw attention to alternatives to driving a large vehicle year round or on vacation. This a great way to travel and still have space for stuff. It works well for us since we split often our vacation time between tent camping and hotel rooms. We like to bike with our kids. Won't afford an RV or the large tow vehicles nice as they are.
A smaller tow vehicle is so much easier to fuel and park the rest of the year. Even with this trailer it is easy to squeeze down narrow streets or trails. In a parking lot I simply pull straight through two end to end parking spaces. I can also park it in two side by side spaces by backing in and causing the trailer to rotate 90 degrees to the side. Took some practice!
We can also chain the trailer to a tree in a campground if we want to leave it during a day trip to town for shopping. Or just leave it hitched to the car because much of the time I don't know it is there. No worries about ripping the bikes off of the roof rack going under a fast-food canopy either.
Small trailers like the Yakima and Brenderup are well suited for small car/CUV tow vehicles so regardless what the cost of fuel does over the next ten years, we can adapt.
THE WANDAS: NEW WAVE BLUES
My experience with the Wandas has been nearly the opposite. The name doesn’t really convey anything. I wasn’t compelled by the CD’s cover art, which looks more appropriate for a sci fi tome. But I’ve found myself loving this music much more than I expected from my first look at a video (above) that drew over 36,000 views on Fuse.tv this July.
At first, New Wave Blues’s title track feels annoying: Why would I want to listen to a lead singer (Keith McEachern) who sounds like Julian Lennon on thorazine? After the guitar really kicks in there’s a nonchalant but inevitable-feeling progression, kind of like Sinister Luck or even Wilco, and then I get tired of reaching for comparisons because the work has the sort of strength that yells (which McEachern is sort of doing by the chorus, with backing): This is just us, doing what we do. Which makes me cock my head at whoever wrote this bio tidbit: “The Wandas have created an album that incorporates contagious hooks and rich harmonies while maintaining their indie integrity...”
Believe me, there are a lot of indies who should have this much integrity. And now I’ll tell you what I really think: “Indie” is a term that might as well be interspersed with “hip” at this point, and, uh, I kind of said all this in my Micachu review months ago, so if you’re interested, please just go back and read it. There should be no apology for wanting to write really great music in return for one’s rent, mortgage, or trailer space. And with the shake-up that’s rocked the record industry and made earlier indie labels scramble to keep up, it’s all coming down to what people want and like; what resonates - and what resonates often feels real. Like the Wandas - who also make me smile at how they seem to be carrying on a Northeast tradition of thoughtful, open, populist, loving music (the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Little Rascals, NRBQ, Innocence Mission–with, turning West, a dash of Bright Eyes).
“Bending Over Backwards”is another solid pop song.“Everyday” benefits from lead guitar that so effectively channels George Harrison in the ‘70s, I can forget what year it is. The cat sleeping next to me looks annoyed by the sudden energy of “Trepidation,” which is absolutely brilliant. It makes me want to go see these Cambridge-based young men live. It gets me excited about living even though I’m frustrated ‘cause I don’t have anything like the budget to run to Boston for a Wandas show, to see what kind of scene generated, and is supporting, this phenomenon.
“1 in 4" shines with some of the exuberance that knocked everyone over as the Beatles did with early singles like “From Me To You” or She Loves You.” “Fighting a War” sounds more specifically like the latter’s Mystery Tour phase, even throwing in some Paul McCartney “oohs.”
A wonderful folk-rock harmony kicks off “The Lady,” which throws a few elbows in our ribs.“Lose You” takes an abrupt left but ends up sounding rather like a Rivers Cuomo-Peter Svensson collaboration. Closer “Better Now” is a relief, since a painful break-up has clearly permeated this collection. Erica Mazaika’s added vocals are one of many wise choices ensuring the variety of sound fueling my Hearty Recommendation: Get this now, for the $9.99 suggested download price, or free, which is also on offer. In either case I have every reason to hope the Wandas will be around to add to some of the best pop I’ve heard this year. Here’s some footage from a surprising (they must have gotten passes from school that day) appearance on one of the last episodes of the Gilmore Girls.
Mary Leary
Copyright September, 2009
