Was toying with the notion of using some sort of hitch to join my deer cart to my mtn bike. Just wondering if anyone has any input on decent way of doing it. It would sure make getting a deer out of the back country a lot easier and quicker. Thanks.

R.

As a matter of fact.



Yes.....................

Oh my God that's funny!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That'd be a video worth paying for...... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Awesome pix!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Don

R.,

Jim Hack uses a bike trailer with his mountain bike. I know he puts his rifle in the trailer, but I don't know about critters.

jim

There are a crew of guys from PA that hunt up our way, they made up a game carrier using bike wheels, and an old alum ladder that is then hooked up to the post for the seat on one of their mnt bikes, seems to work real well. Does make a racket going down the fire roads though

I use a trek "Kid trailer" which has served me exceptionally well. Both for exploring with my little boy, and for hunting. It will hold as much as you can pull up a hill while pedaling.

We usually pack in gear stored into 5 gallon buckets with good snap tight lids prior to the hunting season. All the basic stuff with each scouting trip. Then when we hunt we only need to bring in clothes, gun and some food. When we whack a bear, or deer or whatever we use the trailer to take out the skinned and bagged quarters or in my case just the boned out meat. This way the gear stays out of sight and sealed up between hunts.

I ride in an area closed to motor vehicles but wide open for hunters. Last year while riding I saw two bears near the road eating berries only 20 feet away as I passed them. So now I started to carry the 44 revolver incase that option becomes available again. I don't have the trailer with me on the daily ride, but its easy to go back and get it for game recovery. The good part is that most of the trails and closed roads are down hill when going out.

My trailer was difficult to find because I have disk brakes which are very important when going down hill with 50-75 pounds in the trailer behind you......especially while in a drizzle, or with several inches of snow! Those old "rim grabbers" would wear down like a pencil eraser, or grind away the aluminum rims with the grit and sand on them.


I ride the roads I hunt nearly every single day doing that 15-18 mile loop. Rarely with the trailer except during the season or setting up for the season. Because of this my fitness stays intact and I can manage the trail problems as they come up. For example there was a very large tree fallen across the road/trail. The next day I loaded the chain saw in the trailer and cleared that away on the next trip through. You hardly know that trailer is behind you with under 25 pounds in it. At about 35 pounds you will definately feel it and at 50 pounds you will find some significant level of effort on the up hills. Going down or level 50lbs is no problem though. I've had way more then that on a couple of occasions.

Where motor vehicles are allowed this works way better:


150-200 pounds on the back rack makes for some interesting balance issues but after a few moments of feeling it out you can scoot all the way back to camp.

JJ, thats a neat mini bike. Where did you get it. Karry

It's not really a "mini bike" it's a full size machine. 24" tall 12" wide radial tires. 1000lb load capacity!

It's also 2 wheel drive, the front wheel is chain driven exactly as the back one is.

It's made by a company in New Hampshire called Rokon, my bike is the trailbreaker model.

Hey Rondo, I've had the same idea but have yet to find the time to execute it. We've got a Chariot kid hauler similar to what another posted showed. The cool thing about the Chariot is it has a variety of front end attachments that you can swap in a few seconds. In addition to being able to tow it with a bike you can get a harness which would allow one to pull it easily when travelling by foot. I used to work at a bike shop/framebuilder and we ended up with an extra axle housing for one of these trailers. My plan is to build a fold up (and packable) game hauler using this axle. I already have the wheels and bike towing attachment from the other trailer which will save me some $$. Now, if I can just find the time...maybe after deer and elk season is over.

BTW, you wouldn't happen to be the Rondo of Over The Edge fame would you? Just curious.

I had an interesting experience while out on my bike last weekend. I was watching a lone antelope doe being stalked by some hunters. She was totally on to them and fled. I had placed my bike in front of me sideways so I didn't look so much like a hunter (but was dressed all in orange). She saw me, turned 90 degrees and ran straight toward me at full bore! She didn't put on the brakes until she was within 100 yards or so. At that point she wasn't quite sure what I was but decided that I wasn't another antelope and then took off running the other way. There was ample chance to get her, but I had already filled my antelope tags. It definitely reinforced my notion that a bike would offer advantages in certain hunting situations.

Rondo,

My brother-in-law actually fashioned a homemade hitch onto his mountain bike that pulls his deer cart. I just e-mailed him asking for pics of his set-up, so when he gets them to me I'll post them.

Craig

That uncle Jim pose is my favorite photo of all time's.That's dedication.My new idol from the first time Stick posted it.

Most of the trails around here are to rough for a trailor but I have used paniers to carry out 5-6 deer, they work pretty well but be sure your wheels are in good shape and tuned,,,,I warped a rear wheel pretty bad hauling a pair of deer hindquarters and back loins on the rear rack.

There are plenty of bad trails here as well which would make a trailer of any sort impossible.

What makes the bike and trailer work very well are the closed gated roads used on many of the private treefarms. The area is wide open for non-motorized recreation though.

While I was the wildlife manager for these farms through the early 80's and 90's the roads were open to the public. However I would have to write up report after report to have appliances and stacks of tires, furniture, and everything you can imagine removed and hauled out. Some of the more inventive morons shoved the crap off a steep hill side making the labor and removal so expensive the tree farm actually had to leave some of it where it came to rest. Recovery of an old chest freezer 700 feet down a vertical cliff laying on the ground tangled and bend inside the reprod was an unrealistic expense to remove.

Every sign shot full of holes, ever gate shot and rammed with a bumper, every pull off on the road covered in broken glass from the plinkers shooting every bottle, can, or other crap they could find. The 2 stroke dirt bikes were also a huge problem screaming through the forest pissing off every one camping and relaxing along creeks and lakes.

The battles over land use and destruction of logging equipment became so significant they just gated it all up and now those of us with responsible habits are screwed.

There are a few treefarms that charge a 165 bucks a year for a driving permit and issue you a key. The rules are strict and there are no motorcycles or ATV's allowed street legal or not. No overnights, no fires, no target shooting or plinking, Shooting allowed for hunting only. You can only be behind the gates during daylight, and only from something like April first to December first. Last year the big farm near my home sold 175 of these permits, most were for fisherman and accsess to wilderness trail heads for hikers. Only about 50 were sold to people who specificlly stated primary use was Hunting. This is a 360,000 acre tree farm too.

Probably not a bad price for vehicle access to this size of property with so few others paying the fee.

we have quite a few gated forest service logging roads that a cart would work on but they tend to be full of downed trees and rocks,,,with lotsa bumps,,,the paniers work very well,,,I hafta push up the steeper hills when the bike is loaded and ride the brakes going down the steeper hills.

Jim,

Do you still have/use the goats?

Regards,

Pete

Yep, never found a single better packin tool then these goats. Since my main wrangler has moved away to school now and she's not around to help me as much I don't go with them as frequently now. My little boy is a bit to young to work with the goats, so I've been in a limited use period recently. I still hunt with them many times a year though and make the best use of their skills when I have to go into a bad place.

Not much will outhike or out climb a goat!

Thanks for all

Oops, sorry, got cut myself off. Thanks for all of the good ideas guys. Most appreciated!!

Rondo,

Here are the pics of the Bro-in-Law's bike and cart set-up. These were taken when he was putting it together. The vice grips are just holding the flat bar stock together for welding. He's used it now for 2 seasons and it works great. As you can see it is really nothing more than a hitch mounted on the rear of the bike. Sorry it took so long for the pics, but he just sent them to me.




Craig

http://www.bobtrailers.com/trailers/yak.php

Only rated to 70lb. but I know people here in Pa. that bring 120lb deer out with them.