Bike Trailer Modification

The cheap bike trailer I bought and then took on my ride around Taiwan has proven to be excellent value for the price.  However it does have two design weaknesses.  Today I made a minor modification in an effort to resolve one of them.

The trailer connects to the bike rear axle using two arms each with a sliding pawl that locks onto the bike axle nut.  The issue is the pawl frequently slides back into the unlocked position when cycling.  This results in the affected trailer arm disconnecting from the bike creating a very unbalanced situation.

My solution has been to drill a 4mm hole through the arm immediately behind the pawl when it's in the locked position.  I then insert an 'R' Clip through the 4mm hole preventing the pawl moving back to the unlocked position.

 

A - Pawl in the locked position

B - Sliding pawl mechanism

C - The 'R' clip behind the pawl preventing it moving to the unlocked position.

The second issue is the instability of the stationary combined bike and loaded trailer.  I had a cheap side stand on the bike during my ride around Taiwan and it was placed under considerable strain as it had to support both the bike and loaded trailer.  The stand leg eventually broke.  Fortunately on the last day of riding.  What I really need is some type of folding double legged stand under the front of the trailer.  The trailer is the heaviest piece of the combination and if that was stabilised when stationary I think the problem would be solved.  I need to think about the design of a cheap and lightweight folding trailer stand!