I went to the recycling center and picked up some aluminum panels from an old garden shed. I also had a few extrusions leftover from building projects. The cart in the upper right is a creeper I built for crawlspace work (but I didn't use any of it here):

A 20" aluminum rim, cut in half, became the fixed dimension around which all else revolved. I stripped the paint from the shed aluminum, and a few hours later I was facing some compound curve work:

I built an oven:

I made art... several times. This was intended to be for the curved domes at each end of the top:

However, it was not much use for the trailer, so I polished up my ball peen hammer, and carved a scoop out of a stump, and made some aluminum panels instead. I didn't have much previous experience pounding metal, and was moderately successful. Things definitely have a hand made look:

The shiny panels were nice enough that I decided to buy some new aluminum rims. They're quick release, very nice bearings. I also bought a ball and socket replacement hitch assembly, so I didn't have to figure out much there. Bending the pull rod took some head scratching to get the length, angle, height, and width right:

Finished on Tuesday afternoon. 28 pounds, about 54" long, 16" wide, and 18" tall. LED marker lights at the rear. Rain started about when I finished.

So, pretty nice Monkey Coffin there, what'ja gonna do with it? How about we gather up some chairs, and have a drive in movie? Umbrellas recommended. I laid a sheet of translucent plastic over the top window for the light effect. Even in the cold rain, the show was compelling enough that people stayed outside for about an hour. It's hard to see, but the trailer remained attached to the bike, which had a kickstand:

The AV set up, from left to right: Car audio amplifier, sitting on top of a battery charger. Two speakers. LED stage light sitting on top of a home DVD player. Plug strip, multimeter, and the little blue thing is a Show WX picoprojector sitting on an empty box, pointing out the rear window. When I started the project, I had in mind that I would use a conventional size projector, but I met someone who had the Show WX, and borrowed it . I threw this arrangement together at the last minute, and obviously it relies on a power cord. However, the long term plan is to have the system be battery powered and thus totally portable. Many more ideas are brewing for additional lights, video effects, and solar power, too.

I did indeed ride the bike with the loaded trailer, so far so good!

Cheers,
Carl Magnusson
"fixedsteer"