Spring Buggy Upgrade

[clonebug]

My Wife was perusing Craigslist the other night and came upon an ad for a small camping trailer.
I emailed the guy and he replyed the next day.

It was 175 miles away and the price was right.....

Needless to say after driving a 350 mile round trip after work it made for a long day!!!!!!

We had been looking for a used Leesure Lite for over 3 years and never saw any for sale until this one.
It turns out it was one of the first models they built in 1997 that they started their company with.

It seems to be in really good shape except the hinge is rusty and doesn't want to open real well. I am in the process of fixing that with some Deep Creep and if that doesn't work I'll pull it off and see if I can free it up. If not I'll get a new one online and replace it.
The tent material seems good and it is a slick little trailer.
The empty weight is around 260 lbs. or maybe a little more.
Size is 89 inches long and 66 inches wide.

Their current models are 66 inches long by 54 inches or 48 inches wide to appeal more to the Motorcycle crowd.

Here is a pic.

I am working on my hitch right now so to make clearance I raised my license plate up about 3 inches.

I plan on cutting a section out of the lower cross tube and then welding in a hitch receiver mount something like Joe's mount.

That puts the hitch at almost the perfect height for the trailer to sit level with the buggy loaded with crap.

I doubt the hitch weight will be over 45 lbs so hopefully it won't squat too much.

We can't wait to take it camping!!!!!
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[hillmotorsports]

Nice find!
Your biggest issue will be how you load it. It will take careful planning plus some trial and error to get the balance just right. With a lightweight rig like this bathroom scales can be your best friend. You need to shoot for a minimum 10% tongue weight. Any less and the tail will wag the dog!
Is there a water tank on board? Remember to take it's location into account if you are hauling water...
Looking forward to seeing more pictures.
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Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)

[GS guy]

Cool trailer CB.
Might have to also think about repositioning your exhaust outlet. Keep the soot and exhaust smell off/out of the camper. Nice to have the extra storage room with that rig!
Jeff
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[wythac]

Clonebug, I think you may be able to use your existing engine cage to have a removable hitch assembly like the one I built....on your car it can double as a wheelie bar mount!

Pm me if you are interested in fabrication detail. This set up is SAF.

[joescoolcustoms]

Unloaded, my utility trailer has about 20 pounds on the tongue. And other than the "slapper" style springs banging on bumps, I don't know it is there.

I have had 7 - 100 pound bags of blasting sand in it and other than my steep hill to my house, the buggy pulled it fine. I usually like about 50 to 100 pounds tongue weight to have a good ride loaded.

A buggy gets attention anyway, add a trailer and you become THE spectacle.

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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[clonebug]

[wythac]

I watched the video of the trailer set up. That thing is cool. I like my Heilite but it is complicated to set up, I may have to start looking for one like you have.

Weight is similar...I think the Heilite is close to 300# empty.

[clonebug]

[wythac]

That's great.

You'll like the low profile for towing too...my Puck feels like I have a parachute out at any speed over 50. I'm reluctant to use the internal space for storage due to the possibility of damaging the interior if/when the load shifts. As a result I use that trailer more behind my Vanagon where its behind and below the van's roofline (less wind resistance). I can store my crap in the car so storage isn't an issue.

My Heilite, loaded with supplies (water, food, firewood) weighs about as much as the Puck does when empty (about 700#) yet doesn't feel like a drag at all until I go up a steep hill.

I do get a little exhaust noise splashback off the front of the front of my Heilite but its not much and it looks like yours has a skinnier forward profile, so I'd imagine the noise would be less. I'd recommend if you don't have to change/move your exhaust to accommodate your hitch, you might wait until you roll it to see if the noise bugs you enough to want to do something about it.


Look forward to seeing it at the vintage meet this summer. Drag it down for the Burger Meet and you can pitch it in my backyard a few miles from both the Friday night and Saturday venues! No chilly drive back to Whatcom Co.!

[clonebug]

[clonebug]

Little update.....

I got my hitch welded on but need to wire it and also add a spot to hook the chains.

Had to replace the hinge on the rear of the trailer and after procrastinating and worrying for two weeks I finally got it fixed. That allowed me to open it up and air it out for a couple hours before dark last night.

I hooked it up to the buggy and it sits nice and level so far. It's a crappy pic with no detail.....
I'm thinking it's going to be a pretty cool tow.

I'm going to try to get it outside today and maybe tow it around the block just for fun.........although it is Mother's Day.........
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[wythac]

That is cool! Well done. Opens up a lot of travel options with your buggy when you drag your own shelter with you, right?

Now if it would just warm up past 50F.....

[oprn]

Sweet thread!

I too have in mind to tow a trailer with my buggy. That was one of the things that swayed me toward a type 4 engine conversion. (Ok, it was the excuse I gave the wife for spending the money!) I have a little trailer I built years ago to carry a canoe. It has a plywood box to throw the gear in then the canoe goes on top. Made with Toyota 1200 front spindles so speed and pot holes are not a worry like the tiny tires and axles that come on bike trailers.

It weighs in the 250 to 300 lb range and we have used it to pack our tent and camping gear in the past as well as a canoe. You can barely feel it behind the Jetta TDI. Long tongue as an 18' canoe fits it but it will stay that way for canoe trips with the buggy. With the long wheel base you can load it any way you want and it is rock solid back there. You will notice most wiggly trailers are short!

I don't have an engine cage on the buggy to attach a hitch to yet. I am waiting till I do the engine swap before I build one. That way I hope to get something that doesn't look like a set of playground monkey bars tacked onto the back and hanging way out. Will try to keep it neat and tidy.

[clonebug]

I finished up the wiring to the trailer and it all works great.

Took it for a little test ride and it pulls the trailer like it's not even there.

I used a 5 wire to 4 wire converter that I installed by the engine that cost me $11.99 plus tax. It works like a dream so far.
The wiring is neat and tidy and fairly easy to get at.

We are going to give it a test camping in a couple weeks. This coming weekend is booked with the Motorhome so it will have to sit home.
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[wythac]

Thats awesome! Did you notice any "acoustical splashback" from your muffler off the front of the trailer? Pretty small forward cross section, probably not much, if any.

[joescoolcustoms]

Good looking set up! I pulled my trailer 800 miles round trip this past weekend to the Import Nationals show at Carlisle PA with my camping gear in it. I would much rather have that camper than my tent. It does suck some power out on the interstate mountains and about 3 mpg less.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[clonebug]

[clonebug]

[joescoolcustoms]

I would love to go turbo. John D. had a turbo on his buggy in Carlisle, but I did not have a chance to talk to him about it.

Just not in my budget right now. I am getting ready for a full re-build on mine and the budget does not have any $ in it for engine upgrades.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[oprn]

Finally ready to make a trip through the Rockies next week!