Last summer I purchased a Burley Nomad trailer. We bought it to carry our beach chairs and ocean junk down to the beach. I also use it for grocery shopping, it can haul a ton. I tried to give my chocolate lab a ride in it, yeah he did not like it! He leaped right out.
Here it is attached to its main ride a beach cruiser.
It attaches via a aluminum hitch that goes through the rear axle, bolt on or quick release.
It slides in to the hitch and is secured via a pin and has a backup strap that clips to a D-Ring.
The whole trailer is covered by an included rain cover. The cover attaches with these large rubber rings which are easy to attach and remove.
The large trailer is divided in two sections by a removable screen, which is handy for carrying bags. I imagine i it would be great for bike camping. I have always used my panniers for that. I would much rather use this.
The Nomad has front and rear gates that drop down for easy cleaning or carrying longer loads.And you can tell they did not skip any details, the front and rear flaps have a strip of reflective material that runs the full width of the trailer.
You can drop the divider down by removing the support bar. it attaches with large thumb screws.
The trailer has convenient pockets for storing things. Once again, I never used it for bike camping, but these would come in really handy for that.
This should give you a good idea of the size of the trailer with the divider down.
The trailer is not totally sealed, you’d need to pack your gear in a dry bag or trashbag if you were bike camping in bad weather.
The Burley Nomad folds down quickly and easily with no tools. The wheels are 16″ with quick releases so that tubes are readily available.
I used a BOB trailer before, it was nice, different because it had one wheel versus the two on the Nomad. The two wheels make for a really stable trailer.
Burley says:
Travel the world with the Nomad, designed to easily get around with more than just the shirt on your back. Simple organization with a removable partition allows for any size cargo. With its light-weight, sturdy aluminum frame and two-wheel design, the Nomad easily stays upright and is easy to tow or pull by hand when detached from the bike.
- Trailer weight = 14.5 lbs, 6.6 kg
- Capacity = 100 lbs, 45 kg
- Large carrying capacity with removable inside space divider and pockets
- Low tongue weight design won’t compromise bike handling
- Easy to clean fabric
- Custom cargo rack accessory available
- Safety flag included
- 16 inch quick-release alloy wheels
- Folds to: 32.5 x 19 x 9″ (82.5 x 48.3 x 22.9 cm)
A couple of quibbles about the Nomad. It ships with a dreadful taillight and bracket that almost immediately disappears because it gets broken off. The quick release levers for the wheels are annoying because they stick out and catch on everything you try and squeeze by. Like the doorways in my house. The assembly instructions are dreadful. I finally gave up and asked the folks from whom I'd bought my trailer where the sleeve for the flag was, not that I ever use it anyhow.
Annoyances aside I love my Burley. I use it for all of my grocery shopping. I had quit the car about a year ago and I was getting by with a backpack and my wife's panniers. I graduated from that to a free used Nashbar kids trailer which was more for proof of concept than anything else. It had a really annoying hitch and dying fabric but it showed me shopping by trailer was viable.
I haul my Nomad with a Davidson Criterium geometry frame. I ride it fixed with 45 18 gearing and 172.5 cranks. 700 C wheels, Mavic Open Pros with Phil Wood track hubs. I like that the weight is supported by the trailer not the frame or wheels. You really don't notice the weight on flats and the hitch works well. None of that surging the Nashbar did down a hill. You can get a lot of weight in the trailer. I also use mine to gig with. I can get my gig bag and an amp and all of my associated gear in the Nomad.
Because of the short frame I have to be careful about how I position the hitch clip otherwise I end up slapping it with my foot but it's easy enough to use reversed. If someone were to steal this trailer I'd buy another tomorrow. The Wike trailers are intriguing but lack the enclosed space. There is also a German made trailer with a soft bag that looks like it might be nice but it's over $500. For my money the Nomad can't be beat. Thanks for the great review and pics.
I do know a dedicated BOB user. He has ridden his trailer across the desert and over mountains. He loves his BOB. He rides a heavier bicycle. He has a company that installs solar. They also use bikes that work trailers for hauling. The upside of the BOB trailer is they show up used. Nomads are rarer and more expensive when they do show up.