bicycle tires on portable coop????

[sweeterdeeter42]

Anyone know of anyone doing this? Anyone have pictures?

 

[FriendlyFlyer]

I don't know anyone that does it and I've never heard of it, but it will work great! Just make sure the bottom of the coop/run (when parked) is ABSOLUTELY no more than an inch off the ground.

 

[bertman]

. . . and, if your sides of the run/tractor whatever are more than an inch off the ground just hope that there are no predators who can sneak in a small space like that.

I tried using 8-inch wheels I got at the hardware store. Rigged up a way to raise the wheels when not in use so the sides of the tractor were on the ground (with an extra two inches of hardware cloth as an 'apron'. Problem was that the axle was so long that the wheels wobbled and created too many problems.

Soooo, I took those wheels off and put on two large rear wheels from a lawnmower. They have a lever that can be adjusted to raise or lower the wheel assembly. You just have to figure out the correct height before you do your final installation of the wheel assembly. Now the tractor works perfectly, sits on the ground, and can be raised quickly and pushed wherever it needs to go.

If you figure out how to do it with bicycle tires, please post it on here so we can see how you do it.

Thanks.

 

[Horizon Structures]

Quote:
But even so, they could potentially dig underneath!

The bike tires sound like a great idea though!

 

[Pharm Girl]

It depends on how heavy your coop is. My sister tried stroller wheels and they buckled under the weight. She ended up having to go with lawn mower wheels.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

Quote:
Strollers only have like a 60 lb weight limit though. Ive seen people that weigh around 300 lbs on a bicycle, so I bet they would hold up better. lol. Especially since some of those strollers have really crappy wheals.

 

[perchie.girl]

If you are going for bicycle wheels get the kind that are made for BMX. Stronger framework designed for lateral loading. Each wheel should be able to handle more than 300 lbs so if you use four the combined load bearing should be around 1200 lbs. The trick is to mount them so that they dont flex or bend a shaft. Best way would be to mount support on both sides of the wheel like in the forks for the front tire That way you can use a bolt and you dont have to do a shaft all the way across.

Back when I was training my Colt in harness we tacoed a bicycle tire cart wheel. I replaced the wheel with a BMX and was totally happy with the results.

WRT predators getting under. Build your coop with a skirt that is hinged so that it can be folded up and out of the way while moving the coop. Mount the wheels completely inside the skirt. Easy to do skirt is hardware cloth attach with staples in a very straight row. along the edge only. When the coop is to move fold the skirt up and fasten with a twist tie or something similar.

I can do a sketch for you but it will have to wait for tonight. I am headed out the door for a trip up to my place to water the animals. 120 mile total round trip.... Sigh twice a week.

Lonnnnng story....