axle and tow ball weights

[weeds]

i have been following a thread in the D3/D4 area and thought i have the opportunity next sunday to weigh my set up and check tow ball weights so i mays well.

axle weight
is it as simple as just putting your rear two tyres on the weigh bridge and your two front off the weigh bridge?

tow ball weight
i assume drawbar with jockey wheel only on the weigh bridge, my jockey wheel is probably 300mm back from the receiver so it won't be 100%, maybe a tad lite

I will post up my findings....they will be +/- 10kg

now what is the max. towball weight for a defender with an unbraked trailer?

i'm guessing my camper trailer will be over 750kg :eek::eek:

[weeds]

i should search before asking questions.......

as my defer is in the shop at the moment i will assume the tow bar will say 250kg and the manual will say 150kg

[33chinacars]

Any trailer over 750 kg's is ment to have brakes ???

Gary

[weeds]

Any trailer over 750 kg's is ment to have brakes ???

Gary

totally agree.......

[Killer]

i have been following a thread in the D3/D4 area and thought i have the opportunity next sunday to weigh my set up and check tow ball weights so i mays well.

axle weight
is it as simple as just putting your rear two tyres on the weigh bridge and your two front off the weigh bridge?

tow ball weight
i assume drawbar with jockey wheel only on the weigh bridge, my jockey wheel is probably 300mm back from the receiver so it won't be 100%, maybe a tad lite

I will post up my findings....they will be +/- 10kg

now what is the max. towball weight for a defender with an unbraked trailer?

i'm guessing my camper trailer will be over 750kg :eek::eek:

Tow ball weight,
Weigh the vehicle without trailer, then weigh with the trailer, but keep the trailer wheels off the w/bridge. Difference in readings will be tow ball weight.:)

Cheers, Mick.

[weeds]

OK, played on the weigh bridge on Sunday as we were pretty much packed for a trip away next week

3700 Defender and camper trailer 1A 2K
2740 Defender by itself 1A 2K
2800 Defender with trailer connected but off bridge 1A 2K
1000 Camper trailer by itself
1240 Front axle weight defender 1A 2K
1480 Rear axle weight defender 1A 2K
940 Camper trailer axle weight when connect to defender

approx. 60kg tow ball weight

not sure why i did it now, only wanted tow ball and trailer weight

trailer will probably max out at 1100kg.....umm a little heavier than i thought it was going to be, might have to consider brakes

[cewilson]

Unfortunately yes you will. Anything over 750kg must have brakes fitted.....

Ball weight seems quite good. Most people talk about 10% but quite often it can be too much. You're up around 6% which is still in a good range (5-10%) plus it's not too heavy if you need to lift it.



Wish my Defender weighed that for a trip

[Xtreme]

Unfortunately yes you will. Anything over 750kg must have brakes fitted.....

Ball weight seems quite good. Most people talk about 10% but quite often it can be too much. You're up around 6% which is still in a good range (5-10%) plus it's not too heavy if you need to lift it.



Wish my Defender weighed that for a trip

Agree totally :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[weeds]

Didn't expect the trailer to get over the 1000kg....

The defender is pulling it up quite nicely, coming down the ranges it would have been good to have a bit of assistance.

An oversight for sure but now that it's built might just stay the way it is

[BigJon]

Didn't expect the trailer to get over the 1000kg....

The defender is pulling it up quite nicely, coming down the ranges it would have been good to have a bit of assistance.

An oversight for sure but now that it's built might just stay the way it is

Don't have a crash then. The illegal trailer will give your insurance company a nice "out".

[Slunnie]

Adding brakes isn't a big deal for a light trailer, just $$$. You'll also need to go through the rego process to have your papers updated to beyond a 750kg ATM.

[weeds]

Don't have a crash then. The illegal trailer will give your insurance company a nice "out".

When one builds a trailer from scratch, researches it to death, owned a caravan prior, hired tandem trailer.......pretty much aware of the laws.

Apart from having brakes I reckon a good % of trailers don't have functioning brakes and the towing vehicles seem to pull them up

[THE BOOGER]

Little bit of time and less than 4 hundred bucks for the brake set up:D

GALVANISED Mechanical Disc Brake Kit - Caravan, Car, Box Trailer Parts | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GALVANISED-Mechanical-Disc-Brake-Kit-Caravan-Car-Box-Trailer-Parts-/160855763220?pt=AU_product_Trailer_Parts&hash=item2573c02914)

and they are aussies

[MR LR]

What about putting Defender discs on it (IIRC you used Deefer hubs in your build?!) and then getting some of the mechanical brake calipers you can buy (not sure on brand, they're in my Camec catalogue which is in the garage) and then run them on the Defender discs as mechanical over-ride, simple as, and you could get some old discs for bugger all, clean them up and away you go. Just need to fabricate some mountings for the axle, easy as ****

Cheers
Will