Thread: cars on trailers

Most of the hire trailers out there aren't even legal to put a 4x4 on any way. The majority only have over run brakes. For loads over 2 tonnes (including trailer weight) you need coupled brakes. As for the trailer hirers supplying hold down straps I would doubt that the quality of those would meet muster anyway from the state of most trailers and the cables they give you!

personally I think if you go to a hire place without the correct gear to tow a car you shouldn't be towing one.....

And I'm with foz a lot of those places don't even look like they service their trailers I would dread to think what there tie down gear would look like

My experiences with hired car carrying trailers have not been good ones. Trailers delivered with lights not working, wrong electrical plug in spite of being clearly told when booked which plug was required, unroadworthy tyres, tyres whose load rating is below that of the trailer, inoperative brakes, flat spare tyre (the hirer charges you $22 for returning a flat tyre) which must have been a nice little earner, etc.

Originally Posted by It'sNotWorthComplaining!

May be if trailer rental places provided the right equipment then users would be able to safety secure their loads, but the onus is always on the user to comply with regs.

This gear always gets flogged/lost etc. Anyway most hire places will hire out chain dogs etc.

Originally Posted by Stormy

I reckon some of the coppers I know would not hesitate to book him for having an insecure load. The fact that the car was sliding around says enough. What would happen if he had to hit the picks hard? It probably break through the front of the trailer. If he was the only one that got hurt then that wouldn't be so bad, but it never seems to work out that way does it?

I am sure with some couseling sessions it could get over it's insecurity

I pick where I hire car trailers from. There is one place in town that has a good one, the rest are crap (Orange, Summer St Shell is good).

Not being supplied tie down gear doesn't worry me too much as I can do it with the recovery and other gear that I have. What is annoying though, is that almost none of the hired car trailers have satisfactory points at the rear of them to actually tie the vehicle down to.