Thread: Is it possible to tow 3000kg of weight on a trailer?

Very interesting question. I'll be watching this thread.
I have a trailer that is 600kg with 2000kg GVM. For those who don't know, this means I can carry 1400kg. I am in the process of getting it re-rated as I need to carry 2000kg. Most of the trailer manufacturers I have spoken to have no idea about trailers. They just build from knocked down kits or what they have built for years and the designer has since moved on. There have been a few I have spoken to who do know their stuff. The figures they are quoting me are to carry 2000kg or more (up to 3500kg GVM) the trailer will be 1000kg to 1200kg.
I don't like your chances but here's hoping.

The defenders (90 110 and 130's ) can legally tow 3500kg as long as the trailer is braked
That is Aus law

But in the Uk the defender can tow up to 4000kg as long as the trailer has air brakes don't know the Aussie law on that

Ali

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Drop centre axles, the load rating of 195R14LT tyres is 950kg each. Load sharing suspension to increase the load rating of the dual axles. Shouldn't be hard to get two axles with Rodeo 2wd hubs made. Even Falcon ute wheels should be plenty strong enough. The frame needs to be minimal to just support the weights, you need two girder sides with something like 100 x 50 x 3mm RHS along the bottom. Don't be tempted to use angle iron, it is heavy for it's strength.
The bed area is smaller than a 6x4 so should be possible. When I built my light car trailer in the 80's it weighed only 400kg, despite its 12x6 load area. It runs a single axle rated to 1.8 ton and a RHS open frame so your job sounds feasible.

it most certainly can but you can save yourself a little heart ache when you realise that if you by the heavy duty version of the 130 and put a minimalist tray on it you can put 2 of the blocks on the truck and then only have to worry about a 2T for the trailer, you could do it with a stock 110/130 just as easily by putting one block in the back and then 5 on the trailer then you save yourself some heartache on the exact engineering of the trailer. Most car trailers weigh a 750kg-1T and take 1.5t on the tray. so even if you make your smaller trailer massively engineered at 1T putting the 2.5t worth of blocks in it with 1 on the tray of the landy your set.

now thats an idea, will the tray of the 130 be used for anything else?

I think that you could build that trailer, but it will be very very close with the weight if it doesn't go over. You wont really know until its done.

You will need a tandem axle with load sharing HD suspension setup, big square axles, electric brakes with breakaway etc etc - thats where the weight is!

I would be inclined to set up the load as 2x3 running longways on the trailer to reduce stress on the Xmembers and at 1500mm long all of the weight is distributed really nicely over the 6 suspension mounting points. The other advantage of the compact load size sitting directly over the suspension is that it will not flex around and require sides etc to increase rigidity. The draw bar mounting will be interesting (ie difficult to set up nicely) on such a short trailer, but of course you could still run a bigger deck and bring it out longer - the drawbar will make the front rigid. I wouldn't advise running those weights too far rearwards of the suspension mounting points without sides on the trailer, but you wouldn't setup those loads like that anyway.

if youve been running an 11 tonne truck, why has it been limited to carrying only 3 tonnes of calibration weights? what else is on the truck? a HIAB? test gear? tools?

with the weights on a trailer being towed by a 4wd, how do you plan on unloading them?

with the trailer, you can skip going the traditional beam axle setup, my favourite is the simplicity suspension system, uses 2 leaves with 4 totally independant wheels and decent drum brakes for each wheel.
The Trailer Shop - Parts & Accessories - Camper Accessories

if you want, they can even be set up for airbags, and within reason the suspension can be built to whatever weight/ride height you could wish for

whats going to be in/on the tray of the 130? depending on how much room will be available, you could also go for a gooseneck (avoid the yank fifth wheel setups, they are too obtrusive on tray space) type trailer which with load sharing will allow you to tow around 4500kg depending on the weight of the tray, accessories, tools, etc

Thanks for the replies. The 130 will be close to 2500kgs once the tray and my tools are in, and yes i am planing to carry another 1000kg of cal weights on it too when needed, however i still want the trailer to be able to carry 3000kgs. (7t gcm powered by a massive 2.4L yay!!)

I was hoping not to go with leaf springs/load sharing leaves/straight axles, due to their weight. Instead i want to go for the tordial axles, which have the suspension built into the axle - its an outer tube with a layer of rubber, then a solid axle inside with plates on the end. Are these drop center axles??? can you load share them?

Those axles in the link look good, and i will be calling them on tuesday. I'm a bit worried about their weight though, they look dam heavy, like 350kgs, which wont leave much for wheels and frame.

Almost all the weight will be directly over the axles, yes Slunnie, the load area will be 1.5m long and 1m wide. We always unload the weights with a forklift (they have a provision on the top for this) or overhead crane, so they have to be within reach of the edge of the trailer (including wheel).

I will have the drawbar as long as the total weight allows (3-3.5m between the front axle and the hitch would be ideal - like my car trailer), but theres a fair bit of weight in that.

I dont want to go for 5th wheel setup -

1- i want a tray with toolboxes, and

2 We have other utes which are rated to carry 1500kg braked, so it would be nice if they could transport 1000kg of weight on the trailer when needed.

Yes my 11.3gvm truck has a stupid massive giant hiab (which no-one at work has a licence for anymore), large rusty tool lockers under the tray and some barwork on the back for long loads. With no weight and a full tank of fuel, it weighs in at 8.36t, which means i cannot drive anywhere with 3000kgs and more than half a tank!

Andy