Thread: 'Car' trailer ideas - thinking outside the box.

Some thoughts,

4 tonne behind an RRC. Oh dear

Why are you so keen on a single axle ??

I assume you are not using a 50mm ball coupling. (only 3500kg rated)

Long drawbars tow well and are easier to back but probably not very "folding" friendly. What about making it removable instead ??

expanded mesh floor to allow the dirt to fall through.

all good ideas, yes the trailer does need some kind of suspension even if it is just trailing arms and lastomer bumpstops If you try to rely on just the tyres to do the suspension work especially on a single configuration bad things will happen and you'll have to mess with the tyre pressures constantly. And it'll be worse the faster you go which is what will happen when its empty.

if you're going to do what I think you're going to do the lowest way of doing it is with cross body torsion arms that mount up over the center of the chassis which would normally be a hassle but as you're going to be doing up and overs on the mud guards its not going to be an issue. hell if you want to you could even tub the chassis around the suspension to really lowboy it.

if you use 13 inch rims you can go tandems inside the wheel base of a 110 but an 88 sits on the guards of the trailer.

Id be looking at going to a extending draw bar or a removable on over a plain folding setup, the advantage of a pinnable removable folding style being that you can set it up to use a highlift jack (or similar) to force tilt the thing.

as for Floor? what floor? you just need cross bars at 6 inch spacings for 28's to walk over lots and lots of tied town points when you do that too.

Originally Posted by pop058

Some thoughts,

4 tonne behind an RRC. Oh dear

Why are you so keen on a single axle ??

I assume you are not using a 50mm ball coupling. (only 3500kg rated)

Long drawbars tow well and are easier to back but probably not very "folding" friendly. What about making it removable instead ??

expanded mesh floor to allow the dirt to fall through.

Yeah, towing 4 tonne with the Rangie won't be high on my to do list - with the 101 on there, just under 3 tonnes which is what my RRC spent its entire life doing. I've towed 3 tonne with it - it's not fast, but it does do it easily - they are a great tow vehicle.

Removable draw bar would work fine - I just need the space when it's at home.

Single axle would give me more room for the ramp over wheel arch idea, and single axle trailers turn much easier and don't put stress on the stubb axles when cornering under load as the wheels twist like a tandem does.

Wasn't thinking of a floor - just a skeleton frame with ladder style ramps running up each side.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

if you're going to do what I think you're going to do the lowest way of doing it is with cross body torsion arms that mount up over the center of the chassis which would normally be a hassle but as you're going to be doing up and overs on the mud guards its not going to be an issue. hell if you want to you could even tub the chassis around the suspension to really lowboy it.

Hmmm, I like those ideas. . Yes, no issue with mounts or suspension that end up over the centre of the chassis - the 101 has oodles of clearance there.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

as for Floor? what floor? you just need cross bars at 6 inch spacings for 28's to walk over lots and lots of tied town points when you do that too.

No plans for a floor at all, just a straight skel with a ramp each side up and over the guards.

Springs are essential, the trailer weight is not zero and you don't want an unsprung trailer when you need to shift it empty. Some h/d shockers too. I borrowed an unsprung trailer once and its constant dance behind my car was ridiculous.

Draw bars can be attached with two swivel pins just in front of the springs, and bolts at the front of the bed. The trailer can then be tilted for low riding vehicles using short ramps.

Build it from RHS, large size but not too heavy. Definitely no angle iron. Sides should be load bearing trusses. Long truck leaf springs will help spread the load fore and aft of centre. Two ladder style runners for the wheels are ample, no other floor is needed. I removed the two front rungs on each side of my trailer and made loops to hold bigger wheels. The rungs go back on when ordinary cars are carried. You could even fit the rungs below the side rails if needed.

Other than the front and rear load space cross bars, you'll need two in between at the spring hangers. Such a trailer can be used as an emergency pit too.

Suitably heavy duty single wheels outside of the load space will make your trailer usable for more than just high clearance 4WDs. Use a cranked axle if you can make or obtain one to lower the bed.

I'm basically describing a h/d version of the lightweight car trailer that I built 36 years ago, it has been (and still is) an excellent all round trailer. Mine weighs 400kg and carries 1500kg. If you can maintain this empty mass to load capacity ratio you'll have an excellent trailer.

Also if you're putting the wheels under the load, maybe dual wheels on a single axle, Transit style. Four 195R14LT's will probably carry your load.

Getting tyres on a single axle that will give you a 4T capacity is going to be the trick. The Mazda/Ford light trucks had 13"duals but I don't belive you'll get them to 4T the most I have found on 13s is Hankook LT at 750kg single or only 560kg as duals. You are going to need a load rating of at least 100 so while they are available in 14's finding dual rims in that size is going to the the problem. You will likely have to go to 16s in which case there are any number of rims and tyres but it will make the axle height of at least 12"giving a relatively hi CoG, or a large height differential between the mudguard and deck/wheel ramps.

For a light tare weight trailer I have been considering something along the lines of a boat trailer with ramps on either side to support the wheels although this means that road grime will be sprayed up under the vehicle while towing. Of course this could be solved by lightweight infill panels like thin gauge alloy being careful not to place loads on these panels.

As for the drawbar, the cattle carrier we used on our farm had a truck and dog, where the drawbar was a sliding arrangement. When the locking pin was released the drawbar telescoped in under the trailer so the truck and trailer crates were touching and the cattle could walk between the dog and truck. You could do something similar.

If you made the trailer in a beavertail design, you could reverse the trailer into a corner and park something on top to save space. Sort of like a set of truck workshop ramps.

Just an idea for your mixing pot. The drop axles used on boat trailers are available ( can't think of the company name, but it is a division of Hayman Reese ) You could use a tandem axle design and drive the load between the wheel arches. A lower centre of gravity and better load sharing. Just an idea.

Hi,
I had a small trailer that I could winch up to stand on its rear against a 3m retaining wall.
That saved lots of space, but I had the landscape to do it easily and safely.
May be too outside the box for a flat block though.
Cheers