3.5 Tonne Capacity Car Trailer: is Longer & Wider Better?

**pop058** · 9th April 2020, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

a chequerplate rental trialer with ramps, winch and spare tire will be closer to 1300kgs .... Given you can only tow 2.0 tons before it must have 4wheel breaks with a breakaway system.... this means almost all car trailers are these days not legal as a car trailer (as they can only carry legally carry 700kg .... so are ok for possibly a Citroen 2cv and not much else. This is why hardly anywhere rents car trailers any longer.

To legally carry 3.5 tons .... your trailer is probably going to be a tri-axle or have huge heavy duty axles .... it'll likely weigh close to 2tons itself and you will not be able to tow it with anything short of a truck!

As soon as you start looking into this, you will realise there is no simple answer short of buying a small truck (that probably isnt' rated to carry something like a late range rover that weighs over 3tons on its back).

Dual axle 3.5T trailers are dime a dozen. I have a 3m x 1.7m plant trailer that tares around 750kg as well as a 4.8m x 2m car traler that tares at 820kg ( plus the winch and batteryput on after the pic).

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**Homestar** · 9th April 2020, 08:23 PM

While we don’t hire car trailers any more due to liability some other companies have some quite good ones - Red logo, starts with a K...

They have 3500kg car floats with electric brakes and a wireless controller. They weigh in at 1,500kg empty so can take 2,000kg legally (if you have a tow vehicle capable of this).

Still won’t take a decent 4WD, etc - easier to get a tilt tray to move something like that - and it’s not as expensive as you’d think. Had a 3.2 tonne tractor moved around 100km for under $200 (Trailer for the day would coast $120 plus your fuel and time) Legal, safe and easy - it’s not like you’re doing this sort of thing every day.

**Slunnie** · 9th April 2020, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Interesting, it would probably be 10years ago before I built my trailer... but the lcoal place I asked how heavy the trailers were (big chequerplate steal trailers. rippa things, nice big chequer plate floor, chequer plate guards, winch, two decent chequer plate ramps). He admited they were over 1200kgs empty.

I doubt most will be be much less than this if you run them over a weight bridge. the problem iwth believing there licenses tare is that will be without winch, spare tires, ramps .... possiblly they even weight it before fitting a full floor.

seeya
Shane L.

There is a lot of kit on that, so 1200kg would probably be correct for those. The weights can be pretty variable.

**Slunnie** · 9th April 2020, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by Homestar

While we don’t hire car trailers any more due to liability some other companies have some quite good ones - Red logo, starts with a K...

They have 3500kg car floats with electric brakes and a wireless controller. They weigh in at 1,500kg empty so can take 2,000kg legally (if you have a tow vehicle capable of this).

Still won’t take a decent 4WD, etc - easier to get a tilt tray to move something like that - and it’s not as expensive as you’d think. Had a 3.2 tonne tractor moved around 100km for under $200 (Trailer for the day would coast $120 plus your fuel and time) Legal, safe and easy - it’s not like you’re doing this sort of thing every day.

Just had a quick look on the website. They say in their writing you need a car that can tow a 3500kg trailer, their trailer weighs 960kg, Gross weight is 3400kg, and 2240kg load. Something is wrong there! I'm not sure that they know what they have got!

**DoubleChevron** · 9th April 2020, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Just had a quick look on the website. They say in their writing you need a car that can tow a 3500kg trailer, their trailer weighs 960kg, Gross weight is 3400kg, and 2240kg load. Something is wrong there! I'm not sure that they know what they have got!

the "tare" weight on there rego will be without ramps, winch and spare tires. That is probably the missing 100'ish kgs.

**Homestar** · 9th April 2020, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Just had a quick look on the website. They say in their writing you need a car that can tow a 3500kg trailer, their trailer weighs 960kg, Gross weight is 3400kg, and 2240kg load. Something is wrong there! I'm not sure that they know what they have got!

I’ll make no comment on what they do and don’t know being their opposition...

3.5 Tonne Capacity Car Trailer: is Longer & Wider Better?

**Lionelgee** · 9th April 2020, 09:21 PM

Hello All,

Did someone mention "buy a small truck"?. ....

Will this one do?

The only problem I had was to get it towed home. Thankfully, with the able and highly competent assistance of two club members; the availability of passing earth moving and plant float towed by a Caterpillar powered International truck to Brisbane. The involvement of a hired heavy duty car trailer coupled to a TD5 ... we arrive at a state of completion. Bluey is now home safety in Bundaberg. Yes, some weight was taken off Bluey and loaded into my Commodore wagon for the Brisbane to Bundaberg leg.

Funny how the answer to my issue of being able to tow things involved getting it transported from one state to another. Is that irony? Yes there was probably a measure of sheer stupidity mixed into that equation too.

Bluey is an ex-Telecom D-Series International made in Victoria. It is a 1210 four wheel drive made in 1973. Compared to working on a Series Land Rover everything is so super-sized! What I do miss though is the ready made workbenches and tool rests formed by the Series mudguards.

I am still working on the car trailer aspect of the equation.

Kind regards
Lionel

**Scouse** · 10th April 2020, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by Homestar

I’ll make no comment on what they do and don’t know being their opposition...

I used to be a branch Service Manager. There were a few inventive methods employed to make vehicles 'legal' when I was there.

**DoubleChevron** · 10th April 2020, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello All,

Did someone mention "buy a small truck"?. ....

Will this one do?

The only problem I had was to get it towed home. Thankfully, with the able and highly competent assistance of two club members; the availability of passing earth moving and plant float towed by a Caterpillar powered International truck to Brisbane. The involvement of a hired heavy duty car trailer coupled to a TD5 ... we arrive at a state of completion. Bluey is now home safety in Bundaberg. Yes, some weight was taken off Bluey and loaded into my Commodore wagon for the Brisbane to Bundaberg leg.

Funny how the answer to my issue of being able to tow things involved getting it transported from one state to another. Is that irony? Yes there was probably a measure of sheer stupidity mixed into that equation too.

Bluey is an ex-Telecom D-Series International made in Victoria. It is a 1210 four wheel drive made in 1973. Compared to working on a Series Land Rover everything is so super-sized! What I do miss though is the ready made workbenches and tool rests formed by the Series mudguards.

I am still working on the car trailer aspect of the equation.

Kind regards
Lionel

Nice! I'm wary of towing big weights on a standard type trailer. Does the rear roof unbolt on that so you can use it to tow a nice big 5th wheel type trailer

the seppo's have the right idea. with this sort of trailer I think they are rated at something crazy like 12ton tow capacity.... it shouldn't sway as your hitch is forward of the rear axle.

**Lionelgee** · 10th April 2020, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Nice! I'm wary of towing big weights on a standard type trailer. Does the rear roof unbolt on that so you can use it to tow a nice big 5th wheel type trailer

the seppo's have the right idea. with this sort of trailer I think they are rated at something crazy like 12ton tow capacity.... it shouldn't sway as your hitch is forward of the rear axle.

Hello Double Chevron,

That rig would be worth more than my house. Even I know when to draw a line. The only way I could do a fifth wheel in Bluey would be with an angle grinder with a big disk used to cut through a lot of fiberglass. The roof sides and rear n of the van are all f-glass.

My loads will mostly be parts Series vehicles and perhaps parts vehicles or half-cuts of International trucks. I know it is rather lazy and unadventurous - one day tow my then restored Series 2A ambulance to Corowa. "Then" meaning that it will actually be restored; not in its present state of initial disassembly.

Kind regards
Lionel

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