Car Transporter Trailer Tips Needed Pls :-)

[Dodgey]

Hi guys - a few questions

1) Cargo straps - do you double them over before passing through the ratchet spindle?

2) Do you cut off some of the excess? I have LOADs and it's going to be a job to tidy it all up.

3) I have mine balanced so the weight is just over the jockey wheel - I can lift it at the hitch but it is happy resting there - i.e no risk of tipping the other way unintentionally. Seems logical - allows me to wheel the trailer about with the car on it.

4) Any tips on underside clearance? I am currently winding the jockey wheel all the way down, including dropping it through it's mounting clamp, then putting axle stands under the other end (to stop it flipping up), then putting wood planks on the ramps, and I still only have mm to space - the outer lower body in the middle scuffing on the inside of the ramp lips if I'm not careful.

perhaps you unload up the suspension and jam it that way somehow?

[AdamR]

1) I don't bother, grips very well.

2) Mine are short enough to wrap around the 'reel' and leave no trailing bits. Once you've got a setup you're happy with, you could trim (and then singe!) them down to suit?

3) You should have approx 7% of the overall weight of the trailer as 'nose weight' (pushing down on the ball).

Therefore if trailer is 400kg and car is 600kg, you need ~70kg on the ball. Bathroom scales under a bit of wood that, combined, are the same height as your tow ball is from the floor do the job nicely

4) How long are your ramps?

[stephenh]

The "nose weight" of your trailer (loaded) depends partly on your tow vehicle. Most cars will ideally probably specify (look in the owners handbook) around 50 to 75 kg if I remember correctly. With a twin axle trailer it is in practice a bit different I think, because it isn't so easy to tell. If you try lifting up the front of a twin axle trailer by hand when it is loaded it will be very hard to do, because you are trying to lift the trailer onto its rear wheels, so it will give a false impression of its nose weight.

If you have a twin axle trailer, I personally just try and get the car reasonably central, over the wheels of the trailer. It seems to work for me, as my car/trailer combination tows in a very stable manner up to speeds which it shouldn't ought to go,IYSWIM.

As to fitting the wheels straps, don't be too hasty to cut them, you might change your mind about the best way to tie down the car. Hard to describe how to fit the straps, more a case of getting someone who knows to show you. If you cut the webbibg, do remember to singe the cut end with a match or a lighter, otherwise it will fray. You need to just get the cut ends to melt and seal, not so as to have a bonfire!

[thos]

1) No. I've seen them bind when too much strap put through. I typically wrap the excess around the roll bar in a nice bow

2) I wouldnt cut, unless you can singe the finish again. Once they pull and strands start appearing they get very hard to push through the ratchet.

3) I dont doubt Adam's logic on nose weight - but I have always judged the balance from driving the tow-car.

[Dodgey]

Thanks guys - it's a single axle. Don't know it's weight but it is light. My towing vehicle is a Mazda Bongo (bl**dy great big 4x4 2.5TD mpv - converted to a camper :-) )

Without knowing the trailer weight It might be tricky to find my ideal balance. I'll try and see what I have now, and maybe aim for 50Kg (no way my trailer is 400Kgs)

My ramps are 50 inches long. I'm laying two skirting boards on top of them to lift the car a little as it rises.

UPDATE: Well whaddya know!?!? 49.8 Kg on the nose at towing height - I obviously have a feel for these things lol.

Looked up my car - 75KG is the max nose weight.

Now going to rethread my ratchets single. bl**dy winch hasn't shown up. Ordered on Monday grrrrr. Makes a big difference loading the car without my extra 85kg

[SootySport]

You can get more clearance on the ramp by winding up the jockey wheel so the the front of the trailer is higher than the rear, reduces the angles, of course you need to disconnect the hitch from the car and make sure the handbrake is on the Westy.

I trimmed my straps to a sensible length after making sure there was enough for every eventuality like carrying a dfferent car. The nose weight in the car handbook should be the optimum weight on the drawbar, not an "up to" weight .

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I can't load my single axle woodford with it hitched to the car so i always have to unhitch and then raise it on the jockey wheel to get the ground clearance needed.

To work out nose weight i find that if i can lift the nose of the trailer one handed then it's too light, 2 hands and a bit of effort = just right

[Dodgey]

marvelous! I'll increase the nose weight to 75Kg then!

Here is my setup:

Ready to run tomorrow...

[CSRacing]

From the pictures, it looks like your not using wheel straps, but standard straps passed through the wheel

I found the wheel straps better as it holds against the tyre so no rubbing on the wheels when towing

Maybe an option for you later

[80BSY]

Wheel straps are a must, and they're not expensive.

I'll ratchet them down in less than 2mins, then take a 300k Ferrari across the country without even bothering to check them.

Used with wheel covers, they'll do no damage either.

Trailer balance etc has clearly been covered, so you're well away.

[Davep1]

Hi,

I agree the Mazda Bongo makes a great all purpose vehicle -

I use a Mitsubishi Delica (!) similar brute of a mpv 4x4 - tows anything, and can sleep 2 comfortably in it as well.

Far far better than the Landrovers (Disco, 90 etc) that I used to have...

Good luck, Dave.

[alexander72]

I always load engine first buddy as per Brian James instructions - there is a very good VOSA document on towing somewhere... :-) nice wheels mate

[Zumbruk]

I thought the engine should always be at the tow-hitch end (IOW, yours is the wrong way round!) That's what I've been told, and how I've always towed my TVR and the Westie.

(I have a Wessex 4 wheel beaver-tail I tow behind a Disco 3. I have wheel straps which I got from Brian James, and I cut them to length (and singed them) once I'd worked out the best way to strap it down.)

[Dodgey]

Will have to lookup why it should be engine first. I was just focussing on getting the weight right and thought you have to go backwards at some stage so why not up? :-)

Update. Seems the engine-forward advice is based around making sure that too much weight is not at the back so you don't get trailer whipping. As I have mine balanced with 70kg at the front it should make no odds.

[alexander72]

cool, good luck Dodgey, have a good day