Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Balance point of the M3W

Hello everyone!

In another thread - “Jacking point dimensions?” - the subject of the balance point of the 3 wheeler was raised.

In the mentioned thread the point was to know the balance center of the M3W in order to know the best position to place the lifting jacks. I believe it’s a good point to know, for safety reasons. Working below a car incorrectly suspended can cause a serious accident. I’m thinking about “home-made” lifting platforms, not serious ones as shown in some “looking-really-pro” garages!

But there is another very important reason to know the balance point, and it’s when you plan to buy a trailer to travel with your “rocket” to a distant destination. I am precisely in this situation, asking for many quotes for a trailer.

As the M3W is quite a “light” car, I can see a general “temptation” from some trailer manufacturers to offer a single axle trailer, because it’s obviously cheaper than a two axle one. And in a single axle trailer, the balance point is really more important than in a two axle one. If the axle is not properly placed close to the balance point of the car, you risk:
A. In case the axle is far behind the balance point of the car, so this one is between the axle and your towing bracket, you’ll “overload” your towing bracket and make your car suffer from the rear suspension and brakes.
B. If the axle is before the balance point, so between the balance point of the M3W and your towing bracket, then it can be even catastrophic.
Option B with the M3W is almost impossible to happen (IMHO) as the engine, coupling and gearbox are quite in the front. I’m pretty sure that the balance point is much closer to the front wheels rather than to the rear one.

So this is the question: does someone really know where the balance point of the 3 wheeler is?

I may get some cornerweights for our car, but most trailer nose weights are done by a noseweight gauge (pretty cheap to buy). The M3W really is so light that you have to be a long way off to be a problem for most tow cars, hitches and trailers in my opinion.

trailering mine was made easy..... the trailer has a 7'x12' bed. Not much latitude for movement there. As mentioned the M#W is light relatively speaking. It is certainly lighter than the two Harleys I also toe on that trailer. As they are far shorter than 12' finding the balance point was important. But as FlatCapRacing points out, it is based n tongue weight.

You want to have 10-15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue. You can buy a scale for this, or find a weight bridge...

Thanks. All are useful comments

However I would prefer to know in advance the balance point of the 3 wheeler, and then, as the trailer I'm asking for is not standard but will be manufactured for me, so I can change its specifications, tell the workshop where to place the axle. So I might have a really balanced set!

And avoid overloading the towing ball / bracket, which by the way has a maximum vertical weight / tolerance as per the manufacturer, the car's shock absorbers and the brakes.

Better having a balanced set since the beginning tan playing later with nose weights to re-balance!

Javier, are you planning for a flat bed trailer or an enclosed trailer?

The weight on each of the 3 wheels is fairly even so the CoG will be very close to 1/3 of the wheelbase back from the front wheels.
Believe it or not I did once measure the corner weights, must have been bored that day! Didn't even write them down as I couldn't think of a use for them at the time.

Good info Calum, thanks.

Hello Stephen! I'm planning an enclosed trailer. But the height in my garage is a problem, as it’s just 2,25 m high (this is 7ft5inch) so if the enclosure is a hard polyester piece tilting at the front, it can be a problem as it won’t fully open.

Something like the ones shown in this webpage - http://www.remolquesparacoches.es/remolques-cerrados_9.html - but made to the size of the M3W (I mean shorter and not so tall).

The plan is to have it inside the garage– common garage for the tower, so with dozens of neighbors coming in and out on a daily basis – aside my SUV and keep the 3 wheeler inside and drive in and out of the trailer every time I use it.

I know it sounds weird. But despite my neighborhood is supposed to be fancy, few are mentally retarded (I know. This is not an assumption); condition which combined with jealousy and envy is a dangerous cocktail… so I better protect the 3 wheeler from scratches and other “courtesies” from this human sub-species.

Since you mentioned "the cares shock absorbers and brakes" you have me concerned you are going to pull a large enough trailer for a M3W with a car. Together you probably looking at adding a couple of thousand of pounds. Todays cars and transmissions are not made for than kind of load. We have a "trailer package" Ford explorer to haul our trailer.