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Aug 24th, 2023
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Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 38
Just Getting Started
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OP
Just Getting Started
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 38 |
I am looking into having an open trailer built for my 2015 M3W.
I want to keep the car on the trailer when parked in a single garage, so I do not want to have the trailer any larger than it absolutely needs to be.
I would keep the weight off the trailer wheels by stands etc. when parked up, and will only contemplate a twin axle for safety.
I have spoken to a couple of potential bespoke trailer builders, both came up with the same answers -- go twin axle for safety (fully agreed) and put the car on the trailer backwards so that 12 inch wheels can be used and the front wheels can sit in line with the trailer wheels. In other words the trailer width can be controlled. 10 inch wheels are not recommended by them, and the axle positioning can be tweaked to work for the balance point of the car so that the trailer is not tail heavy.
I am comfortable with these suggestions, but could do with opinions as to whether I could winch the car onto the trailer regularly by means of a strap on the roll hoops without causing undue strain or any damage.
My apologies for the rambling, but would welcome views....
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,773 Likes: 19
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
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Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,773 Likes: 19 |
I would say no! They are not "structural". Good specs on the trailer though.
1. Ramps (3) and 3 wheel slots / fully floored are novel to most small trailers.
2. The biggest issue is the length of the A-arm at the trailer front - If they can make that hinged / removable with sufficient strength then that would save room (and might also be a security feature!).
M3W5sp 2015, MSCC, MTWC, Oxon UK
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Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 118
L - Learner Plates On
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L - Learner Plates On
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 118 |
If you didn't want to use the hoops to pull it up on, consider a saddle strap undereath the car! When water skiiing you either have a single tow point on the boat say at the top of a wake board tower or in the centre of the transom. But if not then often you will see two eyelets one each side of the boat. A loop of rope (saddle strap) fixes to both these points and then the main ski tow rope attaches to this saddle strap via a small pulley block and can move side to side as you go around corners. This last feature is not what you need worry over for just pulling your car onto the trailer.as it is a straight pull. So if you look under the car in front of the rear wheel there maybe something there on the chassis where you can fix two small towing eyes to and then pull from under the car.
I had a boat trailer once with a folding arm at the front to the hitch. It was an American trailer and my research then said no folding hitch arms allowed in the UK. Annoying as it was a very good feature. Being an american trailer it had other issues that also prevented it being useable here. Shame as it was a great trailer. The rules may have changed in the last 15 years though!
If I were commissioning a trailer from scratch for my M3W personally I would go full floor as then the trailer could be used for multiple purposes. With the weight of the car so low I also would not be worried about using a single axle trailer. Often see those used for short lightweight cars. Not much of a wind side load on an open trailer compared to say a caravan. Easier to manouvre by hand too as only three contact points to the ground rather than five on a twin axle. And as you have alredy thought about, definitely get the nose weight on the hitch right as my brother jack knifed once decades ago with a car on the wrong way round. Wrote the tow car off in the process! Ooops!
I custom built a car trailer about 20 years ago, still use it today. I got the CoG of the car it was being built for and just as you are thinking, positioned the twin axles to suit whilst giving a good nose weight. Get it right and the trailer will simply fly along behind you with no snaking! Going back to boats for a moment, I think this is why all boat trailers seem to be various parts bolted together and not welded, so that they can be adjusted to suit whatever boat you end up buying. I have moved axles and tow hitches about to fine tune the towing experience.
A company called Peak Dynamics (used to be Peak Trailers) have a web site where you can look at all the parts ever needed to build your own trailer.
Sorry if I have rambled on a bit or gone off topic!
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Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 215
L - Learner Plates On
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L - Learner Plates On
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 215 |
I had a boat trailer once with a folding arm at the front to the hitch. It was an American trailer and my research then said no folding hitch arms allowed in the UK. Annoying as it was a very good feature. Being an american trailer it had other issues that also prevented it being useable here. Shame as it was a great trailer. The rules may have changed in the last 15 years though!
!
Re the folding front hitch, Brian James used to make a Caterham 7 sized trailer the micro max with a folding tow hitch. it was a straight square section rather than an A frame & stored vertically. I am sure they wouldn't have made it if it wasn't legal. Bed size was 8ft long and 5"7" wide, with the hitch folded it was about 8'6" x 5'7" including the wheels. if that was big enough I would be looking out for one of those & putting an extra centre rail on it. Capacity was 1025kg
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