Smart car trailers (2 Viewers)

[gazznsam]

Looks like i've sold my motorbike and trailer, so on the hunt for a smart car trailer now.

i've decided to go for a trailer over an A-frame after all.

I was all set to buy one from smart-trailers, they claim to be the cheapest, at about £1323 (once vat is added, they had a big sign on them at the newbury show, £1150, but their website says that price, then the small print reads 'all prices plus vat')

But it seems they are not going to the Stratford show, and they are located waaaay down in bognor.

had planned to buy a trailer at the show, then catch the train back home and fetch the smart, drive it to the show and marry it with the new trailer, then after the show go for a little tour of the black country)

Anyhoo, i know Brian james do smart trailers, and theirs is about 1500 quid all in,
anyone know the prices from otehr manufacturers?

idealy i'd like to get a second hand one, but they seem to be like hens teeth.


As a last resort, i dont suppose anyone is coming to the stratford show from bognor area and has an unused tow hitch?

 

[takeaflight]

Have you looked at woodford trailers, they make a smart size one for other company's.

Car Trailers, Accessories and Vehicle Carriers from Woodford

However having had a trailer built for a Smart, I would consider one of these Link Removed

The reason being the ramps are built into the trailer and simply side in and out, which makes for cleaner and easier loading. On the Smart trailer I found the ramps to be quite heavy and because its low to the ground, to locate the ramps for travel I had to kneel down so I could see beneath the car.
I ended up fitting a guide rail for the ramp, so that it's locating lug that held the ramp into place would find it's home, saving me kneeling down, if that makes sense.

Also IMO by buying a slightly larger trailer if you change the Smart you may not have to change the trailer. ALso if you come to sell it, it would appeal to a wider market.

 

[gazznsam]

oh: Counted me chickens before they hatched again, got a phonecall at sparrow fart o clock to tell me the bloke couldent buy the bike after all,

Ahh well, good job i didn't take the for sale stickers off it last night as i was going to, hope someone see's it at stratford and wants it.

On the trailer subject, i found a place that sells what looks to be a good value smart trailer, about £1300 all in, (i'd buy from them just because they show all in prices on their site, unlike the others that claim to be cheaper, but are ex vat)

You have a choice of sommerset or daventry pickups, so it seems they either supply to or sell woodfords trailers,

A nice thing about them is they give you the option of an 8 foot or 8'8" long bed, as well as 5'5" or 5'7" wide at no extra cost,
the new shape smart (451) is longer than the old shape by a few inches, apparantly they can still fit on the old smart sized trailers, but are sat back a bit more, which could upset the nose weight... proper smart trailers having the axle placed in just the right place to balance out the engine being in the back and all that.

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[Benni-Boy]

Hi, I know it's a bit obvious, but have you looked on E-Bay. Whenever I look in the car transporter/trailer section there are always a number of small car trailers.:thumb:

 

[itexuk]

Try this e Bay link.
Very good trailers, I have one of their single bike trailers.
Link Removed

 

[Benwick Rambler]

I use a Brian James Micro-Max trailer which is probably the most costly option but the ramps slide easily under the trailer and I can be loaded and away in about 10 mins.
The only downside is there isn't a lot of ground clearance at the back of the trailer.

Brian

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[davejen]

I use a Brian James Micro-Max trailer which is probably the most costly option but the ramps slide easily under the trailer and I can be loaded and away in about 10 mins.
The only downside is there isn't a lot of ground clearance at the back of the trailer.

Brian

Hi, looks to me that you need a drop -plate on your hitch. This would have the effect of swivelling the trailer down at the front and lifting the back. Just a thought.
Cheers Dave:thumb:

 

[Benwick Rambler]

Dave,

Thanks for the idea but already have a drop down plate fitted. Perhaps the van is just too high!

Brian

 

[davejen]

Dave,

Thanks for the idea but already have a drop down plate fitted. Perhaps the van is just too high!

Brian

Hi, Brian try a bigger one I think they come in 3 lengths.
Dave:thumb:

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[Scrubnuts]

Car trailers

Ifor Williams do some nice looking transporters but they do look expensive!
Link Removed

 

[gazznsam]

an ifor trailer will be expensive, and i dont see a smart traielr on there,

the smart car trailers have an offsett axle to counter the weight of the engine in the back of the car, you'd get a negative nose weight on a centre axled trailer... hence you sometimes see people with their smarts on backwards.

Not that i can buy one yet, as the buyer of the bike backed out, had it all planned to get the trailer delivered to the show, then pop home and fetch me smart.

------------
Brian... you deffo need a longer drop plate on your motorhome, looks like you have the shortest one available, the trailer is deffo sitting arse end down,

the towball should be an absolute max of 420mm above the ground, i think it's 360mm as a lower limit,
I usually use one of the 6 hole drop plates, these have 3 heights, but the sets of holes are unequal distances, so depending which way round you mount it, you can get 3 or 4 different heights,

 

[ronfleur]

Got mine from here!

HEDLEY ALARM AND TOWING CENTRE

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[Geo]

Brian
I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs:Sad:
Looking at your rig, the ride height of you trailer reqs looking at as a matter of urgency,
You have set yourself up for the famous tail wagging the dog syndrome
Not a pleasant experience
the correct way is straight and level (It takes less effort and fuel to tow a level trailer)
Start by levelling out your trailer and hitch unloaded, then load KA and if the weight then causes the trailer to dip at the rear you have an imbalanced load. try reversing the KA on :thumb:
A nose weight of around 10%-15% of the mass, up to the limit of your tow bar /vehicle spec is ideal, in any case you need a positive nose weight as opposed to a negative that you appear to have at the moment
Once again this post is not intended as criticism but to help you or others as may be the case
a slightly down nose is far preferable to what you have at the moment
exceed 30 degrees up or down and there is a real danger of your rig unhitching of its own accord, especially with the rear down as it is
Geo