Towing a Car on a Low Trailer (1 Viewer)

DJK

Free Member
Jul 29, 2015
63
20
Bury Lancashire
Funster No
37,365
MH
Bessacarr E645
Exp
I'm a Newbie
Hi Folks
I currently tow my Spartan Sports Car on an "A" frame with cable attached brake that work all 4 wheel on the car.
I fancy doing Spain next year so the car would have to go on a trailer which in itself is not a problem I would build one.
The question is all the trailers I have seen behind MH's are rather high due to the use of Torque Suspension units and I was looking at one that sat inside the wheels not on them, to a transport man a low-loader.
I have seen car recovery dollies use this type of frame but never trailers with exception to this one I
found posted on a site which I can't remember.
Your comments please

David

Trailer for Spartan 1.jpg
 

mjltigger

Free Member
Nov 12, 2014
1,619
2,672
Trowbridge
Funster No
34,213
MH
Autotrail Dakota Max
Exp
2012
There was a video of that one posted on here somewhere but I can't remember what it was called to search it.
 

SandT

Free Member
Oct 15, 2012
127
383
Malta
Funster No
23,294
MH
Safari Trek
Exp
Newbie
Lots of low loader car trailers about, see this link.

Broken Link Removed

Terry

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
DJK

DJK

Free Member
Jul 29, 2015
63
20
Bury Lancashire
Funster No
37,365
MH
Bessacarr E645
Exp
I'm a Newbie
Thanks Terry
I'm also looking for anyone with experience of using one. Most are American styles
David
 

oaktree11

Free Member
Aug 15, 2015
53
26
Cheddar, Somerset
Funster No
37,654
MH
A Class Burstner i640G
Exp
We are new to motorhomes!
Hi David,
I dont know if this is of any specific help. I have just bought a trailer which we currently use for our Smart car. It is oversize for that purpose because I wanted to have more flexibility about what cars we can carry. I am building a Marlin Sporster and one day (!) maybe we can take that! Anyway, I wanted a low trailer and eventually found one made by Smart-Tow on Ebay. It is perfect for my purposes.
I have attached a pic and before any eagle eyed person comments, I know that the winch is on back to front! The previous owner used to winch the trailer up a steep drive!
It tows brilliantly and is really easy to load. The ramps slide out from under each side with little effort.
We will be leaving the site we are on tomorrow and I will post a pic of the car loaded then
John
IMG_0871.JPG
 

Peter A Forbes

Free Member
Nov 23, 2014
270
184
Rushden, Northants, UK
Funster No
34,314
MH
Mercedes 614D
Exp
10+
Check your train and towing weights, it's easy to go over the top if you're not careful.

We tow a big 6-wheel drawbar turntable trailer at 3500kgs, and while we don't tow with a motorhome, yet, we do come across a few 'funnies' when abroad, such as weight limits on small roads in France etc.

Reversing can be fun as well, but a single car trailer should be fine. Fitting a front towbar helps us a lot:







The device in the right hand bottom corner of the screen is the Sanef Toll Transponder.

Peter

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:

Traveller_HA5_3DOM

Free Member
Jul 13, 2012
422
323
Following the Sun
Funster No
21,940
MH
Hobby Premium 65GE
Exp
since 1985
David, I think you could be onto something with the idea of inboard wheels, It is certainly a way of keeping the width of the trailer to a minimum. The low centre of gravity should go some way towards compensating for the narrow track but it may need careful driving to avoid the forces at work when cornering from lifting the inner trailer wheel and causing it to roll over.
 

oaktree11

Free Member
Aug 15, 2015
53
26
Cheddar, Somerset
Funster No
37,654
MH
A Class Burstner i640G
Exp
We are new to motorhomes!
Just a note on reversing with our trailer, it turns out to be a doddle. The rear view camera is essential but the trailer is easy to reverse and very controllable.
And btw, with a Smart car the loading position is farther back than shown on the first pic to get the correct nose weight, I moved the stop guards back (see next pic when I post it!)

John
 

Violet1

Free Member
Jul 4, 2015
81
83
March, Cambs
Funster No
37,052
MH
semi-integrated
Exp
i'm a newbie
What's the Net and Gross weights of your trailer? As only have gtw of 2000kg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

oaktree11

Free Member
Aug 15, 2015
53
26
Cheddar, Somerset
Funster No
37,654
MH
A Class Burstner i640G
Exp
We are new to motorhomes!
Are you SURE that your GTW is only 2000kg?
The Smart-Tow trailer had an unladen weight if 350kg and a gross weight of 1300kg so can carry up to 950kg
John
 
May 6, 2015
41
44
Teesside
Funster No
36,226
MH
A class
Exp
since 1980
Hi Folks
I currently tow my Spartan Sports Car on an "A" frame with cable attached brake that work all 4 wheel on the car.
I fancy doing Spain next year so the car would have to go on a trailer which in itself is not a problem I would build one.
The question is all the trailers I have seen behind MH's are rather high due to the use of Torque Suspension units and I was looking at one that sat inside the wheels not on them, to a transport man a low-loader.
I have seen car recovery dollies use this type of frame but never trailers with exception to this one I
found posted on a site which I can't remember.
Your comments please

David

View attachment 76443


Are you sure that building your own is legal now? I thought they had to be EU certified.
 

Violet1

Free Member
Jul 4, 2015
81
83
March, Cambs
Funster No
37,052
MH
semi-integrated
Exp
i'm a newbie
Doh! I mean I only have max towing weight of 2000 kg car and trailer, license not a problem as hgv 1

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

TheBig1

LIFE MEMBER
Nov 27, 2011
17,509
42,755
Dorset
Funster No
19,048
MH
A class
Exp
many many years! since I was a kid
Hi Folks
I currently tow my Spartan Sports Car on an "A" frame with cable attached brake that work all 4 wheel on the car.
I fancy doing Spain next year so the car would have to go on a trailer which in itself is not a problem I would build one.
The question is all the trailers I have seen behind MH's are rather high due to the use of Torque Suspension units and I was looking at one that sat inside the wheels not on them, to a transport man a low-loader.
I have seen car recovery dollies use this type of frame but never trailers with exception to this one I
found posted on a site which I can't remember.
Your comments please

David

View attachment 76443
I have no idea of your credentials etc, but are you aware of the trailer law in Spain, not just A frames? basically you need to be aware that the trailer must carry a manufacturers plate serial number and be approved. Home made trailers are not acceptable
 

Al-Di

LIFE MEMBER
Mar 15, 2014
3,050
28,485
prestwich
Funster No
30,545
MH
Eura Mobil A Class
Exp
since 2013
been taking my homemade trailer 2ton back and forth to Portugal(via Spain) for last 10 years never a problem, trailers in most european countries have to be plated and have own no plate Uk ones run on towing vehicle plate,
as long as it looks right and complies with weights and brakes shouldn't be a problem,
its still in eu discussion about self builds, time will tell,
Alan,
 

Peter A Forbes

Free Member
Nov 23, 2014
270
184
Rushden, Northants, UK
Funster No
34,314
MH
Mercedes 614D
Exp
10+
Our 3500kg 6-wheel drawbar turntable trailer is self-built and has never attracted the attention of the authorities in the UK or Europe.

Building your own is a bit difficult now as it has to be inspected and type approved. The leglislation came on at the end of September 2012 if I remember correctly. Ours was built before the deadline, but we couldn't build another like it now.

Peter

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

mjltigger

Free Member
Nov 12, 2014
1,619
2,672
Trowbridge
Funster No
34,213
MH
Autotrail Dakota Max
Exp
2012
Our 3500kg 6-wheel drawbar turntable trailer is self-built and has never attracted the attention of the authorities in the UK or Europe.

Building your own is a bit difficult now as it has to be inspected and type approved. The leglislation came on at the end of September 2012 if I remember correctly. Ours was built before the deadline, but we couldn't build another like it now.

Peter

Ok so back when they were about to ban bull bars the legislation was written such that if the bars were fitted before a certain date it was fine. The answer then was to have a vehicle that was old enough to have had them fitted and there would be no way of proving they were fitted after the date therefore they were legal.. what's the difference with a trailer. To me the law is pointless as all anyone needs in defence is to state that the trailer was built before 2012
 
Aug 6, 2013
11,941
16,534
Kendal, Cumbria
Funster No
27,352
MH
Le-Voyageur RX958 Pl
Exp
since 1999
I'm not sure it matters whether the wheels are tucked under. A Smart car trailer with wheels outside the load area is narrower than the MH anyway & the drivers door opens over the trailer mudguard. I wouldn't want my Brian James trailer to be any lower to the ground & anyway stability is more important than width.
 

oaktree11

Free Member
Aug 15, 2015
53
26
Cheddar, Somerset
Funster No
37,654
MH
A Class Burstner i640G
Exp
We are new to motorhomes!
Here are the pictures I promised of my trailer loaded. Just towed it 200 miles, it tows like a dream. I don't think you could get a lower one and it's not too low!
John
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
OP
OP
DJK

DJK

Free Member
Jul 29, 2015
63
20
Bury Lancashire
Funster No
37,365
MH
Bessacarr E645
Exp
I'm a Newbie
tonyidle
Why would it be unstable if it was lower Tony. Don't understand the statement.
With regards to quality of build my trailers are built to a high standard and would pass any test.
With regards to makers plate and year of build no one could prove otherwise that the plate was not authentic
VW have been conning us for years with regards to fuel consumption but then again so have all the car manufacturers
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top