Towing a car.

[southbourne]

I am going to Algarve for winter, and to give flexibility, would like to have small car, trailer. I have 7.5m c class benimar, which has longish overhang. Interested to know if this is workable, I have checked weights, seems ok. How to reverse seems a challenge, as once hooked up, it will take a while to unhook etc.

 

[Mikeco]

Definitely workable and to help you even more my Brian James trailer is still for sale under the classified adds

 

[tacr2man]

reversing is a like riding a bike the more you do it the easier it is and its just like getting the hang of reverse steering is to balancing on a bike. Overhang is not really a problem , wheelbase is a bigger factor . HTSH
12mtr RVs tow trailers without too much hassle

 

[Speve]

We do it every winter with 7.5m Hymer and 4.5m trailer easy to do once used to it you won’t know its there. Get a good double reverse/ rear view camera makes it even better.

 

[southbourne]

Thanks all. How about economics, as ferry, fuel, towbar, trailer, car all adds up. Can you even buy a car in Gib or..... ?

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[Emmit]

I'm sorry if I'm preaching to the converted but when I first towed, I didn't know that it is vital that you impose a 'Noseweight' from the trailer which in itself will impose that weight onto the towball.

In essence, if you don't have a noseweight, your trailer will start to make your whole unit unstable the faster, (we're not talking fast, fast speeds) you go. The trailer will cause the trailer to wag the towed unit.

If your 'van already has a towball, you should find out what the max noseweight is for that ball. If you do not have a towball, you should enquire with the fitter of it as to what the max towball noseweight should be.

Remember that first paragraph. The higher the noseweight, the less you can put into the van because that noseweight is exactly the same as putting that weight INSIDE the 'van.

 

[Speve]

Thanks all. How about economics, as ferry, fuel, towbar, trailer, car all adds up. Can you even buy a car in Gib or..... ?

I suppose it depends on what you need we already had our Fiat Panda 4x4 as our home car so when away for winter it does not stay at home unused. Trailer cost £1600 and towbar already on van. So for us we don’t think about cost as we want to do it and it suits our needs, as for hiring we would not do that as we have two dogs we like to take with us and hire companies would probably not be keen on that and you are not always close to a place that hires them to suit you.??

 

[Speve]

Remember that first paragraph. The higher the noseweight, the less you can put into the van because that noseweight is exactly the same as putting that weight INSIDE the 'van

We have a twin axle trailer and although there is nose weight not a lot and I adjust to suit but the trailer actually tows very well and you would not know it’s there sometimes.?
On the towbars we’ve had the nose weight was around 80/100 kg but never needed the full allowance.?

 

[Emmit]

Hi Speve,

You obviously know what you're doing. I was giving my input on the OP as the author didn't seem to know much about the basics

 

[Kevan]

phoenix Smart car trailer, minus the car, carrying stuff down to the south west of France, much easier with twin axle and far more stable, and having motor mover makes life so much easier.
Notice the overhang on Motorhome, they don't come much longer

aire at Buchy just north of Rouen

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[southbourne]

I know, have read, about weights etc, am fitting air suspension/bigger tyres etc. What I was looking for is practicalities. eg I could buy a 2nd hand car in Algarve and sell it on, for instance. I guess the cost of buy and tow will be around 7/10k.
Thanks for replies

 

[Kevan]

The Rapido in pictures was fitted with air suspension by A.S air suspension

 

[TheBig1]

not sure that as a non resident that you are allowed to buy a car in portugal, as no address to register it to. Now hiring a car is a good option

 

[southbourne]

Thanks for replies. After looking at pros and cons, have decided to buy big mpv to carry goods and dog. Benimars struggle with rear axle weight and tow bar and nose weight is tricky to manage. And hard to find doggy cabin in October.

 

[Bob Morrison]

One thing to think about is getting the car off the trailer because if you reverse into position and uncouple, the trailer's the wrong way round.
Manhandling (or should I say manoeuvring by hand in this PC world) is not easy on grass or gravel.
I very quickly discovered this and fitted a caravan motor mover system to the trailer - sorted!
The trailer is a Brian James offering designed specifically for the Smart Fortwo which is rear engined which and why the trailer's axle is set towards the rear - it tows an absolute dream!

??

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[Speve]

One thing to think about is getting the car off the trailer because if you reverse into position and uncouple, the trailer's the wrong way round

Take the car off first then reverse in it’s not difficult?

 

[Yorick]

The best way to reverse is to put the little lady in the car and get her to reverse that at same time