Towing a car

Adrian140974

Adrian140974

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Middlesbrough, UK
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Adria Supersonic 890
Exp
2018
I am thinking about towing a car with a braked trailer but not done before. Our motorhome is 9m already so would be very long. Any advice or experience from others? Thanks
 
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Thank you. Yeah it's OK upto 1600kg according to the log book. I think that is correct? Appreciate the advice. A
 
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If you havent towed before then doing a towing course would be a ideal choice , as things such as loading , balance , nose weight limits reversing etc are all very important in order to do it safely . Generally for reversing the longer the tow vehicle relative to the trailer is the hardest combination . Tandem axle trailers are more stable than single axle , but are a bit harder to move about when disconnected especially if loaded . Just a few pointers .
 
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That's really helpful thank you. I towed a caravan for many years so all that sounds familiar but nothing as large as a motorhome and trailer combo!! I have a tag axle motorhome and am looking at a twin axle trailer. The bit that worries me is when we get round site, disconnect the trailer but how do we move it around, any suggestions?

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I towed a Brian James single axle trailer behind my Winnebago for 10 years of so, only problem was a couple of burst tyres.
As tacr2man say moving an unloaded trailer can be hard, on tarmac its easy, but on rough grass it gets a lot harder especially a twin axle.
Can't say I ever bothered about balance or nose weight, as the car fitted on the trailer and there wasn't much you could do to alter its position, besides a 1300kg trailer wasn't going to affect a 9000kg RV much.
I fitted a towbar to the car so it could tow the trailer around site if needed.
 
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I tow a car with my 7.9m Autotrail Delawar. My advice if you do tow, don’t try to reverse. Very small distance from tow bar to car wheels equals a pain in the a***. Don’t ask me how I know😱
 
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olley said:
I towed a Brian James single axle trailer behind my Winnebago for 10 years of so, only problem was a couple of burst tyres.
As tacr2man say moving an unloaded trailer can be hard, on tarmac its easy, but on rough grass it gets a lot harder especially a twin axle.
Can't say I ever bothered about balance or nose weight, as the car fitted on the trailer and there wasn't much you could do to alter its position, besides a 1300kg trailer wasn't going to affect a 9000kg RV much.
I fitted a towbar to the car so it could tow the trailer around site if needed.
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That's great thanks. I just thought I would unload the car and be able to push the trailer but I might be being a bit optimistic
 
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martin west dorset said:
It’s easy to to manually manoeuvre a twin axle trailer if you wind the jockey wheel up so that only 2 wheels are on the ground.
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Ahh right did not think of that, thank you
Conal said:
I tow a car with my 7.9m Autotrail Delawar. My advice if you do tow, don’t try to reverse. Very small distance from tow bar to car wheels equals a pain in the a***. Don’t ask me how I know😱
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Ouch I won't ask but helpful advice thank you

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Reversing isn't easy but if you take your time its doable. My RV is 30' and I managed to reverse that with the car trailer down between two artics late at night on a lorry park, did take me a couple of goes though. :giggle:
 
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olley said:
Reversing isn't easy but if you take your time its doable. My RV is 30' and I managed to reverse that with the car trailer down between two artics late at night on a lorry park, did take me a couple of goes though. :giggle:
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That sounded like fun, thanks
 
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Adrian140974 said:
Can a trailer be fitted with a motormover?
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I actually looked into this with my local dealer and he told me that due to the sensitive electronics it wasn’t a particularly good idea, fyi we have a trailer box fitted to the a frame but by the time you fitted the battery which needs to be a minimum 110 amp hour then the electronic gubbins there wouldn’t be much room left. Also if the electronics are not in a waterproof environment your warranty will be invalidated. I will watch your thread with interest though, maybe you will find a way, I hope that you do.
 
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Alex and Lesley said:
I actually looked into this with my local dealer and he told me that due to the sensitive electronics it wasn’t a particularly good idea, fyi we have a trailer box fitted to the a frame but by the time you fitted the battery which needs to be a minimum 110 amp hour then the electronic gubbins there wouldn’t be much room left. Also if the electronics are not in a waterproof environment your warranty will be invalidated. I will watch your thread with interest though, maybe you will find a way, I hope that you do.
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Thank you, really good points made
 
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Adrian140974 said:
Thank you. Yeah it's OK upto 1600kg according to the log book. I think that is correct? Appreciate the advice. A
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Hi
1600kg is not huge and you need to confirm that figure from the Swift weight sticker.
What car are you looking to load onto the trailer and how heavy is it?
Be mindful of your motorhome axle weights, if you run near the maximum gross, then a trailer could push you over the edge, especially on the third axle.
Tandem axle trailers can also be quite heavy and a mover plus traction battery would add another 50-60kg. I used a single axle Brian James for a Smart Car and that was easy to move by hand once the Smart was offloaded.
Regarding nose weight and balance, I tried loading forwards and backwards and found the ideal with the Smart (engine at the rear) was to reverse on. I marked the ideal position, so it was easy to get it right first time, every time. Get it wrong and you risk instability such as snaking.
Do you have somewhere to store the trailer when not in use?
Some but not all trailers can be loaded/unloaded when uncoupled from tow vehicle. This can be useful on site, by allowing you to unhitch complete before positioning motorhome on pitch.
Does your driver's licence cover you to tow?
Is there a suitable tow bar available for your motorhome?
Don't forget security for the trailer, you would need this before going off site in the car for the day.

Just a few things to consider and confirm. Good luck.

Geoff
 
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Adrian140974 said:
Can a trailer be fitted with a motormover?
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Screenshot_20220818-054603_eBay.jpg
 
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donkey said:
Hi
1600kg is not huge and you need to confirm that figure from the Swift weight sticker.
What car are you looking to load onto the trailer and how heavy is it?
Be mindful of your motorhome axle weights, if you run near the maximum gross, then a trailer could push you over the edge, especially on the third axle.
Tandem axle trailers can also be quite heavy and a mover plus traction battery would add another 50-60kg. I used a single axle Brian James for a Smart Car and that was easy to move by hand once the Smart was offloaded.
Regarding nose weight and balance, I tried loading forwards and backwards and found the ideal with the Smart (engine at the rear) was to reverse on. I marked the ideal position, so it was easy to get it right first time, every time. Get it wrong and you risk instability such as snaking.
Do you have somewhere to store the trailer when not in use?
Some but not all trailers can be loaded/unloaded when uncoupled from tow vehicle. This can be useful on site, by allowing you to unhitch complete before positioning motorhome on pitch.
Does your driver's licence cover you to tow?
Is there a suitable tow bar available for your motorhome?
Don't forget security for the trailer, you would need this before going off site in the car for the day.

Just a few things to consider and confirm. Good luck.

Geoff
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Thank you for all these really helpful comments. I will be towing a Fiat 500 with a kerb right of 930kg, the trailer I am looking at is 495kg for twin axle and 400kg for single axle. I will double check the plate on the van before purchase - thanks. Tow bar is a Wiko and looks great plus our motorhome has had the upgraded payload installed. Unfortunately I am old enough to tow as licence was granted before 1997 lol. The trailer can be loaded unhitched etc so useful to know that helps. We plan to store the trailer with car on at the storage yard that we keep the motorhome and I agree security locks are a must. Appreciate all your advice. Thanks

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Adrian140974 said:
Looking at it we will be 9m motirhome plus 5m trailer.... Will be very long! Cheers
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Similar to what we were, towed around UK and to Portugal several times.
Now use an A frame in uk and hire a car abroad.

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You can buy A frame kits to fit yourself from several companies or they will convert your own car.
Cost is around £2000 I believe for them to do the conversion.
I did my own as wife's Alto isn't popular enough for anyone to make a kit
 
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olley said:
You can buy A frame kits to fit yourself from several companies or they will convert your own car.
Cost is around £2000 I believe for them to do the conversion.
I did my own as wife's Alto isn't popular enough for anyone to make a kit
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That's great thanks, I will have a look
 
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