My new car trailer

[Mr_Bo11ox]

As you know, I have got this:

 

 

Its well crispy and needs some serious weldage. While I've got a maserati Biturbo cluttering up the workshop thats not going to happen, cos once this Pony gets itself installed in the garage it wont be coming out for a good while. So, i decided the best thing I could do would be to stick it in the barn in France, where it won't get any rustier while it waits its turn. Previously I have A-framed a car all the way to the barn, but at 39 I feel too old for that level of INTERNATIONAL POLICE STRESS and I decided I'd try to reduce the chances of getting a pull and having the thing impounded, by getting a trailer to carry it on.

 

I wanted a small trailer that could carry a small car and be towed by a semi-ordinary car rather than needing a Discovery or whatever, as I don't have one of those and dont really want one for the odd occasions when i'd need to tow something. I dont have any S-classes or Jags or owt that need towing and so I thought a smallish trailer that could safely carry 1250 kilos or somwthign would be ideal.

 

I scanned the bay and quickly found that a) most car trailers are massive and pretty freakin expensive for a decent known-brand one. I would say 1 in 20 could be classed as 'small' and £700 seemed to be the absolute minimum for a decentish one.

 

After a wjhile i spotted this one for sale in North Wales:

 

 

 

It looked a good size as the Escort pictured seemed to fill it up pretty well and the seller reckoned it had all new brakes and lights, jockeywheel and whatnot. His grammar and punctuation was good (always encouraging) and he seemed like a decent sort. He had it up for 500 quid, I offered 400 and we eventually agreed on 450 and i sent him a deposit.

 

Went to pick it up t'other night:

 

 

I always get stressed to FUCK before towing stuff. I've done loads of towing and never had any catastrophes but always get a proper churning stomach and this was no exception, which meant that I did not do a very good job of inspecting the trailer before handing over the £££. The brake cables looked a bit shitty and despite all the 'new brakes' blather I could see there was so much slack in the cables that they'd never work, new shoes or not. I had a faff on with the cables, gave one a good tug and it cane undone!!! Fuggin shite man. I should have started arguing with him at that point. But i didnt, I hooked it up and set off. After a few miles it seemed to be towing OK andf the stress level was coming down so I stopped to have a proper look at it.

 

 

 

Its a home made one I think, but I would say on the whole its a pretty decent effort. Its got proper trailer axles with little trailing arms on the ends, and drum brakes on all 4 wheels. Its mainly made from folded steel sheet rather than angle iron and so on, and so is pretty light. Its nice and low so should be pretty stable when towing.

 

Anyway when looking at it properly I established that:

• 2 of the tyres were flat!!!
• The brakes could never work with the shitty cable arrangement thats fitted (plus only the rearmost axle was connected anyway)
• it has 3 13" wheels and one 14"
• The tyres are ordinary car tyres not 8-ply commercial ones
• The A-frame bit at the front where the hitch is, is made from U-section channel and looks like a bit of a lash up.

Anyway i carried on, and blew the tyres up in Morrisons and carried on home.

 

To be fair to it it did tow very well, it did not slow us down appreciably and was not bucking and bouncing all over the shop.

 

I got back to base and put a car on it to see how it looked:

 

 

 

 

As you can see its not a massive trailer. Loaded and level, its squashing the arse end of the Primera down a bit so that needs looking at. I think some 165C tyres will raise the trailer a little which will help as will some of those rubber coil spring assisters.

 

Heres the A frame bit:

 

 

I think this is probably from a caravan, someone has welded some extra steel on but it looks a bit of a lash up so I think i might replace this bit of the trailer with something sturdier.

 

So the plan is to fix the brakes and get them adjusted up and working properly with new cables and a proper compensator mechanism, do something about the shitty selection of tyres on it, sort out a numberplate light, make & fit some eyelets for lashing stuff down and make up a new A-frame bit and mount the tow hitch to it. Oh and get it weighed as well, i dont know what it weighs but I think i should find out and maybe get the weight engraved on a plaque or something.

 

I'm sure that even if I do all this there'll be 101 reasons why I'm still illegal, as the trailer laws are such a dogs breakfast, but if my trailer is all serviceable, well lit and braked and I'm not overloading the towcar I'm probably less illegal than i would be with an A-frame, even if the A-frame is technically a better solution. (I have no intention of jettisoning my A frame anyway).

 

Anyway basically what I'm saying is that I now have yet another flippin project.

[vulgalour]

Top trailer shite!  Also, I want that friggin coach in the background.

[rml2345]

That trailer looks like a handy size and avoids Ifor Williams tax.

Totally unrelated to Mr. B's new trailer, the coach behind looks like the Plaxton bodied Leyland Leopard that Stagecoach Western had painted up in the old Western SMT livery for use on Arran.

[garethj]

Excellent, to save yourself doing work on the Pony you bought something else which needs work, then you'll have to also take the damn thing over to France.  It's never too late to suggest that you bring something back on the empty trailer...

 

Despite your trailer justification not exactly stacking up on the project manager's Gantt chart, it's an epic tool and you can never have too many tools.  Verdict: win.

[UltraWomble]

Because the bulk of a car's weight is going to be in its nose it may even things out if you reversed onto the trailer anything you were towing, that said a tail heavy trailer tends to wag and tow like shit so maybe not a great idea. You could try it I suppose and see how it handles.

[dave21478]

I would strongly recommend NOT putting the car on backwards - thats a sure route to ending up on your side in a ditch. The pendulum effect of the engine weight so far behind the axles can be huge.

 

It looks a good size - An engraved or stamped plate is definately a good idea for VOSA. If they inspect and dont see a stamped weight, they apparently pull a figure out of their ass (supposedly based on tyre and hitch max ratings) and charge you for being over your towcars weight.

 

Bummer about it being mis-described....brake component prices can range from pretty resonable to fcking HOW much? depending on what brand axles and hubs it uses. With a bit of thought, you can make up new compensators with angle and box section, and if it just needs new cables, hopefully it will be a cheap fix.

[nigel bickle]

Agree strongly with Dave. We had to bring a Mk1 Transit back from France on the trailer backwards ( the front axle being wider than the rear, and too wide to fit past the axles) and it was a total mutha, wagging it's tail furiously over 40. Horrible journey, Def not recommended.

 

I understand your reasoning Boll, but it kinda saddens me as it feels like a regressive step to satisfy pointless rules.

 

Controversially I recently decided to buy several more A frames (as mine was never in the right place) to keep them permanently booted in my varying towcars scattered around Europe. I'm up to 4 right now!

 

I see your reasoning, and look forward to updates, and progress. I hope I'm not forced down this route..

[KruJoe]

Wise move Mr_B.

For similar reasons me and Will went halves on this one last year. Some of the wrecks we haul about are so obviously not fit to be in contact with tarmac, so 'framing them any distance is asking for bother.

 

 

As you said, it takes some time to find something the right sort of size at a reasonable price. 

 

Yours looks good and low, and fairly easy to load. Ours is a few inches higher, and the ramps are too short for anything with normal ground clearance, so we need to knock up some longer ones, rather than pissing about with inspection ramps and bits of wood.

 

[oldcars]

Looks a handy bit of kit. I think there should be a gaitor on the tow hitch to stop water and stuff getting in the breaking system.

[wuvvum]

I once had to load a DS saloon backwards onto a 14' trailer and tow it home behind a Xantia.  Top speed before the whole thing went mental was 37.  Fortunately I only had to tow it ten miles.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

When you get a plate engraved with a weight it's worth making up a random chassis number too. The Old Bill do like to see a number even if it's meaningless and they have no way of checking it. As you say decent tyres,working lights and nothing hanging off will usually get past most coppers, most Forces only have one person that knows trailer laws inside out,just hope you're not stopped by him or her.

[dollywobbler]

BOLLOX TRAILER CO - CHASSIS NUMBER DU 1. That should be fine.

[cms206]

BOLLOX POWERTRAIN ENGINEERING LTD

[UltraWomble]

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo Bickle!!!! I know what you mean about 'cowing' to ridiculous rules. I am 100% of the opinion that used with a bit of common, an A frame is a vastly superior way of moving a 1-ton metal box thats sat on a set of its own proper road wheels. Why stack it high up on top of another set of wheels set right in the middle (of a heavy steel frame) like a see-saw? The concept is ridiculous compared to that of an A-frame. I shan't be getting rid of my A anytime soon.

 

But, I factor in distance, weight, towing car 'status' and condition of the 'towee' when deciding how to shift cars about, as I'm sure you do. I a-framed the Mk1.5 Pony to france with no problems whatsoever, but that car was in really good nick and I towed it with a P100 pick-up which barely registered that it was towing anything. PLus i had my dad with me and so if any coppers took a dislike to the A, I could get my dad to just drive the pony instead. IN those circumstances i decided the 'risk level' was OK.

 

In this case the Mk1 Pony is really flaky with big holes in the front wings. I A-framed it up to my unit at night but it lokos so shabby that i just don't fancy 'framing it along some belgian motorways. Its bound to attract some negative attention i think. So, in this case I am going to chuck it on a  trailer instead. I thought about renting one, but again its difficult to find a small light one and i would want it for at least a week maybe two, and if anything went wrong with it abroad that all sounds mega stressful. So I decided to buy one, as I thought it would be a usefull complement to the A. As its turned out, by the time i have finished fannying about with this one it will probably owe me £700, so not the cheapest way to shift a pony to France but I think a decent safe car trailer is probably a good asset to have and i'm sure I can lend it to folk for a few beers now and then (then spend ages replacing all the lights and mudguards that they smash off it

 

I notice that the Primera has a max towing capacity of 1350kg braked. I dont know what this trailer weighs but I'll take a guess at 400kg. Meaning I have 950kg of carrying capacity on it. I think the Pony weighs about that or possibly slightly over, so its already borderline illegal anyway   Might have to see about using the Volvo 760, that can tow 1500 which is a bit more useable innit.

[nigel bickle]

Understand completely. it's always a toss up, legal, or safe® seems a daft concept. We've both been doing this long enough to recgonise the risks, and weigh them up properly.

 

I have the luxury of a shiny trailer, a huge 4 wheeled dolly or the A frames. My view is that's it's 4 wd for the trailer, big saloon for the dolly, or sensible for the frames.

 

So, for now, the majority stays on frames.

 

But I get where you're coming from ,many look forward to your views in a few months time. Sadly, I think your route may well be the future.

[coalnotdole]

I have trailer envy!   I have been trying to hire one all this week in order to pick up a hopeless plastic car from Yorkshire... which I'd been hoping to do at the weekend.

 

All my usual hire place could offer me was a 15 footer,  which is really too big to tow with the GTE. They ususally have a decent supply of smaller twin axle trailers but they all seemed to be booked out. I can definitely see the appeal in having your own setup ready to go at a moments notice!

[Lankytim]

Nice..  I have a "proper" 13" trailer wheel which will fit you can have when the A Frame makes it's way back to you..

[Alexg]

I reckon you've done the right thing buying rather than renting. Should it be maintained alright, which obviously you will, you'll get your money back when you're bored or just need to sell it. If you're worried about the weight, and as the Pony's going to be a proper resto job, why not pull the engine out and various other bits and luzz them in the boot of the Primera? - at first glace it'll appear to weigh bugger-all.... unless some jobsworth chooses to weigh the whole caboodle, then it'll be a huge waste of your energy.

[dollywobbler]

I have trailer envy!   I have been trying to hire one all this week in order to pick up a hopeless plastic car from Yorkshire... which I'd been hoping to do at the weekend.

 

All my usual hire place could offer me was a 15 footer,  which is really too big to tow with the GTE. They ususally have a decent supply of smaller twin axle trailers but they all seemed to be booked out. I can definitely see the appeal in having your own setup ready to go at a moments notice!

 

Length isn't the issue though. How heavy is it? Scimmies have a pretty good reputation for towing. 

[garbaldy]

I also think a trailer is the safest option for being left alone by the police, both German trips recently I saw cars towing trailers pulled over not sure why though,i suspect one of them was due to the huge trailer with two cars on it being towed by caddy van.

I have three trailers and have decided to sell one similar to yours its German according to the manufacturers plate

[dieselnutjob]

Loaded and level, its squashing the arse end of the Primera down a bit so that needs looking at.

 

The more nose weight you can run, the more stable it will be, it's as simple as that.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I didn't know that. So those rubber things you put in your coil springs allow you to take more nose weight and thus aid stability ??

[Inspector Morose]

Basically yes. I've been known to run the works Landy with "assisters" in the rear springs to allow me more nose weight if I'm towing longer distance.

[dieselnutjob]

Some towbars limit you to 60kg noiseweight which is only 4% of your 1500kg trailer weight and in my opinion is not enough.  I would feel happier running more like 85-90kg but that's starting to push the limit of what most cars can take.

 

The maximum nose weight should be stamped on the towbar as the 'S' value.

[dave21478]

Also, keep your new trailer quiet around friends/family. Once it becomes generally known about, the requests start...."hey, you have a trailer dont you? Can you help me move a big wardrobe and sofa......"  or people will expect you to become their personal RAC service.

[Taff]

 it's an epic tool and you can never have too many tools.  Verdict: win.

 

I disagree, it looks like epic fail to me. Not only has our hero kow-towed to The Man (Back off Brussels!), we all know that the first rule of trailer club is scrounge the dodgiest, shonkiest one you can find in exchange for as little as possible.

Buying one, repairing it correctly, maintaining it to a high standard, fitting the rights size and ply of tyres and lighting, along with accurately identifying it's weight and capabilities flies in the face of everything we hold dear. 

 

When you get a plate engraved with a weight it's worth making up a random chassis number too. The Old Bill do like to see a number even if it's meaningless and they have no way of checking it. As you say decent tyres,working lights and nothing hanging off will usually get past most coppers, most Forces only have one person that knows trailer laws inside out,just hope you're not stopped by him or her.

 

By huge coincidence, the chassis number on my Chevy was the same as my army number. What are the odds etc etc

[JohnK]

Also, keep your new trailer quiet around friends/family. Once it becomes generally known about, the requests start...."hey, you have a trailer dont you? Can you help me move a big wardrobe and sofa......" or people will expect you to become their personal RAC service.

This.

 

I constantly get requests from mates/family/people who I don't know but who ring me up coz my mates told them I have a truck.

 

They get charged the same as any other person who asks for a job these days because they just start taking the piss.

[DSdriver]

Do it in style man, do it in style:

 

[dollywobbler]

^^^ Good idea. I want to see a multi-wheel Rover R8 ASAP please. If that doesn't test a head gasket, nothing will.