Thread: Where to learn to tow a tralier?

Two trips perhaps?

Fuzzie, I am not being critical here but I suspect you are like 99% of car drivers and do not use mirrors correctly. Mirrors are not just to see who is behind the car, you have to learn how to reverse a vehicle by using them and them alone. In other words you must not turn your head, look over your shoulder etc. I have a really long drive, about 50 metres, and I reverse along the drive and never look in my left mirror at all. I use the right hand mirror and if the car is in the right spot when looking in that mirror there is no need to look in the other one. Once a driver learns to use mirrors blind spots become irrelevant 99% of the time. BTW my latest car is the same as yours, impossible to see out of to the rear and my wife absolutely refuses to drive it for this reason.

Using mirrors to reverse a trailer is a progression from using them to park or place the car but once you learn the art the problem is no more. You then won't have to have the rear door open. Another advantage is as we get older neck movement becomes more limited and parking becomes harder using that method. Try it and don't be discouraged at first, gaining the confidence is the hardest thing.

Originally Posted by Mini

BTW my latest car is the same as yours, impossible to see out of to the rear and my wife absolutely refuses to drive it for this reason.

So there is something wrong with the skoda!

Originally Posted by Pat

So there is something wrong with the skoda!

No, I am about to buy another one as I need a wagon. Best car I have ever owned by far. I took Hilary out to buy her a new car and according to her they all have the same disease, she can't see out of them. She is right, all modern cars are the same.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Two trips perhaps?

I had budgeted this when I got my first removalist quote ($$$$!) and it seemed to be cheaper. More recent quotes were a lot more reasonable.

For the ferry, if I claim the vehicle as a campervan, it's much cheaper than if I just call it a van. A long campervan is under $100 whereas the same van (but not called a campervan is about $200. Add a trailer (to a campervan) and it's $300. The same trailer on a none campervan is $350. Add $100 for a ferry seat for me.
About 1.5 tanks (75litres) of diesel to make the trip each way. ($1.55 x 75. *1.5 = $175)
Roughly $600 per trip.

It might just be cheaper to tow a trailer and wear the insurance excess for when I total someone's car with the forgotten trailer [Warning! Stay off the Hume Highway in early May!]

I'm beginning to see the advantage of forward planning.

An off the wall idea. Australia Post use wire cages to transport the mail in, fork on fork off loading. What can be done is rent these for individual use, fill it up and consign it to your nearest AP business/delivery centre. You do all the loading and unloading. It is cheaper than what you might think and the risk of damage is just about zero. The items need to be less than a metre long as the cage is a metre cubed or thereabouts and they are stacked on the trucks. Max net weight for the load is 500KG. You can inquire at your nearest business centre. I reckon it might be line ball on buying a trailer, towing, ferry charges etc and using this method. Ask for the price on a point to point ULD they will understand.

Geoff, there may be a few things you haven't considered in your 2 trips vs trailer scenario, or perhaps you have.

First of all the cost of the trailer purchase, the registration and insurance. Don't know what size trailer you are thinking about, but a decent trailer of any size, even a 6x4, will cost a few dollars.

I realise you will still own the trailer after your move, but with the van you probably won't need it, so you will finish up selling it, perhaps at a loss.

Secondly, as soon as you tow a trailer behind any vehicle, your fuel consumption will increase by at least 25%, call it 30% to be on the safe side.

Add to all this your inexperience in towing a trailer behind a car, let alone a van, and the 2 trips scenario becomes more attractive, if perhaps a little dearer.

Fred,
You're absolutely correct on all counts. (This is where forward planning would have helped

If I can get a reasonable quote for back load shipping the heavy stuff from Sydney to Hobart, I think that's the way I'll go. The heavy stuff is the lathe and mill which total over 250 kgs. If they take a while to get there, that's no great hardship. The rest of my stuff will come in under the 1300kg limit. and with the exception of the fridge and washing machine, I can load the rest myself.

Regards
Geoff

Geoff.....there are several companies that use containers to move your gear....they generally drop a container at your place, pickup when loaded and deliver to the new address, you then unload and ring again and the empty unit is picked up, simple and straightforward, worth exploring.

Originally Posted by trikee

everyone has touched on reversing, but none have discussed about going forward.
just remember that you are longer and you need a little bit more room to overtake and pull into kerbs etc.

and for reversing, another option is to put your hand on the bottom of the wheel and move it to where you want to the trailer to go.
just be patient

Read my post again on going forward

Originally Posted by ravna

Geoff.....there are several companies that use containers to move your gear....they generally drop a container at your place, pickup when loaded and deliver to the new address, you then unload and ring again and the empty unit is picked up, simple and straightforward, worth exploring.

I'd looked at this but there's no room at my house to drop off a container. I can't even park the van there.
I also looked at the PODS option but they don't operate to Tasmania.

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

Fred,
You're absolutely correct on all counts. (This is where forward planning would have helped

If I can get a reasonable quote for back load shipping the heavy stuff from Sydney to Hobart, I think that's the way I'll go. The heavy stuff is the lathe and mill which total over 250 kgs. If they take a while to get there, that's no great hardship. The rest of my stuff will come in under the 1300kg limit. and with the exception of the fridge and washing machine, I can load the rest myself.

Regards
Geoff

Your other option would be to leave the lathe and mill behind with a friend in Sydney and on your next trip back to Sydney pick it up.

You'll need a friend you can trust though You don't want to come back to pick up your machines, and he says "machines, what machines"

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Your other option would be to leave the lathe and mill behind with a friend in Sydney and on your next trip back to Sydney pick it up.

You'll need friend you can trust though You don't want to come back to pick up your machines, and he says "machines, what machines"

Or find someone who has the experience and get them to drive the van & trailer for expenses & flog the trailer at the other end. Someone might like a trip to Tassie. Bunnings are flogging trailers now, buy one and get everything to Tassie and then take it back say it was no good and wandered all over the place. I wonder who will be the first to do that?

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Your other option would be to leave the lathe and mill behind with a friend in Sydney and on your next trip back to Sydney pick it up.

You'll need friend you can trust though You don't want to come back to pick up your machines, and he says "machines, what machines"

Honest Geoff I'd hand them back really I would.