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  1. #1
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    Default Towing - a crazy question

    Idle curiosity on my part guys.
    If you hold an MC licence and stay within the towing capacity of the car, would you be able to tow two trailers?

    My clapped out 04 BA wagon has a braked towing capacity of 2300kg, and I'm guessing there's 4wd's that have got 3500 or higher.
    That's a small caravan and a small boat, or a boat and camper trailer, or a boat and a jet ski trailer - or any one of those and a bike trailer.
    Sounds simple, and the only thing you'd need to do is have a class of front trailer engineered for the extra load.
    So why isn't anyone doing it?

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  3. #2
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    I do hold an MC license and have experience driving a Ute towing 2 trailers, towing 2 trailers of oranges used to be quite common here 30 years ago and I can tell you it was as scary as all hell even at 20kms an hour.

    The basic issue is weight distribution, you need to put weight on the hitch on your car for the first trailer, you also need weight on the drawbar of the second trailer, but that removes the towball weight from the first trailer, anyway you try and do it one of the trailers is going to fishtail badly.

    In theory you could run a fifth wheel on a Ute and run a “baby b double” I don’t know but I suspect rego is either going to be difficult or very expensive.

    Cheers Andrew

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    You have1 chance.....Buckleys!!!! Different rego, insurance, as mentioned hitch/load, brakes maxi brakes either air or electric, etc and that's the tip of the iceberg
    The person who never made a mistake never made anything

    Cheers
    Ray

  5. #4
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    Not permissible for cars. Licence is irrelevant.
    You may tow only 1 trailer (caravan, box or boat) at a time.
    Towing vehicles and trailers | Transport and motoring | Queensland Government

  6. #5
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    Google found this

    Mildura Weekly by Mildura Weekly - Issuu

    Page 14-15

    Rick



  7. #6
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    Default

    This is a good video to show what happens when you load up the rear of a trailer, with say....another trailer.


  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by droog View Post

    Yet in the cane growing regions of QLD it is quite common to see a 4WD ute towing two or more dog trailers loaded with plant cane on public roads.

    This idea fits in the "why would you bother?" category.

    I doubt that any MV insurer would honour a MV claim involving towing two trailers behind a passenger vehicle. I have seen some very well set up light trucks towing a van, with the boat & trailer piggy backed on the truck. The boat / trailer is loaded via portable loading ramps with a winch and usually sits atop tool boxes etc. There are some very comfortable dual cab light trucks out there that are probably cheaper to own and run than some of the top end 4WD's.
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  9. #8
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    You beat me to it. Dog trailer does away with the loading issue, but how do you reverse ?

    The usual solution to the rec vehicle issue is a motorhome towing the boat or small car.
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  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by smidsy View Post
    Idle curiosity on my part guys.
    If you hold an MC licence and stay within the towing capacity of the car, would you be able to tow two trailers?

    So why isn't anyone doing it?
    OMG - I hope they never permit this!

    As a surveyor who has travelled and worked extensively in central, western and FNQ plus other jaunts across Oz I have always preferred to travel light.

    Unfortunately I've also come across some very nasty road accidents caused by what can only be described as gross negligence - overloaded and poorly setup vehicles, poorly loaded vans, boats, trailers with really terrible weight distribution and plenty of simply wacko ideas about storage of gear on hitches, A frames etc. The Transport Inspectors must be able to tell some great stories about them.

    Having been on two juries for "dangerous driving causing death" charges which both resulted in jail time all I can say is sort it out before you hit the road.

    The really sad part is that many holidays are ruined or doomed basically before they even get going because the poor setup has lead to a single / multiple vehicle accident with injuries or worse!

    I remember newly retired and cashed up relatives dropping in on their trip south to pickup a new caravan near Brissie, with their brand new Magna sedan! They weren't to happy when I told them that the vehicle and 750kg rated towbar was not suitable to tow their new largish van, and that any respectable caravan retailer would not permit them to drive away with that rig. Sure enough, the retailer refused to even "park the van outside for them." So off they went and traded in the new Magna for a new Falcon Wagon with all the towing accessories. Unfortunately they didn't even get back to Gympie before wifie wrote off the whole rig. Thankfully they both walked away relatively physically uninjured, egos and hip pocket nerve suffered though. Sad part this is not uncommon!
    Last edited by Mobyturns; 8th January 2020 at 09:36 AM. Reason: spelling
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  11. #10
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    [QUOTE=Mobyturns;2168884 Unfortunately I've also come across some very nasty road accidents caused by what can only be described as gross negligence - overloaded and poorly setup vehicles, poorly loaded vans, boats, trailers with really terrible weight distribution and plenty of simply wacko ideas about storage of gear on hitches, A frames etc. The Transport Inspectors must be able to tell some great stories about them. [/QUOTE]

    Unfortunately, I think that Transport Inspectors are not involved with this type of transportation, in SA at least. And the Police don't seem to care as it would be too much paperwork involved.
    I've seen vehicles heading off, with jerrycans strapped to the roof racks, plus about 200kg of crap, while the inside of the vehicle is basically empty. When a Semi goes past, it takes up nearly the full width of the road to get it back under control. This particular couple I caught up with at a refueling stop, and found out that they're not going across the desert, but around Australia by bitumen!!!!!! The reason for the full Jerry cans was so that they didn't have to pay the top dollar prices that were being charged along the way. I tried to tell them that all that weight and bulk up top would negate any savings that they might have made.
    Kryn
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  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by warrick View Post
    if you read the story, the 4WD driver holds an MC (multi combination) licence and has customised the tow couplings so that they are equivalent to a B-double's 5th wheel coupling. So while highly unusual the whole combination is legal. BUT, given that both trailers are "pigs", I think that the owner has employed some significant BS to get around the motor vehicle regs and in fact the whole unit is not really legal.





    EDIT: Changed "dog" to "pig".
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

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    No B Double combination has that single axle mid trailer configuration. I very much doubt that the rig is "legal", its certainly not in QLD.

    Edit- I had a look at ATA's TAP "Description of truck configurations" - there are no permitted "rigid + pig + pig" combinations and there are no "rigid + dog + dog" combinations permitted.

    Certainly many permitted combos of "Semi + ".
    - note none of the HC rigs in B-double or lead trailer AB or BAB include "pig" trailers other than a dolly.

    WA's "Prime Mover, Trailer Combinations - Operating Conditions " have permitted "Prime Mover + semi trailer + pig trailer" combos on the Restricted Access Network.

    Perhaps it may be a different kettle of fish with a "Rigid + 5th wheel + dog" in WA???

    So the story reported above is complete BS imho - or it certainly is today.
    Last edited by Mobyturns; 9th January 2020 at 11:05 PM. Reason: added truck / pig trailer combos
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  14. #13
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    This was back in the early 70's. A friend of mine did that from Adelaide to Cook (on the railway line to WA) I think it was, he was on his way to Kalgoorlie with some items for the son over there. He had it all perfectly loaded, so that it was even weights on the couplings. The Constabulary asked if he had a Road Train License, he replied NO, so the officer escorted him to a railway siding where he watched him load one trailer on top of the other, on his own, after giving him a hefty fine of course!!!
    Kryn
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  15. #14
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    It was just one of those crazy topics, and I thank you all for replying - there's been some great comments.

    Just to throw another thought out there, several of you have pointed out the issue of weight distribution - the second trailer taking weight off the tow bar.
    If you're going to do this you're already certifiably crazy so why not go the hole hog and make a dolly.
    An axle, a bit of framework, a light connection and a tow ball mounted over the axle so the weight of the second trailer is transmitted straight down through the axle & wheels of the dolly - you could make it a standard tow ball or a fifth wheel and you could even go nuts and build a four wheel dolly.
    Even if you couldn't get it legal it's almost worth doing just for the fun of it.

  16. #15
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    It was just one of those crazy topics, and I thank you all for replying - there's been some great comments.

    Just to throw another thought out there, several of you have pointed out the issue of weight distribution - the second trailer taking weight off the tow bar.
    If you're going to do this you're already certifiably crazy so why not go the hole hog and make a dolly.
    An axle, a bit of framework, a light connection and a tow ball mounted over the axle so the weight of the second trailer is transmitted straight down through the axle & wheels of the dolly - you could make it a standard tow ball or a fifth wheel and you could even go nuts and build a four wheel dolly.
    Even if you couldn't get it legal it's almost worth doing just for the fun of it.

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