Thread: Trailer Options

what donk have you got mid mounted in the back?

If you can make do with a 10 x 6 then that's what I would go for. Yep I'm biased and am very happy with my 10 foot unit.

Buying or building?

Building you can make trailer whatever size you wanted. And in particular, you can move your axle centres back to accomodate the weight of the mid mounted V8.
Sheet sizes usually determine the overall dimensions of a trailer so there's no wastage of both material, and the time to cut it. So, 6', 7', and 8' are the norm, then 2' increments up from there, 10, 12, 14 and 16.
8' 2" (2500mm) is the widest you can go, and subtracting a pair of 9" wide guards, leaves you with a maximum of 6' 8".
If you got the room to store it, you'll be kicking yourself the day you need to carry a load that's 12' long, and you only have a 10' trailer...
Just keep in mind the axle centres of an off the shelf box trailer in relation to the weight and placement of the motor in the ute. A 10' trailer you almost certainly have to load the ute on in reverse every time.

Jatt,

The engine is an LS3 from a 2008 HSV Commodore. It's the 317kw version with a 6 speed auto.

Yonnee,

I hear what you say about the size,

At this stage I'm looking at both buy and build options. I had today with my cousin who is a pretty dab hand at welding and has built a few car trailers.

At this stage we're leaning toward max width and 12' size with slipper springs and 50mm square axles and appropriate bearings to push it up to a 3.2 tonne capacity. Whist it would have the 3.2 tonne capacity this would rely on having breakaway electric brakes.

We feel 600kg empty weight is achievable.

The sticking point is Stewart would prefer over-ride discs and I want electric brakes. I think I'll win as I'm the one paying. Something about pipers and tunes!!'

I realise I may have to load the ute backwards but when I've moved it on a mates "Tilta-Trailer" it's travelled well loaded front first.

The Tilta Trailer is a nice bit of kit but for $8,000.00 it should be. Only problem with it is when empty it floats about 200mm in the air due to the air suspension and bangs and crashes around. Loaded it's just fantastic, 130kmh and she just sits there.

I'll let you know what eventuates.

OK. If you're going to build, and build at maximum width, then my suggestion would be to pick your trailers wheels and tyres first. 205 wide tyres are the biggest you can squeeze under a standard 9" mudguard. You still have to set up the axles so the tyres sidewall bulge is outside the guards, but legally you only have to cover the tread. This still gives you "borderline" enough clearance from chassis to the inside tyre wall.
So, pick your wheels, which will determine your guard width, and measure back from there for everything else.

You need to be aware of the requirements for load sharing and non-load sharing suspensions. A 50mm square axle with Parallel bearings has a rating of 1600Kg. Industrial Springs (Adelaide) do a 9 leaf slipper spring set rated at 1650Kg, so you can match that same rating. However, with a non-load sharing suspension setup, each axle must be able to carry 120% of its share of the load. So, at 1600Kg being the 120%, your trailer can only have a maximum rating of 2666.66Kg. If you really want a 3200Kg capacity, you'll need 50mm sq. 2Tonne axles and 12" Electric brakes and two 'Rogers' 2Tonne single axle suspension kits. Or a much cheaper way would be the Prallel axles, 10" Electric brakes, and a 3.5Tonne Rocker Roller suspension.

Thanks Yonnee,

The reason for the 3.2 tonne target is to make the axles strong enough to take the punishment they'll get.

I live on a round-about (no not in the middle of the raod but my driveway is off it) and all my trailers shred tyres when I enter my drive. I figured the bigger the axle and bearings the lower my maintenance will be.

I service bearings at least twice a year on my trailers and some only get used 2-3 times a year.

I'l run slipper leaves and accept the lower rating as I didn't want to tow 3.2 tonnes anyway.

My tow car (an ML 320) is only 2.1 tonnes.

I'll probably start collecting bits in the next week or tow and go from there.

I did similar with a mates car trailer I built. It was for a Gen2 Mazda 1300 race car, which barely weighs 850Kg, but I put Melbourne Trailers Independent Suspension under it with 'Slimline' bearings, so its non-load sharing capacity is 2415Kg, but without break away and only single axled brakes, it registered at 1990Kg. I did however have the Electric mounts fitted to the rear so that upgrading to 4-wheeled brakes is a bolt on application.

Well plans change.

Picked up a 12x7 tandem axle box trailer with ramps, 3 years old, $1,600.00 with 6 months rego. All new led lights recently fitted.

It has a 2,000kg limit but I can upgrade to electric brakes if I wish.

This was $3,000.00 new so it looks a bargain at this stage.

I'll tidy up my 7x5 tandem trades trailer shove it on eBay and most likely get my $1,6000 back. This trailer was used to store my youngest son's off-road buggy but he's about to get his driver's licence so the buggy lost its gloss.

He shouldn't complain he had it for 3 years and made a profit on it. Mainly because I spent heaps of time sorting out a few problems it had.

Sold off my old trailer for $50.00 more than I paid for the new one!

Considering I made $650.00 on it after 3 years of use and abuse I'm not compalining.

The new trailer for all its size only wieghs around 70kg more than the old one.