how safe is it to tow a tandem with car loaded but 1 set of wheels removed from the trailer!
johnn,
Apr 4, 5:30am
no problem as car on trailer is Fiat bambina
haybales,
Apr 4, 5:38am
i think its a skyline. just had a ring from my brother in law, hes down the line and they got a hire trailer from a service station. one of the u bolts on one of the trailer axles came off so they rang for advice. They wanted to take off one axle completely and just run 1 set of tyres.I said dump the trailer and tow the car with a rope. they rang back a bit later, had been talking to the S/S owner and he said its sweet to tow the tandem with 2 wheels. I think its dodgy as hell.
ralphdog1,
Apr 4, 5:56am
Typical tandem trailer axles are 1500kg per axle at best, you do the sums.
haybales,
Apr 4, 6:11am
thats why im asking, im not a mechanic or have a skyline or tandem trailer to weigh. my opinion was to side with caution, and my bro in law is young and bulletproof and would probably think nothing can go wrong. i do think the s/s owner needs a bullet for suggesting it is ok though. a trailer doesnt have 4 wheels for no reason.
johnf_456,
Apr 4, 6:13am
Personally if designed to have 4 working wheels that's the way it should stay, not worth the risk personally.
ralphdog1,
Apr 4, 6:22am
In my mind the single axle will be overloaded, will probably get away with it, however if it goes bad I bet you anything that the terms of the hire agreement are such that it will be all you BIL's problem. The owner needs a bullet for hiring a trailer that is unsafe and for the advice he has offered.
granada,
Apr 4, 9:01am
get him to call into the local police station and ask their advice.
mrfxit,
Apr 4, 3:19pm
Not legal, Try taking it to a garage or vtnz for a wof on 2 wheels & see what happens. It's a "discretion" from the police if you tow it EMPTY, but not allowed if it's loaded. Insurance will also NOT cover you if there's any accident of ANY sort regardless of who's fault it is. Get a local police officer to do an inspection & follow his advice, if they say it's ok, then get it IN WRITING, this way you will be covered if anything does go wrong.
big.b-lil.c,
Apr 4, 3:34pm
my advice dont do it. it will over or under load the tow vehicle depending on what wheels are removed. if the service station wants its trailer back they can get a mechanic to come fix it or they can send a transporter to pick it up
franko171,
Apr 4, 3:57pm
dont do it tell them u want another trailer
pdc1,
Apr 4, 4:14pm
Especially if it is the back axle that is removed. You say it's because of a U bolt. Why don't you just replace the U bolt. Easy and as cheap as!
haybales,
Apr 4, 4:48pm
They rang last night at 10pm so wasnt a lot open at that time to be getting u bolts etc. Like I said, my advice was to ditch the trailer and tow the vehicle with a rope and let the s/s owner retrieve his piece of shit trailer. They ended up getting home, but I'll be seeing the s/s guy next time Im down there
h.e,
Apr 5, 2:17am
im glad you live at the other end of the country,if front axle missing,to much weight on the towbar which means you will have little to no steering,if the back axle is missing, there will be no weight on the draw bar in fact it will try to jump off
henderson_guy,
Apr 5, 3:13am
Lets not also forget, that it will most likely (or at least SHOULD) be a braked trailer, and that the brakes usually are fitted to only one axle, usually the front one. So if that one is removed, you have an unbraked trailer, which with a car loaded, is dodgy as anything.
paull,
Oct 1, 9:19pm
theres probaly a clasue in the contract that covers this sort of thing and the garage will be liable for all cost incurred because of there faulty equipment, i would suggest he gets another trailer of sorts a tow truck to deliver the vehicle, maybe ring the garage to sort this first
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