i found using cross ply tyres made the trailer heaps better. as it towed straight as, those radial tyres can get the trailer to get a real nasty sway on.have plenty of toe in on the tr / wheels.and the longer the draw bar to thetr/ axle the better she'll tow had a special long trailer for our 1/4 mile rail. and cracked the ton along the desert road ! yah hoolook on TMfor brake set off old caravan etc
splinter67,
Aug 12, 10:03pm
Take the axle out and put in duratorques (not correct spelling) unsprung trailers tow like crap The reason sensible people tie cars down from the tie down points and not the wheels is to stop the body roll of the towed car
mm12345,
Aug 12, 10:15pm
Light truck tyres with plenty of pressure IMO (ie 50 psi or more). Durotorques are fine if there's not clearance for an axle and springs, but they're flipping expensive compared to leaf spring setups.
splinter67,
Aug 12, 10:36pm
We have a stock car trailer with them on they aremounted upside down which has lowered the center of gravity easy to load and tows like a dream I haven't priced any lately so not sure how the comparison is
i bought this trailer years ago from a stockcar boy, it has HQ stubs, brakes n calipers on tilton springs on a drop axle. i have towed at 160kph n it was stable as you would expect. with no load on the trailer & not connected to a tow hitch, the drawbar sits about 50mm off the deck. a very well balance trailer for sure.
the-lada-dude,
Aug 12, 10:39pm
i have made my own' duratorques ' quite easy to do once you know how.
mm12345,
Aug 12, 10:48pm
Depends on weight rating, but somewhere around $900 / pair.Yeah - I guess with a car trailer where you want to keep the deck low, for centre of gravity but also for loading unloading, they're the way to go.Same with boat trailers for large/deep vee hulls. I've seen them (durotorque type setups) for sale on US sites - much cheaper than what we pay here.
mm12345,
Aug 12, 10:49pm
Yeah! You need to post a Youtube video of how to do that.
I wondered if a two-pack PU or polysulphide could be poured instead of rubber inserts.Apparently you need a very big press to assemble/disassemble them.
splinter67,
Aug 12, 10:54pm
The way too do it is put the left on the right and upside down mounting points exactly the same made a huge difference in handling it lowered it about 4 inches
mm12345,
Aug 12, 11:00pm
Yeah it would do.You'd want to be sure the bolts were up to it though.
splinter67,
Aug 12, 11:17pm
Yep it helped to have a mate that sold bolts and steel dam him for getting a new job
morrisman1,
Aug 13, 12:14am
Just had a look at a tandem, looked pretty good actually and was in very good condition. Only bummer was it didnt have brakes! They were removed when they needed fixing. Im sure we could fab something up out of some automotive calipers if needed. The master cylinder was cheap on that website. Might be the way to go.
sr2,
Aug 13, 1:20am
Just a thought; for the time being until you can afford a proper transporter could you tow the car with an A frame! If you weld two good mounts to the front of your car and build a frame to suit you can end up with a setup that??
morrisman1,
Aug 13, 1:29am
The Bighorn has an unbraked towing capacity of 1200kg, didnt state maximum tongue load but it has a heavy duty towing kit. Trailer we are weighing tonight, I know the car weighs 850kg, will be about 900kg when all finished. Trailer I can lift up myself so estimate around 250kg total. That is within the towing capacity of the vehicle so although its not ideal to not have brakes I think we can do it. Im going to work out tonight how far forwards I can move the axle, in order to reduce tongue load, while maintaining a centre of gravity forward of the axle when the trailer is empty. Our runabout trailer has 15kg on the tongue when empty, and similar when properly loaded and that tows really nicely.
Might just have to scratch the idea of being able to tow it with a small car, or look at adding brakes at a later date to allow for that capability. It wouldn't be hard to add some brakes, plenty of cars out there which could donate them.
Yea, that would be pretty good, the issue is the LSD makes it real knarly to a-frame as it is constantly fighting the tow vehicle. This is the experience of a couple other people in the club who have LSD FWD cars on an a-frame.
A-frames are great otherwise, can basically drive from A-B without having to worry about the load on behind because it all takes care of itself!
00quattro00,
Aug 13, 1:39am
What car are you putting on there, it looks tiny
morrisman1,
Aug 13, 1:45am
Deck is a bit over 3m long. Wheelbase of the pulsar is 2440mm. Yes it will overhang the back but that won't be a problem
h.e,
Aug 13, 2:15am
another thought for you.put a toolbox on the drawbar of the single axle trailer carry helmets tools anythig heavy really and park the car on backwards you would only need about 100kg of gear in the tool box by your figures
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 13, 3:16am
Whatever you do, do not set it up for a 15KG Tongue weight, that is suicide.
Tongue weight MUST be geared to the laden weight of the trailer. I said go for just under the max tongue weight permissible for the lightest car. That is the absolute minimum and technically too light for what you are towing, but a compromise so you can tow with that vehicle.
If you can do away without towing with the lighter car you can then increase it but whatever you do, don't go lighter.
Assuming you use the larger vehicle and its towbar is rated for it, ideal weight is going to be around 120KG on the Tongue. If you want to get technical the "ideal" range is between 9 and 15% of the total weight of the trailer and load.
thejazzpianoma,
Aug 13, 3:37am
While its tricky without seeing the car on it and some more measurements, my initial thoughts looking at the trailer in the pic is that perhaps lengthening the drawbar may be better than moving the axle.
Given what you are trying to tow it with (even the bighorn) I would be going with a good long drawbar for towing stability. Plus I think with the car on and overhanging the front of the deck it dosn't look like there will be a lot of exposed drawbar. It also makes keeping weight up on the tongue easier when the trailer is empty.
Looking at the drawbar it may need some strengthening anyway.
morrisman1,
Aug 13, 4:56am
Ive done weight and balance on the trailer. Its 220kg total in its current state, that wont increase by much.
Centre of gravity is 540mm forwards of current axle location. 35kg on the drawbar. Moving axle forwards 300mm will mean we have 20kg on the drawbar when trailer is empty and this will increase to 46.25kg on a loaded trailer, with the option of increasing as that is with the car in the most rearward position available.
supernova2,
Aug 13, 6:39am
My (before it got nicked) tandem was on duratorques and it sat dead level when empty.Unless you have the tow bar at exactly the correct height you end up nose high or nose low which upsets the complete trailer.After time the duras got soft and then the wheels toe out and the camber goes all odd.I'd rather springs or solid.Other car trailer I've had experience with was a single axel which took three guys to lift onto towbar, had horendous downforce but towed extremely well at over 100MPH.IMHO i'd be going with brakes, tandem on springs and max weight onto drawbar.
00quattro00,
Aug 13, 6:45am
I have a tandem that has duratorques, tows reall well except for when I put it on a mates surf,his tow bar is higher and it upsets the trailer and it will start to sway ever so slightly when you go over 115
the-lada-dude,
Aug 13, 2:39pm
i'll suggest it again, as it looks as if you would not be doing huge mileage, and thats a well designed towing dolly !you dont need trailer springing and you can easy locate some flanged stub axles that bolt onto your axle complete with brakes, or find a complete beam axle set up out of a jappa and simply widen it, then you can make the draw bar length to suit yourself, then you only need the braked coupling and the right dia m/cyl
morrisman1,
Aug 13, 3:11pm
I've got a towing dolly already! Its a pain to load and unload and its also unnecessary wear and tear on the rear wheels of the car. Trailer is the preferred option purely because it is far more versatile.
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