Vehicle Transport Question.

laspaz, Apr 4, 2:38am
I need a vehicle transported from Hamilton to Putaruru. (45 mins)

It has no engine, but is rolling.

Can anyone recommend the best value company for the task?

My local garage wanted $350 for the job and said other companies would be cheaper.

seadubya, Apr 4, 2:41am
Have you got a tow bar? $50ish for half day hire of a car trailer plus gas.

laspaz, Apr 4, 2:44am
I do, but I don't know if my station wagon could safely tow a trailer and vehicle. Might be too heavy.

seadubya, Apr 4, 2:48am
What sort of vehicle? Without an engine it will invariably be lighter.

laspaz, Apr 4, 2:51am
The vehicle I want to tow is a kombi ute. About 1000kg without engine.

I think the weight of the trailer might be more the issue. My tow bar should be good for 1800kg (braked).

seadubya, Apr 4, 2:57am
I would think that most braked trailers would be under 800kg. Ask your local rental outfit, they should have a fair idea about their trailers. Much cheaper than $350!

gtrb26, Apr 4, 2:59am
I wouldn't expect a transport trailer to be more that 800kg, would think it would be around 400-600kg depending on size etc.

laspaz, Apr 4, 2:59am
You might be onto something there. Thanks for the idea, perhaps if they have an aluminium one.

Tow vehicle is a Honda Odyssey though. not the best tow rig.

Beetle sold this morning, so thanks for your help on that too.

skin1235, Apr 4, 3:05am
mate, my 2 lt mitzi dion can manage to haul a tandem car trailer with a mitzi 3000 on it from welly to waverley without issue, took 3,5 hrs doing it too, 310km, the combi van would be lighter than the 3000, and the odyssey has more horses than the dion

laspaz, Apr 4, 3:09am
Hmm, you guys are certainly tempting me. Might have to seriously think about it.

Only other concern is if something goes wrong my life savings will be gone! lol

clark20, Apr 4, 3:33am

laspaz, Apr 4, 3:39am
Looks like it could have been a great idea, but she's been off the road for 23 years, so the tyres are probably not safe to roll on the open road.

Will see what the local hire centre has available. Thanks for the idea!

tamarillo, Apr 4, 4:13am
The odyssey can tow that such a short way.mtake it easy, change down rather than let it chug. Europeans tow huge caravans with 2 litre from drivers, we're just use to more.

laspaz, Apr 4, 4:17am
Thanks for adding to my confidence. I will need to tow it back and forth to Hamilton a couple more times in the future for re-registration inspections etc, so knowing that I can do it with my current vehicle would be very useful.

Cheers.

laspaz, Apr 4, 5:33am
Wonder if I could find an A frame to tow it with.

Would have to find decent tyres and fit them etc, so might just be cheaper to hire a trailer. Would be lighter without though.

pandai, Apr 4, 6:01am
I'm almost having a hard time believing an Odyssey would be suitable for towing that weight, partly because I don't trust Honda auto gearboxes for that, and because I would expect the tow bar to be rated to 750kg or 1000kg braked, but not 1800kg - would be a few hundred kg heavier than the car.

laspaz, Apr 4, 6:11am
The tow bar manufacturer said "1500 to 2000kg braked". I'm more worried about brakes etc. It was the most robust towbar I have ever fitted

It is the jazzed up absolute model with bigger engine, so at least it's not CVT.

mack77, Apr 4, 9:51am
Old Honda Odysseys are not really suitable for towing anything due to their weak auto-transmissions. I keep any towing with mine to less than the maximum permitted by Honda of 700kg braked or 400kg unbraked. I don't know whether the auto-transmissions of Odysseys after about 1999 have a stronger auto-transmission.

laspaz, Apr 4, 9:57am
Hmmm, this is part of my concern. I don't want to kill the good car!

socram, Apr 5, 5:13am
Two wheel braked transporter trailer weighs a lot less than a 4 wheel trailer.

Old 1800cc Mk1 Freelander (manual) and then TD4 auto used to tow a rolling shell or a complete 1050kg GT around on my two wheel trailer, no problem at all, though I had the tow bar on the second vehicle beefed up a bit.

Current Feelander 2 is even better.

franko171, Apr 5, 5:14am
hire a car and trailer

laspaz, Mar 28, 5:57am
Good news, the seller has offered to cover the cost of transportation. So will have a company delivery it.

Thanks for all the suggestions, as I will need to transport it myself in the future.