Towing a Car Trailer

Corax · Post by **Corax** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 8:58 pm

Hey Suba-dudes,

Off to save another brumby next weekend and am going to have to hire a car trailer as the poor old girl is to sad to move under her own steam. Now I have towed a lot of trailers in my time but never a car trailer. Basically I want to know if there are any tricks/traps I should be aware of and how to sit the car on the trailer correctly as I have got nearly 300km to travel. Want both of us to get home in one piece. All advice/stories gratefully recieved.

Cheers,
Corax.

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:24 pm

1) the car your going to tow with needs to meet the regulations of the towing capacity

2) drive the car on so the motor is at the drawbar

3) you can level the car up on flat gound so the tow car lights are not pointing in the sky

4) keep your lights on in the tow car

5) remember , you have more weight now & the car will take longer to stop

6) keep left

7) check the tow bar rating of the tow car , nothing like the boot falling out under tow

dont cut the corner

9) all ways call your mother

10) make sure you have clean underwear

11) I have two spare wheels for my car trailer ( on long drives over 100ks )

The orange hire company over here were sued as a wally hired a car trailer with a little jap car , his brakes failed killing three people . The orange hire company then sold off all the car trailers to pay for damages

any way that was some

+ speed limit is 90 ks

I have a photo of Andrew T towing a car trailer with another car in tow, he was......

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:34 pm

seagull wrote:
10) make sure you have clean underwear

LoL just in case

The thumb rule is - dont tow a car that is same weight or more weight than the car that is towing the trailer.

example -
If its a Commodore towing a trailer with Subaru Brumby on it - then its ok because Commodore is heavier.

Another thing to add... If the trailer starts swaying, it will get worse and DO NOT brake, accelerate hard as much possible to straighten it out then once its straighten out brake.... but it has to be a straight line not a bend.... if you approach down hill best slow down half or less than half of the full speed.

Also, its ideal to drive 10kmh less than recommended speed. Ie. 60, drive at 50kmh to be safe and give you better braking distance...

I also recommend to use a 6 cylinder or more with better/good brakes.
Good Luck!
Cheers
AP

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:36 pm

seagull wrote:1)
I have a photo of Andrew T towing a car trailer with another car in tow, he was

---------------------------
I was... ?

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:38 pm

What are you planning on using as the tow vehicle?

Id recommend something like a Landcruiser, Patrol, ect for towing a car trailer.

Abide by what Seagull said above, make sure the trailer brakes are working, and all should be fine.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:42 pm

Seagull's advice very good there.

Yeah trailer hire places won't let you take a trailer any more unless you have a big heavy tow vehicle (landcruiser etc) - not even a V8 commodore now.

Make sure the trailer tyres are all pumped up properly.

Be very conscious of what the trailer is doing - pay close attention incase is gets the speed wobbles, this can be disasterous.

I've towed a car trailer with my L series a few times before and it's not something I'm going to be doing much in the future, it's just not heavy or stable enough. Feels okay, and all went okay, but if I'd have had to avoid a hazard in an emergency, or braked suddenly it could have ended badly. If I'd been using a landcruiser or similar, probably fine.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:45 pm

Suparoo wrote:What are you planning on using as the tow vehicle?

Id recommend something like a Landcruiser, Patrol, ect for towing a car trailer.

Abide by what Seagull said above, make sure the trailer brakes are working, and all should be fine.

Agreed! or a heavier vehicle ie. V8 or commodore/falcon etc... Reminded me towing a 6 wheeler electric brake tray trailer (empty) from one place to other and I said never again.... Was too heavy to brake as I didn't have electric brake module in my Liberty...
Cheers
AP

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:59 pm

Sorry to sidetrack this topic....
Regarding my signature, the truth is out now, from my experiences in Saturday morning 25th August 2006, I was driving my Liberty Sedan with rocks in 7x4 trailer (not that one in photo - another trailer) from Kinglake to Hurtsbridge to Geelong on that early Saturday morning, I lost control on black ice around the corners and jackknifed my Liberty caused this hard damage (I was blaming VLSD as well but will never know the truth if VLSD was in play) -

The Liberty was written off due un-encomical repair (will need 1/4 of rear to be cut out) and it was in banana shaped on the right side, damage was noticed in spare tyre wall, trailer has pushed in the rear right passenger door, couldn't open the door at all, rear cross member and there was metallic clanking noises somewhere in the rear.

It was my stupidity and I should have taken the load off thought It'll be okay, the front was up in the air because the draw bar was the heaviest point. It was my hardest lesson that I learn't... and should have taken my mate's commodore as he advised me and go later on the day. But I didn't!...
Anyway I'm happy with my wagon! BUT never have driven anything heavier than what I should and still have flashbacks while I'm towing any type of trailers.. As it could have been worse, I could have ended up in the hillside in the bush! My heart was thrown out of the place and man... cant explain! That is why I haven't really spoken or said anything on here...

That is why I said above, just follow what seagull said.
Cheers
AP

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:21 pm

Ah so thats what happened.

I too have been a little over confident with an overladen trailer. Just because a turbo L series feels like it grips well when in 4wd when its raining, it has nothing when there is a 3/4 ton of dirt in a box trailer. It wasnt till i needed to brake at an intersection that i realized how little grip i had. Luckily no damage was done.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:22 pm

Yeah, even with a trailer with really good inbuilt brakes (like the one I use has), it's just the pure inertia and momentum that gets you. You have to have alot more weight in your tow vehicle than your load.

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:09 am

filmed by my mate who is a Mr plod

This was some time back & if you have not got it in the post its not comming

It was you Andrew

PS my mates holden dunny door weighs in at 1237kg

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:17 am

seagull wrote:filmed by my mate who is a Mr plod

This was some time back & if you have not got it in the post its not comming It was you Andrew

what was me? Still not sure what you are talking about? Perhaps more appropriate if you PM me.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:36 am

I seem to recall a picture of a l series towing a car trailer, i think the picture was taken at an intersection.

Post by **TOONGA** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:10 am

listen to them I towed a brumby on a trailer with a liberty wagon once the brumby was in the garage and the trailer was back at the hire company I took the towball and hitch off of both my subarus

if you dont have a car heavier than the combined weight of the trailer and car on it don't do it

I still remember the trailer and brumby trying to come through the rear of the car as i slowed down to start braking

TOONGA

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:12 pm

AndrewT wrote:what was me? Still not sure what you are talking about? Perhaps more appropriate if you PM me.

dont worry , it was a long time ago

wrxer · Post by **wrxer** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:44 pm

10% of weight should be on the hitch to stop it swaying. drive ute on until tow car looks normal and then a bit more. if your trailer sways around might have to move it more forward. if your trailer is quite big you may have to put ute on backwards so it is closer to front .
check temps of wheel bearings after 50k then every 100k or so. siezed wheel bearings are a fire hazard. ive had to adjust hire trailer bearings before.
take plenty of time for stopping distance, i like to coast to a stop wherever possible, and use the gears.
take it easy, ive trailered a valiant with a magna from way south in wa to kalgoorlie, then back again later, but as said earlier tower needs to be heavier than towee.

dont be scared, just take plenty of time

Corax · Post by **Corax** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:00 pm

Thanks for the advice guys, now more terrified than worried!:) Just kidding! Was going to use the forester (which I think weighs around 1400kg + three other family members so around 1700 kg all up) which has a towing capacity of 1400kg (so it says on the tow bar) but will now take up my mates offer to use his ford explorer instead. Will also strap the brumby down so if we have to brake suddenly it doesnt come in and visit us in the ford. Thanks for all the advice!

Cheers,
Corax.

ian059 · Post by **ian059** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:12 pm

Corax wrote:Thanks for the advice guys, now more terrified than worried!:) Just kidding! Was going to use the forester (which I think weighs around 1400kg + three other family members so around 1700 kg all up) which has a towing capacity of 1400kg (so it says on the tow bar) but will now take up my mates offer to use his ford explorer instead. Will also strap the brumby down so if we have to brake suddenly it doesnt come in and visit us in the ford. Thanks for all the advice!

Cheers,
Corax.

A very good decision. I wouldn't do it with my Forester.
btw. Don't ever pay any attention to what's on the towbar. It's the towing capacity of the vehicle that matters, although in this case it is 1400kg braked or 720kg unbraked. If you had the towbar proffesionally fitted the towing capacity will be on a sticker on the rear of the drivers door, that is, when the door is open.

IanC

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:08 pm

whew...
Cheers
AP

tony · Post by **tony** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:05 pm

I have done a lot of towing. you can actually tow just about anything with anything that will pull it, but there are legal aspects and practical. go to UK you see guys towing their 24 foot caravans with Morris Minors. but they only travel 30 miles and at 30 mph.
Do not, ever, put the load on backwards, the weight bias is to the rear and wil lift the load off the rear wheels with disaster to follow, if the steering feels light when towing there is too much weight to the rear, (chuck a bag of cement in the front of the load or something if you can't level the load or have to load backwards) . You do need a bit more weight to the front, about 100 kg on the towbar,
Most important is keep the speed down. After a while you will feel confident and able to handle it, that is when you will get into trouble. If you even think you are getting a bit of a wobble up slow down by lifting the foot off the pedal.
I am in two minds about speeding up to straighten the vehicle path, generally you have got into trouble by going too fast anyway, and it usually happens at the worst time, but it is maybe the best theoretical solution, best to not get into the problem in the first place.
Especially be careful going down hill.
I moved my HQ one tonner on a trailer with my L series, it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The worst thing is the tension from having to concentrate 120% every second of the way. Very tiring, do not drive tired.
I later towed it from Northam to Perth, this time I went to a hire car co and rented a Toyota Hilux ute, good heavy vehicle, brand new no mechanics to worry about, stacks of power did not even know the trailer and car were there. Took extra insurance and with petrol cost about $200, worth every penny of it. The advantage of that also is if you do have an accident you still have your own car to drive around in. But watch for the excess they can be murderously expensive, shop around.
And a hint, keep an eye on the rear view mirror, if you see a lot of traffic building up and it is in a hard to pass area pull over and let them pass, this avoids them trying to teach you a lesson by cutting you off as they scream past, and the sight of a heap of traffic in the mirror does pressure you. Of course traffic will build up again but you can't stop every 10 k, but keep it in mind. Especially trucks.
I never blame caravans or slow moving trucks for holding me up, I blame the morons who won't overtake and insist on driving close to the rear of the slower vehicle so no one else can pass either, always leave 200 metres or so from the car in front if you don't intend to overtake, even if you have to slow down for a few seconds. This gives the Schumachers in their Daihatsus a chance to overtake without too much risk to you.
remember if they crash in front of you it puts you at risk as well.
Also i never tow heavy loads with the family or wife in the car even it seems like a chance for a nice drive, it is never a nice drive and they will distract you with "watch that car" or loud screams. You don't need to be worrying about them.
Take a mate though.
Allow yourself plenty of time and do not plan to do it on a day when you HAVE to be somewhere else later. It will always take longer than you think.

good luck.