Building a lightweight car hauler?

914Driver wrote: A question about the torsion type suspension, what dampens rebound or is it necessary? Dan

The rubber in the torsion part does a good job of self-dampening on its own. Even when my old trailer was empty, it still didn't bounce around like leaf spring trailer sometimes do.

I was in this boat recently. My 16' open steel beater trailer - bought as "first available/closest/cheapest" on CL the beginning of last season - was stolen over the winter, and I have the problem of an 8' gap the thing has to fit through if I want to keep it in the back yard, which Big Tex couldn't do - hence it's getting ganked from it's free spot in a nearby industrial park.

The load is a about 1200# of sports racer, wheels, and pit gear in a tongue box.

Months of searching netted an ugly - hideous actually - 6x14' deck over for $400.

New wheels-tires-bearings-brakes-wiring-breakaway switch+battery-tongue jack+wheel-lights was about $500, and miscellaneous hardware, Rustoleum, and pressure treated lumber will be anout $150 or so. Add a weekend of work and I've got the perfect hauler for under $1200 and it'll be essentially new.

The loading ramps will be at least 10' long, and will mount as sides for doing dump runs.

i built my single axle Spitfire hauler from 2x3 tubing, similar to the plans in your original posts, except mine has 4 front-rear rails instead of 2.
Uses 2x12 lumber for the tires to sit on, and for ramps. It weighs under 400 lb.
That was 1970, it's still going strong (I've replaced the wooden ramps twice, should use treated lumber next time).
Stable enough at 90 MPH, as towed with a Pinto SW.

Look at British trailers for some ideas on how to build light weight units.
http://www.brianjames.co.uk/range/default.aspx?id=1

motomoron wrote: The loading ramps will be at least 10' long, and will mount as sides for doing dump runs.

Brilliant!

I have wondered about building a trailer using an old aluminum boat trailer for a core. Those frame rails look plenty strong, and a lot of those trailer haul very heavy boats. Just thinkin'.

In reply to cwh:
I've had the same thought. Typical car trailers are built to fit full sized cars. I've had one for 15 years to haul a VW GTI, then a SpecMiata. Seems like overkill when you see the size of some of those boats being pulled on a trailer that's got to be well less than half the weight of mine.

I used grip strut for the runners on my car hauler to save weight.

With 2x3 main rails and the outside ones doubled up, I've hauled full size cars with no problem. You don't need suspension on a car hauler.

fifty wrote: Thanks Jensenman, that's exactly the information I was looking for. I'll add a picture and discussion from Honda Tech on the merits of single -vs- tandem axle: http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2334128&highlight=trailer My single axle trailer tows far better than the double axle trailer it replaced. I built the single axle trailer myself, so I made it light and low. Before, I had a normal double axle car hauller that weighed 1800lbs and had a deck height of around 18". My trailer weighs about 800lbs and has a deck height of about 10". Lowering the CG height of the car by 8+ inches is a huge benefit in handling. I have used this single axle trailer for over 10yrs now, and it probably has at least 50k miles by now. Pros for the single axle - lighter - less rolling resistance - easier to turn - less likely to get a flat (1st tire kicks nail up, 2nd tire runs it over on dual axle) - less stress on bearings from low speed cornering (scrub) Cons for single axle -not sure how it would handle with a flat, but I doubt it would be a problem. -must carry a spare tire -placement of load is more critical, but once you get it right it isn't any big deal -Chris __________________ 2008 E Prepared National Champion AND... http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2275326

I wonder what the tongue weight is on that. Surely defeats the 10-15% rule.

Here is an idea