Anyone ever towed on a 10' trailer?

[Hasbro]

I'm looking at a 6'x10' trailer, trying to go as small/light as possible. 5' wide would sort of work on a stock X but not with flairs so 6' is required. There would be some overhang, of course. Side railings would be 12 or 14". The front railing height would be about 3" tall to accommodate rolling front tires all the way to the front and use removable rear ramps instead of a gate. Any problems I'm not considering?

edit; I'm thinking 13" wheels instead of 15" and possibly a drop axle to lower the trailer several inches. I would also consider an 8' length.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

I have a 13' flatbed trailer and a X fills it, with a fair amount hanging over both ends. I doubt you'll get one on a 10' trailer. Just looking at spec dimensions is misleading. Other considerations, the shorter it is the less stable it tows. It's also more difficult to get the weight balanced fore/aft; axle placement would be very critical and you will have to back the car on (rear weight bias needs to be sitting forward), which is a pain. Might try renting one to test things before you buy; I have a feeling you will rethink the plan.

 

[JimD]

Hi Hasbro,

Will you winch the car on or drive it on? 6'x10" is barely big enough, seems like a bit finicky to drive the car on. Once on, won't 12" or 14" side rails keep you from opening the door to get out? Unless you winched the car on of course. Then you are already out of the car. With only 10' of length, tie down points will be very close to the load. Especially at the rear of the trailer.

Talking ramps... I bought the 15' version of this trailer a few years back. It is way bigger than you intend, but I wanted you to look at the ramps. It is a pretty nice setup. The builder created a shallow box under each deck and the ramps store in there and you just slide them out for use. No need to lift the whole weight of the ramp. I can get some more detailed pictures of the ramps on my trailer if you are interested.


Just FYI, the trailer builder narrowed the trailer for me by 6" between the ramps and also lowered the fenders to allow the X's doors to open with a few inches of clearance. I wanted a full bed, but it was 400lbs more than the open deck and I was trying to keep the weight of the trailer and car within my Pilot's towing specs. Towing the X is pretty easy, put the 124 sedan on there and I need to pay much more attention to where the weight is located back to front.

We want pictures of whatever you create!

 

[Hasbro]

I have a 13' flatbed trailer and a X fills it, with a fair amount hanging over both ends. I doubt you'll get one on a 10' trailer. Just looking at spec dimensions is misleading. Other considerations, the shorter it is the less stable it tows. It's also more difficult to get the weight balanced fore/aft; axle placement would be very critical and you will have to back the car on (rear weight bias needs to be sitting forward), which is a pain. Might try renting one to test things before you buy; I have a feeling you will rethink the plan.

- Hmmm, good stuff, thanks. The car is near Dallas so it has to handle one long distance run (Dallas to Atlanta), then only local runs. It would mostly be used for Home Depot, dump runs, and yard equipment hauling. Road Atlanta hopefully someday. A U-Haul car hauler is too big according to U-Haul (4.0 v6 Ranger). I would throw it on a U-Haul open 12x6 if the gate could be manipulated. Then deal with a new trailer and it's specs later. And renting would allow me to pick it up sooner. Anyone know if the rear gate on a U-Haul is removable?

Hi Hasbro,

Will you winch the car on or drive it on? 6'x10" is barely big enough, seems like a bit finicky to drive the car on. Once on, won't 12" or 14" side rails keep you from opening the door to get out? Unless you winched the car on of course. Then you are already out of the car. With only 10' of length, tie down points will be very close to the load. Especially at the rear of the trailer.

Talking ramps... I bought the 15' version of this trailer a few years back. It is way bigger than you intend, but I wanted you to look at the ramps. It is a pretty nice setup. The builder created a shallow box under each deck and the ramps store in there and you just slide them out for use. No need to lift the whole weight of the ramp. I can get some more detailed pictures of the ramps on my trailer if you are interested.
View attachment 17588

Just FYI, the trailer builder narrowed the trailer for me by 6" between the ramps and also lowered the fenders to allow the X's doors to open with a few inches of clearance. I wanted a full bed, but it was 400lbs more than the open deck and I was trying to keep the weight of the trailer and car within my Pilot's towing specs. Towing the X is pretty easy, put the 124 sedan on there and I need to pay much more attention to where the weight is located back to front.

We want pictures of whatever you create!

That's a sweet trailer but I'm on a budget and need it for other stuff. It would basically be a glorified utility trailer with a 3500 lb. single axle. I would drive it on and hop out through the roof. Ok, crawl.
Superior Trailer is 1.5 miles down my street and they are surprisingly willing to do some custom work for no charge. I'll wager they could add ramp storage for a decent price.
Anyway, just getting antsy and want to get this show on the road. Thanks for the food for thought.

 

[GregS]

My custom built tilt trailer is 6ft wide, and 10ft is to about 15 inches behind behind the rear axle center line. The extra length is to get a shallow angle to drive on when tilted, no extra ramps. It is balanced nicely for towing with about 60kg tow ball weight. Trailer weight is 300kg. I would recommend having sides low enough to open the doors when loaded, mine has about 1/2 inch clearance to the guards.

 

[JimD]

I towed an X from KC to STL with U-haul tow dolly. That would get your show on the road.

Another thought on your build. Go with stake pockets around the perimeter rather than fixed rails. Then you can have sides when you need them and no sides when they would be in the way.

 

[Hasbro]

My custom built tilt trailer is 6ft wide, and 10ft is to about 15 inches behind behind the rear axle center line. The extra length is to get a shallow angle to drive on when tilted, no extra ramps. It is balanced nicely for towing with about 60kg tow ball weight. Trailer weight is 300kg. I would recommend having sides low enough to open the doors when loaded, mine has about 1/2 inch clearance to the guards.

Thanks for your response, Greg. I have long admired your build and intend to use it as a goal with regards to weight. No surprise that your trailer is also super light! For those of you that haven't read his thread, it's worth a look;
https://t124.com/forum/forum/fiat-fans/fiat-fans-aa/14314-track-day-x1-9

I towed an X from KC to STL with U-haul tow dolly. That would get your show on the road.

Another thought on your build. Go with stake pockets around the perimeter rather than fixed rails. Then you can have sides when you need them and no sides when they would be in the way.

U-Haul wouldn't let me tow the carrier with the Ranger when I tried a few months ago... It tows very well and have used U-Haul's enclosed 6x12 several times, jam packed and heavy. Could barely feel it.
12" sides don't bother me. I had a 20' trailer with sides and it was ok since it didn't carry cars often. Even squeezed an Esprit on it once. That was tight!

 

[JimD]

U-Haul wouldn't let me tow the carrier with the Ranger when I tried a few months ago...

When you say "carrier", do you mean the car hauler trailer that is a lot like my trailer? Or did they tell you you can't use the hauler or the tow dolly with you Ranger?

I settled for the dolly because they wouldn't rent me the car hauler with my 6 cyl Honda Pilot. Since the dolly leaves the two rear wheels on the ground, the X needs to be a roller.

 

[Hasbro]

When you say "carrier", do you mean the car hauler trailer that is a lot like my trailer? Or did they tell you you can't use the hauler or the tow dolly with you Ranger?

I settled for the dolly because they wouldn't rent me the car hauler with my 6 cyl Honda Pilot. Since the dolly leaves the two rear wheels on the ground, the X needs to be a roller.

Oh, dolly, sorry. Reader's Miscomprehension. The X isn't really a roller, more of a dragger right now. But the sparks would be pretty at night.

 

[Dan Sarandrea (Phila)]

I towed an X from KC to STL with U-haul tow dolly. That would get your show on the road.

Another thought on your build. Go with stake pockets around the perimeter rather than fixed rails. Then you can have sides when you need them and no sides when they would be in the way.

Or have the builder make a section of the driver's side railing of the trailer removeable / unboltable (if that's even a word LOL), and of course that section would correspond to the swing area of the driver's door when the X is in its customary position on the trailer floor.

 

[JimD]

Oh, dolly, sorry. Reader's Miscomprehension. The X isn't really a roller, more of a dragger right now. But the sparks would be pretty at night.

Oh yeah, a non roller won't work with a dolly. Bummer. Know anyone that would loan you a truck? Uhaul will rent you a truck and trailer, but that might be pricey.

 

[Ulix]

Here in Germany, we have much smaller Trailer than y'all. I used a very small single axle one once.

With a shorty trailer, you MUST put the X on backwards to get the tongue weight correct.
Backing up a fairly steep ramp is the second best way to kill reverse gear in your transmission, so maybe a winch would be good.
If your X is lowered at all, you may need fairly long ramps which are hard to store on a short trailer.
If the trailer is only a little wider than the X, it is very hard to place the X correctly when going backwards.

 

[carl]

Hopefully ToddR will respond here. When I bought the X race car the purchase included a small one axle trailer. I gave the trailer to Todd but don't recall the dimensions.

 

[bpimm]

Short trailers are hard to load, My brother has a 10' tilt to haul his Datsun 1200 and if it's wet he can't get traction to get up it, I have hauled my X on it and it is tough to load, lots of blocks and ramp extensions to get the angle low enough.

I find my 13' trailer a nice fit for the X and our Miata, I even hauled our Forester home on it when it blew the top tank off the radiator. I designed this trailer to have a rather low deck height at 12", we haul a lowered Miata on it and it drives on with just a touch of the front valance and the doors open over the fenders after it's on. The tilt is hydraulically operated power up and down so you can drive on, tilt the bed down then the hand brake will hold it fine while you tie it down, and I don't have to play contortionist to get my old broken down lump in and out of the car either because of the low fender height even the Miata's door will open over the fender stock height X's are no problem at all. It will balance with the car forward or backward plus I built it with extra bolt holes in the frame rails so the axle's can move if the need arises. This one is on backwards because that's the end I could get to with the winch.

this is the tilt setup I built for it.

and tilt angle.

and don't forget to put a winch on the front of the bed, especially if it tilts, you want the winch to tilt with the bed not be mounted to the tongue.
I put a 1 1/4" trailer hitch receiver on the front of the bed and the winch can pin on if I need it.

This trailer rides on torsion axles with 4 wheel disk brakes operated by a surge tongue, the tires are 145/R12 load range E on 12" alloys good for 1520 Lbs ea, I used these to keep it close to the ground as they are only 21.3" tall and the fenders are mounted to the axle and are only 1" above the tire.

Just some things to ponder as you make your decision on what type of trailer you get.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

With a shorty trailer

The points made by Ulix are exactly what I was saying. It might work if the ends of the car can hang over both ends of the trailer a LOT. But the type of trailer described by the original poster is like mine - with side rails. And that includes a rail in the front, so the car cannot be moved forward enough to do it (especially if the X still has the bumpers).

Brian's comments also support that. I think there is a difference in how his and mine are measured; mine is also considered a 13' trailer, but I have much less extra room at the rear than his shows in the pic (maybe mine is actually 12'?). With mine, the X's wheels come really close to the end of the trailer. Perhaps he was able to move the car farther forward on the trailer than I can (again, the rails prevent that on mine).
By the way, nice trailer Brain. I had the same 2500 lb winch, but it only worked once before burning up the motor. I think a much larger capacity winch is needed, even with these light cars.

 

[bpimm]

The points made by Ulix are exactly what I was saying. It might work if the ends of the car can hang over both ends of the trailer a LOT. But the type of trailer described by the original poster is like mine - with side rails. And that includes a rail in the front, so the car cannot be moved forward enough to do it (especially if the X still has the bumpers).

Brian's comments also support that. I think there is a difference in how his and mine are measured; mine is also considered a 13' trailer, but I have much less extra room at the rear than his shows in the pic (maybe mine is actually 12'?). With mine, the X's wheels come really close to the end of the trailer. Perhaps he was able to move the car farther forward on the trailer than I can (again, the rails prevent that on mine).
By the way, nice trailer Brain. I had the same 2500 lb winch, but it only worked once before burning up the motor. I think a much larger capacity winch is needed, even with these light cars.

I don't know how commercial trailers are measured but I measure the 13' as the loading surface only and the front of the car can go all the way to the front cross member so the tires can touch the front edge of the load deck, I don't put the car that far forward for towing. the wheelbase of an X is only 7.225 feet so I think your problem is the rail at the front, you would probably have a lot more room without it.

I have been using 3 of those cheap 2500lb winches for many years without any problems. it pulls the car up the ramp fine but if I have to drag a car on I add a snatch block to double the pull. I have 1 on the trailer and 2 on my ATV. of course with HF it's a crap shoot.

 

[Ulix]

BTW, the trailer in my pics started wiggling around at 70mph.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

BTW, the trailer in my pics started wiggling around at 70mph.

I found this to be due to two things:
1) A short, single-axle trailer is more prone to doing that anyway.
2) It is much worse if you cannot get the weight biased toward the front of the trailer. The first time I used my 13" trailer to tow a X, I put the car on facing forward. The trailer wagged back and forth severely, due to the X having more weight on the rear axle (behind the trailer's axle line). The next time I did it, I put the X on backward and it did not sway as much.
I believe this might also be even worse with smaller diameter tires on the trailer. I would not recommend any single-axle trailer with a car on it to use anything less than 15" wheels/tires. And they should be properly rated for the load. Imagine the consequences if you had a blow-out on the freeway with all that weight up top.

The point made earlier about ramps is also good. A short trailer won't tilt upward enough to bring the rear end down much, so much longer ramps are needed. Even more so if the X is lowered. With a stock height X and fairly long ramps, I still had to remove the front spoiler (center section) to get it onto my 13' trailer without damage.

 

[Hasbro]

The points made by Ulix are exactly what I was saying. It might work if the ends of the car can hang over both ends of the trailer a LOT. But the type of trailer described by the original poster is like mine - with side rails. And that includes a rail in the front, so the car cannot be moved forward enough to do it (especially if the X still has the bumpers).

Yes, there are side rails but the shop foreman said he would lower the front rail as low as I wanted. It's a 2" square tube and I could have him mount it right at the base.

Lots of good stuff here. Five or six or ten ideas here to make a utility trailer into a pretty cool and economical rig.

I've towed a lot of trailers from 22' down to a couple of 40" Harbor Freights. Even a little 40" will take 70 mph if it's properly balanced. Not that I'd recommend doing 70 with one.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

If they can keep the side rails low enough to avoid being an issue (see comment below), the front rail all the way down to the deck height, a drop axle placed in the right spot (for balance), 15" wheels/tires, some long ramps, a winch in the front, a long enough tongue to avoid the overhang (of the car) from hitting the tow vehicle when making tight turns, and correctly placed tie-down rings, then you might get away with the 10' unit. But I think a little bit longer (even 11' or 12') would be a huge plus.

One additional note on the side rails. Mine are high enough that the doors cannot be opened when the car is on the trailer. I did not think that would be much problem; just climb out through a window, etc. But it has turned out to be a major obstacle. You will have to leave the top off or window down, and that creates more problems while it is being towed. It also makes it much harder to get the tie-downs on and off. When using the same trailer for other cargo, the taller rails are no benefit. It would work just as well with them shorter. You really only need something to act as a ledge along the bottom sides, and somewhere to tie off tarps/box straps/etc.

For anchoring a car onto a short trailer, I use tie-downs that loop around the wheels. Then strap the forward wheels to the rear of the trailer, and the rearward wheels to the front of the trailer. So they criss-cross front/rear. That way you have enough length to pull in each direction, securing the car from moving forward or rearward. I also use a chain or cable to secure a solid point on the car (suspension arm, etc) to the front of the trailer, just for a backup.

And a last comment on short trailers; they are harder to back up. What kind of price can you get for such a trailer?