Anyone ever towed on a 10' trailer?

The pics of Gene's trailer (post #76) is very similar to the one I was referring to earlier with side rails. They prevent putting any of the car beyond the length of the actual bed floor length. But mine did not have the rear gate so I could at least let the tail end of the car hang over a bit.
The utility trailer we talked about at Superior was basically the same except with a 3,500# drop axle, 2' dovetail added, and ramps instead of the gate.
 
Yes, but we were talking about real cars. Not Gene's 600... :rolleyes:
Hey, careful there. I thought about it and here's a list of all of the stock parts:
The door hinges, the decklid hinges, the front hood hinges and prop rod. Oh, yeh, the door handles, no...they are modified too.
So there; it's REAL.
 
So, if you had to buy a currently available trailer to take your X all over the country, what would you get? It doesn’t need to be gold plated, but we’re not squeezing nickels for this question. My tow vehicle is a 2021 Ford Ranger.
 
It seems like you are pulling quite heavy stuff over there, and you are driving fast as well (80 mph!!??). On trailers and caravans in Sweden, the maximum speed is 43 mph. However, most people are speeding going 50-60 mph 😀. Push breaks are mandatory if towing more than 990 lbs (trailer included).
My American boat (Bayliner 175) came with a quite robust trailer with no breaks on it, but I am not allowed to go faster than 18,6 mph with it 😐.
Fortunately, I can drive the X to the race tracks as it is street legal. But I am thinking about upgrading my driving license anyway to tow heavy trailers if needed.
 
Checking to see if the 600 will fit in here.
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It seems like you are pulling quite heavy stuff over there, and you are driving fast as well (80 mph!!??). On trailers and caravans in Sweden, the maximum speed is 43 mph. However, most people are speeding going 50-60 mph 😀. Push breaks are mandatory if towing more than 990 lbs (trailer included).
My American boat (Bayliner 175) came with a quite robust trailer with no breaks on it, but I am not allowed to go faster than 18,6 mph with it 😐.
Fortunately, I can drive the X to the race tracks as it is street legal. But I am thinking about upgrading my driving license anyway to tow heavy trailers if needed.
We also have speed limit laws when towing trailers, 55MPH in most cases. But just like there, it is common to exceed the legal limits. I've never been stopped for it, but once had a officer behind me turn on his "loudspeaker" and tell me to move to the right lane (I was in the left one). That's another rule, you are supposed to stay in the lanes to the right when towing. He didn't say anything about my speed, although in that case I was only a little above the limit.
 
We also have speed limit laws when towing trailers, 55MPH in most cases. But just like there, it is common to exceed the legal limits. I've never been stopped for it, but once had a officer behind me turn on his "loudspeaker" and tell me to move to the right lane (I was in the left one). That's another rule, you are supposed to stay in the lanes to the right when towing. He didn't say anything about my speed, although in that case I was only a little above the limit.
I think the last time I saw "trailer" speed limits on Interstate was in the early 2000s on I64 (Indiana?). Even the "45" in a 55 is mostly gone. We tow @ 70 on the interstate.
 
Jeff, I think you miss-understood my comment about tires. I had used trailer tires for some time but they always aged out and started coming apart. Also, I couldn't find 14" trailer tires that were speed rated more than 75 or 81 mph. The car tire's load rating was as good or better than the trailer tire and the speed rating was typically S (112mph). They worked great since they were mostly under stressed. The trailer + car was only about 3200 lbs. About what the typical medium sized sedan weight then, that those tires were intended for.

But that's far from the only trailer I towed. I have driven more tow rigs than I could ever count all over the country. I remember the rig I often drove for the first IMSA team I worked for. It was a 54' Pace gooseneck with two cars and all of the equipment, towed with a '95 Ford F350 diesel dually. That truck and trailer was over 26,000 lbs fully loaded.

I grew up on a horse farm and was towing horse trailers when I still had my learners permit. Once I had my license I was hauling horses all over the eastern US. From Ocala Florida to Lexington KY, Syracuse NY, Norther Virginia, etc.... On anything bigger/heavier than my little open trailer I stick to trailer tires. Although LT tires can also used for trailers.

Bjorn, you should know that the US's interstate highway system has a lot of people towing trailers of all kinds; Travel trailers, livestock trailers, equipment trailers and more. And given the geography of the United States, its common to travel long distances. As I noted previously, I often towed many hundreds of miles each way for a race weekend. Its common to two at the 55 to 75 mph speed limits and I typically two with the typical traffic speeds of 75 to 80 mph. My truck makes that effortless.


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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.
I've got a 10' trailer (length of the bed, see below) and I've towed an X on it literally from coast to coast, and back. I got it from a member who used it to tow a race X. I've used it to tow a stock '77 X.
There are much better solutions to transporting an X, but not many that are as light and compact - two very important considerations. I load it with the front of the car to the front of the trailer. This probably works OK because of the location of the (single) axle on the trailer. Other than the obvious problem of having only one axle, the overhang in the front is also a potential issue. If you aren't very careful in tight turns you could run the nose of the X into the back of your tow vehicle.
If I'm only transporting an X that has a top on it, and not a bunch of spare tires, gas, and other race related stuff, I prefer this trailer because it tows pretty much as if nothing is behind me (I use a V10 4X4 Excursion).
BTW - I would consider selling this if someone is interested. (it's in central Illinois).
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I wouldn't mind towing in 50-80 mph but having a 4500 lbs trailer pushing on my 3300 lbs car in those speeds when breaking seems scary. A "push break" which is mandatory in Sweden seems to be a good idea. It can also be used as a parking break:
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Most states have laws requiring brakes on trailers over 4500 lbs. My open trailer, with the X1/9 on it, was about 3300 lbs. Brakes weren't required but I did put brakes on that trailer. Although some trailers do have surge brakes, push brakes as you describe, most have electric brakes actuated by a controller on the tow vehicle.

My van weighed about 5300 lbs empty and I hauled about 800 to 1000 lbs of equipment in the back. So the loaded van at 6300 and trailer at 3300 had the total right at 9600 lbs. Add me and my wife, luggage and 30 gallons of fuel and we're over 10,000 lbs. The rig was very comfortable at 80 mph on the highway.

My new truck weights about 7200 lbs and the fully loaded trailer about 8500 lbs. So the fully loaded truck & trailer plus me and my wife, luggage and fuel is over 15,000 lbs. It cruises at 80, with the trailer, effortlessly. In fact, I bought the truck in Omaha, Nebraska on my way home from the solo national championship event. I picked the truck up and connected the trailer before I ever left the dealership. Crossing Iowa I kept hitting the speed limiter at 96 mph. Until I became accustomed to the truck I had to use the cruise control to keep that from happening.
 
I've got a 10' trailer (length of the bed, see below) and I've towed an X on it literally from coast to coast, and back. I got it from a member who used it to tow a race X. I've used it to tow a stock '77 X.
There are much better solutions to transporting an X, but not many that are as light and compact - two very important considerations. I load it with the front of the car to the front of the trailer. This probably works OK because of the location of the (single) axle on the trailer. Other than the obvious problem of having only one axle, the overhang in the front is also a potential issue. If you aren't very careful in tight turns you could run the nose of the X into the back of your tow vehicle.
If I'm only transporting an X that has a top on it, and not a bunch of spare tires, gas, and other race related stuff, I prefer this trailer because it tows pretty much as if nothing is behind me (I use a V10 4X4 Excursion).
BTW - I would consider selling this if someone is interested. (it's in central Illinois). View attachment 54480
Glad to see that trailer still going! :)
 
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