what does a trailer weigh? and other dumb questions

[fool on the hill]

I am planning to buy/hire a trailer for my seven

any advice on approximate weight of say a minno trailer plus a k series 1800 seven?

 

I will only tow occasionally . Any suggestions on the smallest tow vehicle - do you think a

VW golf would hack it?

 

Finally can someone confirm that a minno trailer is "braked" ( for a complete ignoramus how does that work?)

 

i have searched techtalk and there is excellent advice on "how to tow" but i haven't found the answers to these questions, I guess because they are so dumb!

 

 

 

 

James

 

If it ain't broke, maybe it's time I had a look at it...

[Paul Turner]

Only ever towed with a Golf (GTI and TDI) and both were fine. Total weight of covered trailer (home made) and car etc. must have been 1200kg min., never dared to weigh it. Trailer brakes are normally worked by the tow ball coupling operating rods and cables connected to the drums.

 

Paul

[Graham Perry]

I seem to recall that a minno is about 350kg's ? It definately has brakes. If you are buying a trailer, try to avoid single axle jobbies as they are an accident waiting to happen if a tyre blows. You can reckon on 450-500kgs for a more normal sized triler.(My PRG is 472kg's) As you probably know a 'K' seven typically weighs 500 to 580 kgs depending on spec and how much fuel and bits and bobs you have in the boot.

 

Edited by - Graham Perry on 16 Jan 2002 10:38:25

[fool on the hill]

thanks - that is very reassuring.

So the trailer brakes are either on or off

- nothing in between?

 

so If i choose a car that can tow 1000kgs (seven and trailer combined) I should be ok?

James

 

If it ain't broke, maybe it's time I had a look at it...

 

Edited by - fool on the hill on 16 Jan 2002 10:38:54

[Paul Turner]

The coupling applies the brakes progressively, or should do.

 

Paul

[mike ashurst]

Brian James trailers are here:-

 

http://www.brianjames.co.uk/

 

they tell you everything about the Minno apart from it's weight but I think that if you subtract capacity from gross you end up with weight which works out at 380 kgs.

 

Yes they are braked, with auto reverse(stops the brakes coming on when you go backwards)

 

mike

[tony isherwood]

Usual advice is to make sure the all up trailer weight (trailer + car + bits carried in the car on the trailer) is not more than 85% of towing car weight.

 

You can go to 100 % BUT after that the tails starts wagging the dog, and a) it gets scary, B) Mr Plod takes avery dim view if they check.

 

 

MOST important is to check that the tow ball weight for the car (normally 50KG or 75 KG) is not overloaded by the nose weight of the trailer. ( Normally 75 to 120 KG on a commercial trailer! Designed to be towed by 4X4's))

 

Otherwise the the pirtching of the trailer can cause damage to the car rear suspension and handling problems.

 

Like most driving situations, you can cut corners, but when the OH SH****T factor occurs on a wet , greasy roads with a heavy load on a trailer and light car it can be a little worring.

 

That said. Plenty of Blat Chatters tow with all sorts of cars and have not a worry in the world. ! (Towing wise , cannot answer for anything else)

[FH]

Minno - galvanised chassis, bolted together. Full lighting system. 4-wheel auto-reverse overrun brakes. Heavy duty hub bearings. Independent suspensioon. Jockey wheel. Standard ramps. Gross cap. 1,380kg Load cap. 1005 kg. Length 11ft Width 5ft 5in. Price £1,349 + the dreaded. Spare wheel £60 extra.

 

Just happened to have their brochure to hand as we were looking at getting a dedicated Se7en trailer as opposed to our larger hydraulic jobbie smile.gif

FH

 

Edited by - fullharness on 16 Jan 2002 13:56:11

[fool on the hill]

thanks to all responders - its all good news

so thank you - as always i am impressed by your collective knowledge (and patience) wink.gif

 

sorry about the delay in responding - a series of problems prevented me acknowledging before.