positioning of the wheels to get lowest hitch weight

[bassman]

newbie here and i'm drawing up plans at the moment for my tear ,from all of the photos i've looked at, the axle position varies from a mid point to one third from the chassis rear, rather than use a beam axle i was going to use an indispension style unit that has a torsion affair mounted to a plate that just bolts on, i had a thought that maybe it would be best to do the build with the frame mounted on pot stands first, and then find the balance point with the least weight on the hitch and position the wheels accordingly( what is the recommended hitch weight for a tear ). the reason i ask this is my towing vehicle will be fairly lightweight and not very powerful at 45hp ish, i dont really want to go to the trouble of spring assisters fitted to the morris minor. its early days for me and i may have missed the section that has this subject another question regarding fixing the sides i was thinking of having the sides of the tear covering the frame rather than have them sitting on the frame leaving it exposed to veiw .....any pitfalls or horror stories i should know regarding this practice? any info will be much appreciated

[deacon328]

Bassman, I would like to second your question! I too have read that you should move the axle back, especially with the Harbor Freight 4 X 8 that I have.

Does it also depend on what KIND of tear you are building? Mine will be light and just a basic tear with hardly anything in the galley.

Is the axle move for all trailers?

[bassman]

Bassman, I would like to second your question! I too have read that you should move the axle back, especially with the Harbor Freight 4 X 8 that I have.

Does it also depend on what KIND of tear you are building? Mine will be light and just a basic tear with hardly anything in the galley.

Is the axle move for all trailers?

i've looked at the harbour 8x4 and made enquiries regarding this question and whether it can be shipped to the u.k or it is available via a supplier in europe, as yet i haven't recieved a reply. i like the idea of a bolt together construction you can kind of change things around more easily than having to cut out and grind away welds, if i can't get an off the shelf trailer frame i'll use angle and bolt it myself, i'm more or less thinking of doing the balancing trick just as an exercise,it'll mean positioning of the doors will have to be left till later in the build though.
re the harbour ,i see a replica on sale on ebay u.k for £230gbp approx $460 !!!! its the one harbour recommend avoiding though. .

[G-force]

In general, you want 10% of the total weight on the hitch. The less weight you have on the hitch, them less stable the trailer is in towing. They tend to sway more and track will less control. Granted this is at typicly highway speeds, I assume you Moris will be towing at a much reduces speed which will help. For such a small car with such a small motor, I would build the lightest trailer you can and keep the hitch weight at 8% or so.

[bassman]

In general, you want 10% of the total weight on the hitch. The less weight you have on the hitch, them less stable the trailer is in towing. They tend to sway more and track will less control. Granted this is at typicly highway speeds, I assume you Moris will be towing at a much reduces speed which will help. For such a small car with such a small motor, I would build the lightest trailer you can and keep the hitch weight at 8% or so.

thanks mike i'll compute the 10% into the figures, yup i was going to work on a single skin wall of 12mm and 15mm for the floor ( i did think about 12mm for the floor too but it might be too thin ,dunno ? will check out other peoples builds) and a reasonably lightweight chassis main rails 50mm x 50mm x 3mm and 25 x 25 x 3 for the cross braces, i dont want to over engineer it, we wont be going off roading with it so i dont need it to be as robust as some of you guys. i expect to tow at 55-60mph on the flat and about 2mph uphill its all on paper at the moment but as much info as i can glean before the build will undoubtedly save me time and money later on. thanks for the reply ,phil

[chorizon]

The 12mm should be fine for the floor as well as the walls. The 15mm is not necessary. That being said, most people would insulate the floor and walls. The iron you're allocating for your frame is perfectly adequate. As far as the HF trailer, how do I say this? Is there a supplier of say, cheaper than usual hardware/tools that happens to be made in China in the UK? If so, they would be an excellent choice to explore a pre-fabbed trailer at cheaper than 200+ quid, if they were an HF equivalent.

[angib]

Phil, if you've found a bolt-together trailer kit in Britain for GBP230 (where from?), you're doing well - I've only seen the 1100lb 8 inch wheel version in Northern Tool UK for GBP 305 incl VAT - Merkans look away now, as that is $610!

Your Moggie will want a light trailer weight for both starting and stopping, but I don't think hitch weight will be too much problem - those leaf springs on the rear of a Moggie are quite stiff by comparison with modern vehicles.

You also are getting US advice from this forum on recommended nose weights and you should be aware that virtually all trailers in Europe would be considered dangerous in the US because we run with such low hitch weights: 5-7% of total trailer weight on the hitch is considered perfectly reasonable here and many tow cars are limited to 4% hitch weight at their maximum tow rating.

If you get a bolt-together trailer, you will probably find that the stock axle position suits you fine, unless you were planning a very heavy galley (which the Moggie couldn't pull anyway...). The one thing to watch out for is that with the axle near the middle, it can be a squeeze to fit the doors in front of the mudguards [fenders].

Andrew

PS There's my (former) Moggie:

[bassman]

The 12mm should be fine for the floor as well as the walls. The 15mm is not necessary. That being said, most people would insulate the floor and walls. The iron you're allocating for your frame is perfectly adequate. As far as the HF trailer, how do I say this? Is there a supplier of say, cheaper than usual hardware/tools that happens to be made in China in the UK? If so, they would be an excellent choice to explore a pre-fabbed trailer at cheaper than 200+ quid, if they were an HF equivalent.

hi , i've been scanning suppliers to about page 14 on google u.k its like a trailer desert out there i'm more likely to build my own now as i can alter it without the fear of totally screwing up the bought one ....nothing like having confidence in ones ability !!! thanks for the advice on the floor ,i will probably use thin ply for the roof and double skin it with some soundproofer to cut out the rain noise ........we only get about 12 hours of sunshine per year in the u.k

[bassman]

Phil, if you've found a bolt-together trailer kit in Britain for GBP230 (where from?), you're doing well - I've only seen the 1100lb 8 inch wheel version in Northern Tool UK for GBP 305 incl VAT - Merkans look away now, as that is $610!

Your Moggie will want a light trailer weight for both starting and stopping, but I don't think hitch weight will be too much problem - those leaf springs on the rear of a Moggie are quite stiff by comparison with modern vehicles.

You also are getting US advice from this forum on recommended nose weights and you should be aware that virtually all trailers in Europe would be considered dangerous in the US because we run with such low hitch weights: 5-7% of total trailer weight on the hitch is considered perfectly reasonable here and many tow cars are limited to 4% hitch weight at their maximum tow rating.

If you get a bolt-together trailer, you will probably find that the stock axle position suits you fine, unless you were planning a very heavy galley (which the Moggie couldn't pull anyway...). The one thing to watch out for is that with the axle near the middle, it can be a squeeze to fit the doors in front of the mudguards [fenders].

Andrew

PS There's my (former) Moggie:

hiya andrew have a look at this one on ebay Item number: 160142029234 but dont let anyone see they'll all want one thanks for the advice re the hitch , i know i have to be pretty frugal weigh wise, the minor is ok on the flat but chuffs a bit going up hill, i might upgrade the engine to a 1275 if i have probs. i was up till 3am at the drawing board and decided as much as i like the streamline tears i'm going to replicate the shape of the travellers rear end , it already has the streamlining and aerodynamic efficiency of a shed so why worry about a streamline tear, i shall draw up a neat plan and post it in my album in a couple of days ! the morris is a lovely car with loads of character ,i bought mine as a shed for renovation from a guy in sheffield, drove it cross country to southport but had to be trailered by R.A.C for the last 12 miles ....water pump had packed up and i lost the cylinder head gasket, aren't those temp warning lights rubbish mine came on after the gasket had blown !!!!! re the wheel position on the tear ,i was concerned about that but have decided to use traveller rear wings as my muguards/fenders. did your moggie expire most families go into mourning after they sell !! regards phil
ps i have checked ebay and the price is +vat ...the old commercial cookie ,i thought all ebayers had to advertise prices including vat, it is however on best offer as well so it might be possible to offer the minus vat price and still get a result !