Trailer weight

[sandyclaws]

Hey folks, Its been a while since I've been here. But, I need to ask a vague question about trailer weight. Has anybody built a rimple style trailer using 3/4 plwood, 5ft wide and 9ft long? If you have, what did it weigh? I am considering buying a new vehicle and need to know what these things will weigh. I found out my boat weighs too much at 2400lbs but I can pull that with my truck. The vehicle I am looking at can only tow 1000 lbs.! Can anybody give me any help? Thanks!

Roger...

[bobhenry]

Chubby is 3/4 osb with 1/4" veneer inside and out and the lexan roof is heavier than hell and at 5'7" w by 10'+ long he is at best guess approx. 1500 lbs.


I can drag him into place by hand as needed.



06 Scion XB " Not rated to tow "

[parnold]

You will really be pushing the limit with a 5x9.

My 4x8 "simple" trailer has 3/4 sides, luan roof, no insulation, no interior roof and a very simple galley, and it's coming in around 800 with mattress.

My Hyundai also has a 1000lb to limit.

[Ageless]

One weight saving trick would be to pocket the 3/4 ply 1/2" deep; leaving enuf 3/4 to act as framing; then put 1/2" foam insulation in the pockets. Use the thin FRP on the inside.

[wannabefree]

This site lists the weights of various sheet goods: http://www.hoganhardwoods.com/hogan/pag ... eights.htm

They have some other interesting tables. Check it out.

[Billphish1]

Don't mess around .build a nice drop you can be comfortable in and have some fun camping most drops come in around 1100 to1500 if done with some nice features .use good parts and pc's and don't wory about the weight so much. then get a nice car or what ever that will pull more than 1000lbs Don't sweat it have some fun building it and then have some fun using it. good luck on the project.

[dh]

One weight saver is to use an air matress.

[Ageless]

. . . .and fill it with helium

[eamarquardt]

. . . .and fill it with helium

:lol:

Yeah, but if you breath the helium you talk funny (right before you pass out).

Cheers,

Gus

[eamarquardt]

06 Scion XB " Not rated to tow " [/color][/b][/size]

Loading a 3000# vehicle with a very short wheelbase (that is not recommended for towing) up for a trip with luggage and people and towing a 1500# trailer w/o brakes is nothing to laugh about.

I think it is dangerous.

Gus

[BigAl]

Skip the frp. that is that fiberglass crap. Go Nrp and you will love it.

What is this NRP, of which you speak? Nachos Reinforced Plastic? ;)

[boxcar]

Scion Xb Towing a 1500 lb trailer ????????? Poster child for responsible towing.....

[BigAl]

So, NRP is Non-fiberglass Reinforced Plastic?

Looks like an interesting material. I tried a quick Google for suppliers in the UK, but unfortunately didn't find any. It's so versatile, somebody must sell it over here.

What do you pay for an 8 x 4 sheet of NRP?

As a comparison we would pay around $120 for a 8 x 4 x 1/2" FRP faced plywood composite sheet.

Getting back to the thread, and aside from legal obligations (which vary from state to state and country to country) what would an Engineer tell you are the consequences of towing a heavier trailer than your vehicle is rated for?

When I say consequences, I mean towing performance and also mechanical impact on the tow vehicle.

[Ageless]

http://www.parklandplastics.com/nrp.shtml

The son is making over the bathroom and brought this for the tub surround. Recycled plastic

[kennyrayandersen]

it appears to be just plastic sheet. It also says for interior use. Paint doesn't usually stick to plastic very well -- there are exceptions.

A couple of responses to some previous posts as well.

Slowcowboy, you are an accident waiting for a place to happen. Those regulations exist solely because people were doing stupid things. Were everybody a genius, then we wouldn't need all those regulations. From your comments it appears that the governmental regulations are not, in fact, misguided. To imagine that someone doesn't see the implication of towing something with a vehicle that first off has no tow rating and second is towing something that weighs 75% of the vehicle, and thirdly has a very short wheelbase is simply stunning. I'm not normally so direct but what you are suggesting is actually dangerous.

To answer the question and speaking from experience, if you overload your vehicle, or tow more than it is rated for, you will most certainly reduce the life of the transmission (which is not a particularly cheap thing to replace).

Now, there are some light teardrops out there, and this is the very reason that they exist. If, you tow a really light one, and be sure that you don't exceed the total gross vehicle weight (or you are somewhere near it and taking it easy), then you could very likely tow a tear with nearly any vehicle. I'm actually designing one right now to tow behind a microcar which will weigh less than 250 Lb. It only has 21 horsepower, so it's not really rated for towing but the trailer will be below 25% of the gross vehicle weight. There are other light teardrop builds, but if you have a very small tow vehicle then you should take what you tow seriously.