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Fri Dec 13, 2013 4:04 pm

Do any of you tow a very light trailer with your rail? I like to camp, by myself because it's peaceful, and the wife HATES camping. Since the rail should be street legal here in a couple weeks, I'm looking for my next project. Thinking about building a very lightweight trailer to fill a couple of roles. One, to haul my cooler and guns and tent. Two, I am thinking I can put an 'expandable bed platform' on it that will fold out and allow me to set my tent up on. A lot of my camping is during heavy rains, and I do not want to find myself in the middle of a newly formed river-ette AGAIN. Edit to add: I may even try to build a 'pop-up' sleeping 'box' for it. That would allow me to put a small heater inside. I've seen the 'teardrop' campers. I'd love one of those, but I ain't rich. That may change because I told the lady at the ticket counter to give me two "winning tickets. no losers!" $400 million dollars babeeee!

So, do any of you tow a trailer with your rail? Can you post me some pics of your hitch setup? Mine is a Berrien Warrior and ( this info regards the weight) has the full front brake setup, but the battery box is behind the passenger seat but forward of the rear axle. It can be moved forward to gain more front-bias if needed. Thanks, Bob

Fri Dec 13, 2013 7:52 pm

never have towed with my rail but to be honest if i had to do it i would not stress on a small one say like a 4x8 and under 1000 pounds total.

The trailer can be a lightweight single axle and should be plenty for the job.

Fri Dec 13, 2013 7:56 pm

Yeah, that's what I had planned. A little Harbor Freight unit, with a deck and maybe a small storage box. Very light weight too, under 500 pounds. Just wondering how it will handle behind such a lightweight vehicle.

Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:03 pm

I used to tow the trailer [single axle, no springs, maybe 500#] for my Buggy at Pismo after I unloaded the buggy. That way I could just back the truck/camper up from the water until it stuck for the weekend and drive down and out to leave. The buggy towed the trailer around easily enough, but the paddles sort of turned it into a weight sled.... The hitch is a ball on an old 3/4 x 2 x 6 " mount welded to the skid assembly under the motor and behind it, which also mounts the bumper. This all sits under and back from the transmission horns.
There was pretty much zero steering with the trailer attached, needed the steering brakes, of course it was all soft sand.
The first rule of trailers is for it to weigh less than the tow vehicle. This means less than 900# or so. Not much of a trailer, not much camping gear especially tents and such, after the trailer is built.
Maybe you could mount a rooftop folding tent setup like the jeeps are using on the buggy and sort of extend the cage to make it all a bit like a SUV instead of a slope tail buggy....
Dennis

Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:12 pm

When I rebuilt my streeter sand rail (see the build thread in my signature) I made provisions for towing a small trailer, I even pulled a spare blue wire for electric brakes. Adding the hitch to the rear cage was a no brainer. I have 4 wheel disc brakes so, even with the "big 'N littles" it stops real well. (well, OK, as well as a less than 900 pound, speed skater can, on wet, blow sand covered asphalt, in the rain.)

So far the only thing I have towed with it was a Harbor Freight 4 X 8 fold up trailer with 2 V-8 bare blocks tied down on it, likely well under 500 lbs total weight. No problems. With my lard butt (yea, I'm a knuckle dragger)and a similar sized passenger, we had all the weight forward we needed to steer.

I set the hitch up with the top of the ball at 14 inches off the street, it was a bit low for the folding trailer hitch. I scored a 3 in. lift/lower ball mount, at a yard sale, (it's a 1.250" shank) and it was close enough for the girls that'll go with me, lol.

The original plan was to build an aluminum 4 X 6 trailer, sized to fit a small pickup truck sized topper, hinged at the front, with a pull out floor to give me an 8 foot long sleeper / kitchen /cook box shelf, with a snap on tent to keep the bug's at bay, in the rare event I find myself overnighting in the swamp. (Bug free is a big deal here in the swamp, 'specially if you want to sleep) Gun boxes on the inside, dog boxes on the outside. (Sure would make a great foraging vehicle in a teotwawki scenario)

Last week, I ran across an enclosed 4 X 6 insulated trailer, with barn doors AND a ramp. (The guy was using it to haul and store a ZTR mower.) It's a bit heavier than what I could build, but lots easier to make/keep water tite and bug free. Might even have room for a roof air and a small generator. A "bug out" palace, for two, to be sure. As usual, it all comes down to money...And the beat goes on...
Paul

Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:22 am

DHale_510 wrote: ...
The first rule of trailers is for it to weigh less than the tow vehicle. ...
Dennis
Where did you learn this rule? I only ask because whoever taught this to you doesn't have a clue about towing. 18 wheelers would look awful strange if the tractor had to be heavier than the loaded trailer.

As to towing with a rail? Anything is possible as long as the tow vehicle has enough brakes to safely stop the ENTIRE loaded rig. With a rail I would be concerned with not having enough weight on the front wheels to safely steer the rig. The key would be to set up the trailer with enough tongue weight to make it handle properly, but not too much to lift the front wheels of the rail. Tricky on such a light weight vehicle.

Maybe you can add some of the load to the front of the rail?

Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:03 am

Big rigs are much different than a buggy, or anything we are likely to be talking about. They are actually almost unstable without the trailer. Apples and oranges. Tell us all about how your towing experiences have gone, I have confirmed for myself several times that heavier than the tow vehicle is very bad rule works for me.
Dennis

Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:41 am

This situation with rear end heavy rail being tow vehicle just screams for some sort of load equalizing hitch....

Dale

Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:45 am

I was going to point out that you are correct in your point that the heavier the tow vehicle in comparison to the towed vehicle the better. That is true in all but one case: The designated tow vehicle! In other words, a vehicle whose ONLY use is towing another vehicle. And tractor trailers are not accurately defined as "tow" vehicles ordinarily. It all depends on HOW the hookup is made. Pintle hook? yes that is a TOW vehicle. Fifth wheel? That is a load-carrying and pulling vehicle, and you are absolutely correct that they are VERY unstable without a towed vehicle behind them.

Since we are on a forum that sort of leans toward very light vehicles, I think we can say for certain that my questions were NOT leading up to a discussion of which is better, the Allison transmission or the Eaton transmission, and turbo or supercharging and how much fuel conditioner should I use when traveling through the Wolf Creek Pass in December. (Bonus points to the first person who knows who was driving the truck on Wolf Creek Pass that fateful day!)

Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:37 am

Earl. :D

Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:15 am

We have a winner!

Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:18 pm

DHale_510 wrote: ... Tell us all about how your towing experiences have gone ...

It would take a while to compile a list. Needless to say, I have a CDL and have towed farm implements, water tanks, tractors, cars, etc on trailers with a pintle (not a 5th wheel) and the load is almost always heavier than the tow vehicle. Sometime just the trailer without the load is heavier than the tow vehicle.

The tow vehicle does not need to be heavier than the load it is towing, it just needs to be able to handle the gross weight of the entire rig. On heavy rigs this means trailer brakes. Balancing the load on the rig is key in EVERY towing setup.

As stated in my other post, the rail could tow a small trailer if you can get more weight onto the steering axle.

My convertible had a hitch on it when I bought it 30+ years ago. It was used to tow a small sailboat ... just about the same weight of the trailer being proposed here. The drivetrain and brakes can certainly handle the load, but the nature of a sandrail would suggest it needs additional weight up front.

Sat Dec 14, 2013 5:18 pm

My dad had his class 5 baja set up for doing a trailer.
At the time he was living out of his bug so he had tent supplies and what not.
With his set up, trailer and load, he could tow 1 350cc class atv's and that was it. He did that for about 3 years daily.

Sat Dec 14, 2013 8:50 pm

Hypothetical but suppose the trailer ball is 2 ft. behind the axle and the front bumper is 8 ft. ahead of the axle. That gives a 4:1 ratio so just adding 100 pounds to the front will allow for 400 additional pounds tongue weight.
You will have to do your own math. Just remember they are harder to stop than they are to get going. :)
Marvin

Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:28 pm

I'm guesstimating trailer total weight at around 4-500 pounds maximum, probably closer to 350-400.

Thu May 08, 2025 6:01 pm

Bump for interest and something to discuss

Thu May 08, 2025 9:04 pm

Not exactly what you are talking about, but my last rail had a hitch/ball on it. I towed the rail's trailer 2-3 times....once on the beach, twice when we started camping away from everybody at the dunes. The rail could tow it effortlessly, but my truck, not so much.

Fri May 09, 2025 3:58 am

Here ya go! Discuss away to your heart's content. My usual practice is to put a trailer hitch on everything I own. I can tow the rail behind the Manx copy or the other way around if it suits me. I can tow either Buggy with the Jetta or the truck too as well as any trailer or implement in the yard. I can tow either Buggy out to the field with the tractor.

The 18' car trailer and the 20' cargo trailer in picture #4 however only go behind the truck if they leave the yard.

Fri May 09, 2025 7:17 am

Can I just say, I love those pics and how you use your buggies.

-Joe

Mon May 12, 2025 4:53 am

Thanks! All I will say is that I use them!