Lightweight Single Axle Car Hauler

G

gti5notrkt

New member
Anyone know of a trailer fabricator in the Ohio/Indiana/Kentucky area that is capable of making a trailer to the following requirements for a reasonable price? All the car haulers I can find are way overbuilt and designed for 4000lb cars (double axle 1600lb+). Aluminum is cost prohibitive. I just need something to haul a small IT car (miata or equiv.). A light trailer means I can haul a 2400lb car with a class II hitch.

Lightweight single axle steel car hauler

Empty weight incl. empty toolbox/spare tire - <1100lbs
16’ L x 6'-6"(min) between wheel wells
Open center
3000lb min load capacity (GVW 4100lbs)
Single drop axle (5200lb)
Hydraulic surge brakes
Slide in ramps
Lights/tag etc.

Thanks,
Jon.
 
I have not seen the specs you have . I built one.
Toronado hubs, 4inpipe axle, Chevy truck drumbrakes, Alloy diamond plate, Northern tools surg MC,
weighs about 850#.
BTW the brakes worked so well that it ripped the springs out. It is now springless, axle welded to the frame. Works even better, toes @ 85 mph solid .

To work well without springs, tie down the car to the wheels, not the frame or bumpers. Let the car bounce a little.
I use chevy van wheels, cuz I tow with a cheve van..
The van gets 11mpg towing a 2300# Golf on the trailer(@77mph), 305, Holley 600/turbo 400 shift kit, 308 gear, etc.
The double axle trailer(1450#) that i also use drops the MPG to 9@ 70mph. HTH, MM
 
single axle railer thoughts

I have years of experience hauling boats instead of cars. I really prefer double axle trailers for two reasons. I blew a tire because of road debris-wow that was a hairy experience. Second issue was the way I learned to mainain the trailer-smoked a bearing on a holiday weekend and ruined the spindle-made it home on three tires by blocking and ratchet strapping one corner off the ground with no wheel mounted. Of course this idea requires each axle and tire to handle wieght by itself-one reason they over engineer the trailers.

Food for thought.
 
More food for thought, single vs double axle...

When loaded similarly (tongue weight percentage), the double axle is inherently more stable than the single. Any deviation from straight ahead causes "scrub" between the two axles, which tends to make the trailer more stable. The single axle trailer has no such inhibition. Yes, this may have some fuel mileage implications, but it will be very minor, IMO.

WRT to weight and fuel mileage, I would contend that unless you do a lot of stop-and-go, you'll never notice the few hundred extra pounds of a double axle trailer. I tow the Volvo on a double axle open trailer (all up trailer weight of around 4500 lbs) using a Dakota R/T (360 ci); I consistently get 11 to 12 mpg running 65-70 mph. To put that in perspective, the same trips at the same speeds with no trailer, will net 17 to 18 mpg.
 
follow up thoughts

What I did not expand on with the blown tire-I got lucky that no one was next to me in either lane since the boat went into both. Talk about some white knuckles....

In the meantime I picked up a track car in the fall and a fairly light double axle railer for it. I used a dolly in the two track days in the fall but decided a tire rack and a little staorage was a great idea-and two axles.
 
Single are worth the extra engineering if you tow a small car to alot of races. If you race two times a year. get the easy to buy tandem.
Take care of your stuff and the tires will blow no more often that the van. The tandems can peel tread on those tight turns.
We race about every week and need the fuel use as low as possible. The tires are the same as the van, 235/70/15 well under the load rating of 2000#+-. IMHO. MM
 
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