Smallest possible trailer

[Alpine 1789]

I am thinking of buying an enclosed trailer. "Enclosed" because I will soon have to store my SV for a few months and it will give me a good place to keep either the S3 or SIV when I finally bring them up from St. Louis. Multiple people whose opinions I trust have told me to get a dual axle trailer, so add that into the equation. Now, my problem is that my truck has a 5,000 lb towing capacity, which will put it right on the edge of handling a trailer and a complete car. So, the smaller the trailer the better. (Also better in terms of where to keep it.)

I am trying to keep my expenses down on this and have been looking for a used trailer. Can anyone tell me how small a trailer will a) hold an Alpine and b) allow me just enough room to pull in, secure it, and walk out without having to crawl over the trunk. I haven't measured the interior of one, but it seems like the answer to the question would be 14' x 7' with a flat front, but I'd love to hear from someone who has experience with this.

Thanks.

 

[Toyanvil]

What truck do you have that has a 5000 lbs. towing capacity? I have a 2008 Toyota Tacoma with a 6500 lbs. towing capacity and my small open trailer with my Sunbeam is 3300 lbs. I would not want to go any heaver, but I have mountains I have to go over.

 

[Alpine 1789]

My truck is a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. I easily towed my SV with a U-Haul trailer multiple times in my 2007 Ridgeline (which, FWIW, I drove for 216,000 miles and was the best vehicle I have ever owned). The new truck has the same towing capacity, and I don’t anticipate crossing many mountains, so it should be up to the task if I can find the right trailer.

I am surprised your trailer is that heavy. I recently looked at an 8x16’ enclosed trailer that was about the same weight.

 

[DanR]

Jim, From my experience a tandem axle trailer will pull and handle much better on the road than a single.

A single must have the weight distribution perfect otherwise lots of fishtail action is possible.

Electric brakes are a must regardless of the trailer design and weight if you plan to haul or tow .....

An enclosed trailer will most likely have more drag from the wind and cause a harder tow than an open one.... just a thought you my consider.

I have open trailers that suit my purposes. An enclosed is especially nice for added protection from the elements, road debris and folks with sticky fingers....

 

[65beam]

Jim,
Photo of Jean's enclosed trailer. It's 16 ft inside length with a 3 ft beaver tail inside. I think it's 7' 6" inside height. This one has the walls inside the fenders which sets the trailer behind the SUV and our Ford van. The result from that is that we don't have much space on each side of the car but we have a 12000 lb winch bolted to the floor and we winch the cars in and use the winch as a front tie down along with wheel straps. I have wiring run from the main fuse block to the rear of both the SUV and our Ford van and I use the connectors for battery operated fork lifts for the winch connection with a 50 amp in line fuse. Both tow vehicles have full tow packages. I have a short axle strap that I put around the front cross member using two D rings sewn in and my winch cable snaps to the strap. All of our Beams have rings welded to the rear spring plates so I use tie down straps attached to these rings to tie down the rear. The Alpines fit with lots of room but the 69 comes close to the door. I have chocks fastened to the floor to stop the front wheels for proper weight distribution. I also use 10K weight bars with my weight distributing hitch heads plus sway bars to eliminate sway. It has electric brakes on both axles. The trailer has 11 inch ground clearance. It serves as a winter storage unit and currently the 69 is tucked in it. Our second trailer is an open trailer with a 16 ft full diamond plate floor that makes loading easy but not good for keeping the car clean. The trip from S Carolina to Ohio thru the snow last march left Jean's midnight blue Alpine with a grey covering of salt. If you're looking to buy a used unit check the axles for bends along with the condition of the springs and hangers and the frame especially where the tongue attaches to the box frame. Box trailers flex and bend due to not having a frame under the box. Look at how the door sets relative to being square to the box.

 

[65beam]

Jim,
FYI, This trailer weighs in at 1900 lbs so with an Alpine I'm roughly 4200 lbs total. That's well under my 10000 lb limit. A 14 ft trailer would put the bumpers real close to the front wall and the door. This was built to be a motorcycle trailer and had the bike wheel chocks . There are a lot of these trailers out there.

 

[Toyanvil]

My truck is a 2017 Honda Ridgeline. I easily towed my SV with a U-Haul trailer multiple times in my 2007 Ridgeline (which, FWIW, I drove for 216,000 miles and was the best vehicle I have ever owned). The new truck has the same towing capacity, and I don’t anticipate crossing many mountains, so it should be up to the task if I can find the right trailer.

I am surprised your trailer is that heavy. I recently looked at an 8x16’ enclosed trailer that was about the same weight.

My trailer is only 1100 lbs. "it doesn't get much lighter for a car trailer" and my Alpine is about 2200 lbs. so 3300 lbs. total. If I were going to go any heavier, I would get a bigger truck. I am not a fan of towing a trailer that is heavier then the truck towing it.

 

[65beam]

My trailer is only 1100 lbs. "it doesn't get much lighter for a car trailer" and my Alpine is about 2200 lbs. so 3300 lbs. total. If I were going to go any heavier, I would get a bigger truck. I am not a fan of towing a trailer that is heavier then the truck towing it.

Would I be right to assume that your trailer is aluminum? I notice that it has a long tongue on it. What brand is it? I haven't seen one like that at any dealers here.

 

[Toyanvil]

Mine is an old 1977 IRD that I rebuilt, and is all steel.

 

[DanR]

John, It does look like a light built trailer. AS usual your handiwork shows off.

A part that is deceiving to me is it appears the Alpine is a bit too far too the rear. That is I think because of the longer front and tongue.

Have you ever weighed the unit with the Alpine in place to get the best location for hauling?

 

[65beam]

John, It does look like a light built trailer. AS usual your handiwork shows off.

A part that is deceiving to me is it appears the Alpine is a bit too far too the rear. That is I think because of the longer front and tongue.

Have you ever weighed the unit with the Alpine in place to get the best location for hauling?

Dan,
I was wondering about the same thing. Looking at the stance of his trailer it looked to me that there could be too much weight on the rear. Depending on which one of the cars I'm hauling with either trailer I usually have around 600 lbs of tongue weight. That eliminates trailer sway. Handles real good at 80 MPH on the interstate.

 

[Toyanvil]

Tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9 and 15 percent of the Gross Trailer Weight. My trailer has a 8' tongue and 10' rails so it looks like the car is to far back, but it is right over the axles where it should be and tows great with 350 lbs. tongue weight. If I were to build a trailer for Sunbeams, I would build it with 14' rails and a 6' tongue.

 

[phyrman]

Nice trailer !!

 

[Toyanvil]

You can't buy it back

 

[65beam]

Tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9 and 15 percent of the Gross Trailer Weight. My trailer has a 8' tongue and 10' rails so it looks like the car is to far back, but it is right over the axles where it should be and tows great with 350 lbs. tongue weight. If I were to build a trailer for Sunbeams, I would build it with 14' rails and a 6' tongue.
View attachment 15275

You're right about the 10 to 15 percent of GVW when loaded. The rule of thumb says the minimum length of the tongue has to be 1/2 the width of the tow vehicle. I doubt that trailer companies would build a tongue less than 3 feet. Trailer companies don't want to build a tongue for a box cargo trailer such as mine or an open trailer that is over four feet due to safety, handling and liability. Personal experience tells me that a lot of flex in the three sections of the trailer results in breaks of the frame.East coast roads are rough.

 

[Alpine 1789]

I can now answer my own question. I took a gamble last week and bought a 14' x 7' motorcycle trailer. It is 5' high inside, the doorway is 6' 3" wide and the total interior width is 6' 9". The trailer has a V nose, so while the box is 14' long inside, the total length is 16'. There is just enough room inside that I can get out of the car. The V nose is important, as it will allow me to strap it down in front pretty easily. I think it would be possible with a flat front, but it would be difficult. I will have to be creative in the back and lay the straps out before I pull in. The trailer needs some work and I will probably eventually move the tie downs, which will then make life much simpler. But, I can now report that 14' x 7' does work...just barely, but it works.

 

[DanR]

Sounds as if you have a good'n!

Question Just how did you get out of the Alpine?

 

[Alpine 1789]

Question Just how did you get out of the Alpine?

There is just enough room. It helped that I parked a couple of inches off center (you can see that in the first photo). That wasn't on purpose, but I will probably try to do that deliberately next time.

 

[DanR]

I like the "V" nose... It allows abit of room for working around the front of the Alpine for tiedowns.

Can you get out with a Hardtop mounted ?

 

[65sunbeam]

"Can you get out with a Hardtop mounted ?"
Luckily Jim is a pretty skinny guy! Nice trailer you found. Bring it to the Invasion!