towing question

It sounds like you are building a tow dolly. The ramps that the front wheels are strapped to, swivel independent of the dolly frame. For safety's sake, you really need to go look at one in person. H

"ryan skaar" snipped-for-privacy@s.s.pam> wrote in news:115d5nedjk4rla8 @corp.supernews.com:

most of the ones I have seen have the actuall frame the tires attach to swivel seperate from the trailer frame some. and then you still go slow around corners. KB

As was said, the platform that the tire set on have a center pivot point that allows the car to pivot on the tow dolly when going around a corner. The pivot is limited to somewhere between 15 and 30 degrees. The stop prevents the towed vehicle from pivoting over the trailer wheels. Also the steering wheel on the towed vehicle should either be locked or tied in place so the front tires do not steer, that is what the pivot point on the trailer is for. I also recommend you go take a look at one at one at a U-haul or similar rental place.

Bruce

ryan skaar wrote:

Thanks. I never thought of a pivot. But it can be done. R.

Why would you build one of these yourself and leave yourself open to a lawsuit. You can buy a used one for about $350. Go to

or then click "search" and type in "tow dolly" without the quotes.

When you are done building this rig, please let us know where you will be towing so we can avoid the area and a possible death sentence.

I agree with Tyrone. Swallow your master fabricator pride and buy a good used one for safety's sake. You can have fun restoring it too.

Well I didn't mean that I was building it right from scratch. I have the wheels and frame which certainly look strong enough. I don't know what it was originally, but it was first used for hauling prefab rafters out of the city as it had a really long pole. Then for many years we used it to haul plywood grain bins as they were built to their destination. After that it was used to haul 1200 gallon tanks of water. It can be used either way up ... one way the bottom of the beam clears the ground by 4" which would be the best way for a car dolly.

All I have to do is shorten the pole hitch by about 20' and put on the pivot and it's ready to roll.

Ryan

The key phrase you use, "certainly look strong enough" doesn't cut it. Unless someone can calculate and confirm the design of this trailer, you are a damned fool to endanger yourself or anyone else's life with your Rube Goldberg, afro-engineered rig.

You're wasting your time. You can buy a car dolly for $800. With straps, ready to rock and roll.

s

That's for a new one. You can find them used for $350. Why would anyone leave their ass hanging out in the wind to get sued?

It's not entirely necessary though.

I rented one from U-haul once that wasn't made that way. It was a real old one. It was solid, and you just strapped the car down on it. If you leave your steering unlocked, the dolly can still go around corners, and the car's steering will follow. It's not the best way, though. The swivel is better. Harder to build, of course.

Have you ever seen how a tow bar steers a car? This solid tow dolly was similar, but not nearly as flexible. Since the tires couldn't roll, it had to be in a real bind as it turned.

Why are those things so expensive? Anybody know? I never see used ones as low as $350 around here. For $350, you can buy a car that'll go 70 in a west Texas headwind.

Put another way, for $800, you can buy a brand new factory build tandem trailer. A new tow dolly should cost a third of that.

Another thing is if you look at the specs of all those tow dollys that are for rent or for sale you will find that they are only built to haul light weight autos.

I need it for heavier stuff, so I guess I will build my own. R

You must live under a rock. Show me a link to a tandem trailer for $800.

steve

Don't worry about the nay-sayers. Go for it.

Matt

99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4

Far a new Trailer, Ain't gonna happen. He is blowing smoke!

Steel has gone up a lot, so I bet you're right. I bet they're up to $1000. Although, I think you're more ignorant that right. You probably haven't shopped around for a utility trailer, and have no clue what they actually cost if you know where the dealer is for the cheap ones. Before steel went up, here you could get a factory built tandem 16' for $695, ($100 less than I what I was saying) but that was with no brakes. That was the price for the last 10 years or so. Don't get me wrong, you could get one for $2500 too if you want to.

No prices on this website (couldn't find one with prices) But these sorts of trailers, available anywhere, are cheap:

I looked for a site that had its prices listed, but I guess the real cheap guys don't list their prices on the internet. These guys say it's because the wholesaler asked them not to: They do show a single axle 3500 lb trailer for $399 on their utility trailers page (made by Triple Crown apparently). Check it out. So why couldn't they sell a new tow dolly for that? Do you get the idea of my question now?

Honestly, I didn't expect to get an answer to my question, but I'm sure there's a reason far more rational than the kind of buffoonery that passes for knowlege on usenet. The folks who make cheap trailers should make a cheap tow dolly. They'd sell like hotcakes. I am sure there's a reason they don't.

I totally agree. I've been designing and building trailers, single and tandem setups, for years and everyone tells me my units pull easier and straighter than any they've ever rented. Most rental units are built on a bid basis and the cheapest bidder usually gets the order. One thing I would consider is keeping the tongue length about 3 feet longer than what you find in rental units. The reason for this is to keep the towed vehicle from swaying side to side. Although the engineering aspects are pretty straight forward it's more difficult to explain it to those without considerable knowledge of math and physics. So, imagine you have an axle with 6 feet between the tire treads and a tongue 100 feet long. Although it would obviously be over the legal limit, it would nonetheless be almost impossible to get a trailer with this set up to flip over from a quick whipping action of the steering on the tow vehicle. The wheels of the "trailer" would hardly move from side to side even at 100 mph. Now imagine that same axle setup with a tongue 1 or 2 feet long. There is almost no way you could tow such a rig without the trailer whipping from side to side at anything more than 5 or 10 miles per hour. Now, imagine you have the front wheels of a towed vehicle sitting on that axle. Hope this gives you some ideas. BTW, don't let pinheads discourage you from going ahead with your project. Sounds to me like you have enough of a handle on it to make it work safely. In fact, I find that most people who make their own equipment of this nature usually overbuild it anyway. Incidentally, if you're building a trailer for car hauling, etc., there are some basic dimension and axle setbacks that work perfectly.