am having a small ammount of trouble loading my car onto my trailer on my own as the car is relatively low and the sump guard (lower chassis rail)
hits a small bracket on the back of trailer when the front levels itself out on the bed,the bracket is welded to the trailer and is for holding the
ramps in when not in use.
the only way i can do it is to push the car up the ramps,get the front onto the flat bed.then jack up the rear of the car and put 2 pieces of
4"x3" timber under the rear of the ramps to get some clearence.
is there a better way than this? as its a pain and i dont like jacking the rear with the front so much higher when im on my own. and i dont have rooom
for longer ramps, or extra bits of wood when towing. cheers
Not sure exactly but jack up the front of the trailer more?
Load the car in reverse....
Or like eddie99 said, jack up the front of the trailer more using the jockey wheel. I had the same issues, but used the techniques listed and all was
fine.
Don't do as I did and drive a 911 forwards onto a trailer....
It didn't end well...
Used to have the same issue entering/exiting my garage as my driveway is quite a steep angle. I made a couple of wooden skids about 1" thick fixed to the floor. As the front wheels went over the skids it raised the underside of the car clear of the lip just enough to avoid grounding. Assuming it's your own trailer this could be a simple/cheap/quick fix.
As said, get the jockey wheel up as much as possible. If that's not enough (and it isn't for me) try what we've done, make up a couple of wooden 'blocks' wide enough to drive the front wheels onto (effectively flattening the angle the car's at) and long enough so that as the low point of the car passes over the back of the trailer the front wheels are still on the blocks, the thickness of the blocks will be dictated by the extra clearance you need, mine are about two inches thick.
if you wind up the jockey wheel and un hitch the trailer from the car.the trailer flips when engine gets onto back of trailer! (ask me how i know) and
engine weight is behind the rear trailer axle.
and i cant back the car on the trailer as the rear arch hits the bump stops.
Dont unhitch car then, just jack it up lots. Thats what i tend to do....
ive tried and it almost clears,but not quite!
Maxxed out on jockey wheel or car wont go higher? If it maxes out on jockey wheel, put it on a 2 inch bit of wood or something similar.
Trying to picture it but normaly the belhousing casting lump on my gearbox catches the bottom of my trailer, to solve this firstly place a piece of
wood say 4" wide 1" deep and whatever lenght i find onto the bed of the trailer, then push the car onto trailer thur raising the front end
of the car and inch or so to clear the casting and trailer extremities
What about a purpose bit of wood cut to shape and bolted/fastened to the bed in the area of the bracket. Ie a small ramp to allow the car to clear the
bracket.
2 wedge shapes back to back either side of the bracket ?
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
if you wind up the jockey wheel and un hitch the trailer from the car.the trailer flips when engine gets onto back of trailer! (ask me how i know) and engine weight is behind the rear trailer axle.
quote:
Originally posted by T66
What about a purpose bit of wood cut to shape and bolted/fastened to the bed in the area of the bracket. Ie a small ramp to allow the car to clear the bracket.
2 wedge shapes back to back either side of the bracket ?
Best solution I've seen is to reverse the back wheels of the tow vehicle up onto some ramps. This raises the back of the vehicle / front of the
trailer significantly.
Works for a couple of very low race cars in one of our local clubs.
Going off you first post about putting some 4x3 timber under the ramps. I have to do similar, my trailer is in the garage and the drive slopes down
hill, so I have some wide pieces of timber about 3 or 4 inches high. I have cut one corner away so the wheel will go up it and also have a slot in
the top that the ramps sit in. Will try to do simple drawing to explain.
Adrian
Wooden bit for ramp
Piece of wood with the edge and slot cut with circular saw.
I can drive up the wood and ramp. The slot the ramp sits in, stops the block sliding out when the tyre hits.
[Edited on 3-2-12 by AdrianH]
I had the same problem with a very low exhaust that would catch the edge of my trailer.
I modded the drawbar so that it hinges. I unlock the hinge, lower the rear of the trailer and drive on. A pair of ex Jag E Type shockers control the
rate of descent.
Sorry for the state of the pictures but it's a bit parky outside this morning.
If you need more info just ask.
HTH
Neil
Surely for such a minor clearance issue the easiest/cheapest solution is to carry two stout planks and use these to extend the loading ramps i.e. place one end on the ramp and one on the ground. This makes the ramps two stage, helping with front loading angle but also with issues like the one mentioned because the rear wheels will be on these before the sump hits the offending bracket
quote:
Originally posted by orton1966
Surely for such a minor clearance issue the easiest/cheapest solution is to carry two stout planks and use these to extend the loading ramps i.e. place one end on the ramp and one on the ground. This makes the ramps two stage, helping with front loading angle but also with issues like the one mentioned because the rear wheels will be on these before the sump hits the offending bracket
on the brian james clubman. you put the ramps out. drive the car on, strap the car down put the ramps away then drive off. but then i guess
that's why they cost £1000. i used a converted caravan trailer once and got pissed off with it in 5 mins. the reality of it is that the beds on
converted caravan chassis are just too high as they are usually above the top of the wheels.
the only thing you can really do to sort the issue out is to make longer ramps which will reduce your approach angle and give you more clearance.
quote:
Originally posted by ashg
on the brian james clubman. you put the ramps out. drive the car on, strap the car down put the ramps away then drive off. but then i guess that's why they cost £1000. i used a converted caravan trailer once and got pissed off with it in 5 mins. the reality of it is that the beds on converted caravan chassis are just too high as they are usually above the top of the wheels.
the only thing you can really do to sort the issue out is to make longer ramps which will reduce your approach angle and give you more clearance.
Can't see why. If I raise it at the front on the jockey wheel the numberplate flips up on its hinges out of the way and the back is so low to the ground I can drive the 7 on without even using the ramps. If you have an lmp style car then I guess you may need have a bit of wood
quote:
Originally posted by ashg
Can't see why. If I raise it at the front on the jockey wheel the numberplate flips up on its hinges out of the way and the back is so low to the ground I can drive the 7 on without even using the ramps. If you have an lmp style car then I guess you may need have a bit of wood
i think reversing the tow car onto some wood will be best. cheers
quote:
Originally posted by ashg
Can't see why. If I raise it at the front on the jockey wheel the numberplate flips up on its hinges out of the way and the back is so low to the ground I can drive the 7 on without even using the ramps. If you have an lmp style car then I guess you may need have a bit of wood
We had a similar problem with our race car many years ago.
Solution block the trailer wheels (trailer not attached to tow vehicle), lift the tongue jack as high as it will go then drive the car onto the
trailer, the back of the trailer will come down to the road surface, then slowly drive the car onto the trailer until you hit the tipping point.
Stop the car, get out and pull the front of the trailer down onto the tongue jack, then move the car forward to it's normal position.
Couple of points if they haven't already been made:-
1) Be careful about loading the car on backwards as this puts the engine weight behind the trailer axle - particularly if it's a single axle
trailer but can also affect nose-weight and stability on a twin axle.
2) There are various ramps available for levelling caravans (I know!) from the likes of Towsure, Indespension etc. which might be better/safer for
raising tow car rear wheels than lumps of wood.
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe10 