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Author: Subject: Trailer - 2 wheel or 4
Avoneer

posted on 15/5/06 at 09:18 PM Reply With Quote
Trailer - 2 wheel or 4

Hi,

What's the best type trailer for a 7.

2 wheel or 4 wheel.

Both will be braked.

Pat...





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skydivepaul

posted on 15/5/06 at 09:26 PM Reply With Quote
4 wheeler if you can afford it.
much easier to handle and manouvre, nicer to tow and load / unload.

bit more weight to pull but if your car is up to it then well worth it.





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Jon Ison

posted on 15/5/06 at 09:27 PM Reply With Quote
For peace of mind four, for ease of movement two, that said I have just sold a four wheeler that is so well balanced it can easily be lifted off its front wheels and moved around.






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JoelP

posted on 15/5/06 at 09:27 PM Reply With Quote
best is undoubtedly 4 wheel for safety in case of a blowout. There are pros and cons to both though, the ones i can think of are cost, ease of hand movement, stability, ride over bumps etc. Ive built mine with 2 wheels for simplicity and weight, as its not braked. It will only just clear the 700kg limit even with a light bec on it.
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phelpsa

posted on 16/5/06 at 07:37 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jon Ison
For peace of mind four, for ease of movement two, that said I have just sold a four wheeler that is so well balanced it can easily be lifted off its front wheels and moved around.


Sounds good Jon

We were building a 2 wheeler due to cost, but as Jons 4 wheeler came up for a very sensible price, we're going for 4!-

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westyboy

posted on 16/5/06 at 08:33 AM Reply With Quote
I've used two and four wheel. Clearly four wheel is good for stability at speed, but in my parking area confines almost impossible to manouvre due to the distance from rear axle to tow socket - assuming the jockey wheel will lift the front axle clear of the ground. If front axle doesn't clear, 4 wheel is a nightmare to manouvre manually. Current Brian James 2 wheel tows comfortably at motorway speeds empty or loaded.
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britishtrident

posted on 16/5/06 at 10:50 AM Reply With Quote
With 4 wheel trailers you have to get the tow hitch height spot on ---- seen a few cases where it was trying to lift the rear of car off the ground - not good -- gets really nasty on bumpy stretches of motoraway.

Make the draw bar of the trailer on long side -- it helps avoid snaking and makes reversing less tricky.

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Hellfire

posted on 16/5/06 at 12:02 PM Reply With Quote
Woodford 2 wheel trailer. Great to tow, incredibly stable, silent (even with no load) and dead easy to manouvre. Also a fair bit cheaper than most four wheeled varieties.

A four wheel trailer may be more stable in the event of a blowout but when was the last time you had a blowout? I've never had one........ ever. Considering the mileage the trailer will cover, will only be a very small percentage of my annual mileage, I think I'll take my chances.

Phil






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Cheffy

posted on 23/5/06 at 05:59 PM Reply With Quote
Apologies for hi-jacking the thread slightly but.......

I've been toying with the idea of building a trailer for a while.

If I go the 4 wheel route, am I correct in assuming it's only the wheels on the front axle of the trailer that need braking or do all the wheels need to be braked. Only there's quite a difference in price between the braked and unbraked hub/suspension assemblies, would save a few quid if the rears didn't need braked units.

TIA,

Mart.





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NS Dev

posted on 23/5/06 at 06:04 PM Reply With Quote
No, all 4 have to be braked.

They aren't on mine as it's an ancient trailer!!!

I'd always go for 4 wheeled trailer, but I am biased as that's what i've got! Tows at ...errmmm.......well considerably faster than it should be towed, bloody old mk2 ford granada 2.8i, far too quiet, I never saw the speedo going past 95mph!! and the trailer is dead smooth at that.

Not quite so good on the sierra, too much stodge in the suspension on that compared to the granny!





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Hellfire

posted on 23/5/06 at 06:04 PM Reply With Quote
Drop JoelP a U2U. He's building his own trailer, so would assume he's gone through a similar thought process. Then again.....................

Phil






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JoelP

posted on 23/5/06 at 06:25 PM Reply With Quote
i heard a rumour he's bodged it though

more seriously, i decided on 2 wheels unbraked, to keep the cost of the suspension down - about £80 for the full shebang.

i'll weigh the full thing before it gets panelled (its a box trailer), i expect it to weigh about 100kgs, as i can still lift it.

[Edited on 23/5/06 by JoelP]

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NS Dev

posted on 23/5/06 at 07:15 PM Reply With Quote
Not that I would be overly concerned, but current law is all wheels braked on a multi axle trailer.

As I say, mine isn't like that, and before a certain date (late 60's though I think) only one axle had to be braked. Unfortunately mine has no plate on it either so I have no idea when it was built!!!

It's not a diy effort though, certainly an "off the shelf" trailer.





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