Chaps,

Just ordered a towbar for my Espace and instructions look quite simple. Is it?

Anyone made their own car transporter trailer (for under £250?), any plans around?

The one I used to go to Emerald had tilt bed, which I quite like

Thanks

ATB

Simon

I don't know how to post links to old threads, but if you do a search on 'building a 7 trailer' there's a thread with a link to a site by a guy who built an Onyx, with a fairly detailed diary of his trailer build (and costs, and links to suppliers etc.)

This

Hope that works

Sod it - sorry, the guys website seems to have gine away.

Thats a bugger, because I was planning to follow the design myself one day

[Edited on 27/10/08 by StevieB]

Hello Simon, I have made a couple from scratch in the past, if you buy the 'correct bit's it costs more than £250.

I am going to make myself another as my commercial trailer is just to heavy for my little car, yours for £500 if you want it? Maybe better suited to you car as its quite heavy, borrow it for your next visit to Norfolk and see how you get on.

Sales pitch over, to do this cheaply...

Get an old caravan chassis off Ebay, make sure the tyres are good and the brakes work! or get a decent tow hitch and the back axle off a FWD van.

For the bed:

Mark a rectangle around the car, you only need 1/2" more than the wheel base now you have a couple of choices

1 Make a simple angle frame, pop down to Spa aluminium in Tunbridge wells and by a couple of sheets of tread plate to cover and drop on the chassis. You will need to brace with some 1" box to stop it folding up.

2 Go to someone that has a folding machine and get some 1/4" steel folded in to U sections that are large enough for runners with 2" height on the sides so its self bracing

Attatch to the chassis.

Now the important bit, to stop the chassis from twisting get a bit of wide tube, 4" and weld across the chassis in front of the wheels, this will stop it twisting. There is a place in Crowborough with a big folder.

For a decent tow you require a long draw bar so make sure its a big caravan or use some deep box.

Jobs a goodun.

Regards Mark

Stevie,

Nice try, but no cigar I'm afraid I just got the 404 too!

Mark,

You saying my car's heavy I know someone who may be interested, I'll have a word with him in the next day or two as he wants to borrow my SVA book.

I want to try and make trailer nice and light, but it's more just a thought at the mo - slight storage issues. Towbar is also for the dinghy

Areyou going to chuck the V8 in your car?

I'll keep my eyes open for a 'van chassis

Cheers again chaps

ATB

Simon

Is this the link you were after, maybe he's had a bit of a rearrange of his website.

LINKY

Cheers

Rich

If you need axles I have 4 alco indispension units.
2 are identical and would make a nice 4 wheel trailer, brand new with brakes and rubber in tension ( or is it torsion?) rated at 1100 kg each.
1single axle , again brand new braked 1100kg.
And another brand new but has been chopped and widened.
Looking for 130 quid each for the unmolested ones.
And 100 pounds for the widened one.
Just the thing to keep you busy in the closed season when the snow comes.

Regards Kipper.

I built a motorbike trailer, and whilst I could have got some of the bits cheaper, I was pretty careful - 2nd hand suspension units etc. but once galvenised it will cost me nearly as much if not a touch more than a very good 2nd hand one.

Think it through, do the maths and plan it and then decide if it is worth doing.

I looked on Ebay for ages, asked around locally and came to the conclusion that building was the best option. I agree with Mark C, I bought a caravan from a caravan breaker for £65. The chasis in this case is aluminium so the superstructure had to be a bit stiffer to compensate.
I bought new steel box section and angle from a steel stockholder- delivered £ 130, then borrowed a Makita chop saw to cut all the sections to length.
The important thing on a single axle trailer is ensuring the weight on the towing ball is correct. Get it wrong and it could all end in tears !
The good thing with a single axle is it is easier to manouvre by hand and is easier to tilt, why have the extra weight of a tilting bed when you can tilt the whole trailer?

The extra bits which tended to creep the cost up - aluminium ramps (£85), trailer board (£25), winch (£26), mudguards (£16) could have been done cheaper but we were short of time, consequently the total cost came in at nearer £400 (realisticly including nuts, bolts, welding wire,gas,paint, number plate....).

The thing about building your own is it can be tailored to suit the car and thus be no bigger than required. This is handy if you have limited storage space.
Also it limits the abusability of "friends" that appear wanting you to offer a free wreck removal service !

Hello

As ginger ninja says, make you own to save space, my commercial trailer is big, it will take a transit and was fine behind my Range rover but will not suit my current drive.

I will build my own trailer for my little car even though the hours spent doing this will kill off any savings as it will be a perfect fit and balance. My shed is not huge so I am planning a detachable draw bar so the car lives on it with no excess footprint beyond the car.

Regards Mark

nb/ picked up another blade engine for £200 so thats going in.

[Edited on 28/10/08 by mark chandler]

Have a decko at the indespension catalogue, they used to have trailer plans in there or u could buy the plans to suit your use (double/single axle), cant go wrong with those, they build trailers to those designs. Will dig out suppliers details for the suspension bits if u need em, i build trailers commercially and dont buy crap, indespension parts are expensive btw dont buy bits from them if u can avoid it
Shug.

[Edited on 29/10/08 by Hugh Paterson]