I need a general purpose trailer and would appreciate some advice. We'll be using it mainly to go back and forth to France several times a year (around 300 motorway and 40 A road miles each way) with usual clobber, tools, luggage and general stuff not overly heavy just bulky.
I've estimated a mid size will do with around 500/600kg capacity as once there we'll need it to carry building materials, sand cement, garden clearance, usual stuff on short journeys. Car is a Passat diesel estate. Given that the ones I am considering all offer the extras I need, my main concern or lack of knowledge is how these handle/behave on the motorway at higher speeds. Is a Torsion suspension better than an AL-KO suspension, are 13” wheels going to be better than 10” wheels, am I over concerned? Also any general views or experience of Erde, Caddy and Brenderup trailers would also be appreciated. Thanks.
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TBH any of the good branded trailers of that size will tow really well if correctly loaded. Personal thing but I never have trailers with 10" wheels. On the odd occasion I've bought a boat with a 10" wheel trailer I've always upsized them asap.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 5 May 11 at 12:20
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Take a look at Paxton Trailers which are built near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. They are of equivalent quality to Ifor Williams but at a better price.
Take care though if you ever intend to tow it behind a French registered car. The rules are very strict and any meaningful sized trailer (I can't off hand remember the plated weight, but it's low) has to be registered and tested.
I plan to get one which accommodates a 2.4 x 1.2 sheet (Plasterboard, ply etc.) flat - beware of intrusions if you go this way though. A tipping function can be useful - it'll help loading, especially of a ride-on mower.
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The man who delivered my series LandRover said he always used a 6-wheel trailer with 10" wheels. Much greater carrying capacity, and very stable at high speed.
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That had 10" wheels I assume to allow the load bed to be above the wheels?? I've worked on Ifor Williams trailers with this concept and they have very expensive heavily reinforced tyres that often run very high pressures.
Miles apart from the average 10" tyre you'd see on a small camping type trailer. My comment refers to the latter.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 5 May 11 at 12:50
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Ifor Williams, well built with solid residuals and excellent support. They built me a General Purpose trailer (P5) - not that expensive as compared to a foreign made one for sale on the High Streets/retail parks. They are built to last and will take a lot of punishment.....they are proper trailers not built to a price.
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>>>Ifor Williams, well built with solid residuals and excellent support.
Very true... a real standard in the horse trailer world. So easy to sell on after a few years with almost no loss in value. Just as easy to get stolen as their whole range tows nicely behind a Transit.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 5 May 11 at 13:03
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>> easy to get stolen
If you're buying used, check its ID very very carefully - there was a case on a Motorway Cops programme a few weeks ago of an innocent buyer losing 2 grand's worth of trailer after an eagle-eyed copper noticed a plate welded on the A-frame over where the chassis number should have been. Further inspection revealed it to have been stolen 2 owners previously.
The trailer manufacturers (and police crime prevention officers) should be able to verify authenticity by checking concealed ID marks.
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Our firm always used trailers with sidewheels and full sized hub bearings-made them wider but MUCH more reliable.And in some cases,you can share the spare with the towing vehicle.Full size tyres and bearings can be serviced anywhere.
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Is this Paxton your type of thing Neil?
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Paxton-Galvanised-Heavy-Duty-7X5-ft-Utility-Car-Trailer-/110429836802?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19b6219602
I see they are supplied as a kit with some grumbling they are hard to build... guess it depends a great deal on each person's level of mechanical skill.
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The Paxton is at the top of my shopping list. You can get a mesh cage to fix on top too.
If DIY is too much they'll build it for £75.
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>>>Is this Paxton your type of thing Neil?
Never heard of them but TBH I had only heard of Caddy and Erde before I started looking into this! At 7 x 5 that one is probably bigger than I need and quite a bit heavier. Weight is important as I'm going to have to manhandle it to store it when not in use and 238KG might be a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless reading about it and other reviews on the web it looks a quality product at a very good price and it's going to get a fair bit of use and abuse so thanks for bringing them to my attention. I see they do a 6x4 with a cage so I'll enquire about that. No mechanical skill to speak of so I'd happily pay them to do it for me but it seems they only build at Aberdeenshire not Cambridge. I'll make an enquiry. Thanks
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We ran 4 wheel trailers with 9 inch wheels ( I think ) but they would carry 3 tons and 20 yrs ago we could run at 70 when other trailers were limited to 40. Our tyres were really heavy, fork lift, with splitting rims.
Don't forget, whatever you get, a spare wheel, brace and a small trolley/scissors jack will be needed for the tryps you're doing.
Ted
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I'm no expert but I settled for a Brenderup 1150s which has a proper A-frame front and 13" wheels. Made by Thule it was well put together and very stable when towing, I only used it for camping (including with bike racks on the top) and taking stuff to the tip but I would buy this make again.
There are many larger trailers in the range and a wide choice of accessories / adaptations such as cages, top-boxes etc.
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Wessex trailers are very good. No problem with ours. Solid construction and ours made in UK.
Last edited by: The Melting Snowman on Sat 7 May 11 at 20:25
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Just a quick note to say thanks for all the help and advice. I went for a used Brenderup 6'x4' 6 months old, cost £1,100 new (mesh sides, tarp cover, spare wheel, the "extras" really mount up if considering new!) and I pick it up Saturday for £500. I'll buy some extension sides and lockable ABS top. Would have gone for a Paxton if I didn't want/need the extra security of the ABS lid and important for me the Brenderup stands up vertical for storing. The Paxton is clearly built to last and take serious abuse, the same size trailer weighs 100KG more, nearly twice as much!
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Trailer advice - Fenlander
