small car + trailer

stoney123 · Senior Member

small car + trailer

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

You need to check the car specs for its towing capacity.
Generally you can tow up to 750kg without trailer brakes, but the car specs may be different.

Cheers,
Peter

Izabarack · Guru

Suzuki Jimny plus a teardrop seems to be a useful combination. Fuel economy of the Jimny could be a problem but access to bush camping with the combination could be attractive for a solo wanting to live hobo style.

Recently saw a box trailer behind a Suzuki Sierra. Box trailer had a flat top and a dome tent was pitched on top.

Iza

Jaahn · Guru

stoney123 wrote:
1.6 5sp man may get a pmg style trailer for camping, trailer would be approx 300kg, load + 200kg max, puts me over the 400kg GVM, so looks like mech override brakes, bugger more rego.dont intend to go over 80km and at most 200km approx per day. this won't stress car will it?
I am a hobo. (very poor nomad)

Hi Stoney, smile

What state are you in. I do not think there is a requirement in NSW for override brakes at 400kg. I would be surprised if it was in other places either. Is it said in the cars specs ??.

If so I would be revising my loading and restrict the extra added to the trailer to just the allowable amount, and put the rest in the car instead. wink Be the same as a big person on the seat. The car will handle the towing OK if the trailer is ballanced properly.

Jaahn

stoney123 · Senior Member

thanks all.

bit late for a jimny, it would have been neat.

Jaahn yep it is the cars restriction. 400kg gvm unbraked, 750 braked. but have read having braked saves the cars brakes.

cheers

peter

PeterD · Guru

If you had specified the model of tow vehicle in your OP it would have allowed us to check on the towing capacity.

dogbox · Guru

I'm confused you state 400 kg gvm 750 braked please state the make an model of vehicle

Hylife · Guru

stoney123 wrote:
thanks all.

bit late for a jimny, it would have been neat.
Jaahn yep it is the cars restriction. 400kg gvm unbraked, 750 braked. but have read having braked saves the cars brakes.
cheers

peter

Ah, I think you mean 400kg unbraked towing limit and 750kg braked towing limit (gross trailer mass GTM, rather than the car's gross vehicle mass GVM).

Those are the limitations that are imposed by the manufacturer of your car so legally that is all you can tow. Modern small cars have no chassis, just a shaped floor pan.
If your car was manufactured before 1989, back then the manufacturers did not state maximum towing weights and even today on that old car you can tow up to 1.5 times the gross vehicle mass of the car.

If you did not have those limitations imposed by the car manufacturer, then the requirements for having brakes on a trailer, is any trailer with a gross trailer mass of 750kg or over.

So, your average light duty 6x4 trailer weighs 250kg.
You pop down to your local garden supplies for a half meter of top soil which weighs approx. 600kg.
* BAM!* you are now breaking the law for the trailer with a gross trailer mass of 850kg and no brakes on that trailer.
AND DOUBLE BAM! you are breaking the law for the car because you can only tow up to 400kg without brakes and 750kg max anyway and that is with brakes.

Mr Plod tickets you and if you have an accident you have no insurance, same as though you were driving drunk.