transporting carriers

Ryan · #1 01-03-10, 01:52

Gentlemen. How large a trailer do you need to transport a bren carrier successfully and legally?
My carrier in question will be a bare bones cut down hull. I will also be carrying a set of wheels and boggies in the back of my ute.
Your experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Ryan

Plushy · #2 01-03-10, 04:30

Ryan ,
I would suggest a Plant trailer with dual axles at least , I usually use a Tri axle plant trailer with electric brakes that can carry 3 to 4 ton anything over that weight i get a tilt tray to pick it up .

Plushy

Darren Witty · #3 01-03-10, 08:09

I towed a british carrier for two days using a kennards dual wheel trailer with a 2008 Landruiser. Started to rain at Mitchell QLD and the trailer overtook us and then swung around and punched a hole in the rear drivers side door of the landcruiser and then dragged the landcruiser over a culvert and through a barded wire fence into a ploughed paddock. It bent and cracked the draw bar. I then drove the rest of the way to brisbane keeping an eye of the crack. $700 extra fees from kennards. It had cut down armour and no motor. Hope this helps you to decide to tow with a car trailer?
Good luck
Darren

Rob Beale · #4 01-03-10, 09:31

weighs about 1 tonne, so figure less for the cut down hull, and any rust holes.

In NZ the towing vehicle must be heavier than the towed trailer plus load.
This means any load in the towing vehicle helps with traction and stability.

I too have experienced a jack knifed tandem trailer, fortunately at a slower speed. Key lesson for me was keeping the centre of gravity forward of the centre of the axles, (maybe over the front axle?)

Most light vehicles allow only 500kg as the total towed weight.
You probably need an SUV or big ute, (Falcon etc) to tow 2000kg or more.

best wishes
Rob

ron · #5 01-03-10, 10:07

Hi Ryan,
Its better to be safe than sorry, if its a reasonal distance spend the money and get a tilt tray, its much better let them do the sweating, and its door to door and they can place it exactly where you want no sweat,,
well thats my two bobs worth. its how I have always done it and overr the years I have moved quite a few with no dramas.
Good luck dont forget plenty of pics,and welcome to our carrier world, Regards Ron

cantankrs · #6 01-03-10, 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Beale

weighs about 1 tonne, so figure less for the cut down hull, and any rust holes.

I think a little bit heavier than 1 ton for an uncut hull. Last weekend we let down one side of an LP2 with a half ton chainblock and it was hard work on the chainblock. We wanted to readjust so tried to relift the right side and gave up very quickly.

Regards

Alex

P.S. Anyone hired a tandem trailer with brakes that actually work??! Don't think I've found one yet over here. I hired one late last year in Perth and it had discs on the front and they were worn tapered due to pads worn away. I had to back all the adjusters off to avoid further damage and uneccesary friction. The old saying I guess "Youse gets whats youse pays for" and they don't charge enough.

Ryan · #7 01-03-10, 11:01

Thanks guys, makes for sobering reading.
I'll be heading to Corowa this year in my Hilux 4x4 (with a commodore V6) and was thinking of hiring a trailer to take up there, maybe even Kennards. And then from there into NSW to get the carrier. I once hired a tandem from them to transport my F15 Blitz. But that was only for a dozen kms or more.
This time it will be from Inverleigh, near Geelong, Vic, to Corowa and then into Nsw for another 350kms. And then all the way back again. About a 1500km round trip I think.
Was thinking of a light truck but that may break my budget.

Here is a pic of what the carrier looks like. What do you think the weight would be?

I guess I'm finally border raiding.

cantankrs · #8 02-03-10, 03:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by cantankrs

I think a little bit heavier than 1 ton for an uncut hull. Last weekend we let down one side of an LP2 with a half ton chainblock and it was hard work on the chainblock. We wanted to readjust so tried to relift the right side and gave up very quickly.

Out of respect to Rob (and thanks Doug) - I forgot the warp axle was still fitted along with the two rear suspension units minus wheels. Certainly the warp axle would add weight.

Also Ryan the diff is heavy.

It was a Kennards I hired to bring our furniture home but as I said they didn't charge much, and I was desperate, so it just pays to check and test everything before you drive away. I'd use Kennards equipment again at the drop of a hat. But they did say if the trailer broke down out of metro area we'd be paying for its recovery, and I think repair.

Regards

Alex

Douglas Greville · #9 01-03-10, 12:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Beale

weighs about 1 tonne, so figure less for the cut down hull, and any rust holes.

In NZ the towing vehicle must be heavier than the towed trailer plus load.
This means any load in the towing vehicle helps with traction and stability.

I too have experienced a jack knifed tandem trailer, fortunately at a slower speed. Key lesson for me was keeping the centre of gravity forward of the centre of the axles, (maybe over the front axle?)

Most light vehicles allow only 500kg as the total towed weight.
You probably need an SUV or big ute, (Falcon etc) to tow 2000kg or more.

best wishes
Rob

Rob

I don't want to start an argument, but I am very sure a carrier hull weighs a lot more than 1 tonne. I have towed an LP2 bare hull but with
all road wheels, on a car trailer and can remember it as feeling a lot heavier
than that. Car trailers are typically 750kg by themselves and with anything heavier than about 850kg exceed the rating of standard passenger car
towbars (1600kg) (Falcon/Commodore). Thus, unless the towing car has a Hayman Reese style heavy duty bar PLUS tow pack (auto trans cooler at a minimum) then something is likely to break.

A totally bare hull, with no warp axle, no warp bogies, no rear boggies,
no rear plate and no air scoop would have to be around 1/2 tonne to 3/4
tonne lighter. However, most hulls I have come across typically were
not that bare. More likely was a cut down hull but with most of the
undercarriage still on it and that is heavy stuff.

I once had a warp axle with bogies that had been cut out of a hull and the bloke I sold it to told me that it weighed 750kg when he took it over a weigh bridge on the way home. There was the minimum of armour still around such
that the person who cut it out had stayed in as tight as he could with the
Oxy torch when cutting the hull.

Regards
Doug

martyn · #10 01-03-10, 13:12

Not to stick my nose in but when i was building my carrier i was moving a stripped hull around on a landrover defender 110 with a ifor williams trailer with no problems was towing at 50mph, i would say the hull would be about 2 tonns if you think the tracks and running gear is about a tonn the engine gearbox and all the extras would be about 1/2 tonn ish and a complete carrier is about 3.5 tonns, iam think iam on the high side on my weights but would rather guess and take something bigger to tow it with, looking at that photo you have put up i would say you would be looking a around a tonn maybe just over?
maybe you should strip it and put some in a trailer and some in your truck if you have the space and time to do that?
good luck