Single axle trailers must have ''lifted'' the bumper of the tow vehicle when going over roads with dips.
It is more important to balance the load and get the right amount of weight on the tow vehicle at the start to keep the trailer from turning into a teeter-totter.
Generally, 10% of the trailer GTW should be the tongue weight. You can make a tongue weight scale using a bathroom scale. and this.
I modified my coe matching utility trailer that I originally built with just 48' f1 fenders the rest is sheet metal/tubing etc.. I made it so I can dis***emble it to a flat bed and it only takes 10 minutes. So I modified it some more to pull the model T..and the added frame work comes off with 4 1/2" bolts... A little PITA taking the wheels off.. Still gotta build fenders and some type of truss on the bottom of the main rails since they are bowing.. Oh and gotta lower the front of the van.
This was the trailer I used for all of my rails. Wallace Burton of Lynn Al built it the year I was born. I reskinned it and put two new axles under it with electric brakes. This was my last FED ( Donovan car). After paint. That was my second tow truck. A JS code 3800 one ton pick up. Found a factory auto column from a GMC and out a late 250 /2004r with the factory 4:56 rear gear. A fellow that used to be on the Hamb by Ghost Rider did a mc bracket and I converted the stock axles front and rear to disk. Truck is in Montana now. Trailer and last rail went to Oklahoma and has dropped outa sight. I love to have the car back.
They are called Wolf Wagons, I saw them on a trucking site on FB. They would hook two of these together, each unit had an engine and driving controls, one driver. He would drive to a destination unhook make his deliveries with the first unit, then empty out his second unit hook them back up and return to his terminal. It was kind of a variation of double trailers...seemed quite labor intensive and did not catch on.
I totally agree about balancing the load; it makes a huge difference. I remember when I was helping my buddy transport his race car transport florida to new york. We spent a good chunk of time just making sure everything was properly aligned and secured. It was a bit of a learning curve, but once we got the right weight distribution, the ride was smooth as ****er! Also, I recently checked out a Florida to New York car shipping cost calculator, and it was super helpful for planning our budget. It’s amazing how quickly the costs can add up if you're not careful.
Hey @iwanaflattie That is indeed a bad *** rig! The license plate says 49, so I am just curious what the original truck was or is, was it a bread truck? What is the make and model ? At first I thought it might be an old IHC Metro, but I know that isn't correct. Thanks from Dennis.
Hey Dennis,I ***ume it's a 1940 dodge monteplier,based on the pictures I found online..I only found the "face" and I knew I had to do something with it.
Saw this old single car hauler for sale locally and it reminded me of this thread. Built on an old camper frame it looks like. Some sort of old school corrugated expanded metal decking. The hub/brake casting is something other than the Dexter dis-mountable rim equipment/mobile home axle. Not sure if it has suspension, a lot of old trailers didn't. Price is steep for what it is at $850 though. Someone who knows more about vintage campers than me can probably look at that frame and approximately date it. The corrugated metal also dates it since that sort of stuff got replaced with electrically welded grids and expanded metal and the like over the years. https://nh.craigslist.org/tro/d/south-hampton-175-ft-car-trailer/7906683176.html
Might be the transmission...or maybe im afraid to push it...seems like too many RPMs to go 40mph..then again i dont have a Tach and the speedometer is a bit off i havent driven it a lot...
The wheels remind me of early Airstream trailers and the decking looks like military surplus aircraft landing mats.
The Jalopy Journal
