Need a little advice here. My 40 Olds is too low in the front to safely load onto a ramp trailer. Sold my ramp trailer, and looking for a tilt. Been looking at the partial tilt 20 foot, 16’ tilts, and the front 4’ is solid. Has anyone had any issues with the partial tilt trailers?
Even my 18 foot tilt bed trailer was too steep to load my lowered 40 sedan, I had wooden ramps that I put under the tilt bed which made it possible to load without dragging the bottom of the car.
If it has rocker equalizer suspension, just make a pivot mount for the tongue.(and latching bolts) Really simple to do.
It doesn't come under the category of inexpensive but you might check out their special roll back trailer. Rollback Trailers, Tilt Trailers & Heavy Car Haulers in Texas at Kwik Load Trailers 250 miles from you but that's about a beer and barbecue run for guys in your hood. I was eyeballing one of those for my 48 back when they first came out. My trailer is about good for side by sides and small 4x4 trucks but you aren't going to get anything low on it unless you can load off a tall curb.
That sounds good, so pivot at the front of the deck with the tongue still attached to the tow vehicle?
There is an outfit that builds and sells car trailers down under where he is that basically will lay on the ground. Someone down there sells plans for similar bagged trailers that have a rocker style suspenson for the bags and those drop right on the ground. I haven't seen them up here though. Although here is another made in Texas trailer that has bags. Drop-N-Load Car Trailers| MA**-D Trailers (ma**dtrailers.com) Not sure where these guys are Air Bag Trailers - Home (airbaggedtrailers.com.au) Back years ago Oklahoma was full of trailer manufactures for car haulers and cow haulers. I'd think one of them would have something on bags or that will tilt without having a huge angle to the tilt.
Paul , I'll chime in for Mimi here. On my trailers I've built, I usually pivot the tongue off the front suspension hanger using a longer bolt. In NZ ,I found a "Boat Trailer Roller Bracket" That was perfect for the job. Here is a simple trailer [ built really cheap] I made for a friend showing a simple "A" frame tongue You can see 2 x chains ^^ to limit the tilt These were adjustable with shackles, so the ramp angle [below] can be less if I lengthened the chains an extra link I used 2 x 4 tubing for the tongue because of where I mounted a boat trailer "Jockey wheel" C channel will twist torsionally. Here's how I did the pivot using the front spring hanger and the boat roller bracket and a common bolt. [I like the direct pull down the suspension when towing] Below is upside down There are plenty of other methods to pivot it [I just got lucky with $2 off the shelf components] If you look at the middle photo, I built the deck with the wheelbase 50/50! This allows the deck to stay tilted by itself [requiring no helpers to load the trailer] The hitch weight with the chains disconnected is 100lbs, which is OK when empty. For more hitch weight, we simply roll the payload further forward. On a USA built trailer [conversion] you tend to have the wheels further back. With a longer tongue and using my method of pivots, you could use "gas struts" to hold the tilt up. For latches, it was Dead Simple! I used springbolts and cut 2 x 5" long pieces of 1-3/8 Square at a 17.5° angle The cut angle allowed the springbolts to automatically slam shut when loading I welded a bit of steel circled to the topside to hold the bolt open [against the roll pin] so I could unload it. If somebody bumps the handle when pointing up, it automatically defaults to the latching position Also I prefer the lashing loops/tie-down points on the tongue. If you get a latching failure or lose a hold-down nut/bolt , you can still use ratchet tie-downs to hold the deck from tilting [you can get home] On my personal trailer I used a separate tongue pivot from the suspension hanger. I did this so I could remove the tongue and leave the suspension as-is ,and roll the tongue underneath away from thieving eyes [The wiring harness unplugs] Here [below], I strategically angled this photo to get the 57 into the shot or it will be too off topic. If any members here need any help, just PM me. I've designed a lot for manufacturers [and built a few myself]
I've had a Jimglo trailer for many years, tows great and the car is only 5 inches off the ground. https://www.jimglo.com
"Yes, the trailer will tilt down before your rear wheels get in the deck" my friend has a 20' with the front 4' stationary and the back 16' tilt and he brought it new 2 years ago. we have no problem loading vehicles on it. There is a lever to set the down push pressure. if you have it set wrong, yes it comes down fast and before you have the back up but you set it right and you are sitting on the brake waiting for it to tilt down so you can pull the other lever down and lock the tilt. just like an engine hoist, just turn the knob quick and you will drop the engine but just crack it back and you lower the engine slowly in place. He always has a few trailers, different sizes for different jobs and just sold 2 off. He says that partial tilt one is his favorite and the main one he uses now, wishes he would have brought one like that sooner. We just loaded that trailer Monday. Not a car but we put a small disc up front, tilted it down and drove a 4 wheeler on it and put a sickle bar mower on the back and it headed for Kentucky the next morning.
I have a 20' H&H aluminum tilt trailer with a remote control for the hydraulic pump. Soon as the back wheels hit the trailer, I push the ****on to drop the bed. Also have a remote for the 10,000# Warn winch.
No No No! Real cars need to be trailer'd to the track. All the rest are "show pony's" A dragstrip isn't a catwalk
I have an H&H also, it tilts all the way back until the tail of the bed touches the ground...no ramps. The tongue pivots right in front of the axles and it lifts the front trailer axle off the ground. The tongue has latches like depicted in post #9 I have a 12,000 lb winch that allows you to load and unload in a very controlled manner, great for handling the dead 'roller' you just bought to build the next driver...
Can you please give me a little more explanation of what you mean? Have you experienced this? If so, what type of car were you loading?
I loaded a 66 Plymouth with no engine or transmission on a two wheel tilt bead that had the front section not tilt and the tilt part went down before the rear wheels made it to the trailer. I had to use a long reach low profile jack to jack the front up, then had to use it to jack the back of the tilt up to get the car the rest of the way on the trailer. Pain in the ***. A duel axle trailer may be different.
Having a tilt trailer without ramps can be too steep. It is the combination of both that works best. For really low cars you should have ramps that hook on to the rear. Then you need a 2-way hydraulic ram to Jack the tilt trailer so the ramps are flat on the ground. You winch onto the ramps as far as possible, then use the 2-way ram to lift the rear (so the deck and ramps are straight) then winch it all the way on. This works great with cars with a low front or larger overhang
stude on trailer by 327Eric posted May 20, 2013 at 6:45 PM stude on trailer by 327Eric posted May 20, 2013 at 6:45 PM On a partial tilt trailer, where the deck is split, the weight of the engine causes the bed to begin to tilt down before the rear wheels roll onto the deck due to short deck length, requiring a jack to ensure that you can keep it up until necessary. It is also a shorter deck. These are designed for tractors, and other equipment with rear weight bias . I have used these mainly for pickups and tractors. A full tilt deck has a shallower angle, and a longer deck, and is designed for cars. I've used these for 30s to 70s cars of all types. A dovetail is a great solution, as it provides a shallow angle that can utilize short planks if necessary. I've used mine for Ferraris, Jags, Porsches, Austin Healy's, Vettes, up to I ton trucks
A few things to think about........ If you get a full tilt trailer, will the rear of your car drag the ground as you load it? Since your car sits low, if you drive it on a trailer, will you be able to open your doors without hitting the fenders? Though its not Hamb friendly, would you actually be better off with some type of lift system under the car ? I have seen some trailers that did not use an axle beneath the deck, but had some type of suspension that attached to the sides of the trailer. I can't remember what they used, but they could make the trailer sit really low. If you make a trailer sit too low, it will drag when going up a driveway just like a lowered car does. So again, would it be possible to make the car raise and lower and use a somewhat low conventional trailer? I have two trailers......actually 4, but two of them are old boat trailers that I use to shuttle car bodies etc. around on my property. I built one for my son to haul some 4 wheelers. Its about a 3/4 scale looking car trailer. When I come from the road into my driveway, I think every trailer I ever had drug. So, I put caster wheels under the rear of the somewhat low trailer. Thats why I'm pointing out that a low trailer will also have the same issues as a low car. Good luck with whatever you decide is your best solution.
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