Ok, here goes my second post, and it might be a tiny doozy !!

I guess to be truthful; I am looking for a little continued inspiration, or additional motivation (depending on how you look at it) to finish a tiny project amidst many projects I have burdened myself with… But curiosity has been eating away at me for some time, wondering what remarks I would receive when people saw what I had created. Recently I made it to a stage on my tiny trailer project that I am comfortable in sharing with the MC family. I would love to hear your remarks!

Here’s how my story goes… (There’s always a story, right??)

Shortly after I got a MC in Dec 04’, My two children, Wife and I were off to Disney World for an xmas vacation. As everyone knows very well I’m sure, Packing enough clothes for a family of four into the MC can be an interesting feat. And what were we supposed to do about the souvenirs we wanted to bring back with us? LoL…. Thankfully Disney has a great shipping department that ships packages directly from the in park stores. (very cool!) But still, a weeks worth of clothes was not going to be possible with my family.

This was when my Tiny Trailer project was born. There is more to the story, Take a look and let me know what you think! www.tinytrailers.net

 

You're formatting is messed up, but I like your trailer. Especially enjoyed seeing how you even installed the mailbox on it.

 

That would make a great beer cooler.

 

Ok, Fixed it all.. be awhile before I get outa first gear I guess! heh.

 

That's talent! I love it!

 

Wow - that's FANTASTIC. Wish I had time to make one...

 

Excellent work!!!

I ran across a pic of your car and trailer somewhere else here on NAM. I took it for granted that you had just chopped the rear from a wrecked Mini. I had no idea you made it from scratch yourself. Wow! That's talent.

May I ask how much the trailer itself weights?

What's the tongue weight?

Any problems with the trailer weaving back and forth behind the Mini at different speeds?:impatient I'm guessing not seeing that the trailer looks to be in use.

Great job!!! So when are they going into production and when can we expect to be able to place orders?

 

I believe Lady Jane Grey put a trailer on her MINI. Here was the solution:


http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~rghosh/index/classwork/The%20Execution%20of%20Lady%20Jane%20Grey.jpg

 

That trailer rocks! Nice job!

 

Outstanding!

 

[quote=mcs22004;1716247]I believe Lady Jane Grey put a trailer on her MINI. Here was the solution:

 

Does anyone know what (if any) the real tow capacity is for the Mini ??

 

1400 lbs I think.

 

I believe as of the last time I checked the tounge weight it was at 21 lbs and the overall trailer weight is estimated at 150-200 lbs. But I'm leaning more to the low side of those figures. Two people can, without struggling, lift and turn it over to be worked on. I'll double check those figures and post em tonight. I have not had a chance to pull it with the MC but it pulls awesome with a suburban! lol.... I have yet to manufacture my hitch for the MC and since the trailer is not yet complete, I'm not in a real hurry.
More later...

 

I was told Mini Cooper/BMW does not recommend any towing and lists no rating. that didnt stop MiniFini and others from designing tow hitch packages. Minifini says 750 lb and 50lb on tongue.

I love that mini rear end trailer, that's some fine work.


I wouldnt have bought the car if I couldnt tow my boat.

 

I appreciate all the kind responses about the trailer. I double-checked the tongue weight and I was off by just a few pounds, as it stands currently I have a tongue weight of 18 lbs. Until I can figure out a good way to figure the true weight of the whole trailer, I'll keep with my estimate of 150 lbs.
Each of the oem MC rims/tires I have mounted to the trailer are included in my estimate.
When I did the test pull of the trailer, I hauled it down the toll way at 70 mph and had no noticeable swaying and with it empty, no bounce. On the side roads here in town, it only bounced going over bumps. lol.. But that is to be expected.
The interior or cargo area is 47" x 39" x 20". The top is made to mimic the roof of the MC and I was able to use the oem MC hatch release with lift assistance using similar "hatch shocks" (for lack of a better name) so that when the catch is triggered, the top will raise without assistance. It just pops up! The trigger is an MC oem chrome license plate light/hatch release, same as is on my MC. I have, but yet to install until paint is complete the chrome half moon piece that matches my bumper.
On the web page link; www.tinytrailers.net I have detailed pics of most of the processes that I did. Obviously and unintentionally I skipped a few processes as we were making such great progress I just didn't stop to take pictures. heh..

[FONT='Times New Roman'][/FONT]

 

I think about things like liability when I see a home-made rig.
I know the family that owns this company: http://www.bushtec.com/
I used to have one of these: http://www.neoshotrailers.com/

When motoring, consider the effect of tongue weight. It dynamically unloads the front wheels more than carrying passengers or a load in the boot (lever effect). A rear suspension mod would be a good investment to go along with the trailer.

 

What type of rear suspension mod would you suggest?

I have put forth alot of effort in properly designing the trailer so that it will ride with the least amount of stress on the pulling vehicle. Obviously, proper distribution of weight/items in the cargo area will be key in performance.

Originally when I first designed the trailer, I intended, and haven’t completely given up on the idea of using this trailer as the prototype for a fiberglass mold. This would reduce the overall weight of the trailer. But with the cost involved, it really isn’t feasible at this time.

 

I have a hitch on my R56 MCS and use it fairly often. While the car has no trouble pulling or stopping my little 4x6" trailer with my sport bike on it, it does get a bit sketchy on very curvy roads. Granted, that's probably 750# trailer and bike, and the curvy road in particular happened to be Tail of the Dragon, so probably worst extremes.

Pulling around my tire trailer or small utility trailer back and forth to an autocross or the dump or what-not you don't even notice it back there.

 

Better springs and dampers with adjustable damping/preload; Koni?

And for the trailer:
If I had a magic lamp I'd ask for trailing A-arms, air-adjustable oil-cooled shocks, springs with preload adjustment, and a fairly thick swaybar.
There's torsion bar kits available too.
The least desireable thing to do is use leaf springs... ...that's for landscape trailers.
You want something that can chase you through the twisties.

I always got the least bounce and wiggle by maintaining a tongue weight of 12-15% when loaded. I carried a fish scale and adjusted the load to do that.

You can go to the Bushtec factory in TN --- John would give you a tour.

 

I took a look at the bushtec trailers when I was designing the tinytrailer, Other then the fact that they lack in styling, I bet they have a very nicely designed platform. I'll look into better running gear bottom side when I get this one done and move on to the tiny vw bug trailer I want to do next..

I prolly have been spending too much time top side and not giving the running gear enough thought... But preliminary tests pulling the trailer has been better then I expected by far!

Good idea with the tounge weight scale... sounds a little fishy, but I bet it works well !!

I appriciate your opinions, keep em comming!

 

The thing I like about Bushtec's is that you can hammer along at 130 mph and they don't sway one bit.
Here's a buddy's rig; you'll see him strafing Deal's Gap with it all the time:

 

And did you ever see Paul's trailer?
He made it from a Mini that was made as a rolling display; no motor....



This thing can move right along with him.