Car transporter options and ideas please
Discussion
Hi,
I'm thinking of doing a few hillclimbs a longway from home (Norwich), particularly in Cornwall and Wales.
I like to drive to events in my Midget - I see it as "proper" although it does pose a number of issues.
The car can only sustain a cruise at 60 (4000rpm) without risking engine damage for my expensively rebuilt engine. So it takes a while to get anywhere and motorways are hard work becuase you are in with the HGVs. The car is small, noisy and bumpy and therefore you arrive tired.
Also, if something went wrong, such as crash or breakdown during the event, it would be very expensive to get the car home using a recovery firm.
WW rent-a-van will do a Transit car transporter - does anybody know of any others?
I could fit a tow bar to the wife's car but only if I can find a triler that weighs less than 150kg (otherwise too heavy for car) and anyway, she's not keen and I could only go at 60. And I'd have to find somewhere to store the trailer etc.
I could, somehow, construct some ramps and devise some form of strapping and put the car in a normal van but I'd need to hire / buy one. If I hire one I'd have to know in advance that the car and ramps would work - ie I'd need to know what type of van I was getting. If I bought one I'd have to pay all the tax / insurance and find somewhere to put it.
I could buy a tow car specially but it seems like a lot of effort and I still wouldn't have anywhere to put it, and could do only 60, and it would have to be fairly cheap and therefore a bit of a pain.
Finally I could sell my Boxster and buy a car that is still fun to drive and can tow, and buy a trailer etc. But that doesn't sound very good atall!
Any other ideas?
I'm thinking of doing a few hillclimbs a longway from home (Norwich), particularly in Cornwall and Wales.
I like to drive to events in my Midget - I see it as "proper" although it does pose a number of issues.
The car can only sustain a cruise at 60 (4000rpm) without risking engine damage for my expensively rebuilt engine. So it takes a while to get anywhere and motorways are hard work becuase you are in with the HGVs. The car is small, noisy and bumpy and therefore you arrive tired.
Also, if something went wrong, such as crash or breakdown during the event, it would be very expensive to get the car home using a recovery firm.
WW rent-a-van will do a Transit car transporter - does anybody know of any others?
I could fit a tow bar to the wife's car but only if I can find a triler that weighs less than 150kg (otherwise too heavy for car) and anyway, she's not keen and I could only go at 60. And I'd have to find somewhere to store the trailer etc.
I could, somehow, construct some ramps and devise some form of strapping and put the car in a normal van but I'd need to hire / buy one. If I hire one I'd have to know in advance that the car and ramps would work - ie I'd need to know what type of van I was getting. If I bought one I'd have to pay all the tax / insurance and find somewhere to put it.
I could buy a tow car specially but it seems like a lot of effort and I still wouldn't have anywhere to put it, and could do only 60, and it would have to be fairly cheap and therefore a bit of a pain.
Finally I could sell my Boxster and buy a car that is still fun to drive and can tow, and buy a trailer etc. But that doesn't sound very good atall!
Any other ideas?
I would buy a cheap car transporter: Merc 308D/Transit type.
Not fast but you'll regret selling your boxster and you don't really want to be doing much towing right on the limit of your wifes car.
Or, as has been said, flog ther midget and strip/prep the boxster! Lose the screen and get some little aero screens made up and use the money from the Mg to tune the pork!
Not fast but you'll regret selling your boxster and you don't really want to be doing much towing right on the limit of your wifes car.
Or, as has been said, flog ther midget and strip/prep the boxster! Lose the screen and get some little aero screens made up and use the money from the Mg to tune the pork!
markCSC said:
Hill climb the Boxster! 
Or buy a Forester for the towing
I would love to but: I wouln't be class competetive (over 3 litres to unlimited class so I'd be in with GT3s and the like) and I can't afford to crash it. I will do the odd sprint for the fun of it (becuase there is usually less to colide with in a sprint).Or buy a Forester for the towing
Edited by markCSC on Tuesday 11th May 11:26
Problem with buying extra car (and I had thought of a Forester) would be that I live in the city and already have to pay to store the Midget (Boxster in garage, wife's car on drive).
Lefty 200 Drams said:
I would buy a cheap car transporter: Merc 308D/Transit type.
Not fast but you'll regret selling your boxster and you don't really want to be doing much towing right on the limit of your wifes car.
Or, as has been said, flog ther midget and strip/prep the boxster! Lose the screen and get some little aero screens made up and use the money from the Mg to tune the pork!
please see reposnse above. No where to store van really and Boxster would be a bad starting point. Not fast but you'll regret selling your boxster and you don't really want to be doing much towing right on the limit of your wifes car.
Or, as has been said, flog ther midget and strip/prep the boxster! Lose the screen and get some little aero screens made up and use the money from the Mg to tune the pork!
It might be that ther is no perfect solution.
ps I do have long term plans for a new competition car - 944 or MX5 current favourites but neither could do the classic rallying I like, so i might end up with another car!
Isnt it the case now that even though you 'can' travel faster by loading the car onto a transporter - the medium sized (transit size) are now only permitted to travel at 60 on the motorway/dual carriageway?
So thats no faster than towing!
If the MG is road legal as you seem to be suggesting it is, then why not rig up a dolly and tow it (without the additional weight of a full on trailer? Easier to store than a full trailer (but with the downside still if you crashed the rear end that it wouldnt be towable however).
I had thought about the prospect of buying a transporter van, and then trying to rent it out for additional use - not sure how the insurance would work on that, but could pay for its own maintenance perhaps (although it does give you the problem of storage again).
If I were back in my home town (Norwich) - I'd have considered sharing a trailer / transporter with you... But Im quite a long way away
So thats no faster than towing!
If the MG is road legal as you seem to be suggesting it is, then why not rig up a dolly and tow it (without the additional weight of a full on trailer? Easier to store than a full trailer (but with the downside still if you crashed the rear end that it wouldnt be towable however).
I had thought about the prospect of buying a transporter van, and then trying to rent it out for additional use - not sure how the insurance would work on that, but could pay for its own maintenance perhaps (although it does give you the problem of storage again).
If I were back in my home town (Norwich) - I'd have considered sharing a trailer / transporter with you... But Im quite a long way away
A911DOM said:
Isnt it the case now that even though you 'can' travel faster by loading the car onto a transporter - the medium sized (transit size) are now only permitted to travel at 60 on the motorway/dual carriageway?
So thats no faster than towing!
If the MG is road legal as you seem to be suggesting it is, then why not rig up a dolly and tow it (without the additional weight of a full on trailer? Easier to store than a full trailer (but with the downside still if you crashed the rear end that it wouldnt be towable however).
I had thought about the prospect of buying a transporter van, and then trying to rent it out for additional use - not sure how the insurance would work on that, but could pay for its own maintenance perhaps (although it does give you the problem of storage again).
If I were back in my home town (Norwich) - I'd have considered sharing a trailer / transporter with you... But Im quite a long way away
Ahh yes, good idea. I had forgotten about a dolly. Easier to store too.So thats no faster than towing!
If the MG is road legal as you seem to be suggesting it is, then why not rig up a dolly and tow it (without the additional weight of a full on trailer? Easier to store than a full trailer (but with the downside still if you crashed the rear end that it wouldnt be towable however).
I had thought about the prospect of buying a transporter van, and then trying to rent it out for additional use - not sure how the insurance would work on that, but could pay for its own maintenance perhaps (although it does give you the problem of storage again).
If I were back in my home town (Norwich) - I'd have considered sharing a trailer / transporter with you... But Im quite a long way away
I think I had rejected the idea in the past becuase it would be unbraked and therefore I would need a fairly substantial car to tow it with. Wife's car is a Yarris turbo diesel so fairly tourqey but 900kg is limit for towing braked trailer. Midget weighs 750kg. Does anybody know about this? I guess a dolly would count as an unbraked trailer which I think has a 400kg limit for her car.
Also the car sits very low so dolly would have to lift rear wheels (no overhang at front)
Of course I could buy my wife a new car a size up - Golf? - and that might be better.
Yes, getting expensive. Probably would be cheaper to take the little car and risk having to pay to recover it. I understand going rate is £1 per mile so even if I broke it in Cornwall I could get it back for less than £400. Or even leave it there, hire transporter and return to pick it up another day.
Have done dolly research looks like thats a no-goer. Would count as towing 2 trailers and therefore only legal for recovery to a place of saftey.
Might still hire the transporter for really long trips.
Have done dolly research looks like thats a no-goer. Would count as towing 2 trailers and therefore only legal for recovery to a place of saftey.
Might still hire the transporter for really long trips.
OK, if I try and think about this calmly...
If it broke down I can come back with AA (by getting it a bit away from the event then calling them). If I crash it I can hire transporter. I'd have to hire the transporter ten times before it would have been cheaper to buy a £3000 trailer.
I'm on off work on holiday for the Cornish one
The only one that would be really streesful is Anglsea in September on Saturday and Sunday - need to be at work on Monday. So could take transporter for that one, allowing me to have an issue at 5pm on Sunday in Wales and be at work 8am Monday in Norfolk.
If it broke down I can come back with AA (by getting it a bit away from the event then calling them). If I crash it I can hire transporter. I'd have to hire the transporter ten times before it would have been cheaper to buy a £3000 trailer.
I'm on off work on holiday for the Cornish one
The only one that would be really streesful is Anglsea in September on Saturday and Sunday - need to be at work on Monday. So could take transporter for that one, allowing me to have an issue at 5pm on Sunday in Wales and be at work 8am Monday in Norfolk.
Lay awake last night "designing" sets of ramps that would be small enough to get into a van but long enough to not be too steep to get a lowered Midget into the van on the basis that modern vans have pretty low floors, only to discover this morning that there is not enough room between the van's wheel arches to fit the car, which would therfore require a second set of ramps within the van to get over the arches.
A shame this as I recon a hired van with a sliding side door (so you can open the car door once you've driven it in) would be an excellent answer - cheap to hire, no storage problems, new so reliable, no buggering about with tax/MOT/insurance, more comfortable, more economic and substantially faster (I'd be happy to cruise at 85 in a van, 60 in the Midget or, maybe 70 with a special tow car).
Of course a Luton van would have the width but the floor is a lot higher, making ramps more difficult and there isn't a side door.
A shame this as I recon a hired van with a sliding side door (so you can open the car door once you've driven it in) would be an excellent answer - cheap to hire, no storage problems, new so reliable, no buggering about with tax/MOT/insurance, more comfortable, more economic and substantially faster (I'd be happy to cruise at 85 in a van, 60 in the Midget or, maybe 70 with a special tow car).
Of course a Luton van would have the width but the floor is a lot higher, making ramps more difficult and there isn't a side door.
crankedup said:
So if you went for an Luton van I wonder if its possible to extend the electric tail lift, but I'm not sure what the max weight of these lifts manage.
Car is 750KG so I wouldn't have thought it could lift it but it might be able to act as a support to help stop the ramps (which would now have to be long becasue of the extra height) sagging in the middle. I'm not sure if Lutons have cargo tie-downs?
I'm currently thinking about a LWB normal-width van with the loading ramp going to the top of the wheel arch and a gentle sloping ramp going from the wheel arch forwards. It is all getting a bit complex though!
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