Brian James RS 5
Discussion
Haven't got one myself (mine's an RS3), but I've seen several chaps using these without any apparent great issues, so it must be OK. I think you need to make sure it's one with the hydraulic tilt bed option fitted; currently, all but the cheapest one has this feature, the effect of which (in combination with it's now standard electric winch) is to be able to make the whole trailer platform inclined to act as a ramp, thereby overcoming the 'shortness' of just the rear door being the ramp, which as you say would be too short for a Rad.
So said, for the likes of Radicals, Junos, Speads etc, I still prefer the RS3 with it's better all round access for strapping on, be that over the tyre loops for 4 bolters or claw hooks for centre-locks. Seems to me that the major advantage of the RS5 over the RS3 is the clever gullwing doors, which must be real handy for getting out of a saloon car after driving/guiding it on forwards; but of course, we don't have doors on our cars, we don't drive them onto the trailer and being mid-engined, the default loading direction is to put it on rear end first.
So said, for the likes of Radicals, Junos, Speads etc, I still prefer the RS3 with it's better all round access for strapping on, be that over the tyre loops for 4 bolters or claw hooks for centre-locks. Seems to me that the major advantage of the RS5 over the RS3 is the clever gullwing doors, which must be real handy for getting out of a saloon car after driving/guiding it on forwards; but of course, we don't have doors on our cars, we don't drive them onto the trailer and being mid-engined, the default loading direction is to put it on rear end first.
Don't know to be honest James ............. logic suggests it would (I find it essential to often tilt that way with the RS3 and that's even with the longer 2.5m ramp option), but then again, I'm thinking 'Why do they make an hydraulic tilt bed version if it's that easy?" I'm wondering whether the RS5 might be a fair bit heavier/or nose heavier than the RS3? Like hernia different?
Before risking buying something that causes you more aggro than it could/should, perhaps best await some (hopefully prompt) input from someone with experience of using a non-tilt bed RS5 with a Rad?
Before risking buying something that causes you more aggro than it could/should, perhaps best await some (hopefully prompt) input from someone with experience of using a non-tilt bed RS5 with a Rad?
I'm with splitpin that the RS3 is better all round. I'm sure that Radical use RS5 whether they are tilt bed or not I can't tell you.
If you use the jockey wheel you are raising the bed with the very weakest point of the trailer. Jockey wheels are notorious for getting bent, dragged, abused, sworn at, kicked, screamed at and owt else. They are often replaced ( after damage ) with cheap versions, rather the the super heavy duty ( but still weak ) ones......other than an emergency I would leave the jockey wheel to do the job its intended for.
It sounds as though its all down to price..... A new RS5 starts at £9k ++ so how far off is the price of the one you are looking at.
If its cheap enough then all you need is to add some large supports to the top edge of the door to raise it up when its open ( good english eh? )and some timbers and blocks to create the ramps to lead up to the door. These timbers can slide under the car....Or you can invest in some long aluminium ramps from BJ and add in a few supporting blocks.....
Whilst you are at it you can add into the the floor of the trailer 4 pads for the wheels to sit on...they will give you further clearance under the car and make the whole job of storing ramps much easier. All in all I would say about a days work and a bit of fiddling about.
Does that help ?
Cheers
Captain Sensible....
If you use the jockey wheel you are raising the bed with the very weakest point of the trailer. Jockey wheels are notorious for getting bent, dragged, abused, sworn at, kicked, screamed at and owt else. They are often replaced ( after damage ) with cheap versions, rather the the super heavy duty ( but still weak ) ones......other than an emergency I would leave the jockey wheel to do the job its intended for.
It sounds as though its all down to price..... A new RS5 starts at £9k ++ so how far off is the price of the one you are looking at.
If its cheap enough then all you need is to add some large supports to the top edge of the door to raise it up when its open ( good english eh? )and some timbers and blocks to create the ramps to lead up to the door. These timbers can slide under the car....Or you can invest in some long aluminium ramps from BJ and add in a few supporting blocks.....
Whilst you are at it you can add into the the floor of the trailer 4 pads for the wheels to sit on...they will give you further clearance under the car and make the whole job of storing ramps much easier. All in all I would say about a days work and a bit of fiddling about.
Does that help ?
Cheers
Captain Sensible....
double d racing said:
I'm with splitpin that the RS3 is better all round. I'm sure that Radical use RS5 whether they are tilt bed or not I can't tell you.
If you use the jockey wheel you are raising the bed with the very weakest point of the trailer. Jockey wheels are notorious for getting bent, dragged, abused, sworn at, kicked, screamed at and owt else. They are often replaced ( after damage ) with cheap versions, rather the the super heavy duty ( but still weak ) ones......other than an emergency I would leave the jockey wheel to do the job its intended for.
It sounds as though its all down to price..... A new RS5 starts at £9k ++ so how far off is the price of the one you are looking at.
If its cheap enough then all you need is to add some large supports to the top edge of the door to raise it up when its open ( good english eh? )and some timbers and blocks to create the ramps to lead up to the door. These timbers can slide under the car....Or you can invest in some long aluminium ramps from BJ and add in a few supporting blocks.....
Whilst you are at it you can add into the the floor of the trailer 4 pads for the wheels to sit on...they will give you further clearance under the car and make the whole job of storing ramps much easier. All in all I would say about a days work and a bit of fiddling about.
Does that help ?
Cheers
Captain Sensible....
Interesting post DD - and how timely.If you use the jockey wheel you are raising the bed with the very weakest point of the trailer. Jockey wheels are notorious for getting bent, dragged, abused, sworn at, kicked, screamed at and owt else. They are often replaced ( after damage ) with cheap versions, rather the the super heavy duty ( but still weak ) ones......other than an emergency I would leave the jockey wheel to do the job its intended for.
It sounds as though its all down to price..... A new RS5 starts at £9k ++ so how far off is the price of the one you are looking at.
If its cheap enough then all you need is to add some large supports to the top edge of the door to raise it up when its open ( good english eh? )and some timbers and blocks to create the ramps to lead up to the door. These timbers can slide under the car....Or you can invest in some long aluminium ramps from BJ and add in a few supporting blocks.....
Whilst you are at it you can add into the the floor of the trailer 4 pads for the wheels to sit on...they will give you further clearance under the car and make the whole job of storing ramps much easier. All in all I would say about a days work and a bit of fiddling about.
Does that help ?
Cheers
Captain Sensible....
I was dismantling and greasing up my jockey wheel yesterday and truth be told, the next time it goes stiff (jeez, this all sounds a bit strange), a new one will be going on; despite it being the HD one, it's clear that it is easy to ask it to do too much; my new rules are 1) it's real purpose is to drop the trailer coupling straight down onto the vehicle tow hook, 2) it's function to lift the trailer onto just the rear wheels to pivot (that's a big tilt) should be confined to when the trailer is empty, 3) (remembering we put ours on tail first) use those drop down things at the back and move the car towards the ramp end before you try to seriously raise a loaded trailer with the jockey wheel and 4) never ever try to use the jockey wheel to seriously lift a trailer (loaded or unloaded) without unhitching it from the back of the tow vehicle.
In other words, there is a heck of a difference between lifting the trailer say 100mm for coupling hooking/unhooking and how much you're tilting the bed for getting the car on/off; sometimes something like 300mm?
48mm outer tube (the bit that is actually doing the work is more like 38mm being driven by a threaded rod about 20/25mm!) v something like 1750 - 2000kg is eventually going to be a bit of a no-contest.
In fact I've just decided that I'm going to carry my little 1.5ton bottle jack onboard from now on to give the jockey wheel an easier life even after I've bought a new one.
I agree with the jockey wheel sentiment...mostly. But I'm not fulfilled unless I disagree somewhere. It's not lifting 1750-2000kg. The nose weight of the trailer when loaded will be a max of about 90kg. This will go up when lifting as the pivot becomes the rear wheels of the trailer, but even so!
It's clearly impossible not to have to lift the front of a loaded trailer so you can manually move a loaded trailer about.
Things go seriously wrong when the trailer is lifted when attached to the tow vehicle. That happened to mine (not by me I hasten to add). The jockey wheel is fine but the tow hitch and the reinforcing bracket are bent so the jockey wheel is at a jaunty angle
And back on topic, DD is right you'll be able to make the trailer work somehow!
Bert
It's clearly impossible not to have to lift the front of a loaded trailer so you can manually move a loaded trailer about.
Things go seriously wrong when the trailer is lifted when attached to the tow vehicle. That happened to mine (not by me I hasten to add). The jockey wheel is fine but the tow hitch and the reinforcing bracket are bent so the jockey wheel is at a jaunty angle
And back on topic, DD is right you'll be able to make the trailer work somehow!
Bert
BertBert said:
But I'm not fulfilled unless I disagree somewhere. It's not lifting 1750-2000kg. The nose weight of the trailer when loaded will be a max of about 90kg. This will go up when lifting as the pivot becomes the rear wheels of the trailer, but even so!
It's clearly impossible not to have to lift the front of a loaded trailer so you can manually move a loaded trailer about.
Bert
It's clearly impossible not to have to lift the front of a loaded trailer so you can manually move a loaded trailer about.
Bert
short of lifting it up, all four wheels off the ground sitting on the rear beam, I knew it wasn't/could never be the total weight, but my maffs is just too poor to work it out; anyway, still a heck of a lot of weight when it's up far enough to lift the front pair of wheels off the deck, with only a 30mm tube floating about in a 48mm tube, all held together with a 20/25mm threaded rod.Best not to try to move a loaded trailer using the jockey; in short it's just not man enough; what do you reckon, four strong blokes to do what one is asking the spindly littlle jockey wheel to do?; why is it impossible?; depends on an individual's circumstances surely; fair enough if someone keeps their car on the trailer and has to get that trailer into a location by hand i.e. impossible using the tow vehicle. Used to have to do that (the awkward trailer location bit) mostly with an unloaded trailer but occassionally did it laden; the difference is astonishing.
Ian Dayson of Force uses a little ride-on mower sized 'tractor' to do the same thing; amazing to see such a diddly little thing hauling a fully laden big old RS3 around.
PS I realise it's time I checked my nose weight
Self-levelling rear suspension has probably made me complacent.Edited by splitpin on Tuesday 30th August 22:20
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