Nonimouse Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 2 hours ago, landroversforever said: I think it's often an issue of a lack of weight on the back of a lot of pickups. I know a few with various triaxle trailers who find the same unless the pickup is weighed down a bit. I've played around with weights in the back, tools etc. Most of the bad experiences were with potato boxes full of logs on the trailer. Six to be exact, so about 2.8 tonnes, with the trailer weighing in at 800kgs. I've tried with the pick up empty, brimmed with logs, half full, with tools etc. No difference. Yet put the 2.7 tonne double axle Ifor on the back or the tipper, no worries. Comparing the various pickup to the Disco or the SWB G wagen, both of which tow anything at all up weight beautifully, is interesting. hauling out of the woods is also so much easier when not using a pick up, with one exception, a mate who has a 3.0ltr Isuzu Rodeo, with the full Superpro suspension set up, and that also tows well on road 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 To add to this topic, I have a tri axle graham edwards 18ft. The 10inch wheels mean a nice low centre of gravity and i was amazed how stable it was with my 90 on the back having only used car transporters before. I dug the trailer out of some nettles on a farm and gave the brakes and bearings a refresh and emailed graham edwards with the chassis plate and they couldn't have been more helpful listing the parts I needed, ordered online and good delivery. Tows nice empty and full behind the 90. On my isuzu pickup it isn't very nice empty as the back end on the pick up bobs around a lot making an uncomfy ride, but its fine with weight on. 18ft is too long for what i need so may change it one day for a 14 or 16ft with sides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 I'll hazard a guess that the towing behaviour behind pick-ups is a lot to do with very different suspension geometries (and type of suspension). Leaf springs are a lot less resistant to side-to-side forces than linked and independent suspension, and since a tri-axle will try to follow ruts a lot more than a twin-axle, I can definitely see it putting a whole lot of side load on the rear suspension. Doesn't really explain why Maverik was having issues behind his Land Rovers though. A low hitch combined with not a lot of tongue weight could definitely mimic this behaviour, if the rear suspension isn't loaded down enough to absorb these oscillations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 If you're struggling to get the hitch on then the ball is too low which will be why it tows like a pig. I had similar when I got an Ifor BV126 with bigger 16" tyres fitted. It was horrible compared to my TT3618 which is about the same size but on 13" tyres. The first couple of trips were awful, the receiver hitch clonked like hell, then I discovered largely by accident that if the ball was moved up one set of holes it was a completely different animal, and it's been fine ever since. I concluded that noseweight and balance across the axles were similar but slightly different things, and you can get noseweight by shifting the load forward, but if that is at the expense of loading up the front trailer axle(s) then it doesn't behave. I think the answer is to get it balanced and at the correct noseweight empty, and then move the load so the noseweight is still good when it's full. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 I think this discussion is actually great but I wish I had it before I purchased a tri axle. for me it seemed the right thing to get to haul a heavy vehicle, but looking back every other trailer I've used to move vehicles etc. have been double axle and have worked perfectly and I've never had to change my ball height etc. I'm sure tri's have there place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Something to add on hitch height is a lot of people don't realise there are two standard hitch heights best described as domestic and commercial. Domestic is around 500mm (from memory) for caravans, unbraked trailers etc. commercial is around 600mm so plant trailers, horse boxes, car trailers etc. There is some cross over like some small car trailers are domestic height as are the mirad of random trailers built on caravan chassis which often look commercial at first glance. Most car balls are at domestic height where as pick ups, van's and 4x4's generally have two sets of holes for the ball to bolt on. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Indeed. And twin-axles are not immune to the issue. My LM125 hitch rattles badly on the 110’s towbar because it’s set too low - hence why I have swapped it for an adjustable version so I can move the ball up to get a better noseweight. Temporary solution was 6 paving slabs strapped to the front of the trailer - nice and quiet then 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 21 hours ago, Maverik said: I think this discussion is actually great but I wish I had it before I purchased a tri axle. for me it seemed the right thing to get to haul a heavy vehicle, but looking back every other trailer I've used to move vehicles etc. have been double axle and have worked perfectly and I've never had to change my ball height etc. I'm sure tri's have there place. I think you made the right decision. A tri-axle is as good as it get for moving heavy loads, and is a dream to reverse. You just need to fine tune your hitch position in height and in distance from the vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 I tow Range Rovers around on an Ifor CT177 which I have owned for over 12 years, Been through many adventures with it and even barbqued a P38 on it. Also have a 14ft Bateson which I have used to tow a Range Rover Sport on again without any real issues. Would like to trade the two in for a larger tri axle tilt bed which would combine both jobs I use the trailers for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 We're very happy with out tri-axle Ifor tilt bed. But for transporting cars, the CT177 is hard to beat. So easy to operate and load when you're alone. A tiltbed is much more verstatile of course, which has been very useful. The only reason I went for a tri-axle is to get the center of gravity down, otherwise I would have stuck to a tandem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 (edited) I have a 16ft Ifor twin axle. It tows well. Bit dual purpose - picks up a fair bit of building material but it's had several land rovers on it and a few cars. Loading cars is a pain as the break over angle is too steep with my ramps so low cars will bottom out unless you use some sort of heath Robinson method of scaffold planks to lengthen the ramps! I have had that rare thing - the double blow out with it. Luckily the 110 merely shrugged as it happened and dragged it on to the nearest layby. Recovery firm were great. Hardest thing for the lad was getting new tyres seated on the rims! Edited June 8 by reb78 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 22 hours ago, reb78 said: I have a 16ft Ifor twin axle. It tows well. Bit dual purpose - picks up a fair bit of building material but it's had several land rovers on it and a few cars. Loading cars is a pain as the break over angle is too steep with my ramps so low cars will bottom out unless you use some sort of heath Robinson method of scaffold planks to lengthen the ramps! I have had that rare thing - the double blow out with it. Luckily the 110 merely shrugged as it happened and dragged it on to the nearest layby. Recovery firm were great. Hardest thing for the lad was getting new tyres seated on the rims! I had a blowout on a double axle trailer with my Rover P6 on it and with the way it was loaded, it was easily the scariest experience I've had in a civilian vehicle. Being able to see the car out the side window on one side and not see it in the rear view mirror made for some serious pucker factor.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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