[geefree]

Hi,

My mate is thinking of setting up in w/c.... he gets laid off at xmas,

so , he has a family car with a tow bar and he thinks he can only start up using a trailer,

does anyone use a box trailer, with shutters on and are they ok for a small water tank.

Thanks.

[LWC]

trailer...tank...battery...pump...reel...pole...simples.

[matt]

a guy on here ( armadillo ) uses 1, he can stand up in his

he can use any car with tow-bar to work, doesnt pay another lot of road tax and insurance on it

sounds idea to me, though i wouldnt like to reverse off some of my country drives

[Blue Frog Systems]

Problem with trailers is parking, ive got jobs where i would need a good 500m of hose if i had van and trailer

[jeff1]

Unless your competent with trailer reversing then you can come across a lot of problems including security of the system.

Here is the one I have and I don't use it any more I use a van system

[Steve_Richardson]

I use a small trailer with 25L water containers in still! I work close to home mostly so going back for a top up of water at lunchtime is no problem for me.

Ideally I would like a van but for a low cost start up it can't be beaten...and you get used to reversing double quick! I can 3 point turn with my trailer now!

[Nathanael Jones]

Trailers are bad. Parking, turning, manoeuvring, access,.. its more stress than its worth. I have a pressure washing trailer, its a disaster. I'm good at reversing & parking etc, but still find it stressful sometimes.

Backpack & 4 drums in the car,.. small DI and fill up at custies maybe? Much better IMO.

[jeff1]

Reversing a trailer is simple if you can see it, if you can't see your trailer then your in trouble.

Get to a big carpark and practice reversing into bays 

[Nathanael Jones]

Reversing a trailer is simple if you can see it, if you can't see your trailer then your in trouble.

Get to a big carpark and practice reversing into bays 

True, but when you get work in those narrow cul-de-sac's with cars parked in the way so you can't turn,.. and the trailer full of water means its too heavy to unhitch and turn by hand,....

[LWC]

Surely you wouldnt really want to be carrying more than 250 litres in trailer, so if ou did need to un hitch it wouldnt be that heavy?

[jonnyald]

years ago a mate told me to  put thin 2 thin white rods ,one on each back corner of trailer sticking up vertical .   just watch the rods when u reverse  in your mirror,makes reversing easy !

[Sean Dyer]

Problem with trailers is parking, ive got jobs where i would need a good 500m of hose if i had van and trailer

true , you need to be a very good driver with a trailer backwards and parking i couldnt get the hang of it so made everything really slow

im goiong to get a small one though but the last one was a really big box trailer and was just too big

[jeff1]

Reversing a trailer is simple if you can see it, if you can't see your trailer then your in trouble.

Get to a big carpark and practice reversing into bays 

True, but when you get work in those narrow cul-de-sac's with cars parked in the way so you can't turn,.. and the trailer full of water means its too heavy to unhitch and turn by hand,....

This is were some people have it wrong Nath? If the trailer is to heavy to unhitch to turn it around  by hand, then the nose weight of the trailer is also wrong, having to heavy a nose weight will not only affect the handling of the car but it also causes snaking with the trailer.
If you can't reverse a trailer out of a cul-de-sac then you really haven't got the experience of towing, its all well and good going forward that's the easy bit, this is why I always say spend a few hours in a car park reversing into bays and you will Just have the beginnings of reversing but practice practice and practice more until you become fully competent in reversing not Just in straight lines but also around corners.

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

loads out there  some good some not so

[karygate]

i use a box trailer that is one of those old tow a van ones. works great i have 400 litres in it and it lasts me all day. reversing took some practice but can now reverse into just a driveway. the only important thing about using a trailer is that it must have a jockey wheel or you can forget about it.

[ftp]

I tow my guttervac guttersucker equipment and generator behind my van and can't see it at all. Makes reversing tricky but it can still be done. Wouldn't want to do it all day.

[Nathanael Jones]

Reversing a trailer is simple if you can see it, if you can't see your trailer then your in trouble.

Get to a big carpark and practice reversing into bays 

True, but when you get work in those narrow cul-de-sac's with cars parked in the way so you can't turn,.. and the trailer full of water means its too heavy to unhitch and turn by hand,....

This is were some people have it wrong Nath? If the trailer is to heavy to unhitch to turn it around  by hand, then the nose weight of the trailer is also wrong, having to heavy a nose weight will not only affect the handling of the car but it also causes snaking with the trailer.
If you can't reverse a trailer out of a cul-de-sac then you really haven't got the experience of towing, its all well and good going forward that's the easy bit, this is why I always say spend a few hours in a car park reversing into bays and you will Just have the beginnings of reversing but practice practice and practice more until you become fully competent in reversing not Just in straight lines but also around corners.

My trailer is a braked twin axle one,.. even empty a twin axle one is hard to manoeuvre by hand. If you're carrying any decent amount of water you need a twin axle braked trailer.

Even if it is balanced right and can be turned by hand,... what if you're on a hill. The strength of 1 man won't stop it rolling away!

[jeff1]

This Job was 100 meters up a steep hill, I reversed up because reversing up is easier than reversing down it.



Never ever put your self into a situation that you can't get out of 

[Sean Dyer]

Reversing a trailer is simple if you can see it, if you can't see your trailer then your in trouble.

Get to a big carpark and practice reversing into bays 

True, but when you get work in those narrow cul-de-sac's with cars parked in the way so you can't turn,.. and the trailer full of water means its too heavy to unhitch and turn by hand,....

This is were some people have it wrong Nath? If the trailer is to heavy to unhitch to turn it around  by hand, then the nose weight of the trailer is also wrong, having to heavy a nose weight will not only affect the handling of the car but it also causes snaking with the trailer.
If you can't reverse a trailer out of a cul-de-sac then you really haven't got the experience of towing, its all well and good going forward that's the easy bit, this is why I always say spend a few hours in a car park reversing into bays and you will Just have the beginnings of reversing but practice practice and practice more until you become fully competent in reversing not Just in straight lines but also around corners.

My trailer is a braked twin axle one,.. even empty a twin axle one is hard to manoeuvre by hand. If you're carrying any decent amount of water you need a twin axle braked trailer.

Even if it is balanced right and can be turned by hand,... what if you're on a hill. The strength of 1 man won't stop it rolling away!

i had a pretty big 650 litre trailer, when full you could push it about on flat but i couldnt reverse it onto the drive and tried to push it over the very small kerb infront of my drive! no chance took 3 of us

and as nathaneal said get a hill and no chance!!!

you need to be good at drving them or forget it especially for being quick at setting up for wfp

gutter equipment is ok if you dont do it everyday

[Sean Dyer]

Surely you wouldnt really want to be carrying more than 250 litres in trailer, so if ou did need to un hitch it wouldnt be that heavy?

thats what im gonna do next build a 250- 300 litre tank in a small erde type trailer

gonna tow it and drop my lad off to work form it while i use van

and wont run out of water as i will have 650 ish in van and extra 300 in trailer!!
plus i can use it with the car if ever van is off road etc, gives me great flexibility

but i wont tow a big one again!!