Towing small boat trailer behind camper trailer?
Submitted: Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 21:57
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Ken65
What is the legalities of towing a second trailer in Queensland?
Do you need a MC Licence?
Is there length restrictions?
Has anyone done this, how did the combination handle?
Just putting the thought out there...
Reply By: Skippy In The GU - Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 22:33
Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 22:33
In the old rule you had to have dual wheels on the back and also be over 4 tons empty
Can't be longer than a normal prime mover and brakes and towbar and ball and few other things in which i have forgotten, council truck do it and they aren't any special than you or me, as long as you have everything legal.
BUT, some states might be different and rules can change at any time
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Reply By: David A A - Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 22:51
Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 22:51
Hi Ken
There is at least 1 combination of similar in West Aussie, was even featured in newspaper.
I think it included a boat trailer but unsure of the details.
I used to (10 year ago) be a line Manager /driver licence examiner for licensing authority and was surprised it had been allowed.
It is not totally impossible as we live in a changing society so what's next?
David
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Reply By: Member - John - Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:07
Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:07
Ken, not sure about Qld, but have seen in Vic, two trailers, the type with the portable traffic lights on them, being towed behind a ute, so it must be legal in atleast one state?
Check with the local hire companies, they may know something about it, may not too............
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:22
Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:22
They are made up into one trailer - there is no articulation between them. The towing pole (draw bar) on one is fed up a tube in the other and the two are locked together with no space between their bodies so they become one trailer.
PeterD
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Follow Up By: Member - John - Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:29
Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 23:29
Peter, the ones I saw had a tow ball on the back and a tow bar at the front.
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Follow Up By: Member - kevin Y (SA) - Friday, May 02, 2008 at 10:09
Friday, May 02, 2008 at 10:09
Peter that's a good idea, would certainly be legal, i should think it would be classified as a dual axle trailer and there are plenty of long ones around
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Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Friday, May 02, 2008 at 21:19
Friday, May 02, 2008 at 21:19
Here in country SA, we often see multiple trailers, but they are usually being hauled by a header or a
grader.
Grader may have a large, old-style caravan (in the guise of a "dog" trailer), followed by a 4wd ute, towing a tandem trailer with a diesel tank etc etc
Header could be towing a large seeder, followed by a long trailer with the cutting head, followed by a 4wd ute etc etc....
We see lots of utes around here that have a permanently-mounted "A" frame so they can be attached to the back of a tractor etc.....no evidence of any type of brake controller or wiring loom to operate the brake lights etc either.
Country SA = rafferties rules.......
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Reply By: Dion - Friday, May 02, 2008 at 21:49
Friday, May 02, 2008 at 21:49
I only wish I could post the photo's that I have of me and my utes doing this regularly, sometimes with 3 trailers in the outback of SA.
I have two 7x4' tandem trailers, both fitted with receiver hitch towbars and trailer lights socket on the rear of them. Normally these trailers just tow each other. I can with two vehicles, use each as a lead trailer and each tow a trailer, for a total of four trailers, or use each of the leads together with another trailer as a triple combination.
I did have several photo's on www.uteman.com.au, but the site appears down for maintenance at the moment. However the author of www.uteman.com.au did an article of me and my exploits towing two or three trailers behind my ute. The book is called Beut Utes #4.
Normally, I only regularly tow two trailers at highway speeds on the highway, and will rebuke the comment that multi combination trailers sway and are dangerous. At 110km/h, the rear trailer is remarkably straight, to the point you can quite easily forget that it is there. Even the one off time towing three at once (all empty) on the highway at 110km/h also proved to be quite stable. Deliberate flicks of the steering wheel resulted in a small movement of all trailers at less width than the total movement of the ute towing them. Even when deliberately trying to whip them, as soon as the ute is pointing right ahead with the wheels straight, so the trailers fall straight into line as
well.
Whipping trailers is a bit of a myth these days. Whipping trailers is not caused by errant steering, but by looseness in couplings which amplify and lateral movement, pintle hook couplings are notorious for this. However with good fitting standard 50mm ball couplings, any sideways movement of the towing vehicle cannot be amplyfied, therefore the whole combination is only a repeat of what the towing vehicle is doing, if the towing vehicle is towing right ahead, then the trailers cannot do anything else other than follow in a straight line.
I also know I am not the only one where I live that uses a standard box trailer as a lead trailer, although the last I looked, neither of the other two guys had a trailer lights socket fitted for the towbars on each of the rears of their trailers.
I will still try and see if I can get my photo's up. And unlike the clever imagery (doctered) by Neesan and the work shirt company, my photo's will show the real deal.
Cheers,
Dion.
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Reply By: Member - Brett C (WA) - Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 23:32
Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 23:32
The fellow from
Esperance WA mentioned earlier, was a fifth wheel GQ Patrol with a 5th Wheel Caravan immediately behind the Patrol, and a Small Cabin Cruiser behind that on a regular tow bar.
Formerly a Truck Driver, this was his dream to make it happen.
All approved by Department of Planning and
Infrastructure, his articulated license, according to the article, allowed him to travel anywhere in Australia.
But really...why bother....flick a dinghy on top of the Patrol or the Caravan would have to be much easier.
Brett....
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