Hauling your locomotive

[Greg_Lewis]

And they all seem to use the same hardware. Nevertheless, if I was going to do this again, I'd special order more robust floor joists and get another foot of length to the tongue, this in order for better clearance between the trailer and truck camper when making tight turns.

Oh, and one other thing. On my first trailer the rear doors didn't fold all the way back to the sides. They just opened out 180 degrees, making it impossible to see where you were backing and making it impossible to back into a tight spot with the doors open. The doors on the one I have now will fold back, but I'd seriously consider adding a little more height to the box and getting a roll-up door. Thus you can open that door regardless of any clearance to the sides.

[Steggy]

If you go that route, only buy if you can inspect the unit you will get...crawl underneath and check out the frame and cross members...

Don't forget to inspect the wiring! There's nothing quite as enjoyable as having your trailer short out your tow vehicle's electrical system while driving at night, blowing fuses and leaving you in the dark.

[Kimball McGinley]

Regarding backing up a surge brake trailer, many have a 5 or 6-way plug that picks up the reverse lights. When in reverse, a solenoid fires and prevents the brakes from applying. Works great.
Regarding tire life: Tire rubber is compounded with Ultra-violet blockers. Sun exposure uses up these compounds. Running the tire brings new blocker to the surface. Therefore you really need to shade your sitting trailer tires for best life.

[Steve Goodbody]

After several years of research, I ended up buying a high-sided aluminum-framed 6x10 utility trailer manufactured by Legend Trailer.
While this won't be applicable to everyone, here are the main reasons why I went down this route in case this is relevant for you:

- The trailer is fundamentally light but very well built.
- The floor and sides are 6" pressure-treated decking planks, giving a good solid foundation for customization.
- Even after customization, the fully-loaded trailer is still within the specified towing capacity of both our vehicles (a Toyota Highlander and a Volvo station wagon).
- I can change vehicles without having to start again.
- The low profile creates very little drag and gives no buffeting when towing.

Most folks who are thinking of a trailer, rather than a pickup truck or box van, will likely prefer a box trailer because of the added security, and because it provides weatherproof outdoor storage for your equipment. However if those aren't major concerns for you then something similar to this setup may be worth considering.

The below pictures show the trailer during customization and with the traction engine loaded, I've since changed the PVC crossbars to a more substantial hinged wooden setup. I'll add rails to the trailer this spring for the railroad items. As an aside, I'm currently building a train of freight cars to tow behind the loco, and the dimensions of the freight cars have been dictated by how I plan to load the cars and the loco in the trailer.

While this won't be everyone's ideal, it's works well for my particular circumstances and I haven't regretted the decision at all.
Best regards
Steve

[James Powell]

Steve,
That looks quite like the setup I use for the 4" DCC. However mine's a steel chassis, and weighs in at 890 lb on a single axle. With the engine in (1640 lb), it's getting up there- especially if I have the stuff to go with (engine trailer, coal, some water) as well. The engine in my case is bolted through the deck with some 1" U channel making the hold downs. 3/8" ready-rod provides the securement, and I am aware that under extremes, that is likely the failure point. It's either there, or however the 2x6's are attached to the metal stringers that would part company (IIRC, #8 wood screws). That being said, the whole thing feels very solid, pulls OK behind a Jimmy (Dad pulled it from Ontario- here in 2005) , fabulous behind my full sized Savanna 1500.

Brakes are important- in my case, electric brakes. Most of the time the trailer spends under the portaway- between the two sea cans.

Fowler on trailer by Peach James, on Flickr

The winch fitted at the front is very handy to have- makes road recovery possible if you don't have steam or air available. I'm yet to need to do so, but it's nice to know that I have the option, particularly with the bigger engine. It is a leaf spring trailer, rated by manufacturer at 3500 lb load, and due to a little mistake, licensed to 3500 KG load...

James

[Steve Goodbody]

Hi James,
It looks like we arrived at similar design solutions, although your 4" DCC Fowler is much bigger and heavier than my 3" SC Allchin. I love the error on the weight units-of-measure, but wouldn't attempt to tow the "licensed" 3.5 tonnes if I was you!

The Legend trailer is rated ~680 lb empty and 2990 lb all-up loaded. I've added about 200lb to the basic trailer weight (plywood, spare wheel, bows/tarp, E-track etc), giving me roughly 2000 lb of net load capacity. That is plenty-sufficient for the 3" Hunslet and freight cars, which is the heaviest load I plan to carry.

Incidentally, I always use the winch to load and unload the traction engine, and have mounted the winch on a shelf above the drawbar so that it's not taking up load space. I installed a worm-drive winch, that way I can stop and adjust things whenever I need and the traction engine can't unwind the winch and roll back down. I usually load and unload single-handedly so that's another design necessity. I use a cordless drill to power the winch, otherwise loading and unloading would be a very long job indeed!

To avoid hijacking this thread further, I've attached a few pictures below that provide more details of the loading and securing method.

Best regards
Steve