61 replies to this topic

[l75eya]

For visibility purpose how about attaching those swaying reflective things at each rear corner of the trailer? I don't know what they're called

Something like this so when you look back you can see the position of your trailer.

[jj421]

A shorter trailer moves quickly. A shorter trailer is easiest maneuvered with a longer vehicle, such as a box truck where the hitch is way past the rear axle. If you could extend the tongue, the trailer will not move as quickly.

You may want to get a straight receiver so the trailer sits more level. Although it will not matter with such a small trailer, a larger trailer that rides like that is more prone to sway.

Try opening the hatch when backing the trailer so you can look at it, watch its movements, and learn better how to anticipate which way it will go. You will have to be all over the place with steering input to back the trailer in one maneuver.

reading you electrical problems, it sounds like the lighting module wasn't grounded to the frame. The pigtail has a ground with the white wire. You can spice a wire to the frame on the car end.

Have fun with your trailer! I had one like that. It dod come with a certficate that was good to apply for title.

I knew that a shorter trailer moved faster, but I didn't anticipate that it would move this much, haha. I'll probably extend the tongue some time in the future.

That's definitely one of the downsides of the euro ball mount. The ball is a lot higher than I had expected. I'll end up getting a straight ball mount, and then it'll sit level. The picture is a little skewed from the angle it was taken at. The trailer does sit at an angle, but not that sharp of an angle. Still worth fixing though.

Opening the hatch is a great idea. I'll have to prop it open with a broom or something since it'll not stay open by itself, but I'll probably go to an empty parking lot some time and do that. I also found that opening my door and having my body half outside the car works, to an extent.

The white wire on the car side of the converter was not properly grounded. But I have drilled into the body and it works well as is.

I did get the title for it, so I'll take that to the DMV when I get a plate for it. Does anyone know if they'll have to inspect this trailer when I go there?

Would this really be covered by my auto insurance? The hitch is an aftermarket accessory, and from what I've heard, insurance doesn't like to cover aftermarket accessories. I wouldn't be surprised if they declined any claim from damage done to/by the trailer or hitch.

For visibility purpose how about attaching those swaying reflective things at each rear corner of the trailer? I don't know what they're called

Something like this so when you look back you can see the position of your trailer.

I've also been thinking of that. When I put the sides on, they'll be 10" or 12" tall, and I'll probably wire in some lights or put some reflectors on the top of the corners.

There are the two side marker lights that came with the trailer, but I have been unable to get those to work. They're spliced in correctly, so I'm thinking they just don't have a good ground (even though they're one wire lights).

[MilesFox]

I also found that opening my door and having my body half outside the car works, to an extent.


Would this really be covered by my auto insurance? The hitch is an aftermarket accessory, and from what I've heard, insurance doesn't like to cover aftermarket accessories. I wouldn't be surprised if they declined any claim from damage done to/by the trailer or hitch.

Get in the habit of using your mirrors as much as you can. hanging out the door or looking over your shoulder will be backwards seeming in orientation if you are used to the mirror. Also, if you were driving some van or box truck, you only have mirrors to go by.

Typically a trailer is covered by the liability of the auto itself, as it is one with the auto whilst in tow, or is covered as part of the load in the car.

The marker lights not working may mean you dont have a proper ground thru the ball and hitch.

[l75eya]

Get in the habit of using your mirrors as much as you can.

This. I know that's not too possible right now what with your trailer being invisible lol but personally I've found that the mirrors are a kinda difficult habit to gain, but very useful;

I'm the type of driver that doesn't really trust the mirrors. With the high visibility in our cars, on a freeway or something when I switch lanes, I look at the mirror, and then I do the over the shoulder glance too to ensure there's nothing over there. Also when reversing, I'm always looking behind me, not at the mirrors.

Then I got a job driving a cargo van:-p

lol, long story short it was a bit awkward for a-while using the mirrors for everything, passing, reversing, and checking blind spots in them, but after a month or so I started to get the hang of it and I can now comfortably back a full sized cargo van through a tunnel and into a tight parking spot if I had to.

Things you'll be able to do too after awhile with the trailer, though I'd imagine that's even more difficult with all the opposite steering input and whatnot!

Also about the high mounted lights, might want to check out DOT regulations for having lights that high. I remember reading once before something about passenger cars and/or their trailers not being able to have any lights over a certain height. Just a thought.

[MilesFox]

After being used to driving box trucks for a while, i found that mirrors in cars were too little! Never-the-less, it is always good to glance over your shoulder to the blind spot when merging or changing lanes.

[jj421]

Get in the habit of using your mirrors as much as you can. hanging out the door or looking over your shoulder will be backwards seeming in orientation if you are used to the mirror. Also, if you were driving some van or box truck, you only have mirrors to go by.

I'm not sure if having fender mirrors helps, or makes things worse, haha. I'm definitely used to using the mirrors when driving and turning. Reversing, it's uncomfortable for me not to be looking back. Even in a van or a truck, you could still look out your window, but I guess depending on the vehicle, that might not be comfortable.

This. I know that's not too possible right now what with your trailer being invisible lol but personally I've found that the mirrors are a kinda difficult habit to gain, but very useful;

Again, I'm used to the mirrors. If the trailer was always visible in my mirrors, I'd be using them a whole lot more. It might also be that since I've never towed anything before, I really need to see the trailer and know what it's doing. One I get experience and practice, and get more comfortable with reversing a trailer, I'll be using the mirrors more.

But yeah. Let's pick an angle. How about this angle?



Even though the car is on a hill, it's a linear hill, so what I see in my mirrors is not much different than if I was on flat land. That being said, this is what I see in my mirrors:



And this is about what I see when I poke my head out the window:



So, until I get the walls installed on the trailer, reversing with the mirrors is definitely more difficult. Not to mention that when I have my head out the window, I can see the trailer when it's at a shallower angle than the minimum to see it in my mirrors.

Typically a trailer is covered by the liability of the auto itself, as it is one with the auto whilst in tow, or is covered as part of the load in the car.

The marker lights not working may mean you dont have a proper ground thru the ball and hitch.

Just hope I don't get into an accident when towing this and I won't have to worry about the coverage. :-p Even if it isn't covered, not a big deal. It's only a loss of a couple hundred dollars. I was never planning to insure it anyways.

The ground through the ball and hitch is the problem I was having before. The ball would move slightly, ground would be lost, and the taillights would turn off. In the first picture, see that blue wire going into my trunk to the right of the standard trailer wires? That's how I fixed it. On the trailer side of the wiring, I have the white wire grounded to the trailer frame near the coupler. Then, I have two more grounds: one on the unpainted taillight bracket on the trailer, and that blue wire going into my trunk, grounded to the same spot that the taillight converter is grounded. This fixed the problem with the taillights turning off if the ball/coupler moves a bit. However, the side markers still don't work.

Things you'll be able to do too after awhile with the trailer, though I'd imagine that's even more difficult with all the opposite steering input and whatnot!

Also about the high mounted lights, might want to check out DOT regulations for having lights that high. I remember reading once before something about passenger cars and/or their trailers not being able to have any lights over a certain height. Just a thought.

I'm already used to the opposite steering. At worst, it takes me a second to think which way I wanna go, haha.

I know in the RCW (Revised Code of Washington), there are laws about heights with fog lights, driving lights, headlights, taillights, turn signals, etc. So I wouldn't be surprised if there are laws on heights of trailer lights, haha. I just haven't looked them up yet, as I've never needed to, haha. But when I get to building the walls, I'll definitely look into it.

I think this little trailer will be good trailer for me to learn on. Then later I can move up to bigger, heavier trailers (with a different tow vehicle, of course, haha).

Edited by jj421, 02 February 2013 - 06:46 PM.

[MilesFox]

Here is a tip: As long as you cannot see the trailer in the side mirrors, you can know that the trailer is straight behind the car.

[allanbegg]

I have the exact same trailer. I pull it behind my motorcycle.

The grounding issue is a known problem within the bike community that uses these trailers. The paint is so good/thick, that when you mount the lights, you are not actually getting a good ground connection to the frame. You can either scrape/grind off some of the paint to ensure a good ground (not recommended due to potential for rust), or run a separate ground wire down each side and tie the ground point of the marker light to the new ground wire. It is a much more reliable method that trying to get to the frame through the paint.

There are also a number of other things that the bike groups do to these trailer to make them better for bikes, but most don't apply, when towing behind a car. One does though. Repack the bearings, if you haven't already done so. They are shipped with a vaseline type stuff in them to prevent rust. It is not a wheel bearing grease.

Allan

[jj421]

Here is a tip: As long as you cannot see the trailer in the side mirrors, you can know that the trailer is straight behind the car.

That's a good tip. I try to keep that in mind, but the trailer is so narrow and short, that there is a fairly large angle of rotation behind the car before I actually see it in my mirrors. But still, if I can't see it, it's relatively straight.

I have the exact same trailer. I pull it behind my motorcycle.

The grounding issue is a known problem within the bike community that uses these trailers. The paint is so good/thick, that when you mount the lights, you are not actually getting a good ground connection to the frame. You can either scrape/grind off some of the paint to ensure a good ground (not recommended due to potential for rust), or run a separate ground wire down each side and tie the ground point of the marker light to the new ground wire. It is a much more reliable method that trying to get to the frame through the paint.

There are also a number of other things that the bike groups do to these trailer to make them better for bikes, but most don't apply, when towing behind a car. One does though. Repack the bearings, if you haven't already done so. They are shipped with a vaseline type stuff in them to prevent rust. It is not a wheel bearing grease.

Allan

I went outside and tried sanding the area right behind the light, but it didn't work. Maybe I gotta sand more or try something else, but it's dark outside, so I can't see anything, haha.

I haven't repacked the bearings, but I've heard that that's something to do, for sure. I've read that a couple people have managed to go years without doing anything to the bearings, haha. But that's one of the reasons why I was hoping to get the 12" wheels.

[MilesFox]

Can you produce a picture of the module itself and where it taps into the car?

[jj421]

It is night outside, so I can't really take any pictures until tomorrow. But I did take a photo of the module earlier today. The blue wire from the trailer and the white wire from the module are grounded to a screw I drilled in to the body inside the compartment. I've tested this ground with my multimeter and test light and it seems to be perfectly fine. The wires that tap in to the lights go to the left taillight, and are tapped in to their respective wires before the connector that's before the bulbs. The black wire is run to the positive terminal of the battery. And then the trailer wiring just sticks out the trunk.

[TomRhere]

For the side marker lights not working;
Most likely, you're not getting a good ground connection between the side rails and the front crossbar of the frame.

I would pop the covers off the lights, drill thru the mount hole that has the ground for the bulb and thru the frame rail, install a screw/nut thru the frame. Then run a ground wire from those to the ground point of the trailers wiring connector.

Also, I suggest you put some RTV or Silicone over all of the wiring connections. You want to keep any moisture from getting in there, causing grief down the road.