Trailer for a Caterham

[Digital]

I'm looking to get a trailer for my Caterham for towing it to and from hillclimb and sprint events. I'd like something that I can store in my garage for security - it's a double garage, but with 2 x single doors. I've seen the Brian James Minno and the PRG Minisport, both of which seem to be aimed at Caterhams, but are there any other options I should consider? Any owner recommendations for either?

My car is a 2005 Roadsport Academy with the wider front track, but presumably that still means it'll fit any trailer that a normal S3 would fit.

Thanks

[DCL]

If space is tight the 3 metre bed Micro Max is a good option. Plenty of capacity for a Caterham and the single axle makes it easy to maneuver by hand. Horses for courses really.

Edited by DCL on Saturday 9th March 22:50

[radical78]

check the width of your garage doors . mine wont fit

[V7SLR]

I've had both a BJT Minno and a BJT Minno Sport - both fitted fine in my twin-single-doored double garage. The Sport version has some rear lights that stick out on extended flexible rubber mounts which made it wider than the doors - this might be the overall spec width? I used a piece of string with a couple of loops in the ends to hold them in for entry/exit. By choice if I was buying again I'd definitely have another Minno Sport (maybe s/h, not sure what's in BJT's current range) because the Polypropolene covering around the sides means you get less leg bruises in the confined space of the garage!
With a BJT if you buy wisely used and look after it you'll lose nothing on it when you come to re-sell.

[casbar]

Bought a BJ mino new when I tracked my Caterham. Brilliant bit of kit, towed really well, fitted in my single garage (just) also had the fold up tow bar, which gave more room when garaged. When I sold it after 4 years, hardly lost any money. If I needed another trailer, i wouldn't look anywhere else

[Tango7]

Another thumbs up for a minno or minno sport. I've got standard 7' doors on my garages and as mentioned its a bit of a squeeze getting it in but it does fit fine it comes in pretty much straight through the doorway. If you are parking your seven on it during storage, try to get a trailer with the pull out ramps as it makes it a lot easier in use. Prices for trailers seem to be getting stronger at the moment and whereas £1k used to be the norm for a used Minno, they seem to be fetching £200-300 more!

[Keep it stiff]

My Mino fits in the garage, although it is a squeeze on the width. On the point of single axle being easier to push about, I use the jockey wheel to lift the front wheels clear of the ground which makes it easy to push about and a twin axle trailer is much more secure than a single when you are towing. The Mino design is well thought out too.

[DCL]

IMHO the twin axle stability argument is over rated. I started with the twin axle Minno Max and, although very pleased with it, always felt it was a bit of over-kill for a Caterham. After the Minno max was stolen, I decided to replace it with the smaller Micro Max and I've never regretted it. It tows every bit as well and now I have more space in the garage and less wheels to worry about All in all, it's very well matched to size and weight of the Caterham. That said if you've got the space and like tyre racks and storage boxes, then I can see that something bigger may be better.

Edit: it is also 100 Kg lighter which may be important depending on your tow car.

Edited by DCL on Sunday 10th March 15:48

[RacerMike]

I'm selling my PRG at the moment:

http://forum.caterham.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=55&amp...

Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll email you some pictures

[Keep it stiff]

DCL said:

IMHO the twin axle stability argument is over rated. I started with the twin axle Minno Max and, although very pleased with it, always felt it was a bit of over-kill for a Caterham. After the Minno max was stolen, I decided to replace it with the smaller Micro Max and I've never regretted it. It tows every bit as well and now I have more space in the garage and less wheels to worry about All in all, it's very well matched to size and weight of the Caterham. That said if you've got the space and like tyre racks and storage boxes, then I can see that something bigger may be better.

Edit: it is also 100 Kg lighter which may be important depending on your tow car.

Edited by DCL on Sunday 10th March 15:48

Each to their own but I would take a twin over a single every time!

[Digital]

RacerMike said:

I'm selling my PRG at the moment:

http://forum.caterham.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=55&amp...

Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll email you some pictures

Thanks Mike, you have a PM

Thanks everyone else for the input. I think my preference would be for a twin axle trailer, purely because I've not towed before. As I'm an old git, though, I'm lucky enough to have the relevant towing letters on my licence!

Out of curiosity, what sort of tow cars do you guys use?

[Fishy Dave]

We have a BJ Minno, very pleased with it. If buying new I may go for the Micromax, then again we have experienced a blow out with outr Minno (old original tyres) with no dramas. I think you need to be realistic at what speeds and distances you intend to tow - we tend to stick to 50-55ish, whilst other drivers have overtaken us leaving races at speeds much higher than this, in which case a double axle may prove more valuable!!!!

As for tow cars, we have used a BMW330d (brilliant), VW T4 2.5TDi (average) and now use a Celica (surprisingly good!).

[JUL141N]

Have a Brian James Minno trailer in good condition for sale at the moment - asking 1350 for it - 07710 723645

[Digital]

JUL141N said:

Have a Brian James Minno trailer in good condition for sale at the moment - asking 1350 for it - 07710 723645

Thanks, however I've now managed to find a Minno that I'll be picking up this week

[Andy Bell]

Fishy Dave said:

I think you need to be realistic at what speeds and distances you intend to tow - we tend to stick to 50-55ish

I was towing my Caterham/8wheels on trailer and a load of stuff in boot back from buying it. Having never towed before I noticed you got a slight banjo-ing affect (for want of a better description) - I had the cruise control set to ~60mph.

I presume this is just the weight of the trailer pushing/pulling and natural. It felt not exactly pleasant.

One thing I did notice - driving at 60mph is stressful versus trip down at speed limit... Having to watch out for what trucks are doing and such like.

[Grubbster]

Stability when towing depends a lot on the way the trailer is loaded (mainly nose weight) and the type of towcar (weight, suspension firmness, amount of rear overhang etc). Personally I find that keeping the nose weight reasonably heavy helps (check the recommendations for the trailer). The smaller and lighter the towcar the more sensitive it becomes, I'm lucky that I now have a decent Hilux doublecab (thanks Fishy Dave above!) that makes easy work of towing anything at pretty much any speed - but over the years I've towed all-sorts with many different cars - getting the load in the correct place really helps.

[Keep it stiff]

Andy Bell said:

I was towing my Caterham/8wheels on trailer and a load of stuff in boot back from buying it. Having never towed before I noticed you got a slight banjo-ing affect (for want of a better description) - I had the cruise control set to ~60mph.

I presume this is just the weight of the trailer pushing/pulling and natural. It felt not exactly pleasant.

One thing I did notice - driving at 60mph is stressful versus trip down at speed limit... Having to watch out for what trucks are doing and such like.

I'm sure you mean 50 of course!

Aside of understanding how to best balance the load you will also develop a better feel as your towing miles increase.

[Andy Bell]

nope 60 https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits ?

[Keep it stiff]

Andy Bell said:

nope 60 https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits ?

You are right of course.

The last time I got stopped with a trailer on was en-route to Lydden Hill, I was doing about 80 downhill trying to gather momentum before the uphill ahead. It is the only time I can remember that I talked my way out of a ticket!

[Andy Bell]

and for that I salute you sir!