towing a trailer

[Dozyproductions]

hey guys, looks like a number of situations is pointing me towards moving back to the east coast, and the cost of a uhaul to towing my car is out of control. the problem is i need to bring back my tool box with me. so im thinking about the smallest uhaul rental trailer. my question is, who tows things with their e30s ? its a 5 speed 325is with a 3.93 lsd. i figure my tools weigh about 750-900 lbs. the box weighs 500 lbs empty

drove the smallest Uhaul closed trailer they had. I drove from east texas back to san diego with it being full of all my friends shit including bed, frames, drawers and all his other shit i couldnt fit in the e30. Made it with just barely over on the 8 getting into san diego.

[mrsleeve]

^

[MAXELHOFF]

take it easy. Drive like Sunday.

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-trailertowtips.aspx

Image from Mr 325 on R3v. Ask him. That's about the same weight...right?

[WhyNot]

Also, you rat bastard, I want that hitch.

check your pm
hitch envy is not good

[mrsleeve]

Yes ship it and if you have 2 people and all kinds of shit in there your going to be close to the GVW of an e30 alone, let alone 4-600 lbs of tongue weight on the hitch behind the rear axle, makes for a dartty ride that way

[oxymoron]

also i am having a buddy that drove out in 44 hours straight (only to tahoe) but he will be joining me to switch off. that said, im going to look into the cost of shipping more because the drive will be a lot more fun without a trailer, and gas mileage will be way better

[oxymoron]

really? i just got a quote and the cheapest shipping is about $900. but with the gas id save, money saved on cost of trailer and a hitch it is about the same, plus my gas mileage .

[TobyB]

consider the small $350 harbor freight trailer,

This. The one with 12" wheels.
Then put some of the tools into the FRONT seat of the E30. Maybe some
more into the trunk, too. That gets a few hundred pounds off the trailer and into the
car. Don't add any more weight to the trailer than you have to, but crap, on the
freeway for hours, boredom's gonna be the biggest danger, not your toad.

That said, replace the HF wheel bearings with decent (Japanese, whatever) ones and
pack 'em with good grease.

Oh, yeah, and you'll have to sleep on top of the thing to keep it from getting
ripped off in Cheyanne or Pocatello or Butte or somewhere...

heh.

t

[Exodus_2pt0]

A friend of mine bought a HF motorcycle trailor and used it from the DC area out to the Dragon without issue. That was with 2 YZF600's on it, no issues that I ever heard about.

[oxymoron]

this is a lot of really good info and a lot less flaming than i expeted so i have to show some appreciation to you guys, and also, i looked into the harbor freight trailer and it seems like a good idea cost wise, but i dont want to risk problems with wheel bearings. is the $250 to ship it a complete guess or has anybody shipped something like that before ? also the value of the box and its contents is at least $10k. so i definately want to insure it .

[mrsleeve]

Well what you really have to take into consideration is going to be tongue weight when and your CGVW rating.

I think your gonna be hard pressed to even try it with an e30 but thats me

Cheap little light duty trailers are a big no no for a long haul, you will eat the fuck outta the wheel bearings and then be really fucked. But what do I know I only have done this kinda shit a few times.

[nickpro]

You will definitely be fine, just power out if anything gets sketchy. Only thing I'd worry about would be overheating through the mountains.

[s14pwd]

TurboJake, nice breakdown!

This is what I would suggest to the OP. You are gonna have to get your car back to the east coast anyways, so unless you want to ship that as well maybe something like this:

-Buy cheap and light trailer:
http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...els-90154.html

-The trailer costs as much as the shipping would, but hell you get a trailer to move other light and oddly shaped things around. Plus this way you will be towing just around 1000lbs which I believe an E30 can handle no issue.

[Exodus_2pt0]

According to the owners manual, a 2 door e30 weighs 2844 lbs

http://jon.bimmerfest.com/bulletins/e30_manual.pdf

Uahuls smallest trailer weighs 535 lbs. But it won't fit in there.

Uhauls smallest trailer that it might fit in weighs 630 lbs

http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=FS

So.
500 + 700-900 + 630 = 1880-2030

An 325i weighs 2844 road read, + driver assuming 150lbs

So, e30 weighs roughly 3k with driver and a full tank.

1880/3000 * 100 = 62% of the weight of the car
2030/3000 * 100 = 67% of the weight of the car

A general rule of thumb, whether you follow it or not, is that if the load exceeds 75% of the vehicle weight trailer brakes are desired.


Thus a 2 door 325is, the smallest uhaul trailer loaded with the tools and box is only 62-67% of the vehicle weight, and thusly does not require trailer brakes according to a general rule of thumb.

According to that owners manual, the car is capable of being a full 970lbs within itself, so roughly 150lbs driver + 820 lbs of tools could be put in the car, bringing the trailer weight down to a figure between best case, 1115 lbs (37%) or worst case 2030 (67%)


Yes, an E30 could do it. Just leave extra braking time and distance.

I'd tow a tool box with my E30 in a hearbeat.

I'm about to find out if my E30 will pull a jet ski out of the water here soon...

[TurboJake]

According to the owners manual, a 2 door e30 weighs 2844 lbs

http://jon.bimmerfest.com/bulletins/e30_manual.pdf

Uahuls smallest trailer weighs 535 lbs. But it won't fit in there.

Uhauls smallest trailer that it might fit in weighs 630 lbs

http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=FS

So.
500 + 700-900 + 630 = 1880-2030

A 325i weighs 2844 road ready, + driver assuming 150lbs

So, e30 weighs roughly 3k with driver and a full tank.

1880/3000 * 100 = 62% of the weight of the car
2030/3000 * 100 = 67% of the weight of the car

A general rule of thumb, whether you follow it or not, is that if the load exceeds 75% of the vehicle weight trailer brakes are desired.


Thus a 2 door 325is, the smallest uhaul trailer loaded with the tools and box is only 62-67% of the vehicle weight, and thusly does not require trailer brakes according to a general rule of thumb.

According to that owners manual, the car is capable of being a full 970lbs within itself, so roughly 150lbs driver + 820 lbs of tools could be put in the car, bringing the trailer weight down to a figure between best case, 1115 lbs (37%) or worst case 2030 (67%)

Which, with at least 200 lbs of tools loaded in the car, a class 1 hitch will take care of perfectly

http://www.thehitchstore.com/class-i-receiver-hitch-p-264.html

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1011700,parttype,1212,a,Search%2Bfor%2BWIX

Yes, an E30 could do it. Just leave extra braking time and distance.