Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
Ahhh, parking!
Do you have to park on the road at home? I am fortunate that all my trailers fit on my drive and I can have ground anchors screwed in under the trailers.
Given the smallness of your trailer I would think that if someone wanted to nick it they would turn up in a van and just lift it into the back, wheel clamp or not. I sometimes see trailers chained to lamp posts for this reason. Ideally, at home you would have somewhere to put the trailer where you could chain it to an anchor in the ground, or fixed to the house, or better still in the garage or shed.
Elsewhere I would park with the trailer hitched behind the car and chained to it. At the side of the road it will mean taking up one and a half spaces. In a carpark you would have to take up two spaces in a line if possible, or park across four or five bays if you can't drive through them. At a motorway services you should use the caravan parking, though I have also used the truck parking spaces. Don't unhitch and park side by side as that just means a lot of messing about and obstructing the road as you unhitch and then hitch up again. Also there is then nothing secure to lock your trailer to.
When you have your tow hitch fitted to the car I am guessing it is a factory style detachable hitch. You will need to check how the ball detaches. All being well you will not be able to detach the ball if the trailer is coupled up. In that case you might be able to chain the trailer to the hitch. You might also have a bit of exposed frame work that supports the detachable tow ball that you could feed a chain through.
If not then if you have a towing eye at the back of the car then you could use that, but make sure you are not chained to that when you move off as it is often too far of to one side to allow the trailer to turn freely if it is chained up!
I chain up to the tow hitch but mine is a bolt on ball, non detachable like this.
The chain I use has a large ring at one end that I can use to loop around the A frame at the front of my trailer. The free end of the chain is then padlocked tightly around the towbar frame ahead of the tow ball.
You can also get trailer hitches that have built in locks that prevent the trailer hitch being opened whether it is hitched up or not. Caravans often have hitches like this, they are often for braked trailers and cost more then your trailer would.
However, it is worth asking the trailer manufacturer about them and getting some recommendations as to what they can fit.
One other matter that we haven't touched on. Trailer balance.
The trailer will need to have a certain amount of 'nose weight', that is the front of the trailer must be heavier then the back for stability. When you load up there must be an appreciable weight on the tow hitch. Your car handbook will tell you how much. Mine is between 50-75kg. Less then that and, at speed, the trailer will become unstable and start weaving side to side taking the back of the car with it. Very dangerous. Your trailer may not have enough weight to give that much nose weight but you should aim for as much as practical.
If you find that your trike doesn't give you enough nose weight then either the trailer axle needs to have been further back or you need to add a bit of ballast to the front of the trailer. The ballast can be the spare wheel, a tool/straps box, a bag of sand, anything that can be left there.
Don't forget to sort out some ratchet straps to secure your trike to the trailer. Also locks to prevent someone nicking your trike.
If you want to meet up at some point I can help you go through all these points to make sure you are safe and secure on your travels.
Do you have to park on the road at home? I am fortunate that all my trailers fit on my drive and I can have ground anchors screwed in under the trailers.
Given the smallness of your trailer I would think that if someone wanted to nick it they would turn up in a van and just lift it into the back, wheel clamp or not. I sometimes see trailers chained to lamp posts for this reason. Ideally, at home you would have somewhere to put the trailer where you could chain it to an anchor in the ground, or fixed to the house, or better still in the garage or shed.
Elsewhere I would park with the trailer hitched behind the car and chained to it. At the side of the road it will mean taking up one and a half spaces. In a carpark you would have to take up two spaces in a line if possible, or park across four or five bays if you can't drive through them. At a motorway services you should use the caravan parking, though I have also used the truck parking spaces. Don't unhitch and park side by side as that just means a lot of messing about and obstructing the road as you unhitch and then hitch up again. Also there is then nothing secure to lock your trailer to.
When you have your tow hitch fitted to the car I am guessing it is a factory style detachable hitch. You will need to check how the ball detaches. All being well you will not be able to detach the ball if the trailer is coupled up. In that case you might be able to chain the trailer to the hitch. You might also have a bit of exposed frame work that supports the detachable tow ball that you could feed a chain through.
If not then if you have a towing eye at the back of the car then you could use that, but make sure you are not chained to that when you move off as it is often too far of to one side to allow the trailer to turn freely if it is chained up!
I chain up to the tow hitch but mine is a bolt on ball, non detachable like this.
The chain I use has a large ring at one end that I can use to loop around the A frame at the front of my trailer. The free end of the chain is then padlocked tightly around the towbar frame ahead of the tow ball.
You can also get trailer hitches that have built in locks that prevent the trailer hitch being opened whether it is hitched up or not. Caravans often have hitches like this, they are often for braked trailers and cost more then your trailer would.
However, it is worth asking the trailer manufacturer about them and getting some recommendations as to what they can fit.
One other matter that we haven't touched on. Trailer balance.
The trailer will need to have a certain amount of 'nose weight', that is the front of the trailer must be heavier then the back for stability. When you load up there must be an appreciable weight on the tow hitch. Your car handbook will tell you how much. Mine is between 50-75kg. Less then that and, at speed, the trailer will become unstable and start weaving side to side taking the back of the car with it. Very dangerous. Your trailer may not have enough weight to give that much nose weight but you should aim for as much as practical.
If you find that your trike doesn't give you enough nose weight then either the trailer axle needs to have been further back or you need to add a bit of ballast to the front of the trailer. The ballast can be the spare wheel, a tool/straps box, a bag of sand, anything that can be left there.
Don't forget to sort out some ratchet straps to secure your trike to the trailer. Also locks to prevent someone nicking your trike.
If you want to meet up at some point I can help you go through all these points to make sure you are safe and secure on your travels.
. That's brilliant advice & just what I needed cheers mate 
I'll be storing my trailer at my mums where it's fairly secluded otherwise I'd being using Oxford ground anchors as I use them to secure my trike which are concreted into the ground & very solid. I'll store the trailer spare wheel towards the front if it isn't already along with my 2 & a half stone Oxford chain & a bag of ready mix concrete I have. I've ordered 4 ratchet straps with the company who are building the trailer although I may purchase a couple more to be extra safe at some point. Thanks for your help Night train you are a true gent 
