Whats the towing weight of a Midas?

[manifold]

How about one of these?

http://teardroptrailers.co.uk/1500.html

I bet a Midas could pull one.

[DavidL]

I specifically asked Harold Dermott when I put a towbar on my Bronze, and he told me it was 250kg.

However, I made my own towbar, having seen the official Midas offering, which was only attached to the rear bumper, IIRC; mine stretched further up at the back with a horizontal lip which sat on top of the ledge (behind the bumper? don't remember), and it also extended forward to attach to the heelboard (if that's the correct name - it was either just above, or just below, the rear axle beam).

I accept that the towbar is probably not the critical part of the equation, but on mine, I was satisfied that it certainly wasn't the weakest part.

And after lots of advice on this forum, I'll be making a similar effort for my Mk 3 (when I can get a round tuit).

[manifold]

based off that then a Mk3 which must be slightly heavier could probably pull one of these:

http://teardroptrailers.co.uk/cargo.html

[DavidL]

based off that then a Mk3 which must be slightly heavier could probably pull one of these:

http://teardroptrailers.co.uk/cargo.html

I'd think you could probably get away with that. I'd be inclined to look into putting brakes on any trailer much more than 250kg, though. I don't know how easy that would be, since I'd imagine that there probably aren't any braked trailers under 750kg AUW; downscaling the hardware to effectively brake such a lightweight trailer might be the hard part. I haven't ever looked at a trailer braking mechanism to see how it works; it might just be a case of downrating one spring, for all I know.

...or you could just accept that your braking distances are going to be that much greater...

[Alan D.]

Just a thought, whilst reseaching trailers some time ago, I see that you can now get electrically activated brakes, I wonder how they work?

Alan

[Rich]

based off that then a Mk3 which must be slightly heavier could probably pull one of these:

http://teardroptrailers.co.uk/cargo.html

I'd think you could probably get away with that. I'd be inclined to look into putting brakes on any trailer much more than 250kg, though. I don't know how easy that would be, since I'd imagine that there probably aren't any braked trailers under 750kg AUW; downscaling the hardware to effectively brake such a lightweight trailer might be the hard part. I haven't ever looked at a trailer braking mechanism to see how it works; it might just be a case of downrating one spring, for all I know.

...or you could just accept that your braking distances are going to be that much greater...

I used to have access to a fairly light trailer (think garden rubbish rather than car transporter) that was fitted with brakes. Unladen you could lock it up under braking which was interesting. However if using a hydraulic system you could use a standard sliding braked coupling actuating a single line master cylinder. I've seen these fitted with adjustable arms to alter the pressure applied to the cylinder and with bias valve-type arrangements to give the same effect.

[DavidL]

The answer's been staring me in the face. On the VIN plate, both the gross vehicle weight and gross train weight are provided, they are 950kg and 1200kg, so I suppose the max trailer weight is 250kg plus (950kg minus your car's actual weight with any passengers).

[ACourtney]

For some reason (economy) the same VIN plate has always been used across the Midas range and I believe it is based on the Mk1 data.
In reality the Golds, Cortez and Excelsior models will all have greater axle capacities, gross weight and train weight than printed on the VIN plate.

When I last took a Midas Gold for an SVA test, this was criticized by the inspector as being inaccurate. However, it is only a failure point if the weights marked on the VIN plate exceed the figures that they calculate from the brake tests.

During the IVA/SVA test, your car is tested on a braking rig that tests the efficiency at each individual wheel. The vehicle is weighed at each axle and they then calculate what the maximum allowable weights are for the axles and the gross weight. If the actual weights exceed these figures then you have a failure. This has tripped up a couple of Midas builders due to poor rear braking capacity. In both the cases that I know of, the problem was due to old tyres not giving enough grip on the rollers and skidding. New tyres solved the problem for both cars.

The towing weight is not part of the IVA test. VOSA's advice can be found here:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Q ... ailers.pdf

I had always thought that the maximum towing weight was 75% of the vehicle's weight, but VOSA advise 80-85%.
However, that is for a braked trailer and a trailer only needs to be braked for loads greater than 750kg (i.e. around 100% the laden weight of a Midas Gold). Consequently, trailers of capacities up to 750kg seldom have brakes.

On that basis a Mk1 or Mk2 weighing in around 650kg, would have a maximum towing capacity of 550kg = total train weight 1200kg - as marked on the VIN plate.

Most Golds weigh around 700-730kg, so that would give a maximum towing weight in the range 560 to 620kg.
Personally, I wouldn't want to tow an unbraked trailer weighing more than half a tonne very far with any car, let alone a Midas.

[Hans Efde]

Personally, I wouldn't want to tow an unbraked trailer (twin axle) weighing more than half a tonne very far with any car, let alone a Midas.

I've pulled an unbraked trailer loaded with a bunch of pavement tiles and a cubic meter of sand with my RAV4. That was the same weight as the car itself and it worked out fine. Just take your time with accelerating and braking and make sure the CG is slightly forward of the forward axle. When it starts wobbling at highway speeds you're in trouble and a forward CG prevents that. With the CG in mind I think it's safe for a Midas to pull at least 500kg. I've seen similar combinations in the classic car scene, f.e. a Fiat Topolino with a small caravan.

[manifold]

I can tell a Gold wont move a combined weight of 2000 kilos in the form of a 22ft sailing boat and trailer on grass.

I tried that just to move it round a boat park. Not a sniff.....even with 135hp on top. I bet I took off 10,000 miles off the clutch trying.

On a positive note, it proved the fixings of the towbar were fine though.