Help picking a tow vehicle and trailer for my Caterham

[toldfield]

[speedwagon]

more details please!

[panamericano]

Beutiful.  Congratulations.  Is the folding license plate controlled from the cockpit, a la 007?  A loot of cool features.

[Slonie]

And are those (four) 7 front fenders (excuse me, cycle wings) on the trailer? I love it.

[toldfield]

11 hours ago, panamericano said:

Beutiful.  Congratulations.  Is the folding license plate controlled from the cockpit, a la 007?  A loot of cool features.

Yes, but I'm having trouble with the machine guns and rocket launcher.  It's a California issue.

 

Dave built it for his 26R and it is a neat setup, obviously built by an engineer.  All aluminum and very light.  The ramps fit into the bed and are secured by Dzus fasteners. The wheel chocks have been moved to accommodate a formula car but I'm going to relocate them for my 7 and a neighbors Elan.  The wheels are 26R type converted for lugs instead of knockoffs.  The attention to detail is incredible.  

[savagete2860]

I am one step closer to posting in the tow rig thread. I picked up a Nissan Frontier. I will still need to pick up a trailer brake controller and install Nissan's tow mode button, but its ready to go for towing. Unlike the Maverick, it allows me to rent a uhaul trailer or buy my own. It weighs 4720 lbs with a full tank of fuel, and has a payload of 1292lbs. Other than the awful fuel economy, so far its a great truck.

 

 

Next up is a trailer. I am still undecided on open vs enclosed, although still leaning enclosed.

 

It seems like it would be wise to get some type of weight distribution/sway control hitch. From what I have been reading, if you're towing anything that is 50% or more the weight of the truck its a good idea. With an enclosed trailer, I am sure I will be at or north of 3000lbs. Is this something I should worry about? Anyone able to school me on these? Something like one of these:

https://andersenhitches.com/products/weight-distribution-hitch?variant=42320407068715
https://www.equalizerhitch.com/products/e2-hitch/

 

Any other hitch recommendations?

 

I am going to some trailer places in the coming weeks to hopefully have something by next month which is when my first HPDE is.

[Vovchandr]

Re: weight distributing hitch (WDH). I own an equializer and but dont use it on the regular for a few reasons even though I'm close to the upper max of towing capacity (5k) on mysetup. 

 

1) You're not supposed to use it on aluminum trailers as the material doesn't transfer the tension load correctly and tends to bend rather than transfer. I have it as a backup or emergency and owned it before this towing setup but so far has not needed it. 

2) If you're using it is as intended they are great. They serve multiple functions such as keeping the load and truck level giving you proper traction for steering and maneuvering  and secondary depending on the model they can greatly help with sway control of a trailer which is one of the biggest risks in towing especially on enclosed trailers and wind forces. 

 

What are you looking for when you're asking for Hitch recommendations? Brands of hitches or general advice? Many people here use prodigy RF for break controller including myself. My SUV even though its a 7 pin round plug doesn't have any brake controlling functions/signal from the vehicle in the harness so that was peculiar. 

 

I know you're still on the fence about open vs enclosed and cost is always an issue but seeing that you have a Cat with an aero screen having an enclosed trailer gives it an extra safe home without having to worry about theft of weather even at your own house if you happen to need to the garage space where it is for something else (more of a serious concern for me with a single bay garage where it has to stay in there which creates a conflict if I need the bay for other work). 

[JB455]

Most of my towing experience is with full size trucks, but I never used weight distribution bars on any of my open trailers, even when the weight exceeded the weight of the truck. I did use them on my enclosed due to the weight and length- 28' plus V-nose, made a huge difference on that. I wouldn't think you'd need them pulling something a light as a Seven. 

 

You could spend a small fortune buying a car trailer, but you don't need to go crazy if you're not using it a lot. A basic double axle open car trailer will weigh around 1500-2000lbs and should be able to carry nearly any car. If you get something specialized to only fit a Seven it'll bring the weight down around a 1000 lbs. Either way, I'd recommend staying with a double axle, just for the safety factor if you have a wheel/tire issue on the road. 

 

What kind of milage are you getting out of your Frontier? I put some miles on my son's '23 and got what I thought was decent for the way I was driving- 85-90 between CT and Pittsburgh and got 22 MPG. My F-250 gets less than half that, but I do have a contractor rack on it, which takes the aerodynamics from horrible to absolute trash. 

[SENC]

Nice truck, I think you'll be very happy you picked up a truck with a towing capacity around 7k rather than the Maverick - will give you a lot more flexibility in what you tow (and comfort in towing enclosed/bigger trailers).

 

Personally, I'd probably hold off on the weight-distributing until you make a trailer decision.  Maybe even rent and or borrow some trailers to see how things feel on the standard hookup.  In my experience, assuming you can get the weight within the trailer distributed well and not exceed the upper weight limit on the hitch itself), you may not need a weight distributing hitch until you get closer to your tow rating.

[savagete2860]

On 4/5/2026 at 12:17 PM, Vovchandr said:

Re: weight distributing hitch (WDH). I own an equializer and but dont use it on the regular for a few reasons even though I'm close to the upper max of towing capacity (5k) on mysetup. 

 

1) You're not supposed to use it on aluminum trailers as the material doesn't transfer the tension load correctly and tends to bend rather than transfer. I have it as a backup or emergency and owned it before this towing setup but so far has not needed it. 

2) If you're using it is as intended they are great. They serve multiple functions such as keeping the load and truck level giving you proper traction for steering and maneuvering  and secondary depending on the model they can greatly help with sway control of a trailer which is one of the biggest risks in towing especially on enclosed trailers and wind forces. 

 

What are you looking for when you're asking for Hitch recommendations? Brands of hitches or general advice? Many people here use prodigy RF for break controller including myself. My SUV even though its a 7 pin round plug doesn't have any brake controlling functions/signal from the vehicle in the harness so that was peculiar. 

 

I know you're still on the fence about open vs enclosed and cost is always an issue but seeing that you have a Cat with an aero screen having an enclosed trailer gives it an extra safe home without having to worry about theft of weather even at your own house if you happen to need to the garage space where it is for something else (more of a serious concern for me with a single bay garage where it has to stay in there which creates a conflict if I need the bay for other work). 

I didn't realize WDH's were a no-no on aluminum trailers, that is good to know. Low spec steel enclosed 7x14 trailers seem to range from 2k-2.5k lbs, so with the seven Id still be under 4k and have the option of a WDH, so I think that might be my preference. Having never towed, WDH and sway control sound like they would be really nice to have to avoid white knuckling every trip. Good to hear you haven't really felt the need for it with you setup though, this might be something I hold off on.

 

Hitch wise, I am open to any and all recommendations. I am guessing something that allows the ball hitch to be higher or lower is ideal to try an level out weight - if I don't go the WDH route, I will probably get something like the regular weight safe hitch so I can adjust the ball height and see the tongue weight. I heard the gauges crap out after awhile, but as soon as I figure out where and how I will load the trailer, I don't think I would even need to look at it anymore.

 

 

On 4/5/2026 at 12:19 PM, JB455 said:

Most of my towing experience is with full size trucks, but I never used weight distribution bars on any of my open trailers, even when the weight exceeded the weight of the truck. I did use them on my enclosed due to the weight and length- 28' plus V-nose, made a huge difference on that. I wouldn't think you'd need them pulling something a light as a Seven. 

 

You could spend a small fortune buying a car trailer, but you don't need to go crazy if you're not using it a lot. A basic double axle open car trailer will weigh around 1500-2000lbs and should be able to carry nearly any car. If you get something specialized to only fit a Seven it'll bring the weight down around a 1000 lbs. Either way, I'd recommend staying with a double axle, just for the safety factor if you have a wheel/tire issue on the road. 

 

What kind of milage are you getting out of your Frontier? I put some miles on my son's '23 and got what I thought was decent for the way I was driving- 85-90 between CT and Pittsburgh and got 22 MPG. My F-250 gets less than half that, but I do have a contractor rack on it, which takes the aerodynamics from horrible to absolute trash. 

 

Thank you for your $0.02. At this point I think I would only consider a WDH if I got with an enclosed trailer.

 

According the the dash I am at ~17 MPG in the Frontier, granted none of that is highway.

 

On 4/6/2026 at 8:32 AM, SENC said:

Nice truck, I think you'll be very happy you picked up a truck with a towing capacity around 7k rather than the Maverick - will give you a lot more flexibility in what you tow (and comfort in towing enclosed/bigger trailers).

 

Personally, I'd probably hold off on the weight-distributing until you make a trailer decision.  Maybe even rent and or borrow some trailers to see how things feel on the standard hookup.  In my experience, assuming you can get the weight within the trailer distributed well and not exceed the upper weight limit on the hitch itself), you may not need a weight distributing hitch until you get closer to your tow rating.

Thanks - and yeah going with the Frontier gives me significantly more options than the Maverick towing wise. You are echoing others, hold off on the WDH.

 

 

 

 

 

Trailer wise, assuming enclosed, how should I plan to secure the seven? Should I consider something like this? https://www.etrailer.com/Car-Tie-Down-Straps/Erickson/EM58523-09162.html?

 

 

 

 

[SENC]

9 minutes ago, savagete2860 said:

Hitch wise, I am open to any and all recommendations. I am guessing something that allows the ball hitch to be higher or lower is ideal to try an level out weight - if I don't go the WDH route, I will probably get something like the regular weight safe hitch so I can adjust the ball height and see the tongue weight. I heard the gauges crap out after awhile, but as soon as I figure out where and how I will load the trailer, I don't think I would even need to look at it anymore.

Height is simple - you want the trailer to be level.  Once you have a trailer, you just adjust the tongue jack until the trailer is level, then measure tongue height from the ground and compare with trailer receiver height.  From that you can accurately calculate needed drop (or rise) in the hitch bar.  There are a number of websites with pictures if you want to look up specific measurement points.  You can get an adjustable hitch bar if you want or if you plan to use multiple trailers or multiple vehicles for towing.  I have one in case I need to use my wife's SUV or tow a rental trailer, but 99% of the time use a simple bar with the right drop for my main vehicle and primary trailer.

 

Tongue weight has nothing to do with height.  You have a bit more margin of error if you go with a double axle trailer, but either way the general idea is to get the center of loaded mass ahead of the axle.  How much ahead determines the tongue weight.  The longer the trailer, the more ability you have to get it just right... if your vehicle just fits in/on the trailer you become more limited.  If you have a tractor trailer weight station nearby (Google CAT scales and I'll bet you'll find one), I think the easiest way to get it right is to load the trailer getting the loaded vehicle weigh just ahead of the axle (ensure it isn't behind) as an initial approximation, then drive slowly and carefully to the weigh station.  First you'll unhook the trailer and weigh just your tow vehicle (front axle on pad 1, rear axle on pad 2) - then hook the trailer back up and weigh again (front and rear axles as before... trailer on pad 3).  You'll get valuable information to confirm you're under gvwr, and tongue weight is the difference between the two readings for your vehicle rear axle.  Target tongue weight is 10-15% of total trailer weight, as long as that does not exceed the hitch or vehicle ratings for tongue weight.  Assuming you're off, just move the loaded vehicle in the trailer to increase (or decrease) tongue weight and weigh again.  You'll have it after a reiteration or two, then you can just mark the trailer floor to identify where wheels and tie-downs should be.  If you're going to carry tools, spares, heavy items routinely - go ahead and get them in the trailer (or, preferably pickup bed) for the above procedure.

 

[pethier]

Rule of thumb on hitch weight:  

Park your truck and loaded trailer.  

Use your tongue jack to lift the trailer off the ball.

Measure from a repeatable location on the truck bumper or hitch to the pavement.

Lower the trailer to the hitch.

Roll your car back and forth on the trailer until you measure a 1" drop from the no-trailer level.

 

I use a friction gizmo to prevent sway.  It does not affect the hitch height. 

 

If you are going to use a leveling hitch, use one of the bar types that puts anti-sway friction into the mix.  Don't use a chain type that does nothing to prevent sway.

 

 

[pethier]

BTW, what is the weight limit for trailer-towing with your Nissan Frontier?

[savagete2860]

So I bought a steel frame enclosed trailer, a car mate 7x14 avalanche. https://www.smouse.com/unit/2026-car-mate-7x14-hd-avalanche-v-nose-cargo-w-ramp-door-12-add-l-hgt-772540

 

It is taller and heaver than I probably would have liked, but they let me put my se7en on it, and its seems to have just enough room to not feel squeezed width wise, and more than enough length. The trailer weighs ~2400 lbs, my 7 weighs ~1250 lbs so it should be around 3650lbs. I would target 365-547 lbs to be in that 10-15% tongue weight. However, I had the trailer place measure the tongue weight, and with my car almost all the way back, it was closer to 630lbs. This was weighed at the trailer jack vs the hitch so I suppose the true tongue weight will be slightly less, but still probably over 15%. Is this a big issue? Even at 630 lbs, I have ~350 lbs of payload left over, but its getting pretty darn close.

As for securing the car, I am going to have them put in E Tracks. Would the erickson tie downs work if the rear ratchets need to be in front of the to rear tire rather than behind? I imagine it wouldn't make a difference? https://www.etrailer.com/Car-Tie-Down-Straps/Erickson/EM58523-09162-4.html#exp-productdetails=.all-description 

 

Video of the straps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4cK1aOsdbQ

 

Hitch wise, I guess I am skipping the WDH hitch for now. The guy helping me seemed like the tongue weight was no big issue and and standard hitch would be fine. I was going to have the trailer place put one on when I go pick up the trailer - just a standard 2 5/8" inch ball hitch with whatever drop/rise it needs.

 

I will be going to pick it up as soon as I get insurance setup and my storage spot secured (found a super close place that is $50/mo). I will post some pictures when I pick it up.