mondeo wagon roof rack capacity

hangfire · 25-09-2014, 08:36 AM

hi all

i need to transport a cubby house (disassembled) a short distance at the weekend.

the base is 2550 x 2400mm

do you thin that i can put it on the roof rack at that size?

the width is my biggest concern..... as far as weight i could easily do 2 or three trips as it isnt far...

trying to avoid having to hire a tandem trailer at about $100 if i can help it.

AlanD · 25-09-2014, 11:37 AM

Well,

2400 mm is over 500mm wider than the car, which means that it will overhang the car on each side by more than 250 mm.

And that means, in Vic anyway, you are carrying an "unsafe load" owing to the excessive width, I would expect.

And if Mr Plod is about the place, you may run the risk of a fine.

Then there is the business of getting it up onto the car and off again - one slip and you may have an expensive repair on your hands.

Methinks I would spend the $100 for a trailer, avoid the angst and the potential for a lot of expense.

BTW, have you estimated the weight of this "floor" and is it inside the carrying capacity of the roof rack?

Cheers

hangfire · 25-09-2014, 02:40 PM

i suspect that you are right and it was wishful thinking.

now i measure it i cant find any trailers that will take the size without sticking out by 3 feet etc

considering a day hire on a furniture van (as long as i dont need any special licenses as all of mine were taken off my uk one when i moved it to an ozzie one)

whitelion65 · 26-09-2014, 12:51 PM

A "cage" trailer should do the job. Hire from a local servo.

Steve

hangfire · 26-09-2014, 01:31 PM

cage trailer quoted as 8ft x 5 ft

the largest piece is 8 1/2 ft by 8 ft.

the guy i am getting it from said he brought it home like that and it was very dodgy...

going to get a furniture van
loads at 10 ft x 6 ft (will put the bits in diagonally) do the job in one hit for about 80 bucks

hangfire · 27-09-2014, 07:54 PM

ok so i went to a trailer place today to check them out and i could get a cage trailer sized 10x6 ft for 78 bucks...

it said the weight was 1300kg, not sure if this is laden or unladen...

is it safe to have a diesel mondeo with the ford fitted towbar pull this?

it was enormous! (but anything smaller isnt really going to fit the base in)

AlanD · 28-09-2014, 07:05 AM

Hi Hangfire,

My MA handbook says that there are two tow bars approved by ford.

The light duty one is rated at 1200 kgm and the heavy duty one is rated at 1600 kgm the latter requiring weight distribution hitch and a braked trailer in both cases. Both are downrated to 750 kgm with unbraked loads.

But there is also a rating on the powertrain. Both the diesel 2.0 litre and the 2.5 petrol (which oly gets a manual gearbox, I think) can handle the higher loads. The 2.3 petrol is rated to a maximum of 1200 kgm.

So it depends on the drivetrain you have and the type of tow bar fitted. I'm guessing that you will know the first, but you may not know the second.

That said, our Mondeo doesn't have a tow bar and it isn't going to get one. I'm suspicious of whether or not an FWD car is sufficiently tough enough at the rear to handle the loads a trailer, caravan or Float impose. But we have a HD hitch on the territory if I want to tow.

So far as the trailer you have seen is concerned, a 6x4 trailer probably tips the scales at 250 to 300 kgm, perhaps a bit more. A 10x6 is 2 1/2 times the floor area so I'm not too surprised at the 1300 kgm figure and I'd think it would be unloaded.

I think I would go down the small furniture van track. Probably a little more expensive - but a lot safer. Can you divide that floor, which is the sticking point, into a couple of (or more) smaller pieces easily?

I hired a small moving van capable of being driven by a light vehicle license holder, and it swallowed queen mattress and base together with four large bookcases and had a lot of spare space left over.

Stay safe

Cheers

Yellow_Festiva · 28-09-2014, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hangfire

ok so i went to a trailer place today to check them out and i could get a cage trailer sized 10x6 ft for 78 bucks...

it said the weight was 1300kg, not sure if this is laden or unladen...

is it safe to have a diesel mondeo with the ford fitted towbar pull this?

it was enormous! (but anything smaller isnt really going to fit the base in)

That would be loaded.

See what the empty weight is, probably around the 400kg mark???

I assume it has breaks as well.

What type of towbar do you have? Even the light duty one will be fine if it's rated at 1200kg. You will be hard pressed to load the trailer to capacity anyway.

I did a lot of towing with my diesel Focus.

Pulled no worries, loads averaged between 600 and 900kg inclusive of trailer and the torque made it feel like there was hardly a load on the back.

Fuel penalty was circa 2L /100 as well.

The Mondeo will have NO ISSUES pulling a loaded 10x6 trailer. You just need to apply some common sense:

* Balance your load
* Take sharp corners a little wide
* Take off slowly
* Observe far into the distance to anticipate braking
* Make sure your side visibility isn't restricted by the load
* Ensure all lights are working
* Flick off the brake latch on the trailer when driving
* Don't overload the trailer or towing hardware - stay within specs
* Tie everything down well

You will be fine. Just take it easy.

Yellow_Festiva · 28-09-2014, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanD

So far as the trailer you have seen is concerned, a 6x4 trailer probably tips the scales at 250 to 300 kgm, perhaps a bit more. A 10x6 is 2 1/2 times the floor area so I'm not too surprised at the 1300 kgm figure and I'd think it would be unloaded.

My 8x5 box trailer weighs in at 240kg empty. The cage adds around another 80ish kg?

I think a basic car trailer (as in, one to carry a car) tips the scales at between 650 and 750kg).

AlanD · 28-09-2014, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

My 8x5 box trailer weighs in at 240kg empty. The cage adds around another 80ish kg?

I think a basic car trailer (as in, one to carry a car) tips the scales at between 650 and 750kg).

Ok,

Thanks for that YF, Clearly my estimates were on the high side, but I'm a conservative chap, especially since a caravan behind an AU lost a tyre (I believe) on the South Eastern Freeway travelling away from Adelaide.

The next 30 seconds were "Verry Interresting" and I ended up in the emergency stopping lane facing the wrong way. The forces on the tow bar caused the rear end to whip and tore the centre bolt out of the watts linkage where it attaches to the diff casing. Hypoid gear oil everywhere and no traction after that.

I'm very careful about towing now.

The OP would be well advised to put that load into a small furniture van, despite the fact it is probably quite small in mass, if he can get one at reasonable cost.

Cheers

hangfire · 28-09-2014, 01:08 PM

hi all

i got a cheapo furniture van from thrifty for the day

glad i did as it took ages to load and unload, was surprisingly heavy and the tail lift was very useful.

thanks for the advice though everybody!

whitelion65 · 29-09-2014, 09:06 AM

Hangfire, a moot point now, but an 8 x 5 trailer will let you carry a planar object (zero thickness) 9'4.8" long corner to corner. The doubters can google "Pythagorus theorem"
Take a little off for the thickness of the floor, and I reckon your 8'6" load would fit, standing upright on its long edge. The rest of the load would no doubt have fitted around it.
In any case, I agree it is better to err on the side of safety.
Hope the kids enjoy their new cubby.

Steve

hangfire · 29-09-2014, 01:36 PM

hi

the biggest part was 2550 x 2400
so 8.5 x 8ft

it was seriously heavy too

very glad that i got a van now as the lift on the back came in very handy!

now its time to clean it up and varnish it etc for bub to play with