I'm sure he'd listen and try.


Good choice.


-J

 

Here's a safety thought: tow hook for actual towing gives Larry some liability, whereas a license holder doesn't.

 

could it unsrew it's way out? will it support the weight of your tires and tool box or what ever? just some questions as I am about to buy a full open trailer because I see no good way to just tow tires.

 

I saw someone in a BMW M coupe that put a set of tires on his roof rack. It seemed pretty strong although the wind noise/drag was probably pretty bad.


I'm not sure if this would work on the Cayman's roof, but it would probably be easier than trying to attach a trailer hook since aroofrack already exists from the factory. I'm not sure what kind of max weight the roof can handle though.

 

check this out, this guy made a tow hook,


http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8553&st=0&#entry41908

 

Interesting, I don't like the extra holes in the bumper and aluminum behind it, but I understand why he did it, just not sure if really necessary, I should contact Larry about this... just haven't had time.. also don't have a trailer yet, anyone got a recommendation on a mini-trailer to carry wheels/tires/tools?

 

harbor freight hasa few, you need to do some welding to get something that will hold 4 tires.

 

http://www.bigtextrailers.com/spec/15lt.html


This may be to large for the Cayman but the Big Tex Trailers are very good. I find that a lot of the harbor freight stuff isn't but have no experience with their trailers. Look for good tires, bearings and the ability to tow in a straight line without bobbing around behind you. Buying from a local dealer where you can try out the trailer first is better than buying sight unseen.

 

that thing is way too big, check this out


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2575


I know a guy with a boxster that has this trailer with a nice tire rack and tool box on it. He swears by it.

 

Looks like MantisSport may have to make a hitch for Caymans. Just finihe a custom trailer and hitch for a 993. I will let you guys know soon. Ernie

 

That harbor freight trailer sure has a nice appearance. We use trailers a lot here for hay and trash hauling so I'm very sensitive to poor performance but if this has a money back plan then it looks worth a try.

 

Guess this one of mine won't work either althought I could picture it attached to a yellow Cayman's roof/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/shades_smile.gif

 

CraigNYC - Any chance you can get some details on how your friend fabricated the tire rack and what type of tool box he used? I've seen guys use PVC pipe but I didn't look closely enough to see how it was all assembled.

 

sorry no pictures, he basically had black pipe welded to either side of the trailer and he had it so he could put another pipe through the center of the wheels to hold them in place. He then bolted a standard aluminum truck utility box to the other half of the trailer. You need to make sure the weight is even, you don't want too much tongue weight as this will hurt the cayman.

 

You need to make sure the weight is even, you don't want too much tongue weight as this will hurt the cayman.

Why not get a truck to do it? Better than wrecking your engine.

Tongue weight would need to be carefully managed as too much would cause a dangerous unweighting of the front wheels. Not to mention wreaking havoc on the rear tires and making smalll bumps potential exhaust stealers. Let's face it even an un-lowered Cayman is within inches of scraping bottom. I vote for the truck option and then you can trailer your Cayman -- a much more satisfactory solution. If you don't have a truck, have your well equipped buddy haul the rubber with his track tires in his truck.

 

That is very helpful, Craig. Tongue weight is indeed critical. I believe tongue weight should typically be no more than 10% of the total trailer weight. This will ensure the trailer will follow nicely behind the car without porpoising or wallowing. I would think you could go as light as 10 - 15 pounds of tongue weight without any problem.

 

To revive and old topic ...

Just wondering if anyone actually did this? If not, I plan to find a place that will manufacture one, like the Boxter link above (and possible build up a Harbor Freight trailer for wheels and a toolbox -- wish I could find the DIY of the person that did that).

But if someone's already done it, it would be nice to know that it works out okay.

Thanks.

 

Umm..You want to tow something with your Cayman?

That sounds wrong is so many ways! :crazy:

 

Umm..You want to tow something with your Cayman?

Yes.

That sounds wrong is so many ways! :crazy:

I hadn't considered the moral aspect.

 

What a ridiculous assumption. It poses ZERO threat to the engine. Tons of folks tow a small trailer with their boxsters, 911's and caymans. Its a great way to transport track tires, or other small items.

 

Truck goes in front of car, car on a trailer, tires in the bed. That way, in case your car gets a mechanical problem as well after track or whatever, you don't get stranded.

I'd say, much cheaper than fixing the engine and tranny on a Porsche towing extra load.

To each his own.

 

Just a couple of random points. One is that I wouldn't think of cantilevering a trailer hitch from that skinny little tow hook socket. The Mantis offer to think about how to build a proper hitch platform is a better way to go. Another item, the statement that hitch load should not exceed 10% of trailer weight is not correct if my memory serves. The load should be 10% or more. Otherwise the trailer may be quite unstable in yaw. Another gratuitous bit of advice is to avoid those very small wheels sometimes used on utility trailers. The wheel bearings tend to fail owing to the high rotational speeds. I'd go for 13 or 14 inch wheels. Now if the Harbor Freight unit is typical, weighing 250# or so, and a set of wheels weighs 200# and you carry another 50# of 'stuff', we are speaking of a gross of 500#. That means a tongue weight of 50#. Put a 50# sack of something on the back of the rear trunk and see if the running angle of the car would be acceptable. My thought is that the Cayman was not designed as a load hauler, so be careful.
Marty

 

... Now if the Harbor Freight unit is typical, weighing 250# or so, and a set of wheels weighs 200# and you carry another 50# of 'stuff', we are speaking of a gross of 500#. That means a tongue weight of 50#. Put a 50# sack of something on the back of the rear trunk and see if the running angle of the car would be acceptable. My thought is that the Cayman was not designed as a load hauler, so be careful.
Marty

I don't know how much this trailer weighs, but I think the platform is proven capable of pulling something light with little risk:

http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/trailer/

The Harbor Freight trailer is about 130 lbs. So with your other calculations, that puts the weight at about the same as your favorite offensive lineman: 380 lbs.

 

According to the Harbor Freight link shown, the trailer weighs 218#. Then add the rack weight, etc. But that Bombay Digital unit looks very nice, without superfluous structure. The wheels are small, but if you keep your speed down and are faithful about greasing the bearings, may be OK. With all that, I still think the gross may be 400#, meaning 40# tongue weight.
Marty

 

Well, I'll agree, I can't believe anyone would purchase the one from the link above. When I read about people buying an HF trailer, it's one of the framed ones in the search results here:

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=trailer&Submit=Go

They are much lighter and basic, so you build them up as needed with a place to hold your gear and a place for the wheels.