Car/Truck to pull glider trailer
What is the typical range o gross weights of a single seat glider plus
trailer?
A few data points (all empty weights):
Minden Fab, Schreder, and similar aluminum semi-monocoque cigar-tube trailers generally run 600-750 lbs. Schreder with aluminum floors are the lightest of these, but also the most tender since Dick put the hoops 4' OC to save parts.
Cobra, Komet, and similar clamshells generally run around 900 lbs. Later ones seem heavier than earlier ones. Aluminum tops are the lightest.
Homebuilt trailers run the gamut. Made with 1/4" plywood and framed with 2x4 and 2x2 lumber, probably around 1200 lbs. Offhand I don't know how many kg that is, but I can say from experience it's a decent amount of BTUs. My Steve Smith fiberglass-skinned steel tube truss with molded fiberglass top clocked in at 375 lbs. A customer's homemade clamshell is about 1400 lbs.
My tow rig of choice these days is a 1999 Lexus RX300. I got it for the cost of a Subaru head gasket job, it has the bulletproof 1MZ-FE V6, and it has the AWD we need in a snow car. Given a choice, I'd have gotten an AWD Sienna (same running gear with a minivan body), but those are priced about 2.5x the first-gen RXs.
--Bob K.
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