Home built trailers - NSW rules/regs?

apsilon

apsilon

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
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390
Location
Sydney
Long shot but does anyone know what rules/regulations cover building your own trailer and registering it in NSW? RTA website doesn't seem to have anything and I'm reluctant to call them as you rarely get the right info over the phone.

Trailer prices are ridiculous for what they are let alone if you want something custom. I'm thinking of building an enclosed offroad box trailer to make up for the lack of storage space in the SWB Pajero on long trips and I know there's not $7k+ worth of material that goes into a trailer (as I was quoted for a customised trailer).
 
I think I found what I was looking for. I managed to get a copy of VSB 01 (for some reason not listed in the same place as the other VSBs). In summary you can almost do whatever you want which is significantly different to every other area of vehicle construction and modification.

The VSB was last revised in June '99. There's a few rules covering larger trailers and caravans but for what I'm looking at about the only things they care about are positioning and ADR compliance of rear lights, securing and insulating electrical wires and enclosing wheels either within the body or with mudguards. Other than that it's almost anything goes which is very surprising.

Means what what I have in mind is definitely possible.
 
Might be interesting to browse through given the cost but I already have a basic concept sketched out to meet my requirements. Now that I know there's no restrictions on materials or construction methods I can start detailing it out on paper and learning Google SketchUp to start modeling it prior to construction.
 
dont know where your looking for that sort of $$.

Im just looking for trailers atm - Hans do a 7x5 gal box for $1500. they also have a heap of other bits and pieces supplied and/or fitted - look reasonable. But depends what your trying to do.
 
Full offroad, enclosed and sealed, jerry and LPG carriers, spare carrier, draw bar box, water tank etc etc. Not just an on road box trailer.

There's a huge difference in trailer quality. A lot of trailers sold as offroad wouldn't actually survive anything more than a dirt road.
 
dicknose said:
Running the same wheel/tyre combo as your car is a big help.
Click to expand...
As too having the same track width on the trailer as the car so it follows the same tyre tracks.

This is a good write up on a DYI from scratch. It may be helpful if you get stuck on something along the way whilst building/converting yours.

Here

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Thanks guys. Yes, same stud pattern, wheels, tyres and track are already on the list. I see these as musts, not just "nice to have".I've seen that link (I've read dozens of trailer build threads in the last couple of weeks LOL) and it's certainly a good build. Not sure I'll attempt coil springs but we'll see. If I went to that much trouble I'd probably try to emulate the Tvan MC2 suspension system.
 
Weight is the enemy, so keep that in mind. A good size draw bar makes eversing easier. If going off road you might want to fit dampers.
 
I've been playing with some very rough figures based upon a rough estimate of materials and I think it'll be around the 500kg mark unloaded. I'll have a better idea once I start planning it out on paper. Despite being under the magic 750kg mark I plan on having electric brakes and am also looking at how I can mount shocks.

Going to the caravan and camping show on Mon. Was going anyway but as long as I'm there I may as well grab a heap of pics of camper trailers, particularly underneath and how they're constructed.
 
What type of spring were you planing on using?
 
At the moment I'm thinking just leaf due to the simplicity of design and construction but I plan on doing some research into coil options before making a final decision.
 
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