Mighty Mini

Theres medicine for that kind of masness!!!

Unbeleivable, but oh so cool!

david mosley
www.teamseacats.com

a good pal of mine would tow his a class from mid town toronto to the water behind his bike. not his motor bike, but a 12 speed.

then he towed his f40 cat, a hull at a time, from toronto to whitby, behind a bmw 325 (i think it was a 325)

Mike, Love the pictures! I was looking at Minis in December, and was assured I could towe my Hobie 17 with one. I ended up getting a Civic Si, and am dissappointed to find I have to present all sorts of materiial to avoid voiding my warranty by towing the boat! The Mini is a great looking tow vehicle! Beats my Rabbits, especially with the T!

A Mini should have no problems towing a T..... espesialy a Cooper S. One of our locals sailors tow a T behind an S3 Audi..... Looks quiet funny until it overtakes you like you are standing still.

Mast looks like it is a bit too high at the front. If I owned it I would raise the rear and drop the front. Atlease below hull hight. Helps get you under low bridges and canopies at the Gas Station.

The non-galvinized steel trailer is to be replaced soon with an all alloy one. So, it's not worht the trouble lowering the mast post on it.

Mike.

Thats really cool! One question, add crew, toolbox, PFD's harnesses, wet or dry suits, boots , gloves and the rest of the "needed items" is there still room for a cooler?

Hmmm, good point. I think a roof rack might handle the beer requirement.

Mike.

Plenty of room on that trailer to strap a keg. How does the tilt-trailer handle with heavy crosswinds? I'm thinking of widening my G-Cat 5.7M to 10' next time I have to replace the dual trampolines, but crossing the Skyway when it's windy has been known to fly the windward tire on even conventional cat trailers.

It high winds are expected, I would take my tramp off or even go for a complete dismantle of the hulls from the beams and not tilt (only adds an additional 30 min. to the prep time). Then again, other tilt trailer owners has stated to not worry about it unless winds are over 50% of your road speed...ie. the apparent wind will be mostly head on if you keep your road speed up.

Mike.

high winds are for the "optional deployable second axle" on my design

My first cat was a used Tornado which I kept in Alameda, CA. It came with a tilt trailer similiar to the one in the pictures. I towed it serveral times on the interstate to Richmond CA using a VW rabbit - sure glad it was relatively calm.

On other days I put my 21 rowing shell on top to transport to other locations in the Bay area.

As noted above,the medicine has kicked in so I have a bigger towing vehicle.

My previous tow vehicle for this trailer was a VW GTi Rabbit. It pulled ok, but the rear suspension was a lot softer than the Mini Cooper S. The Cooper handles is much better with about 55 hp more than the rabbit (162 total) and without the bow of the car pointing upwards.

Mike.

My VW rabbit does fine with my mini-tornado.
Actually, it's a turbo-diesel Golf pulling a Prindle 19.
It works great!

I used to tow a Sol 18 with a VW Scirroco. I wish I had taken a picture. The car had narrow yellow and orange pinstripes which was a nice complement to the yellow hulls. The boom was stuck into the car with the gooseneck end nestled on my girlfriend's lap. She married me anyway.

my wife and i, when we were younger, had a modified paper tiger. after sailing the boat for about two years, we decided we needed a bigger boat. we took the lines and enlarged the boat to 22 feet. (ok, i just did not know any better.) over the next year or so, i built the boat in my back yard. when it came time to move her to my club, i did it one hull at a time on the roof of me 85 pony. geez, to be young and immature again.

Yes the TDi diesels are great, esp for the high torque thay bring to towing. My wife has a TDi New Beetle, but alas, she has forbidden me to engage in towing with it :-[

Mike.

Quote

My VW rabbit does fine with my mini-tornado.
Actually, it's a turbo-diesel Golf pulling a Prindle 19.
It works great!

Think I'll have any issues pulling a T on tilt?
Supertrooper

Looks good...

Mike.

btw, I love the minis, I just can't fit in one, my knees hit the dashboard with the seat all the way back.

Interesting...I've found the new mini to be one of the roomiest passenger cars as far as front occupant space goes...lots of head room, though not as much as the VW New Beetle my wife has.

I barely fit in the beetle.

I have weird body proportions. My legs are REALLY long, my knees bump up against my dash on my trooper right now if I slouch at all in the seat.

I test drove a mini when they first hit the street. Figured it would save me a load on gas. I'd like to see a diesel version then maybe I'd buy it, AND a set of kneepads.

Why would you want a diesel mini?

because I like the TDI's but I don't like their build quality. BMW's engineering + Diesel == high MPG in a great ride.

The new v10 diesel toureg is nice though, gonna have to give that a look (if its even in the states, haven't checked that)

It is - saw one the other day.

ah schucks.

to many toys wanted, to little time to buy them

I really like the Minis but until they come out with a hybrid elctric I'm keeping my Toyota pick-up.

Ya, the Toureg V10 TDi is starting to show up in some States...it will not be making it to CA and NY due to the braindead CARB air policies. What's so annoying is I can walk right in to a GM or Ford dealer and drive out with a diesel truck...can you say "protectionist"

Mike.

Just so you know. There is a TDI Mini in Europe. Maybe they'll bring it here...