Don’t forget about Miatas (MX5)
Hey, I think the MX5 is a perfectly good tow vehicle! ......for the right load (which does not include that boat!)
Yes, that's my car and trailer, circa 2004 (both now sold). The trailer was a kit from Harbor Freight that used a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the floor. I used a second sheet of plywood and some scrap 2x4 to make the stakesides (pockets were included in the kit). I leveled the trailer for use w/ the Miata by both lowering the coupler (it was originally mounted on top of the tongue) and flipping the axle to be above the leaf spring, which required me to then raise the fenders. That still left it with a slight bias towards the tongue (which it SHOULD have), but much closer to level than it was before. Also note the carabiners holding the safety chains on - regular s-hooks kept getting knocked off by things like speed bumps and driveways, so i got those heavy duty carabiners to replace the s-hooks and never had that problem again. in the photo above, i was moving to a new house just a few miles away, so i never actually had a chance to get above 40 mph, not that i would have gone that fast anyway. i took this pic before strapping everything down.
I *DID* take that trailer on the highway (and up to the posted limit of 75mph in some areas) many times, but that was just with a set of race wheels/tires and a plastic tote/toolbox bolted to the floor - less than 200 lbs total in the trailer. the only effect it had on ride quality was the normal bumping/rattling of the hitch in the receiver.
i also used that car/trailer combo to haul my giant mechanic's toolbox a few times. i never took a photo of it loaded up, but that toolbox is twice as tall and twice as wide as the little red tool chest in the above pic - thankfully the top part was removable so i could put it on the floor of the trailer and not be quite so top-heavy. driving with the big tool chest was annoying because the new shop was over 30 miles away, and i couldn't safely get on the highway, so i had to take back roads or service roads, which meant a lot of traffic lights, stop signs, and plain old traffic. thankfully first gear in the miata is short enough and it had enough torque that i didn't have to slip the clutch any more than normal to get going. i don't know how much the box w/ tools inside actually weighs, but i'm sure it was pretty close to the max capacity of that trailer - about 1000lbs. to load it, we rolled the entire chest over to the automotive lift in the shop, raised the lift so that it was just below the bottom of the top box, then 2 of us lifted the top section onto the lift's arm, backed in the trailer, then lowered the lift onto the trailer and slid the top box into the trailer. pull trailer back out, pick up bottom box w/ lift, drive trailer under it and lower it onto the trailer. then reverse that to unload. when i had to unload it at home once i quit being a mechanic, i just removed all the drawers one at a time, and then the empty box was light enough that i could get it off the trailer by myself. here's a photo of a similar box i found online. for scale, it's tall enough that i have to get on my tiptoes to see into the very top section, and i'm 5' 9" tall.
