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Old 06-28-2006, 03:21 PM   #21
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What nice trailers! What the heck is that tow vehicle on the website?
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Old 06-28-2006, 03:45 PM   #22
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Its called a Smart Car. They have them in Europe and Mexico. I'm not sure where else. Very fuel efficient and no bigger than a golf cart. The only one I've seen in the US was in the long term parking lot at the Atlanta airport. It was a Mercedes with Mexico plates on it.
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Old 06-28-2006, 03:49 PM   #23
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I just read that Mercedes is going to begin selling Smart Cars in the US. I plan to own one if they don't jack the price up.

Smart Cars to be marketed in US.
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Old 06-28-2006, 04:49 PM   #24
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Thanks Benita, very interesting.
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Old 06-28-2006, 05:39 PM   #25
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The Smart is also available in Canada (Smart Canada website), since about the same time as the introduction in Mexico. We get only one engine version (although other countries usually get a choice), the 799 cc 3-cylinder CDI turbo diesel. Although they are still considered unusual, and do stand out in traffic, I routinely see them daily in Edmonton. They are generally sold by Mercedes dealers, but have their own brand identity, much like Minis with BMW. Often, they are used for their promotional value.

According to the U.S. Smart website, the U.S. will be getting the next generation of the fortwo, which is the (one and only) model we are getting here.

I have sat in an fairly closely examined a Smart fortwo, and have followed news of them for years. In my opinion, as sold in Canada, this is two-thirds of a car, with half an engine, priced like a whole car. They may suit some specific users well, but I can't see paying the asking price for one, which starts at more than (for instance) a base Toyota Yaris and about the same as a base Honda Civic.

I think any image of a Smart towing a travel trailer is likely a joke or marketing gimmick, although a teardrop or tent trailer sized for a motorcycle might be an interesting match. I am only guessing, since the Smart Canada website does not show any tow capacity rating, but a Cadet (for instance) would likely be way too much for a Smart fortwo; while it has a short rear overhang and rear-wheel-drive in its favour, it has a very short wheelbase and little power, and is marginally stable even by itself.
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Old 06-28-2006, 10:50 PM   #26
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I have actually seen these little cars in use in Mexico. They don't look very tow worthy.
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Old 06-29-2006, 10:25 AM   #27
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I wouldn't consider a Smart Car for a tow vehicle. I will always probably maintain something beat up, paid for with low insurance rates and maintained for that. I'm planning for daily commuting in metro-Atlanta - surface streets only.

There are, however, tow applications for the Smart Car. Smart Car Accessories
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Old 06-29-2006, 12:06 PM   #28
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At the risk of degrading this forum with pictures of stickies, here is a nice teardrop (with aluminum frame) behind a Smart:


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If you think a Smart forTwo is small, you need to see a Smart Roadster - that's the same trailer:


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And here is a Smart towing a Weferlinger - note that the combination nearly fits in a single parking bay! To give some scale, the body of the Weferlinger is 79" long - it's a double bed on wheels.


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Old 06-29-2006, 02:01 PM   #29
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Andrew I love those Weferlingen! Too bad I can't read the website.
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Old 06-29-2006, 03:49 PM   #30
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Too bad I can't read the website.
If you enter the site URL into Babelfish*, you'll get a 'sort of' translation - when you can't understand what the translation is supposed to mean, you'll at least get a laugh from it. For example, Babelfish reckons the LC9 page on the Weferlinger web site says:

"The LC9 - 200 only a Oldie - caravan is not simple, no it is a cult object. At that time it was the only camper, which could be pulled with the satellite."

The problem here is that the name of the Trabant car translates as satellite - but equally it amuses me to think of taking your satellite into U-haul and telling them you want a Class 1 receiver fitted......

Andrew

*I find that Babelfish is better as staying in translation when clicking links, but Google do offer a translation service too.
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Old 06-29-2006, 05:09 PM   #31
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Okay, a Smart fortwo is too small for just about any travel trailer which is one can actually walk in, but if the Weferlinger is the trailer, maybe everything's in scale...

While the Weferlinger is a stickie, I noticed two things about this trailer (from the LC9-200 page) which seem relevant to our trailers:
  • this trailer uses another form of suspension with rubber springs (gummiferderblocke), but not pivoting arms embedded in rubber like the common "rubber torsion" design - is this another option for the customizer, and does it have any advantage?
  • this is substantially smaller than a typical 13' egg, yet looks usable, by using a one-sided dinette approach - is it? How does it compare to the dimension of the more conventionally arranged Cadet, Compact Jr., or Miti Lite, for instance?
The rubber-block suspension element looks like one block of the designs with stacked rubber and steel plates which I have seen used on trucks (especially concrete mixers): they are loaded in shear, so travel of the suspension slides one plate past the other, distorting the the rubber, while motion in the other directions is also controlled by the rubber block.

Guess at Translation of Specifications from L9-200 page:
  • Type code = HP 300.83/1
  • panel body length = 2000 mm
  • Overall length = 2830 mm
  • Total width = 1640 mm
  • Overall height (measured of the ground) = 2000 mm
  • Interior height = 1800 mm ("standing being located in the closed car")
  • Couch surface 1950 x 1120 mm (folded out as bed, I assume)
  • empty mass = approx. 250 kg
  • total mass with cargo = max. 280 kg
  • tyre size = 3.50-12 ("Berlin scooter")
  • towing vehicle requirement = minimum 500cc engine (Trabant, etc)
Unless I have misinterpreted something, that's a loaded complete trailer with cargo not to exceed 280 kg, or about 616 pounds. Makes my B1700 sound enormous! The Cadet seems merely large by comparison.
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Old 06-30-2006, 10:04 AM   #32
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This is substantially smaller than a typical 13' egg, yet [b]looks usable, by using a one-sided dinette approach - is it? How does it compare to the dimension of the more conventionally arranged Cadet, Compact Jr., or Miti Lite, for instance?
Hey, that's like a red rag to a bull for a man like me with trailer plans everywhere, so here is a selection. The Compact is my redesign to be made in wood and it may be a little narrower than the original Compact - otherwise I believe these are all accurately dimensioned. You can see how much smaller the Weferlinger is!


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Old 06-30-2006, 10:42 AM   #33
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Hey, that's like a red rag to a bull for a man like me with trailer plans everywhere, so here is a selection...
Excellent Andrew, thanks! Is there a complete set of your plans available?

The Weferlinger gives up one side of the dinette to save width, and with the "cooker" (no sink?) and closet opposite, it can then have a body which is just bed-length.

The Cadet, on the other hand, is quite "traditional" in layout, and seems to be smaller only by squaring off the corners and keeping everything just barely big enough. While the "egg-shaped" appearance of the classic moulded fiberglass trailer may be aesthetically appealing, I think this comparison shows why it is not particularly efficient in its use of space. I find the rounded ends and bulging sides of my Boler B1700 frustrating, because they restrict useful space and add width without much benefit.
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Old 08-22-2014, 05:03 PM   #34
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Right click on your mouse. The menu will include "Translate to English". Click that and you should get a fairly good translation of the whole page.
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