Small car in garage

Mathguy · Oct 31, 2010

Has anyone ever put a car like the Smart fortwo in their garage? We have a Cyclone 3914 rated for 2500 lbs. and the car weighs about 1900 lbs. There's room enough, so looking for anyone that has tried this or reasons not to.

jnbhobe · Oct 31, 2010

I don't is why not, you are 600# under capacity. Is there enough length? And will your pin weight be affected, you may have to load backwards to adjust the weight. Lets see what someone who may have tried this says.

Moose · Oct 31, 2010

Well "mathguy" 2500 minus 1900 leaves . . . . 600 pounds. ROFL Just kidding, sorry I couldn't resist.

I guess what you need to be concerned about are point or concentrated loads and if the floor system/structure can handle them.

If you can find what the contact area is for the tires, at the pressure you use, you could send that information along to the Heartland designers and I am sure they could help you.

Don't forget the weight of fuel and other items in your calculations.

Ray LeTourneau · Oct 31, 2010

2 Harleys or any other touring bikes for that matter, weigh right around 1900#. I can't see it being a problem.

PUG · Oct 31, 2010

I have loaded a Yamaha Grizzly 660 (about 600 lbs)with lots of junk hanging on it along with and 1100 Shadow street bike(about 550). Also had garage loaded with big riding lawn mower, trl, snow blade, lots of tools, shelving etc which was probably heavier than the 4 wheeler and shadow. Never noticed any difference in how it handled.

truknutt · Nov 1, 2010

I'd just be concerned about the ramp door's weight rating.

Ray LeTourneau · Nov 1, 2010

truknutt said:
I'd just be concerned about the ramp door's weight rating.

Not from experience but logically with that weight spread over 4 wheels it shouldn't be a problem. Especially if he drives it in fast. Kinda like a truck on a frozen lake

. Hopefully they'll have a reply from heartland this morning.

Mathguy · Nov 1, 2010

Hey folks, thanks for all the replies and Moose, that's funny, I don't care who you are. Anyhow, you all bring up good points, seems like it should work. I think I'd have to support the ramp about half way up with something, probably a cross brace stuck underneath it and going down to the ground. The weight limit is fine and the point about the floor taking the weight at the four wheel contact points needs to be checked out. Don't have the car yet, but thinking ahead to when the motorcycle gets retired in lieu of 4 wheels on the asphalt. Hope that day never comes. Have a great day and thanks again.

rvv · Nov 1, 2010

Are you going to be able to stay within the max. gross weight for the 3914? When I weighed my 3912 at the Branson Rally it was slightly over 17000 lbs. No fluids on board (fresh, grey, black, etc.) I would also like to get a Smart Car but I'm concerned about the TOTAL capacity of the trailer, not just the garage capacity. I don't see any practical way you could put 2500 lbs. in the garage and be within the max. capacity of the trailer. Even 1900 lbs. seems like a stretch. I'll be interested to see further discussion.

gpshemi · Nov 1, 2010

Thought the doors are rated to 3500?

porthole · Nov 5, 2010

gpshemi said:
Thought the doors are rated to 3500?

truknutt said:
I'd just be concerned about the ramp door's weight rating.

3000.

But I wonder, as I can see mine flex (seem under the non slip) whenever I ride the bike or cart up.

gpshemi · Nov 5, 2010

Yeah my door flexes with the golf cart too.

Moose · Nov 5, 2010

Civil engineering rule #4.

"It is better to flex than to break." LOL

Does anyone know the makeup of the ramp structure? Is it aluminum/fibreglass or some composite? This would help determine it's engineering properties.

porthole · Nov 5, 2010

Yeah, but the flex we see is one side, or what looks to be the seam between 2 sheets of plywood..

gpshemi · Nov 5, 2010

the doors are a purchased item. I saw on RV.net where they had a leak and had to rebuild it. It was 2x frame, plywood, foam, and filon laminated structure all trimmed in aluminum. Basically it wasn't much to it.

Moose · Nov 6, 2010

porthole said:
Yeah, but the flex we see is one side, or what looks to be the seam between 2 sheets of plywood..

Then, it sounds like it is broken.

porthole · Nov 6, 2010

Hey factory types - if your watching this.

When I was at Mor/Ryde, Ben claims they make a better door then the supplier Heartland is using and doesn't understand why HL doesn't use the better ramp.

DW_Gray · Nov 6, 2010

There was a couple at the Nashville Rally this summer that had a Smart Car in their Cyclone. They had a Ram like mine and they had their rig weighed there too. I helped him calculate the weights. They were way overweight yet he said the truck was pulling it fine. Personally, I would not do that with a 3500.

I plan to get a smart car too. But I'm going to try to keep my Cyclone no more than 18K just because I can't afford bigger truck right now. The new Cyclones are now rated 18K max and that does make it more difficult travel with a Smart Car.

On the other hand, you can go to Pismo Beach, CA and see lots of overweight toy haulers being towed by 2500s and 3500s and getting away with it.

porthole · Nov 7, 2010

Dave - do you have one of the 20,500 trailers?

DW_Gray · Nov 7, 2010

porthole said:
Dave - do you have one of the 20,500 trailers?

Almost, actually 20,400, but 100# won't make much difference. What's interesting about that is the Lippert frame as well as my new Trail Air Tri Glide Air Ride Pin Box is rated only 18,000 pounds. I suspect that became an issue and forced Heartland to change the GVW on the 2010 and later models.

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