In the UK its quite common to tow little Erriba Puck caravans with Minis. As I recall one of the brochures showed a Mini K with a little van on the back.

If you are concerned about braking, its not ridiculously expensive to fit electric brakes to a trailer. Normally they are only required on trailers over 750kg, but there's nothing to stop you putting them on a lighter trailer. They do require an electric brake controller on the car, but they are reasonably straightforward to fit. The big advantage is that the brakes are fully adjustable from the driver's seat.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Electric trailer brakes are awesome. I used them on my race car trailer.

Hooray! Great work by Des out at Locsed Auto in Ringwood. Really top notch. Made sure I had the right plug plate in right place, sorted me out with some spreader plates, had all the needed bolts ready to go, and even threw in a rusty tow-ball with an extra couple inches of height.

No the hard part, drilling, mounting, wiring, testing.

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

Well that was pretty painless. With the extra height on the ball, it sits at exactly 400mm, which I believe is the prescribed height. I can only hope the wiring goes in just as easy. Still not sure I trust these Scotchloks...

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

Hi Brian,
I would under no circumstances use scotchloks. You will forever have problems. Some piggyback connectors would be better IMO.
Scoop

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1963 Morris 850 Smoke Grey
1963 Morris 850 Shadow Blue
1965 Morris Mini Smooth Van
1966 Morris Mini Van
1969 Morris Mini Deluxe Resto
5/72 Clubman Gt

Towbar looks good though.

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1963 Morris 850 Smoke Grey
1963 Morris 850 Shadow Blue
1965 Morris Mini Smooth Van
1966 Morris Mini Van
1969 Morris Mini Deluxe Resto
5/72 Clubman Gt

Thanks for the advice Chris. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of piggyback either - but to be honest, I don't have any experience with either.

I still may stick to my original plan, and cut the wires, solder all three ends together, and shrink wrap it. TBD tomorrow.

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

Hi Brian. Looks great.

Did you check that you are (by law) allowed to have a non-removable tongue? I thought you couldn't have the tongue of a tow bar sticking out when no trailer was attached. This was to avoid people banging their shins on it (which I've done several times in public car parks - very painful).

I'm guessing it's OK if a legitimate tow bar place made it for you.

P.S. I don't know what hurts more - the initial smack of the tow bar on my shin, or the aching pain in my ankle after I angrily kick the offending item.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Thats a pretty nice outcome. Very professional.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

yes he does a good job you want to see the van ones they do .
the tongue is removable on the van sort

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65 panel van Sprog
73 panel van Iggy

Yep, I imagine it may be illegal. The plan is to always remove it when not in use. It's only 6 bolts, and pretty easy to access. I just need to scheme a plan for the flat plug, which may be as simple as a couple of small holes on the subframe, to mount it when the tow bar is gone.

It's a good plan. I imagine after 10 install/removals I'll grow tired of the extra work and leave it on. The question is, can I kick the offending cop when I get a ticket?

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

Rather than having a fixed external plug my Subaru has a wiring lead with a female connector on the end, which is stored in the boot rolled up to one side when not in use. When needed the lead simply exits around the edge of the boot lid. The boot lid sealing rubber is soft enough that there is no distortion of the boot when in use. The multi-core lead is not a thick rigid round one but more loose and flattish so the gap needed to exit is not that great. It's long enough to reach a trailer lead. Works well and no outside connector needed.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Yeah, all things are still being considered. Sadly the one item I haven't completed is the title of the post - wiring the mini. I am very reluctant when playing with electricals. I always seem to do a good job, and it is never really that difficult, I just have a severe aversion to it.

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

Done and dusted. Tried and tested! Time for the thrilling conclusion to my towing adventure....

I tidied up the wiring as professionally as I could. Where I had to drill I made sure to generously coat the exposed metal with etch primer to ward off any tinworm. Grabbed a couple of rubber grommets from my local auto shop, and I made the decision to go with the ScotchLoks against my better judgment. All said and done, it came out quite nice and I am very pleased with the end result. What do you think?







And of course, the end result. I always get a lot of smiles driving the Mini around town, but this morning, people were really ecstatic to see me! And she did great. It was really no drama at all towing the bike, trailer and a car full of gear plus the Missus. Trailer weight: 111kg. Bike weight: 185kg. Missus + Gear + Fuel: ~70kg. On first gear starts I could certainly tell there was a trailer, but nothing major. Once on the freeway you couldn't even tell it was there. Braking was pretty ordinary, and though I was very cautious and always gave plenty of room, I never got the feeling I was being pushed. Anyone out there looking to do some towing with their Mini, I say go for it! (And call Des at Locsed in Ringwood for a brilliant towbar.)

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1998 Rover Mk VII
2001 Honda CBR 929RR (street)
2014 BMW S1000RR (track)

looks good and yes he does a good job have had no problems wit any of the towbars i have got from him

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65 panel van Sprog
73 panel van Iggy