madjack wrote:Andrew, it looks like from your drawings that he could just about eliminate the added frontal area by using a torsion or drop axle to get the trailer frame down to that 7" clearance height and chopping the trailer height.
Nearly. The new MX-5 is 49" high, so less 7" body ground clearance that gives you 42" height available. But you need, say, 2" chassis depth as well as the 42" body height so you're looking for 44".
Achieving 7" ground clearance isn't that easy. I don't think a drop axle will do it, as they don't seem to come in light weights and they need some travel under the frame, so it would need to be down at 4-5" above the ground. A torsion axle with an 'up' start angle and 8" or 12" wheels will do it, though that also leaves the torsion tube down at 5" from the ground.
Andrew