A-Z

I'm looking at buying a Featherlite 3110 trailer for my C6 Z06: http://www.fthr.com/bumper-pull_car-trailer/model3110/ While it has removable fenders, it's still a close call as to whether you can open the doors over the tires. My friend Doug ("Last C5") says on his C5 it's "more than close": he has to take his weight off the seat for the door to clear. So one option is a version of this trailer with a slightly higher deck. The trade-off, of course, is a slightly steeper ramp angle when loading.

So here's the favor: could someone whose C6 Z06 is fully down on the lowering bolts measure the distance from the bottom of your open car door to the ground? I would do this myself on my car, but the car is in Portland and we're ski bumming in Sun Valley for the winter and won't be back in Portland until April. This information will allow me to determine whether I need to order the higher deck so the doors will clear the tires. Perhaps you could take a few measurements for me: with the car door open about a foot and with the door open all the way, at the leading edge, at the mid-point of the door, and at the trailing edge of the door.

Thanks! Andy

Bill Dearborn

If you go with the lower bed trailer one thing you can do to help the situation is to put a 10 or 12 ft long 2x10 on the trailer bed for the left side of the car to ride on. This will tilt the car sideways and give you a little more than the 1 1/2 in thickness of the board as extra height on the driver's side. You may even be able to get in and out without removing the fender.

You can fasten the board to the trailer or just put in place when you run the car up on the trailer once the car is on the board it will not go anywhere.

Bill

C6Brain

I have that trailer and you have to take the weight off on stock height Z06 with fender off to open door. The board is a good suggestion that I will have to try.

A-Z

That is helpful. Thanks.

By "take the weight off," you mean you mean lift your body weight off the seat?

Also, do you happen to know your Z's ride height relative to the adjusting bolts, e.g., all the way down, all the way up, etc.?

Andy

SHOCheapRacing

I have the featherlite open trailer and park the front side driver tire on a 2x10 piece of lumber. It puts the door at the right height to just clear the trailer tires.

My car is at factory height.

Sgt.Gator

Living the Life of Riley!

c4cruiser

The loading angle will be a big factor it's created by angle of the loading ramps ramps and the trailer deck. The angle plays a big part in whether or not the underside of the car will scrape as the car is driven up. Being able to open the door without without the fender in place may be secondary if the car won't load without scraping.

From the pics, it looks like the trailer has no dovetail. To keep the car from scraping at the end of the trailer deck, you may have to change the length or angle of the ramps, or raise the front of the trailer to lower the angle.

Having some 2x12's on the deck will help with door clearance, and where the back edge of the wood sits may help with the loading angle. In any event, the wood will have to be securely fastened and some sort of non-slip surface should be applied to the wood.

I measured my 02 coupe that is lowered all the way on the stock bolts and with the driver's door open to the first holding notch, the back of the door (before the kickup) is 9". This measurement is about 18" from the opening on the body. The forward part of the door is 8" off the ground (measured below the forward part of the outside mirror). At the centerline of the wheelbase, my car is 3 1/2" off the ground.

I have an 18' open trailer with a 2" dovetail. To load my 87 (stock height), I have to use 6' ramps with 3' wood extensions. To load my C5, i have to add another 5' worth of ramps to lower the angle enough so that the car wont scrape. The end of the trailer dovetail is 16" off the ground.

A-Z

Thanks all This is helpful.

Andy

trackboss

IMO, all trailers should have winches mounted on them. That will solve any worries about needing to open doors and such. Keep in mind that there may be a time that your car will need to be trailered because it is un-drivable and pushing will not be an option. A winch will make life much easier.

back 40

Mine is not a Featherlite, but is fairly light. I can pull up on the trailer with just a piece of plywood over the ramps(no scraping) and open my door, no problem. And it was cheap!

Sgt.Gator

What was the cost? I found the website but no prices.....http://www.texastrailersupply.com

John Shiels

If you have no winch you can get a towing company to come out. They can then hook up to you trailer and winch you up. I did it at Pocono in 02 for 50 bucks. It was pouring rain when they came also. I gave them 20 each because in NY they would not lift the phone for 50 bucks! It was the first time I used my trailer and the engine, tranny and diff all went bang!