Trailering my c7
#1
Trailering my c7
I am looking at a covered trailer 16' v-nose. Has anyone trailered a vette in a 16', the next size up is 18'. Interested to hear experiences anyone may have.
#2
Safety Car
Define "covered". If you mean enclosed, 16' is pretty damn small. I think 20' is the minimum most would accept for a car only with 24' being more the standard size I see at the track.
#3
#4
Race Director
I've got a 20' V-nose that is VERY minimal - but like you, I was looking for light weight.
Mine is aluminum and weighs 2450 lbs empty. With my 3200 lb C6 Z06, 210 lbs of spare wheels/tires on the rack you can see in the front, and a couple hundred lbs of spares and tools, I'm about 6000 to 6100 lbs total weight for the trailer.
Common towing wisdom is that the tongue weight should be 10-15% of the trailer's weight. My 650-675 lb tongue weight is right about 11%, and that's not too bad for my F150. My truck's hitch can handle a max of 500 lb tongue weight for a straight bumper pull rig, and 1050 lbs with a WDH (weight distribution hitch).
Below are some pics of my 20' trailer. It's 17' to where the nose starts v-ing down, and 20'4" to the tip of the V-nose. I've got a cabinet, a winch, and a battery in the V-nose.
My C6 is about 14-1/2 feet long, and I load it so the rear is only a couple inches from the rear door when it's closed. You can see below where the chocks are, and the front of the car extends right up to where that line is across the trailer where the floor changes, so that doesn't leave a whole lot of room - but enough for a couple gas jugs and a plastic box for some tools. You might be able to make out a hatch in the floor - it's pretty large and a good place to carry a couple spare rotors, pads, some brake fluid, oil, etc.
You can see that my trailer has a tire rack up front. I'm not sure that you'd have enough room in even an 18 foot trailer to carry a spare set of track wheels/tires very easily.
Bottom line - for an enclosed trailer, I don't think even an 18 footer would carry a Vette very well. My experience is that my 20 footer is about the very smallest enclosed that would work.
Bob
Last edited by BEZ06; 03-22-2014 at 05:51 PM. Reason: Added picture
#6
Racer
I would say 20 feet is the real MINIMUM length you should even consider for an enclosed trailer. I've got a 20' V-nose that is VERY minimal - but like you, I was looking for light weight. Mine is aluminum and weighs 2450 lbs empty. With my 3200 lb C6 Z06, 210 lbs of spare wheels/tires on the rack you can see in the front, and a couple hundred lbs of spares and tools, I'm about 6000 to 6100 lbs total weight for the trailer. Common towing wisdom is that the tongue weight should be 10-15% of the trailer's weight. My 650-675 lb tongue weight is right about 11%, and that's not too bad for my F150. My truck's hitch can handle a max of 500 lb tongue weight for a straight bumper pull rig, and 1050 lbs with a WDH (weight distribution hitch). Below are some pics of my 20' trailer. It's 17' to where the nose starts v-ing down, and 20'4" to the tip of the V-nose. I've got a cabinet, a winch, and a battery in the V-nose. My C6 is about 14-1/2 feet long, and I load it so the rear is only a couple inches from the rear door when it's closed. You can see below where the chocks are, and the front of the car extends right up to where that line is across the trailer where the floor changes, so that doesn't leave a whole lot of room - but enough for a couple gas jugs and a plastic box for some tools. You might be able to make out a hatch in the floor - it's pretty large and a good place to carry a couple spare rotors, pads, some brake fluid, oil, etc. You can see that my trailer has a tire rack up front. I'm not sure that you'd have enough room in even an 18 foot trailer to carry a spare set of track wheels/tires very easily. Bottom line - for an enclosed trailer, I don't think even an 18 footer would carry a Vette very well. My experience is that my 20 footer is about the very smallest enclosed that would work. Bob
#7
Race Director
Well - I don't know whether it would be able to be modified to fit on/in other trailers or not.
Here's one they make for their open deck trailers:
And here's the one for their enclosed trailer:
I think if you have one of their trailers without a tire rack that you can buy a retro-fit kit from them for around $600.
Whether it will fit or be adaptable to other manufacturer's trailers, I dunno!
Give them a call and talk to them about it.
Take a look at their website for info and pricing on the kits, and to see their contact info: http://trailex.com
Bob
Here's one they make for their open deck trailers:
And here's the one for their enclosed trailer:
I think if you have one of their trailers without a tire rack that you can buy a retro-fit kit from them for around $600.
Whether it will fit or be adaptable to other manufacturer's trailers, I dunno!
Give them a call and talk to them about it.
Take a look at their website for info and pricing on the kits, and to see their contact info: http://trailex.com
Bob
#8
Tech Contributor
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I run a 16 ft. open trailer. I have a tire rack on the front and the nose of my Z06 sits just under the back edge of the tires. Front bumper sits about a foot to the rear of the wind screen running across the front of the tire rack. Rear of the car sits about a foot from the rear of the trailer. If it was enclosed it would be a tight fit. 20 ft would probably be the minimum bed length I would go with. Remember you have to have some room to move around the car so you can hook up the tie downs, etc.
Bill
Bill
#9
Burning Brakes
18' with 2' V-nose. Small, light, and with the pickup truck bed you can carry everything you need. I can put in two or three large plastic bins in the nose and still have enough room to tie down the car. That's about as small as you can go enclosed.