cbernhardt

I have an 18' aluminum flatbed (no dovetail) open trailer that I use to transport cars. On occasion I would like to have an enclosed trailer for vehicle protection. I am not too concerned with being able to do any work on the car while in the trailer. I believe I can make an aluminum enclosure to put on the trailer, but I want it to fit fairly close to the car in order to reduce weight and air resistance. The sketch above shows generally what I am trying to describe. I also want to make the cover completely removable so that I can use the trailer to haul other stuff. If the cover fits closely I will need some means of raising and lowering it enough (approximately 5 feet) to get in and out of the car and also to be able to easily tie the car down. Just wondering if anyone has seen or done this type of trailer cover? Any suggestions for a lifting mechanism?

My other option would be to put a large door in the rear for driving the car through, but that would necessitate adding an access door on the driver side to get in and out of the car and also a door in the front to access the tie downs.

Charles

achapman

A friend of mine bought a fiberglass double axel trailer that was used for product displays. I believe it was originally bought by a wood stove manufacturer in Vermont to take to shows, then my friend bought it. He trailers his cars in it, and what is nice is that the both sides open up, to show product, so that he has easy access to get in and out of the cars, from either side and it doesn't hit the fenders over the wheels. The sides have gas filled shocks that will hold the sides up, but not in heavy winds...... ask me how I know..... He also modified the front by building a fiberglass "bubble" to help cut down on wind resistance. I will try and get pixs if your interested. The only other problem he had was getting the electric brakes to work in unison with the towing truck. Good Luck.....

Zigler

I recently saw a service flatbed carrier truck for the local Ferrari / Maserati dealer going down the road. It was a traditional flatbed haulaway with what appeared to be a rubberized canvas structure on top to shield the customer's car. It appeared to be mounted to a frame on top of the flatbed, with rollup sides and rear to get the car on/off. The sides were marked with (Jack) Cauley Ferrari / Maserati. They are also have a Chevrolet franchise. I assume this setup is an option from one of the carrier manufacturers like Jerr-Dan. You can probably make something like this for your trailer.

JohnZ

If you call Dan Cable at Cauley Ferrari-Maserati, (248) 538-9600, he can probably give you some more info on that rig; they use it daily (especially in the winter) for pickup/delivery of customer cars for service.

richscorvettes

Charles,

When we were towing with a smaller tow vehicle I had thought about using an aluminum open trailer and making a vinyl top for it. It would have used hoops (kind of like a Conestoga wagon), a zipper rear door (and maybe one for the side) and the front of the cover would have attached to a front stone shield.

I ended up going with an enclosed unit but when searching found this one which might be of interest at least from a design standpoint: http://www.tommystrailers.com/topper.htm

If you make an aluminum enclosure I would think an electric winch mounted to a re-enforced ceiling rafter might do the trick as it's bound to still be pretty heavy and a little tricky to balance.

Rich Lagasse

Donny Brass

I called, that topper is $3800 without a trailer .......

Tintin

These guys have some nifty trailers, check out their enclosed lineup...

http://www.brianjames.co.uk/pages/start.html