StealthLT4

So I have (or will have soon) a set of AutoX wheels/tires for my '96, and I'm a little confused on what the best way is to transport them. I bought a trailer hitch that I plan on installing this weekend, but it's what I attach to that that's got me confused. From what I understand, I can either get a small trailer for wheels/tools (though I've always taken a sh!tload of tools inside the car, so that's not an issue), or I can get one of the metal trays that just attaches on the back.

My vote would go to the tray for ease of transportation and less crap to store overall. However, would 4 315/35-17 A-molds and tires be too much weight on the hitch? I found a place selling 24-lb Aluminum trays for about $150. I'm close enough with my school's machine shop that I can probably make one for not much more than the cost of the materials, but I'm not sure how much box-frame aluminum we have.

Any suggestions? I tried a search, but all the terms I've thought of are pretty generic and turned up a bunch of crap...

In case there's any confusion, I'm talking about THIS:


versus THIS (with a floor and stuff to secure the wheels to of course)

jaa1992

Use the small trailor!

I bought one, put some plywood down, bought a small truck box and mounted it.
It is NOT a rickety trailor, had it to "can't comment" speed on a trip from ATL to VIR with NO issues.
4 315 khumo tires and wheels fit.

I'll see if I can take a picture this week.

bobmoore2

Go with the trailer. The tray makes no sense when you weigh the pros and cons.

The tray is a long lever arm. You intend to put about 200 pounds (4 tires and wheels, plus a strong tray) onto a long lever arm. Imagine the forces generated when you hit bumps that cause the tray to bounce up and down. The hitches available for Vettes are not made to repeatedly take that amount of tongue weight.

A tray is OK on a truck that is rated for a half ton or more of tongue weight and several tons of towing capacity, not on a Corvette.

bse53

I've used a tray with good results. I use straps on the sides of the tray that keep it from twisting (that's more of a concern). But I don't think you could physically get 4 315's on a tray, at least the one I got from Harbor Freight. 275's fit ok, but even 295's are going to be a tight fit.

I had an engineer at work look at it, and while I'm exceeding the stated capacities of the hitch and GM's recommendations, he didn't think the loads were excessive.

The tray I got is aluminum and is lighter than the one's you show in the picture.

The autocrosses I go to are at minimum 80-120 miles each way.
Having said that, I'd probably go with a trailer, because by the time you have an air tank, jack, tools, etc. the car is pretty full.

Brian

jlcvt

I vote tray, for the same reasons you gave. At $150 just buy it instead of making one, unless you need to design something much different for your needs.

dbratten

I thought about a trailer and a tray and decided to weld up a T bar to carry tires instead. It's just a piece of 2" pipe welded to 1.25" square tube (into hitch) to run through the center of the wheels. A 315 & 335 hang on each side with locks to make sure they don't wander off when parked. I'll get some pictures tomorrow and post them.

--Dan

EvilBoffin

If you intend to run wide tires like 315's and decide to go the trailer route, then you may want to consider something a bit wider then the one you show in your last pic. I believe it's only 40"x46".

Take a look at the 4'x6' Carry-On Corporation trailer that both Tractor Supply Company and Northern Tool sell. It's fully assembled (welded), pre-wired and ready to tow right from the store. It also has a full wire mesh floor and short side rails already welded on, so you wouldn't have to buy/fabricate those materials. It offers enough room to carry 4 fat tires loaded cross-ways [][][][], all your tools, floor jack, a big cooler and a 10x10 Easy-Up, etc.

I recently bought one to tow behind my C6 this season. Got it at TSC, cause their price is usually less then Northern sells it for.

TSC sells a large-capacity plastic truck box that fits perfectly across the width of this trailer, with just enough space beside it to carry an extra trailer tire&wheel. They also stock pre-assembled & lubed hub kits, and the store staff will usually help you with state registration procedures, depending on what kinda hoops your state makes you jump through to 'legally' tow such a piddly little trailer...

StealthLT4

It looks like the general consensus is a trailer. I agree with the issue on impact-loading of the hitch with a tray attached; I'm just not sure how much it's designed to take. I don't plan on many long trips, but I will be forced to take 1 300-mile interstate drive with it, to take it from school back home when I graduate in May.

I worked out the numbers, and I need a 52" wide trailer to put the wheels side-by-side. I could get away with a 40" or 48", but I'd have to stagger the 2 stacks of 2, which would leave no room for other stuff, which would be nice to have if I'm getting a trailer anyway.

Apparently TSC's website is broken, or they just don't list trailers. And Northern Tool's prices are a little out of my range; does it really cost $600 for a simple 5x8 trailer with no floor or sides? It's pretty easy for me to fab up some floor/sides, so I think I'd rather save some money and do that myself. Any suggestions on better places to find trailers? Never really looked for this kind of stuff before...

jaa1992

I'll post a pic this week.
I have the small trailer, and while my outside wheels hang off a little it is not outside the trailer fenders.
Plenty of room.

c4cruiser

I used a Harbor Freight trailer to haul tires and tools behind my 87 for a few years. It worked out great in that I could fit the trailer in my 3-car garage and never had to unload stuff. When I went to an event, all I had to do was hitch up and go.

This is the HF trailer I bought. All I had to do was install a plywood deck and got a Contico tool box from the local Home Depot.

Note that this trailer has 12" wheels. A few years ago, there were lots of posts about the HF trailers and the consensus was that 8" wheel/tires were not the best thing for extended mileage due to the lower weight carrying capacity and the smaller diameter meant higher RPM's on the wheel compared to the 12" tire/wheel.

The HF trailer could easily carry around 500lbs and I loaded mine so that the tongue weight was around 50 lbs and that was no problem for the hitch on my 87. I did take it on long trips and sometimes hit 80+ while towing. It was never a problem behind the 87. The inside rear view mirror was blocked by the tires, but I could clearly see behind the car with the outside mirrors.

Here's a pic of my old trailer:


The tires in the pic are older Hoosier 275/45-16's. 315/35-17's are really not that much wider in diameter. Note that my tires sit just over the edge of the plywood deck and the fenders are about 8" wide. I have other pics of how I set up the deck for holding the tires. PM me with an email address and I'll send the to you.

StealthLT4

Yea I guess it's not really necessary to place both wheel stacks side-by-side, seeing as how 40x48 trailers are SO much cheaper than anything big enough to stack them neatly on. Also, hanging them over the edge should work fine.

Bill Dearborn

In my opinion the biggest problem with a tray is the extra weight so far behind the rear wheels. This changes the balance of the car putting more load on rear suspension members (+more negative camber and increased rear toe) and lifting the front of the car (decreased negative camber and more toe out) which can make the steering darty, etc. If driving more than a few miles that becomes a real safety consideration as you will want to drive at higher speeds.

Bill

EvilBoffin

I have loaded a full set of 295/315 Hoosier A6's onto my Carry-On 4x6 trailer, tread down, across the width of the trailer at the rear. IIRC, there was maybe 2-3 inches left over, so they fit just fine. So it all depends on what size tires you use.

Try this link for the trailer I mentioned :

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...&Special=false

Keep in mind that some local TSC stores seem to regularly have better prices (and occasionally a sale) on Carry-On trailers that the website doesn't reflect...

.

EvilBoffin

FYI - I just went out & measured the width of my 4'x6' trailer. It is actually 48.9 inches wide between the side rails. That measurement is consistent across the entire length of the bed.

The track tires shown in my sig picture above are 46.5 inches wide stacked together, as mounted on 18x10 & 18x11 CCW wheels.

zcobra1

I have been thinking about a variation to the "tray" thing by having a custom made tray made up that will sit OVER the trunk on my C5- Z
with only 2 rear wheel/tires..... Would probably only work on a C5 Z or vert... This contraption would just clear the trunk and I am thinking aluminum construction-
The 2 fronts wheels/tires can fit inside the car if traveling solo- and that is most of the time, and still leave plenty of room for gear, etc. Without a trailer I am not limited to truck speeds and the weight would be more evenly distributed over the rear wheels of the car than a tray.

Ya think it is worth pursuing ? The hitch could also work as a tow bar hook up ? I was thinking of having a tow bar done up that slides into the hitch when tracking ......

What do you think of these ideas ?

klasik-69

Better idea is to find a friend who is towing his car to the track, and you throw your stuff on his truck or in his trailer. I don't know why some of you are trying to rube-goldberg a corvette to get to the track. You end up trashing the inside of your car in order to save a few bucks. What you don't trash on the inside, you end destroying on the outside as in loading and unloading the wheels from the rear hatch area. Yeah, I know, you'll be carefull each and every time ! I am too until I screw up, then its a big OH Sh*t, I wish I had.............. Why not get one of those luggage coffins for the roof too ? Get the pup tent in there, and throw the hibachi in there to save on restaurants.

Maybe its me that's confused, but if I can afford a Corvette, and (wait a minute longer here) I can afford to pay for track time, I should have a little left over for what I call overhead. If, however, my budget is that tight, maybe I shouldn't be on the track to begin with. Driving an unbalanced car on a highway is a dangerous move. If some idiot pulls out in front of you and you need to jump on the brakes, what is all that crap in the tray going to do to your emergency handling ? Where are those strapped down wheels going to end up when you hit that idiot ? Oops, I almost forgot two of your wheels are inside the car........yep they'll be pushing your skull into the windshield. That's about 100 lbs of loose mass going forward at whatever speed you were doing before the car quit moving forward. Too bad you won't have your helmet on then !!

The trailer is not much better but its a little safer, and you won't tear up the car as easily. However, emergency braking will still be a problem. You won't get your skull crushed. I'll stick to my method and trailer the car behind a 3/4 ton pickup made to tow.

jlcvt

Sorry I read your post wrong. I didn’t realize you’re talking about using a tray on the back of your CORVETTE. I change my vote to trailer.

StealthLT4

I guess I never specified, but yes this is for the back of my Vette.

c4cruiser's setup looks to be exactly what I'm looking for, so I'm starting to plan out all the stuff I'll need for that. Thanks for the advice and help everybody.

klasik: If I could buy a truck and car trailer, I gladly would. That's definitely the best way to do it. Sadly, my Vette is my only car, and as a college student I don't have much money for 'overhead.' I just love driving it hard, like it was designed for, and closed courses are the only safe place to do that. So far I've been limited to AutoX events due to time constraints, but I'm hoping to do an HPDE early this summer.

klasik-69

Sorry about jumping on you. I thought you were going all over the place to do HPDE.....hence the thought about track costs, lodging, etc. AutoX events are cheap in our area and a lot of young drivers participate. More power to you. The trailer is much safer. It would be best if you could use a combination tire, DOT approved yet good for some track events, like the Toyo T1R.....not sure about C4 tire size. I use them on my Miata for combination track events so I get there without a trailer or tray. Best yet is to get a track buddy who trailers his car and see if he won't help a poor college guy. I trailer my Z06 to events and have helped others by hauling their stuff to and from the track. Its not that big a deal. But please don't haul loose wheels inside your car, hatch area or otherwise, its a recipe for disaster. You will never know when to anticipate an emergency situation. Otherwise, good luck to you. If you were in my area, I'd haul your stuff for you.