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I am looking for help on purchasing an open trailer. I want to make the most informed decision I can, and try not to make a big mistake.
Looking for an open trailer to transport my car to HPDE events. I may not use it for my local track, but would for tracks that are further from home. So this may happen 4-6 times a year, and I don't plan on hauling any further than 7-8 hours max from home. My tow vehicle is an aging Tundra with a 5.7 engine. I also plan to use the trailer as utility trailer around the house some.
I have been looking at steel with wood decks, and steel with steel tread plate decking. I'm not sure which would be best? Or if this makes a difference? Aluminum trailers are not in my budget. I am also unsure what length to get? 16, 18, or 20'? Long or short dove tail? And the most important, will I be able to drive the car up on the trailer without a lot of extra work? What all do I need to consider?
Any tips on making a good purchase would be appreciated. I will be hauling a C7 lowered 3/4" on factory bolts.
18 ft would be a minimum. Dovetail helps. I got a full steel deck on mine so I could use it for other uses. I also got the extended ramps so I don't have to have other assistance getting car on, but it is close(lowered with Pfadt shocks). Dual wheels with dual electric brakes helps. I would suggest getting a tire rack and getting front stand mounted so you can install a tool box for all your towing items(winch, straps, blocks etc). One of the better investments I have made in my tracking budget.
I am on my 22nd year with my wood bed 16 ft trailer. 16 ft works well. Mine has a 30 inch beaver tail, two piece ramps that make a 10 ft long ramp when put together, and the bed is high enough the car doors clear the fender. When I purchased the trailer I had the dealer weld on a tire rack, build a stone guard as part of the rack and make the ramp extensions. With the car balanced properly on the trailer I have about 18 inches of space in between the stone guard and the front of the car. Also have room for a tool box on the tongue in front of the stone guard as long as I am able to maintain trailer balance with the car on the trailer.
The trailer has sat outside for about half of its life. I power wash the original deck every 6 or 7 years and then soak it with Thompson's Water Seal. Trailer has traveled from upstate NY to Charlotte, to Sebring. It pulls well up to well above the 70 mph speed limit in most states.
Trailer with car, full gas tank and tires in the tire rack weighs in right about 5500 lbs.
I tow it with a 102,000 mile 2003 All Wheel Drive Tahoe that has 3:73 gears which are the perfect combination for towing that weight with a 5.3 LS engine. Just put it into gear, get up to speed, hit the cruise button and go.
Funny thing is in the 22 years I have owned the trailer I have only needed it to get my car home from an event 8 times. I have pulled other people's cars home about an equal number of times.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; 07-13-2015 at 12:31 AM.
I bought a RnR trailer and have hauled a C5 and a C6 GS on it no problem. My C5 is lowered about an inch and the air dams rub a bit, but no problem. If you look through the RnR slides you will see a C6Z loaded. The owner of that car has fully prepped it and like me he only uses the ramps that come with the trailer. Empty the trailer is 1280 and in 3 years has given me no problems, with long trips to Sebring and the Museum hauling a car. An 18 ft is a better length, you can adjust the position of the car to get the correct tongue weight, especially if you plan a tire rack.
http://rnrtrailers.com/ This isn't a pitch for RnR, I had go to Michigan to get it buy wirth the trip. Stopped at the Auburn Cord Dusenburg Museum in Auburn Indiana on the way. That was worth the trip. I Haul it with a 2003 1500 Silverado with the same report as Bill, plenty of truck for the job.
Check to make sure you can open the drivers door once your on the trailer. Measure the distance from the trailer deck to top of fender and compare to bottom of your door to ground. You might need to add some 2x10's to the trailer to give you clearance.
I have noticed that some trailers have stake pockets and some have D rings. I am leaning towards the 18' with a full wood deck, and the wood deck models have stake pockets. Do the stake pockets work for strapping the car down? And while on the subject, are 5,000 lb ratchet straps correct for securing the car? Or do I need 10,000 pound?
Sorry for the basic questions, but it has been 15 plus years since my drag racing years and towing the drag car around.
I have a '11 Tundra crewmax with the 5.7. I use a 18' steel trailer with wood deck to pull my '04 C5 Z. I had to buy race ramps in addition to the ramps that came with the trailer in order for it not to scrap. It's lowered about 1" on the stock bolts.
I back my car on so I can open the doors fully. If I pull it on forward I can not open the doors because of the wheel wells. The truck pulls the trailer fine and I use a weight distribution hitch. I use the D-rings in the front and the stake pockets on the back because the d-rings are too close to my exhaust to ratchet it right. I have had no issues towing it 6 hours. Just check it ocassionally when you stop for tightness.
You want 10,000 lbs ratchet straps. I bought this.
I have a 16ft Leonard trailer with no dove tail. I originally bought the trailer when I was hauling an S2000. Since getting the vette I have had to make adjustments. Because there is no dove tail I had to get a set of race ramps to get the car on the trailer with the splitter on. The car is on 2.5" off the ground in the front and the splitter stick out almost 36". So before you buy anything you need to do measurements and know what your rise angle needs to be.
Also with a 16ft trailer there is almost no room on the front to get a winch which for me was essential. Why have the ability to trailer the car home if it breaks but not have a way to pull it onto the trailer. I use my winch to load and unload the car. Makes it much easier than driving it on and hoping for the best.
My trailer has a wood deck that I stained and is holding up well after about 3 years. If the door does not clear the fender then just add aboard on top of the trailer to lift it up a bit. I did that and it works perfect.
Also keep this in mind. I calculated how much it would cost me to miss a day of work if the car broke and I couldn't get home. The cost of my trailer was less than 2k. Cheap investment to not have to miss a day of work or pay for a tow truck to get the car home.
I am still tyring to figure how to get a tire rack on it
Here's my RnR trailer. I added a tire rack and modified the way the ramps are secured to the trailer so I could put the spare and a tool box up front. I made the tire rack with T-slots, and the materials cost about $650. That stuff ain't cheap, but you can cut aluminum with a carbide wood saw and buy the T slot cut to size. I also included the BOM and the drawing of the tire rack. This is why you need an 18 ft trailer. Once you put a tire rack, spare tire, tool box, 4 gas cans, and a pit bike on the front of the trailer, the tongue weight is very important, so that trk/trlr all stays level. Otherwise you either wander all over the road or overload the hitch. i have no trouble keeping up with traffic with this rig and the 5.3 that came with the truck. I did have the ECM reprogrammed to raise and sharpen the shift points of the trans, though.
I like those RnR trailers, and I hear the price is very reasonable. REALLY wish I'd have gone aluminum if for no other reason than to not have to constantly touch up rust spots on my steel trailer.
I have noticed that some trailers have stake pockets and some have D rings. I am leaning towards the 18' with a full wood deck, and the wood deck models have stake pockets. Do the stake pockets work for strapping the car down? And while on the subject, are 5,000 lb ratchet straps correct for securing the car? Or do I need 10,000 pound?
Sorry for the basic questions, but it has been 15 plus years since my drag racing years and towing the drag car around.
Thanks again!
I started out with a PJ Car Hauler 18' open trailer with a steel frame and full 2x6 wood deck that had a 2' dovetail. That dovetail is a big help as it reduces the angle for loading. PJ also makes a tilt deck trailer that may be a good alternative to dealing with ramps. An 18' trailer has enough room to allow you to install a small tool box and even a tire rack if you want to haul slicks with you to HPDE events.
The stake pockets on the outside of the frame rails really aren't for tieing down a car. Either have D-rings installed on the deck making sure the bolts go thru the crossmembers or have them welded to the front and rear frame rails. One thing you may find is that you will have to use longer ramps or build some wood extensions. With the car lowered, the air dam may scrape on the ramps. The dovetail should allow the car to go up on the trailer without scraping as it reaches the main deck.
A lot of open car trailers will have at least a driver's side removable fender and that will allow you to get out of the car by opening the door. Getting out in a NASCAR style is just no fun
Most car trailers will have brakes on both axles. Each axle should be rated at at least 3500 lb. Chances are the tires will be a belted version (not radials) and the typical tire size would be a Load Range C ST 205/75-15. Consider upgrading to radials and a Load Range D tire.
For tow straps, use a 10,000 lb rated strap. The rating is actually 3 times the actual "Working Load Limit" or WLL. So a 10K strap has a WLL of about 3300 lbs. There is not a whole lot of difference in the price of a 10K strap compared to a 5K strap (1650 lb WLL). Look here for some good prices on straps. The type of ratchet strap ends you get will depend on how the car is tied down.
You will also need a trailer brake controller. I used a Tekonsha controller on my old Silverado and it was a simple install and they are very highly rated. Depending on the year of your Tundra, Tekonsha may have a "plug-and-play" wiring harness so you don't have splice any wires under the dash.
If your truck didn't come with a trailering package, you will need a minimum of a Class III hitch, a 7-pin wiring harness connector, and a good trans cooler. It can't hurt to check the truck brakes and maybe upgrade the pads/shoes to improve braking especially on hills.
Here's my RnR trailer. I added a tire rack and modified the way the ramps are secured to the trailer so I could put the spare and a tool box up front. I made the tire rack with T-slots, and the materials cost about $650. That stuff ain't cheap, but you can cut aluminum with a carbide wood saw and buy the T slot cut to size. I also included the BOM and the drawing of the tire rack. This is why you need an 18 ft trailer. Once you put a tire rack, spare tire, tool box, 4 gas cans, and a pit bike on the front of the trailer, the tongue weight is very important, so that trk/trlr all stays level. Otherwise you either wander all over the road or overload the hitch. i have no trouble keeping up with traffic with this rig and the 5.3 that came with the truck. I did have the ECM reprogrammed to raise and sharpen the shift points of the trans, though.
That is a nice tire rack. I would love to build one for my wood deck trailer. Anyone have ideas or plans for one they have built?
I like those RnR trailers, and I hear the price is very reasonable. REALLY wish I'd have gone aluminum if for no other reason than to not have to constantly touch up rust spots on my steel trailer.
Here are some pictures of my trailer that I took 8 years ago. The trailer still looks pretty much the same even though it has spent the last two years getting the fresh air, sunshine and rain treatment. Pictures show the ramp layout, storage and layout of the tire rack and stone guard. No diagrams required as it was thrown together with no plans other than a sketch on a napkin.
Ramps measure about 10 ft long when together.
Short section is 4 ft long and the long section is 6 ft long. The long section came with the trailer so all the dealer did was build a shorter version of the same ramp.
The only disadvantage to these steel ramps is they are heavy.
The short section is flipped over when stored on the trailer so the upright isn't dragging on the ground.
Trailer bed is ~ 18 inches above the ground so the car door clears the fender. With my C6Z if I have race tires on the rims the door bottom will graze the top of the fender as I pull onto the trailer but once the back wheels are on the trailer the door clears.
That stone guard is just some fiberglass panels that are riveted to the tire rack support which is 1 inch rectangular steel tubing.
All packaged up and ready to go. The problem of adding more stuff where there is room in the front is the car has to move backwards to balance the trailer over the wheels. As you can see it can only move so much. If I don't carry the tires the car has to move about 2 inches further forward to balance the trailer.
This shows how I originally tied my cars down. I had straps that went back to the shipping slots on the car and then ratcheted the straps tight after attaching them to this large ring on the tongue. I would just pull on to the trailer and attach some fixed straps to D rings in the rear and fasten those in the rear shipping slots. Then pull the car forward with the front straps to make it tight.
It's really simple. ...what's your budget?
You can't buy a steak on burger budget! Hence aluminum vs steel.
I got a used steel with dovetail and tire rack for $1000 which needed about $500 in repairs. My friend needed a bling and light trailer so he got a new aluminum with tire rack and air dam...cost was $5400.00 ...it's really nice!
This isn't my old trailer but I got the idea for a tire rack from these pics. I used 1-1/2" exhaust pipe and I got the guys at the shop where I work to make the 90 degree bends. I picked up a tubing cutter to cut the ends of the horizontal pipes and welded everything together then I ground the welds down and used black Rustoleum paint to match the frame. I bolted the base to the wood deck so it was pretty easy to remove. I think the whole thing weighed about 60lbs.
I personally like an open center trailer. This allows you to service something under the car if needed when on the trailer. The downside is you will need to fill in the center if you use it to move a couch or washer/dryer.
IMO a Harbor Freight 12000lb winch is a nice insurance policy (yes it may be overkill, but having a full drum worth of winding AND HF quality I'd rather go big or go home. I have needed a winch 3 times and I am SOOOOO glad I had the winch and did not need to push a car on an open trailer.
My solution for not being able to open the door due to fenders was to cut the fender off and make it removable...but you can also put a 2x12 pressure treated plank down to raise the driver side.
07-12-2015, 09:34 PM
Car Trailer
