Reply to "Car Trailers"

The trailer question comes up every few months. Here is a copy from the last time. The original question from the DeTomaso mailing list is at the bottom.
When you get to shopping for a trailer, http://www.roadsters.com/trailers/#Race has a bunch of links to various trailer sites.

Here are a few things for you to think about.

I guess first thing is how much do you plan to spend? New or used? You can buy an open trailer for $1,500 (steel) to $6,000 (aluminum). An enclosed trailer will probably cost you between $5,000 (used) and $30,000.

Size? 16 ft. will be enough to carry the cars. Do you plan to take any pit vehicle - ATV or small motorcycle? Do you want a large tool cabinet on the trailer? Maybe you want a 20 ft.

I have a low budget operation, so mine is a steel 16 ft. open flatbed. It has the high, full deck.

High deck vs. low deck. With the high deck, I can open the doors over the fenders. It is only 8" from the deck to the top of the fenders. I do have to carry some 2X12 ramp extensions to load the Fiesta without the air dam dragging and the MR2 needs a couple of 2 ft. pieces of 5/4 to get up onto the ramps without dragging it's air dam. Everything else goes up OK - including the Pantera.

Full deck vs. two channels. I can haul about anything. I have hauled my Sprites, garden tractor, Fiesta, Escort, wife's Grand Marquis, the Pantera, & MR2. Just think about the difference in track between the Pantera and Sprites or garden tractor. Also, when you wad your car up at the track and tear a couple of wheels off, the full deck will be easier to winch the remains up on. Anyone care to offer any advantages to the channels?

Flatbed vs. tiltbed vs rollback. If I had an unlimited budget, I would go for the rollback. The angle of the bed when loading is not as steep as the tiltbed. Actually, if I had an unlimited budget, I would have the Toterhome with the 28' to 30' enclosed trailer.

If you go for the enclosed trailer, remember to get the "escape window" over the left wheel well so you can open the door. Picture fat old fart crawling out a Pantera window. Not a pretty picture.

Wheel size? Larger wheels probably ride smoother and bounce less than small wheels. Larger tires = larger load capacity. Smaller wheels lower the deck heigth. USE TRAILER SPECIFIC TIRES!!! On a 4 wheel trailer every time you go around a corner, 2 tires are scrubbing sideways. Trailer tires are made to take this. Car and truck tires are not. I bought my trailer used and it came with light truck tires on it. I tore the tread off 3 tires in the first four trips. Also, protect tires from UV light. I recently blew a 4 year old tire on the side that is always in the sun. Tires covers or a canopy that shades the tires would be good.

Tow vehicle. Get something big enough to stop the trailer. Going is not the main concern. I was towing with a Ford F-150. 5.0L was big enough to pull it up to about 85 MPH, but it took forever to stop. Now I have the trailer brakes connected and tow with a Ford F-250 Crew Cab with 7.3L PowerStroke Diesel. It will stop without the trailer brakes and it will cruise above 90 MPH with either my trailer or the wife's fifth wheel RV.
Performance:
F-150 fuel milage - about 16.3 highway, empty. With 1500 trailer and 2800 lb. Escort - about 9 MPG @ 85 MPH.
F-250 highway, empty - about 19.5 MPG. With 1500 lb. trailer and 2800 lb. MR2 - about 16.1 to 16.4 MPG. Acceleration is about the same as empty, but the turbo screams louder. With wife's RV - 30 ft long, 8 ft. wide, 12 ft 9 in tall, about 11,000 lbs. - acceleration noticably slower, but still cruises 85 - 90 MPH comfortably. Fuel mileage? 11 - 13 MPG

Materials. Hot rolled steel - cheap and heavy. Aluminum - light and expensive. Nuff said.

A couple of the SCCA guys are trailer shopping, too. The following is a copy of the e-mail containing trailer website links that I sent them.

Dave,
Here is the list that I sent to Shawn Bowen when he was thinking about
trailers:

Trailers for Less in Fayetteville has the BetterBuilt trailers like mine. I think Ben Thatcher bought his there. http://www.trailersforless.com/index.html

For the ultimate in way cool, open trailers, look at: http://martyhorine.mystarband.net They do stainless and aluminum rollbacks!

Here is a site that has links to many trailer dealers and manufacturers; http://www.roadsters.com/trailers/#Race

http://www.exiss.com/ http://www.featherliteinc.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1091733856
http://www.trailerworld.com/ http://www.featherliteinc.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1060311504
http://www.trailex.com/buycat.cfm?cat_id=92
http://www.hhtrailer.com/ or http://www.stainlesstrailers.com/

Texas Rollbacks are nice, too. Not as steep of an incline as a tilt bed. I have not found a manufacturers website yet, but here is a dealer site. http://www.dealsonwheels.com/search/detailbig.cfm/Autos__ID/67287

Also look at:
http://www.powertrailers.com/about.html
Neat trailer, crappy sales force that doesn't return email.

Now dream a little. With or without living Quarters? TrailerCrafters & King of the Road http://home.alltel.net/kingrd/ http://www.crewchief.com/crewchief.html
http://www.rvtruck.com/rv_truck_005.htm (ToterHome)
http://www.milltrailers.com/ (Millennium)
http://www.roadmasterllc.com/ (Roadmaster/Campmaster)
http://www.haulmark.com/
http://www.trailersforless.com/lq_options.htm (Pace American)


-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-admin@realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-admin@realbig.com] On Behalf Of Tom V Di Iulio
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:59 AM
To: Pantera
Subject: [DeTomaso] Trailering questions

hi all,
i'm considering purchasing a trailer to haul my pantera and pro-street nova to racing events. i'd like advice on: 1. whether to go enclosed trailer vs. open flatbed and why 2. if flatbed, tilt or ramps? 3. length of trailer needed...16', 18', or more? 4. features to look for when shopping 5. is wheel size important? 6. specific type of construction or material that has advantages? 7. how much harder will it be on the tow vehicle to pull an enclosed vs. flatbed in regards to wind and weight? 8. if i go enclosed, i'd like to use it as full-time storage for 1 car as well. is this okay?
i'll be pulling the trailer with my 01 GMC Envoy w/4.10 gearing and load-leveling suspension. it's rated for 6200 towing capacity and 11000 gross combined vehicle weight. it has the 270hp straight six and 275lb-ft tq.
thanks to any and all who can help me with this.
Tom Di Iulio
Denver, CO
'72 pre-L, #73
"Team Pantera Racing"

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