Open car hauler opinions, Looking to get a hauler by next season. Options

[Smitty2919]

Long story short, last year was my first autocross season and I went all out in mods more than I expected but I had a BLAST! That being said the hook has been inserted and will not come out.

With the addition of my wife wanting to get into a husband-/wife race team (I was ecstatic when she was willing/wanting to at least try) the old 95 Z will get double the runs. My stock 68k mi diff on khumo v710's gets angry and a trailer will serve as a safety net is something breaks.

So I wanted to come to the masters of Fbody racing and all that is involved. Here are some questions I had running through my head.

What to look for in a used trailer off craigslist? (I prefer double axle electric brakes)
I assume at least a 7ft wide x 16ft long. 18ft would be ideal with a 3ft dove tail?
Thoughts on "home made" trailers?
I would like to keep this $1200 and under but know of a trailer proven to work for a Fbody/Z06 owner that bought a new 18ft w/ 3ft dovetail trailer for $2000.

I'm "iffy" on buying a trailer that has been sitting in someone's back yard under a tree with rust etc on it from the simple fact of how well the wheel bearings/elec brakes are holding up. Given a trailer's function, I'm hesitant to buy someone's junk lol.

[CrashTestDummy]

There IS a towing section in this forum, and you can probably start looking around there. You don't mention what you're towing with. That may have some impact on how much trailer you can get. Definitely go with tandem wheels, and electric brakes. I'm a bit fan of the Bulldog coupler, as I've actually seen people improperly hook up the other hitch with the clamp you tighten down even though it looks good when looking at it.

I also prefer leaf springs vs. torque arms. Leaf spring suspension tends to be a bit tougher, and you don't wear out the inside of the trailer tire that can go unnoticed. Ours is a short Texas Bragg all steel trailer, and we're at least the 3rd owner. It's held up well, and we've had it at least 15 years. The trailer is short enough to fit in many home garages (we'd store the race car in our garage on the trailer). Very long steel ramps have been added to help get the low-slung car on the trailer. The ramps are HEAVY, and if we don't move to an enclosed soon, we'll be having some aluminum ramps fabbed up to replace those steel ones. The steel ramps almost require two people to man-handle them into place.

A friend has a tilt-back trailer, and we really like that design. His trailer, too, _just_ fits in his garage (he had to notch some of the studs in the back of the garage), and holds his BSP Vette well.

If I had to do it all over again, and if we stuck with an open trailer, I'd opt for an aluminum tilt-back, and spend the money for one. IMHO, $1200 is going to either get a really smoking deal, or junk. That $2K trailer is probably more common.

Getting the wife involved can really help with re-prioritizing the budget for go-fast parts, especially if they HATE to lose!! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Jan 2 2015, 04:23 PM

[SS Performance]

Buying used trailer can be a bit of a crap shoot.

Electric brakes are a must in my book. There are other types of braking systems but I don't think they work as well. Depending on your state laws either one axel or both axels must have brakes.

If you are looking at used trailers look closely at the trailer wiring. Are there a bunch of splices? Splices are faults waiting to happen in my opinion. You can check to see if the brakes are working by holding a cheap compass by the wheel and applying the brakes. If the needle swings they are working. That doesn't mean they work well just work.

Some trailer wheel hubs have grease fittings in them. I like these because you can squirt some grease in if you think they might need some. I carry a inferred temp gun to check my hub temps periodically.

If you buy a used trailer plan on doing a brake job and packing the bearings. So plan that into you budget.

I am a fan of using a winch to get the car on (or in) a trailer. It allows better control and reduces wear from slipping the clutch. More than once I have seen someone either drive off the end of a trailer or thur the end in an enclosed. I have also seen people scrape the sides of their cars.

Just some thoughts.

Good luck & have fun.

[Smitty2919]

Thanks guys. Sorry for not putting this in the Towing section...I missed it.

To answer some questions:
-Truck is a 2003 Silverado 2500 2WD 3/4 ton 6.0 gas motor. I'm not at all worried about the truck capability. It's technically my wife's truck she bought for towing horse trailers. Her hobby has 4 legs lol. I have used it to tow a 04 GTO on a UHAUL trailer to MI from KY and had zero issues...other than the poorly maintained UHAUL trailer (lesson learned).

-The trailer will sit outside behind my newly acquired house (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Now I finally have SPACE to store a trailer I can get one it's a matter of time getting $$ for one.

-While the tilt trailers are badass and to add aluminum structure on top of that would be quite splendid, but it's not in the budget honestly.

-I wouldn't mind rewiring the trailer because, lets face it, there isn't much to wiring one lol buying/replacing electric brakes are what I may not want to get into right off the bat depending on price of them. If I'm looking at brakes ~$200+ then I'll keep that in mind when searching.

It's like anything spend a little more and be done, or buy cheaper and possible need to put money into it...

[SS Performance]

My open trailer is a wooden deck with steel beaver tail & ramps. I'm not sure it there is a weight savings for the wood.

I like it because it can be easily repaired and wood isn't as slick when wet as steel.

I have never had a tilt trailer. I have concern with the approach angle for low cars.

You are correct about trailer wiring being easy. I look at the condition to judge how the trailer has been used (abused) and maintained.

[Smitty2919]

I will prefer a wood deck so I can not only repair the wood easily but also to leave a couple of boards out down the middle of the trailer so you can have access to the car if needed.

[CrashTestDummy]

Our trailer has a steel treadplate deck, and it's open down the middle. The 'open concept' limits the trailer's usage to being just a car trailer, but I guess one with a wood deck, you could add to it, if necessary. I've had no issues loading the car in the wet. The secret is, you get the car rolling, and make few throttle adjustments as it's rolling up the ramps. Use momentum to load the car, not horsepower. Having the co-driver there to help direct and watch your loading is a REAL help.

Not sure I'd like storing a trailer of any kind outside any more. It really makes them age in a hurry.

The friend with a tilt-back has a C4 BSP Vette. It has scrape marks on the front spoiler, it sits so low, but he has no problems loading it. I wouldn't think it would be a problem with our Firebird, and it, too, sits low.

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Jan 3 2015, 12:02 AM

[Smitty2919]

I won't have an option but to store it outside in the back yard. I only have a 2 car garage and my wife's car and mine gets in there.

I would/could wrap a tarp over it during the winter months along with taking the tires off and leaving it on blocks. Take any precaution to "winterize" it lol.

I'm lowered on strano springs so I somewhat expect to scrape the splitter and MAYBE the midpipes But it is what it is. Friend of mine with that 18" with 3ft dove tail sais he has no issues scraping on his lowered RR/AutoX Camaro (fbody as well) and even his lowered 03 Z06.

This post has been edited by Smitty2919: Jan 3 2015, 03:45 AM