I was watching Nascar the other day and started thinking about the fancy pit boxes all the teams have. I've been tossing around the idea of getting a small trailer to haul behind my car when I drive to open track days, big car shows, and auto-x events. So now I'm considering building or adapting a small utility (4x6) trailer as a "track day trailer"

4x6 utility trailer
provisions to mount track rims
jack
Tool box
Chairs
EZ up
Cooler/ grill (I have one of those fire and Ice things they sold a couple years ago)
Air tank
etc
etc

I'm also probably looking at selling my truck since It sits 90% of the time at $4.00 per gallon, so the trailer would also see use as the "Home maintenance and Lowe's trip" trailer, and possibly to haul a 4 wheeler.

So has anyone else done something like this? Post descriptions, Pictures, and lessons learned if you have.

Thanks

If you've looked at the values of trucks, you probably may as well keep it. I have a 1 year old truck that I bought for about $7k off sticker. 1 year and 16k miles later, I'm $5,500 negative on it. I'll need to spend $5,500 in cash just to sell it. Trade in value is about half of sticker from a year ago. You can't give them away.

What Kevin said.

I have TWO big block 3/4 ton Suburbans. A '96 and an '04. They are beasts and suit my work/play habits perfectly. I tried to sell the 96 and found out quickly there is NO market for these vehicles --especially with 315k miles on the clock unless you just want to give them away. The older one was worth more to me to spend about $1k on maintenance and plan on keeping it for a spare driver.

The '04 has fallen off 40% in value in 12 months. FWIW, I am seeing the HD vehicles in the 04-05 model years here selling for < $15k here in TX.

Your probably right. Right now all my truck eats is insurance each month. I still think driving the car pulling a trailer would be less expensive than towing the car. (I have to borrow a car trailer, so that adds to the decision)

Many moons ago, I bought a 4x8 trailer from Tractor Supply.

I cut out the floor behind the axle. I set my spare tires down into the space. This lowered the CG of the trailer and got the row of tires low enough for me to use the inside rear view mirror.

I bought a side mount tool box, the kind that attaches to the side rails of a pick up. I put it at the front of the trailer. I put my jack, jack stands, torque wrench, small tool kit, etc in it and locked it up. The weight of the box and gear inside near the tongue, offset the weight of the tires behind the axle.

This left about a 4x4 area in the middle to put coolers, chairs, EZ-ups, whatever ...

What kind of mpg do you get in the car? What do you get pulling your car w/ the truck? I assume you put premium in the car and regular in the truck.

If you get 12 mpg in the truck @ $4.00/gal a 300 mile round trip is $100 in fuel.
If you get 20 mpg in the car @ $4.30/gal a 300 mile round trip is $64.5 in fuel.

I recently did this calculation for myself, but the difference is that the camaro is now getting 15 mpg with a bad tune and no overdrive on premium. Truck/trailer vs car is very close now.

So there is more hassle with the truck / trailer and some more costs up front, but the cost of paying a tow truck to get you home has to weigh into the decision. My daily driver broke down this winter and it was $130 to go about 20 miles.

There is also the chance of your truck breaking down as well, but it has to be much less probable than the car.

Slightly old pic now... I have a new truck..

Probably not what you were looking for.. but.. it does everything you need it to... including the ability to sleep in it (with A/C) at tracks like Nashville SS

Not sure what kind of MPG the car will get with the new LS1 in it, but I got mid 20's with the old L98 and t56 setup. I get 17 around town in the truck, probably 10-12 towing. Last time I towed the car was with Dad's big A$$ diesel, so the last time I used my truck was a couple years ago Back when gas was cheap (under 2.00/gal, boy those were the days!)

Plus, I have AAA and they would tow up to 100 miles no charge, one of the two closest tracks is within, the other isn't.

Now your just bragging! Sure would like one of those though.

The problem is.. I started out looking just like you are... small trailer, etc.

The problem I was having is simply that if something goes really wrong... I pack the car up and I still have a ride home.

I realize that everyone has priorities, etc.. but, I personally find (found) it hard to run my car like I should knowing that it was my only ride home. I'd jump on an open trailer 10x faster than a small 4x6 tagalong. They can be had for $1500 or so (used) all over the place.

I get 12 mpg empty and as low as 8.2 pulling a 24 foot enclosed. My truck also requires premium. I apparently have too much truck...

Howdy,



You sure that's not 2wd vs. 4wd you're looking at vs. the price of gas?

I assume the price of gas isn't helping, but my experience was that its hard to sell a 2wd truck at anything over "ludicrous" price.

Mark

I have a tiny red HFT trailer that is intended to be a tire trailer (one of these days).

I laid (four not two) eight foot long 2x10's on it a couple of weeks ago, bolted them down, put a short section of 2x4 across the ends of the 2x10's and bolted that on, then brought home a 600 lb Kwiklift on it that was on two pallets.

Towed the little red trailer behind the little red Aveo about 40 miles each way. Took more pedal to accelerate, but didn't notice much difference once I was up to speed since the load was low and tucked behind the car.


It took just a couple of minutes to take the bolts out and put the trailer back to normal when I was done with the oversize load.

The Aveo rear shocks were not up to sway control. The first on-ramp from the freight terminal to the interstate, had a big dip in it about 80% of the way through the turn. Started swaying as I was merging into traffic and took nearly 1/4 mile to get it to settle back down.

In a pickup truck, applying a little gas will often pull out a sway. In the fwd car, applying throttle, letting off, or just coasting made no difference. It swayed, and swayed, an equal (and big) amount for a long time. I just had to coast back down under 60mph and it eventually stopped. Kept it under 70mph after that, less if going around a curve and/or over a bumpy bridge transition.

If the trailer tongue was longer, I could have put a larger percentage of the weight in the front of the trailer, which probably would have helped. I was probably running around 75lb tongue weight.

The economics of towing with a truck vs a small trailer behind the car will never work out. When you start towing far and somewhat often is when a truck with full car trailer begins to make sense and it's not because of economic reasons. I know I tow my car to and from events at least 5k miles a year. I can't imagine driving a Street Prepared car that far full of crap and have any kind of energy left to want to run the event. It also nice to be able to haul a tent, chair, big cooler, etc to the big weekend events. I'm really happy with a 3/4 ton truck and an open trailer, enclosed trailers look like too much hassle.

It was worth almost 3k more about 3 months ago (give or take). I was seeing prices of a tick under 21k instead of mid 18's.

That's just not possible ...

Last trip I pulled my trailer, I saw 12.5 mpg calculated, to College Station and back
It's a 28' Vintage weighing in at 10Klbs loaded.

Last trip I drove w/o the trailer I saw 21mpg round trip toSan Antonio and back.

But, at $4.75/gallon, it doesn't really matter any more ...

Since January 1st, I have left the lie-o-meter alone to see what kind of fuel mileage I get based upon my driving habits.

I've logged just under 4,000 miles, a 700 mile round trip to Houston, 400 mile round trip to College Station, basic commuting over rural roads and in town driving.
I'm seeing ~16mpg. I could do a lot better if I would run about 65 instead of 75 ...

Mitch,

Mine is 6 liter and gas with factory 31" tires (C3500). It is quite possible.

I meant to have too much truck ...

Hi Phil....I have been running Greg Olsen/Tommy Pulliam's ESP car around the country with one of those 4x8 HF trailers...then again I am still young a stupid.

So far with no issues other than an electrical gremlin blowing Daytime Running Lights/Turn Signal Fuses.

1. Arkansas Pro
2. Atlanta Double X
3. Atlanta Tour

Coming up is:
1. DC Pro (Nancy Confirmed TODAY!!!)
2. Peru Tour
3. Toledo Pro
4. Milwaukee Pro
5. FLR Pro
6. GASS events
7. Nationals....

I would say I am a little stupid but then again I can't afford to run a tow rig/trailer. As another benefit I am averaging 28 mpg toting 2 sets of tires. You should see all the crap that I stick in that thing.

I didn't mean to start too much of a sidetrack originally.

I did tow a harbor freight trailer with me to Memphis to the NFME in 2005 and I used it for autcrosses with my 2002 Z28. I think I got about 26 mpg or so going to Memphis, but we were towing close to 80 and it's been years (so I might remember wrong). The mileage wasn't bad. A small enclosed trailer may be much worse though, but still cheaper than operating a truck.

Howdy,

I'm with Phil. I tow an enclosed trailer so that I can:

* Bring more crap that I might want (two sets of tires, spares, lots of tools, jacks, etc.

* Be more comfortable when I get there (I've hung out in the trailer on cold days, with a heater running, for instance, get out of the weather, etc.)

* Be more comfortable on the way there (me, wife, & son wouldn't fit in the camaro at all, even if you discount wanting to bring stuff)

* Be able to get back home if something real breaks (i.e. anything in the drivetrain, hub falls apart & ejects wheel, or whatever)

I don't do it to save money.

Mark

(and Phil, I'd say that an enclosed trailer isn't really any more hassle than an open trailer, as long as you have space to store it. Easier in "usability" ways in every way except for tieing down the car, when you have to squeeze in between the car/walls).

I guess I should add...I am single and travel with other people who happen to have tow rigs/trailers...so I always have a backup.

Once I got an enclosed, my life became a lot simpler.
The trailer is stocked and ready to go. All I do is load the car, strap it down and go. No worries about packing or worse NOT packing something I need.

Last I checked there is NO way to economically justify competition.
Quibbling over a couple hundred bucks in fuel while scrubbing off thousands in tires and brakes seems rather senseless to me.

I tow a 4 x 8 Utility trailer behind my Z-28. The trailer has been set up to carry a center mounted set of tires. There are large ABS plastic storage boxes at each end (easily removable if needed). I carry a fairly decent supply of tools, jackstands, floor jack and spares as well as gas cans. I get 22-25 mpg towing in 5th gear from NJ to WGI on interstates.

The bad news: if/when the car breaks at an event, you not only lack a means of getting home, you have both the car and the trailer to deal with. Happened to me last year at WGI. Had the car towed to a friend's garage (152.6 mi. tow) and had to borrow a truck and go back to WGI to fetch the trailer. It was a real PITA.

If funds allowed, I'd take the pltes off the car and trailer it in a heartbeat- so to speak.

It all comes down to how confident you are about your car. For autox (which is much gentler on the car, but not the driver!), a tire trailer seems like a great way to cut costs. If you've worked the bugs out of the car, and the drivetrain is reliable, then the major worry is crash damage, which I would guess for most folks is a remote possibility (and then begging a tow/trailer from a friend for the ride home is still cheap compared to the repair). I've been wanting to drive the Camaro to events, instead of towing with the Durango R/T (4wd, 5.9 gas, 3.91 gears) at 11 mpg / 70 mph. Bumping it to 80+ drops mileage to 9 mpg, while the Camaro gets over 20, even with the 8.1:1 turbo motor (thank you T56 .50 6th gear!). A friend broke down in MD on the way to NFME Memphis last month, and we unloaded the Camaro in a Walmart parking lot at 3am, loaded up his TransAm, and then continued on the way, with me driving the Camaro, and Mark trailering his TA with the Durango. 850 miles later, we arrived, and I was confident in the camaro, with the flawless drive down (it's the most I've driven it in years!). After the 1st track session (in the wet, mind you!), I went to put it in reverse in the paddock, and found it wasn't there. The mainshaft roller bearing had wiped itself out, along with the reverse gear needle bearing and synchro, so I was thankful I had a trailer to drive back with.

Last year at Watkins Glen - broke the spare T56, had to trailer home 300 miles. Before that, cracked both front rotors very hugely at WGI during the last session of the weekend, and just loaded it up on the trailer, instead of staying overnight Sunday to wait for Napa to open on Monday, wrenching, and missing a day of work.

The other benefit of the trailer is you can load the car up at home at your leisure with the brakes bled, race pads on, race tires mounted, and just roll it off at the track, ready to go. With the tire trailer, you'll be wrenching first thing in the morning and unpacking the car at the track. If it rains, then it really sucks!

My thoughts - if you don't push it to the limit AND your car is reliable (i.e. you don't need to do any maintenance above brake pads/fluid at the track), then the tire trailer seems to make sense. If you think there's a chance of something going wrong, and you've relied on the trailer in the past to get home, I'd suck up the extra hundreds in fuel cost, and keep using it. My wife would love if I got rid of the open trailer parked next to the house, rid of the Durango, rid of the Camaro, and traded it all in on a C5 Z06 that I drove to events, but I'll keep refining the Camaro until it's more streetable again. Either that, or sell it all and build a Factory Five Cobra

A.

A few years after I started autocross, my wife and I were on our way to dinner one night. She mentioned that she noticed the brochure for racing gas on my desk. I only had it because the owner of a speed shop handed it to me while I was getting something else, but I had been drooling a little. She said she knew I spent a lot of money on parts, but she thought shipping in special gasoline was over the top. She also said something similar about car haulers.

Hmmm, I think to myself. Parts are OK, special gas and a hauler are not. I can live with that, no need to debate it any further

Actually, I could get away with the trailer. I don't have my 3/4 ton anymore, so an open aluminum trailer would be the best bet. I ponder it at times, but I don't really want it in the way between events. I'd probably still change tires at the event, since it goes a lot faster in a roomy parking lot than on my gravel driveway or squeezed into the garage. If I ever go to an event more than an hour or two away, I may rent a trailer just to cover the breakdown issue. Even minor stuff like brakes would be easier to fix leisurely at home instead of dog-tired in the hot sun or rain, and it cuts down on the number of spare parts to carry.

For a long time, my working trailer was a 4x6 from Tractor Supply. After using one of those black plastic Walmart tool boxes for a while, I switched to a 4' rectangular (no overhang) polished aluminum box from tractor supply. It had the most usable room of anything I looked at, and the top is insulated. Between that and the polished finish, it keeps the contents fairly cool and slightly more secure than the black plastic.

My current trailer is roughly 3.5' x 8' and enclosed. It has big doors on both sides that flip up (think gull wing) for easy loading. I built a wooden tire rack that runs lengthwise, biased toward one side, and has a few beams across the top as shelf space. The body is light luan plywood with a 2x4 frame on a steel chassis, and covered with white aluminum. I can haul a lot of crap in it (spares, cooler, old tires to sell, etc), and it gives me a place to put all my stuff to keep it dry in case of rain. That gets me out of needing to strip the car ahead of time. All I need to do is fill the air tank, put a fresh battery on the impact wrench, and I'm ready to go. Except for the tire rack, the trailer was originally built for hauling model airplanes. I found it for sale beside the road because it apparently wasn't big enough.

The enclosed white trailer maintains a stable enough temperature in moderate weather that I can leave the tires loaded outside. In mid-summer or freezing weather, I still move the tires into the garage (or the whole trailer if I'll be using it again soon).

That brings me to the big shortcoming of open tire trailers. Black tires laying in the sun get HOT fast (even more so than when somewhat shaded by a fender, and it's not good for them. Tarps help slightly but it takes several layers to make much difference. One year, I made a tire cover from aluminized bubble wrap insulation, but that was a lot of hassle. I'd give serious thought to building some kind of box for the tires. Even light plywood painted white will make a big difference.

I'd give serious consideration to at least building some kind of box for the tires.

This pic is over 5 years old, and shows a 4x4 (I think) Harbor Freight with a "truck box" on one ends and four tires on the other.

Not my trailer, but I will say it has seen solid triple digit speeds while pulling away from a Mustang at least once.

Sean,

Do you have a picture of your trailer?

Not at the moment, but I'll try to grab some.

At an autocross event last year, my friend over revved his Corvette and took out all the valve springs. It was missing and banging at anything over 1,500 rpm. So, we put street tires back on my Camaro and tossed his C4 Corvette on the trailer. I towed him home and Racerdad916 drove my Camaro back to my place. It was only about 50 miles, so it wasn't a major issue (and my friend lives 3 miles from me). He had a tire trailer with him and I wound up putting his tire trailer up on end and strapping it to the side of my bed, we put the black plastic box in the bed, his spare wheels and my spare wheels. The bed was full (good thing it was an 8 foot bed because it was packed solid), but we got all the parts to the right places.

I'm not so sure about that ... I've heard hits on a rev limiter at an AX more time than I ever hear or see at a road course.

I will grant that DE carnage is becoming all too common. A local DE group is taking notice and re-vamping it's instructor criteria and it's run group advancement criteria. I think it's a step in the right direction. WtoW racing is another story altogether. Safety requirements in of itself many times promotes a platform out of class, rendering it uncompetitive.

To keep the subject on topic ...

There was a group of us, maybe 7 or 8 at one time, that attended DE runs at local road courses. By local, within 4 hours of home. We had an agreement that if a car got hurt, a non-hurt car would get towed home while the normally towed car would be driven as not everyone had a trailer.

There were only 2 or 3 of the group that did. And only once in 3 or 4 years did that option ever have to be excercised.

Carnage is always a possibility. But the liklihood is remote if your car is well maintained and prepared.

Another way of looking at it is a $500 tow fee once every 3 years is a LOT cheaper than a $3000 trailer, $20,000 truck and the storage space to park them.

Now you tell me. Geez, I thought I could count on you to help me out here man.

I'll see you at the DC Pro. I bought my first tow vehicle and trailer in 2000. The truck was a 68 F250 CS I bought for $1500 and a brand new 16' open trailer for $1700. I sold my Ford Ranger for $1000 to get the F250, so it was only $500 to upgrade to the bigger truck. The truck was great and never left me stranded in the 60k miles I had it, but on the 1100 mile tow to Kansas I was missing some of the features of a newer truck (sound deadening (SP?)). You can get trucks cheap and they make great winter beaters.


Living this close to DC, storing the trailer has been an issue. The wife and I are looking to buy a house at the end of this year. Finding a house that has ample parking, garage, and spot to put the trailer has been difficult. The house we are renting right now has a single car wide driveway that is 2" wider then the trailer itself. I'm getting real good at backing the trailer into tight spaces!

I, too, used to pull a small trailer to track events behind the camaro. I blew a clutch disc and thought I could limp 85 miles home since nobody else was heading my way with a trailer. I got half way home and had to put it on the shoulder. I have AAA but they do nothing but charge you commercial rates to tow the trailer home after the car is loaded on their flatbed. That was the final straw. I bought Mitch's open trailer and now I tow the car. Much easier on the nerves. Granted I had to beef up the suburban, but what the heck, just another project!

I certainly wish I had kept that trailer. It was a good one ...

Mitch, it still is. Except it is black, with an airscreen now

damn!

I broke at an autoX earlier this year at Giants Stadium. My rear flexible brake line from the body to the rear failed. $350+/- ($75 hookup fee + 64 miles at $4/mile) later I was home. That single incident convinced me that an open trailer is in my future. The first thought that jumped to my mind was what if this had happened at Pocono, Watkins Glen, Limerock or some other place that was hundreds of miles and hours away? I would have been completely screwed....

I considered the HFT tire trailer, but that's a $500 deal by the time you buy it, outfit it, buy the hitch for your car etc. etc. and it still offers little to no saftey net if you break and only complicates the tow home. That's 1/3 the price of a used open trailer, so if you have the tow vehicle already, I'd go for the open trailer and the greater functionality it offers.

I already own a 97 2500 4x4 CTD and it knocks down 18-20 mpg consistently, so an open trailer makes more sense and offers a much better saftey net in the event of a failure. It is probably overkill if strictly for autoX, but piece of mind is worth something. If I had to buy a dedicated tow vehicle, it'd be a more difficult decision for sure.....but I'd still lean heavily towards a tow vehicle/open trailer if the the events are further than an hour away.

Chris

I've gone from jamming 4 tires/jack/tools in a car to drive hundreds of miles to autocross, had friends with tire trailers and convoyed with them and then also open and enclosed.

If you are indeed climbing the pyramid then I've never seen anyone go smaller or less on the trailer towing capacity. Yes, fuel prices suck, but my dmax will mostly sit in the driveway and I'll daily drive the 1LE. Fuel costs arent too bad if you only drive it when you need it. Racing will never make financial sense, so I'm not even going to go there.


28' of car/tools/spares/golf cart carrying goodness!

Costas
cars and such...

If you're doing relatively local (<100 miles away) events, AAA Plus is the way to go. 100 miles free towing. I'm definitely ahead with that one!

A.

Dude.. that covering is awesome. Did you do that yourself or did it come with the trailer? Can you PM me a couple higher rez pics?

I found out they do not cover trailers over 18ft.

I'm looking for a tire trailer... Anybody within ~200 miles have one they want to part with?

I've got a harbor freight 1 mile from my house. I know where to find one, but you may have to come visit for an evening.

Oh no, I don't know if it is worth that

Is it yours? How much you want for it?

It's not mine, but we can go buy you a kit and build it.

Oh, well the trip to columbus sounds good but I have a HF about 25min from here.

I'll probably be down in Columbus this fall for a football game or 2, so I'll hit you up (assuming you don't move to TX).

Geez.. remember that he's newly single.. and probably hasn't hit the 'date' scene yet.. bring duct tape to cover your... uh....

Oddly there has been no shortage of dating around here. I'm doing just fine, thanks...