Minus the cleaning products and you have a "*****'s bath" Trust me, they get cold at some races!

The cars have gotten those a few times (bucket of clean water and a soft terry towel, wipe down the whole car then absorber it dry). Not perfect but works in a 10-15 minute timeframe.

Derek

 

Have to remember you are pulling 10,000+ lbs around and it takes its toll, of course it depends how much you use it. I remember taking a couple weeks to fix the carb on my generator, burning up an axle bearing on a 100 degree day in Atlanta and limping home on three trailer tires, blowing out three trailer tires on a 1500 mile round trip and only having one spare etc. And its always on a Sunday in the middle of nowhere lol. I carry three spare tires now and an extra hub/bearings but of course in three years I never had another problem, except for the occasional blowout which is common with the 225ST tires on hot days.

If you can handle everything on one Saturday afternoon thats awesome, I'm not trying to say enclosed trailers are a bad thing, just like the car there are always little surprises that cost time and money. But if you are enthusiastic the extra work doesnt matter.

Sounds like you have a plan, I think you are pretty close money-wise for what you want. It sounds like a lot but when you start adding things up its just like the car - the little things really add up..

 

Actually a ***** bath is usually done on the toilet, few paper towels, soap and a cup (plus a toilet of course) and you are all set. Not a pretty picture at most dragstrips though

 

How do most of you guys pay for your trailers??? home equity loans (yeah i know what the hell is that these days)... RV loans, pay cash from money in savings, straight up bank loans, credit cards???? Just wondering what is the best way to buy to not get raped if you don't have 15G"s in your bank account? I'm looking to spend about 8-10 for a 28' enclosed. don't need all the bells and whistles.... just sumthing to get the car back and forth in style...

 

I bought used with cash. I don't put toys on plastic or loan.

 

I tell you what i have been doing for a while save the big clothes detergent jugs that have the push button (gain is what i use) wash them out good and fill them with water i carry 2 or 3 easy as heck to put water in the car if you would ever need to and they are great to wash your hand off or clean stuff.

 

I'm actually gonna look around and see if there's anything out there that has a better tire on it then the standard 225's, because I'm all too aware that they are kinda crappy.

I wonder, why can't you just get a regular light truck tire that size to use, or are they not available?

I had planned on having 2 spares, but maybe 3 is a good idea.

 

You can get LT truck tires that are close in size, they are an inch or so taller if I remember. Have to watch the pressure on the tires you use because most trailer tire rims arent rated for 80 psi. You would think with all the travel, boat and utility trailers that use those 225ST tires SOMEONE would make a quality tire in that size..

The main issue with the tires is they are all made in china and just plain suck. My original tires didnt make it 6 months, one let go and tore the side of the trailer open. Replaced those with some 8 ply Carlisle tires and they made it almost a year before they started falling apart, I have goodyears on it now (also made in china) and they have been OK for over a year but if you read around the net people say they have tons of problems with the goodyears as well. I am well under what they are rated for and have scaled the trailer to make sure all four tires are loaded even.

A lot has to do with where you tow and how fast you go, around here with the black asphalt, 70mph speed limit and 100 degree weather you are just asking for tire problems. Also depends how far and often you go racing, I know guys with 24' trailers with the little 3500lb axles and tires and they go for years without tire problems but they tow 10 miles to their local track and thats it.

 

I'm about 100 miles from the closest track, I do go down to jersey a few times a year as well, and have gone as far as MIR with the open trailer, granted that whole thing with the car is only 5000 lbs though.

I do keep the trailer tires aired down a little bit, I usually check them when I get to the track to make sure that they are still even in pressure which they usually are, I do start them off cold a lb or 2 lower then they need to be.

Damn things are starting to dry rot crack though, that's annoying as they're only 3 years old, but now need to be replaced for this season.

I am gonna look around and see what I can find for tires.... that was one thing that I was looking at with some trailers. These guys ( http://www.goldrushsales.com/ ) use a 10 ply goodyear tire with an alcoa wheel, that's alot better then what most of what I have seen is used. They also use 6000 lb axles, another nice feature.

 

Goldrush are also the most expensive trailers out there, talk about sticker shock, give them a call But they do hold their value, but I refuse to have a trailer that costs more than the race car unless it has another purpose.

Just google 225ST tire failure and you will have days of reading and you will go away just as confused as when you started.

I'll just replace them at first sign of trouble or after two seasons even if they look fine, flat tires suck and when these radials come apart they tear stuff up bad. Also keeping the air low is the worse thing you can do for trailer tires. Most open trailers are well under their tire ratings though. If I remember the tires on mine are like 2900lbs max, fully loaded it weighs close to 9,000lbs, when I checked the weights the first time the way I had it loaded the front two tires were carrying 6000lbs of that. The newer torsen axles dont distribute the tire loading like the old leaf spring axles so you have to be careful. I like the torsen axles, no squeaks and zero spring maintenance, I dont think you can find any new encloseds that use leaf springs any more.

Either way its not that big of a deal, just something you have to keep on top of. The 6000lb axles use the bigger bolt pattern and there are a lot of heavy duty wheel/ tire combos you can go with but you wont find many medium priced trailers with them.

 

Yeah, the goldrush setups are huge $. They do put a couple nicer thigns on them then what most do though.


Probably not gonna end up buying one from them, it's gonna end up being something off racing junk, something that is close to what I want then I'll end up modding it and getting it where I want it to be, figure whatever I buy I'll just put new tires and brakes on it, and change the wheel bearings too while i'm at it to be safe. At that point there's not much else to wear out really.

I'll end up looking for a 24 or 26 footer, with a 48 inch, or double side doors (for the atv loading like I want to be able to do) and the cabinets, hopefully I'll find one that's already go a strait bench across the front, the overhead's I want I'll end up having a local trailer place build them I'm guessing.

I just hope I will be able to find one that's close enough so it won't end up costing me as much as I paid for the trailer to get it where I want.


I did a quote for a pace american with everything I wanted in it, upgraded axles and the best/most heavy duty tires that they offered, tires spaced with about a foot bewteen the front and the back to try to help even the weight out some, as the guy said that doing that would help, only downside was the wheel well in the trailer would be a little longer, but it's not a huge deal. The trialer with the cabinets, a generator mount/box on the tongue so the cabinet space wasn't wasted, 120 and 12 volt wiring, battery in the trailer, the generator, a 5000 lb winch, air conditioning/electric heater combo, and it totalled out to I think 15200.

That being said, I figured the 15 grand # to buy a new one, if I can get lucky and find a used one for 1/2 of that, put a couple grand into the things it doesn't have that I want, and a couple grand in maintenance I'd be in the green vs buying a new one, ether way it's gonna cost some bucks, or I'm gonna sacrifice what I end up with.

I know that it has to have the generator for power, the winch foro dragging the car in and out, and a side door that's wide enough for an atv.

Everything else I can move on some, and I'm sure that I will be.

 

Most trailers that come with cabinets have the 'L' shaped cabinets and that means no ATV through the side. Not to mention you will need to carry extra ramps to get it in there. Thats my biggest peeve, imagine after spending 8 hours on a 90 degree day at the track, getting all loaded up and ready to go and then realize I forgot to put the ATV in the trailer

But most trailers I seen even with the 48" door wouldnt work with a mid-size ATV since the cabinets are in the way or the door is too far back and leads right into the front of the car. Sucks these cars are a mile long

I should just just put the ATV in the pickup bed, but then you have to unhook the trailer, and with the kind of sway/equalizer hitch I have its a PITA.

 

I have a 24' ATC aluminium with factory installed cabinets. I've not seen a 24' with L shapped cabinets. Those are usually in 28' orlonger, to house the generator. We just use the one in the motorhome. If I tow with the Suburban instead, I haul one in it. It only weighs 3100 lbs. I have 5' from the front of the car to the cabinets. A golf cart will fit, but you need to order the optional 48" side door to get one in and out without unloading the race car. Golf carts I measured are about 46" wide, so they will go through a 48" door. I bought mine already built. A guy put a deposti on it and didn't take it, so I got a good deal on it. Mine has the 36" door, so if I had a golf cart I would have to drive it in, then turn it around to sit cross-ways. I'm not strong enough to turn a golf cart around. Jeanie found a 4 wheel utility cart, has one seat and a removable cargo box behind. You can drop the tail gate and ride there. It only weighs 375 lbs, I can back it in and turn it cross-ways easily. She had polished wheels installed, and it looks OK. People ask about it all the time. It's cheap, light and will out run a golf cart. <G>

 

Yeah, I"m thinking that I'm gonna end up having to have one built so I can do what I want with it.

Probably start with the trailer, no cabinets in it, just the empty trailer with the door where I want it, and just have it wired and the walls finished off, and have the generator/holding box put on the tongue, and the a/c on the roof.

Then once I have it home and have the car and atv in it, look @ what I have to work with space wise and then bring it back and have the cabinets put in. Maybe even make some cardboard boxes up and tape them to the walls so that way they know where they can be and whatnot so there's no screw up's.

 

I would think about having the cabinets factory installed. They are very nice, and buying aluminium cabinets to install yourself usually cost more and might be hard to make look as nice. All the aluminium trailer accessories are kinda pricey. Also, you might order AC wiring installed. I would not want to pull the sheet metal down to wire the roof AC. That is something you can order already done. I had a 28' Pace when I had the sprint car. A friend built some nice wood caminets, but it ended up much heavier than I expcted. You might take a look at ATC alumium trailers. The fit & finish is much nicer than the Pace I had, and the roof doesn't leak. It's over 1200 lbs lighter than a steel frame 24'. I save every time I fill up.

 

What brand trailer are you looking at? I've owned several from Haulmark to T&E. The Haulmarks fall apart after a couple of years (buyer beware). They are cheap in price for a reason.
What truck are you pulling it with? Have you thought of a stacker? 24' stacker is more money but the room you get is huge!

Generator, I'd either go with a Honda 3500W or Onan. You can't go wrong with either. Been there done that. Hope this helps you out.

 

I'd like to go alum when I buy one, but the $ is enough more that it's gonna be hard to justify.

I'll save more $ buying a 70 gallon fuel tank to put in the bed of my truck and filling up every time I go to Jersey instead of buying diesel in CT then I would towing the alum trailer I think.

I have a local trailer place in Ct that I will probably end up dealing with, they sell alot of differnet trailers, and pace was only one option that they could do. They build/modify them right there, they have an on site fab shop for building trailers from scratch if need be.

www.limbergertrailers.com

 

Weight isnt really a big issue except when stopping, its the brick aerodynamics at 70mph that cost you the fuel. I get maybe 1 more mpg towing my trailer for 1000 miles empty as I do with the car in it - thats a 3000lbs difference.

 

How much do the bubbles that they put on the front of the trailer actually help?

What about one with a decent roll on the top in the front?

What about a v nose compared to a strait one?

 

I wouldnt waste my time with bubbles, or the wings on the truck.

The only trailers that will get a little better mileage are the ones that are almost wedge shaped and are really low in the front. Which is great but you cant stand up in the front of them. Some say the V-nose trailers get worse mileage because of the turbulence created. I only had one v-nose trailer and it was towed with a carbed 454 dually that got 8mpg with no trailer and 5mpg with a trailer, whether it was a the 32' v-nose or the 42' gooseneck so who knows.

I would just buy a trailer you can afford and has the options you want. With your truck just about any enclosed will get around the same mileage, if I need to save fuel I just slow down, that makes the biggest difference in mpg.

In the end its just a box to haul the car around in, these days they get stolen pretty often so I dont even invest too much money in the trailer as tempting as it is at times. Lot of cool stuff out there thats for sure and you can spend a ton of cash if you arent careful..