Trailer

[Lee]

What's the hot ticket for an enclosed car trailer these days? Looking to haul 1 car, max size/weight of a new 911, using a normal 1/2 or 3/4 ton full size pick up.

THanks, Lee

[sithot]

Trailex if you got the money(aluminum), Featherlite (aluminum), Haulmark and the old standby, Wells Cargo.

http://www.trailex.com/buycat.cfm?cat_id=93

http://www.featherliteinc.com

http://www.haulmark.com/

http://www.wellscargo.com/

Financiing available from a few of the manufacturers.

Good luck,

Tom

[sithot]

What's the hot ticket for an enclosed car trailer these days? Looking to haul 1 car, max size/weight of a new 911, using a normal 1/2 or 3/4 ton full size pick up.

THanks, Lee

The hot ticket is a goose neck trailer. Much easier to pull and maneuver. I wouldn't haul a car any other way if I could help it. Id use a 3/4 ton truck (minimum imho) and a "Dually" would be one better. A one ton Dually would be the really hot ticket. Dually's track better and handle loads much easier than single wheel setups.
If the trailer is light and the car is light you might slide by with a 3/4 ton single rear wheel truck .
We move a lot of farm equipment and own a goose neck dove tail equipment hauler. Also have a cattle trailer (same setup). We use a one ton single wheel setup but will be buying a dual wheel setup at some point. Having a road tractor (Volvo) makes the job a little easier but the Ford still gets a lot of the work as it's easier to jump in a go.
As far as trucks go; for hauling you cannot beat a diesel so expect a premium for the engine package from Ford, Chevy, GMC (same) or Dodge.
I have a 2002 Ford F-250 SD with the 7.3 PowerStroke engine. Fuel economy is good if you stay out of the loud pedal. Power is great, especially once your're rolling. A gas truck will not run with a diesel on the open road once your up to speed. I've proven this many times going to Daytona Beach for Bike Week. I leave the gassers in a cloud of smoke once we hit 65 and up. Mine likes to run around 80 mph and will do so all day long. It surprises a lot of cars with it's acceleration from 65 to...well I'm not saying.
My truck isn't hauling much these days since I'm playing with the P cars and showing the bikes less. I do own 2 trailers though; a 12 foot Wells Cargo bike hauler and a 20 footer of the same variety. If I were to do it again, I'd buy one goose neck hauler and ditch the rear hitch types.
Once you have to park or back up a goose neck you'll thank me.
There are companies that make really neat ball hitches for the bed that will turn over; pull out, slide etc...., allowing full use of your truck bed when not pulling a trailer.

Having driven a variety of and owned a few diesel trucks does not make me an expert but I'm happy to share my opinions with you.

Happy shopping.

Tom

[Homemade 911]

Lee,
If you go to "roadsters.com" and navigate to the "index" page, you will find a big section - full of links - on trailer manufacturers, dealers, etc. You will find the gouge on a lot of possibilities there...one stop shopping in a way.

Roadsters.com is a comprehensive, fairly well done, street-rodder site...has lots of resources...almost like the old Whole Earth Catalogue (remember those?)

btw: I use a 20 foot Pace American Shadow. Tows like a million bucks. In my mind, 20 feet (box length) is all the trailer you'll need for 911s, etc.(I also haul a '56 vette in it) As it turns out, it's the perfect size for Monterey's tight paddock spaces...

Another note: I bought my Pace brand new over the phone. When I received it (it was delivered to my driveway) I had numerous, minor issues with the overall build quality. My joke is that I think I got a unit that was built either on New Year's eve or a Friday night, as it isn't representative of Pace's usual quality. Fortunately it was all stuff I was able to resolve on my own. Point being; whatever you buy, just make sure either you-or somebody you trust-looks it over before sign-off/final payment.

Hope all this helps - good luck
cheers
Thom Kuby

[Lee]

THanks a lot guys. I've already looked at the sites noted. I really appreciate your sharing your experience on the various brands (is Trailex worth the extra money?).

The goose neck advice is really good - I had not considered that but will do so.

Thanks again,
Lee

[Homemade 911]

Not to belabor this point...but I agree completely with Tom on trucks.
I'm on my third Ford F350 Diesel: Having owned an '86 and an '01, I now have an '04 2wd crewcab longbox, fitted with a snugtop shell, along with the 6.0 diesel and 5spd auto. Not only does it out-do the gassers on towing, but's it's a real hoot smokin those camaros (etc) off a stoplight...

The '86 was a 2wd dually, the other two trucks are single rear wheel setups - if all your doing is pulling a tag trailer w/one car(way less than 7500lbs), a dually is probably overkill...if you get into heavier loads and/or gooseneck towing, then a dually is the way to go.

If you need to get a truck - don't waste your time buying anything this big with a gas motor in it...used Ford 7.3 diesels are all over the place. the 7.3 is a fine platform. I'm pretty much a Ford guy...but all the newer stuff (chebby, Dodge 'em) should work just as well...

Cheers
Thom Kuby

[tfmcmahon]

I`m considrering taking my 911 to Calif from Tucson for the German Fest.I have a 5.3 liter 2003 Tahoe and borrowed a 20 ft. enclosed aluminum trailer.The Tahoe has a tranny cooler and is rated at 7000 lbs.with a factory hitch.Am I pressing the limits on the transmission? Comments on the merits of this appreciated.TFM in Tucson

[Jol Dantzig]

Absolutely agree with Tom on this one too. I've pulled many types of trailers with a lot of different setups, but until you get into the bigger classes of haulers, you can't beat a lightweight gooseneck.

I've got a featherlite that tows so nice at 70mph that I have to be on my toes to remember that it's back there. The Goose is the way to go, as the pivot is over the truck's rear axle instead of behind the truck. Much safer too.

My biggest regret is that I bought it new from a dealer. I could have picked up a good used trailer for two-thirds of what I paid. Honestly.

There is an outfit called Exxis that I think is comprised of ex-featherlite guys. They are basically building Featherlite clones for less money. Rick DeMan had one for a while, and it looked every bit as good as my Featherlite

Exiss Trailers Here

One other suggestion, get a generator door even if you don't have a generator now. Someday you'll want one.

Jol

[Lee]

What's the smallest goose-neck one can readily buy?

[Jol Dantzig]

Depending upon how much of a hurrry you are in, this classified section can give you an overview of what's out there.

Trailer Classifieds