Enclosed Trailer Questions AGAIN????

[wiseasp]

I am looking to purchase a 20 foot enclosed trailer. I have searched the archives and saw various post on these trailers.

My main questions are some trailer companies have these escape doors that you can get out of the car after you pull it in, but some are above the wheel well so you can OPEN the door and some are about 10" above the well wheel so you still have to climb out the window

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, but they still call them an escape door??.

I looked at a Wells Cargo, Haulmark, Homesteader. Not one of those I was able to pull in without some type of wood blocks. Is there any modifications I can do to have it pull right in??

Should I order a winch to pull it in??

I plan on getting side and roof vents, Alum. Diamond plate floor, I was going to get the checkered floor, but after reading the negative posts I think I am going to pass that up. Chrome wheels, escape door that lets you OPEN the door to get out, Winch?, lights, smooth sides outside, and plenty of ties down points. Am I missing anything???

I know a few months back someone posted picks of various trailers with decals, but I can not find it. Could someone give me the site for these decals??

Does anyone have a good dealer in Maryland/Delaware/N. Virginia/S.E. PA?

Thanks ALOT,
ROB

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[Janni]

OK, all together now. (Jeff - you especially)

***** - Serves beer at German restuarant
WINCH - Pulls car into trailer.

If you bring your favorite German waitress to drive your car into the trailer, then I stand corrected. Otherwise, its WINCH.

Back to the trailer. We have a 48' Featherlite. We kept it simple as we haul 2 cars. We have a WINCH, but have never used it. We do not have a door as the wheel wells are too high to do a door without raising the floor with rampovers. Our dealer said they would put one in, but try it without. Henry drives the cars in and climbs out the window. Its worked for a year now and its not that bad. If you are too big to do that, then its a problem. WINCH is in there just in case something breaks. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE WIDEST TRAILER YOU CAN - especially the width between the wheel wells. Be careful about ramp overs and a tag trailer. I would not want to raise the center of gravity too much - not as much of an issue in a gooseneck.

20' is a little short. Look into 24'. Once you start thinking about wheels and tires and tools, etc. space gets eaten up real fast. Be concerned about weight and your tow vehicle. Check the axle weights - some trailers I have seen are overloading the axles as soon as you put the car in. Consider E-track in the nose and along some walls to tie stuff down. Extremely flexible for loading gear.

Get a good lock and store it in a secure place.

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Consider an all aluminum - most trailers have wood as part of their structural integrity - its heavy and not exactly the most durable. Aluminum is lighter, stronger and will hold its resale value better. We spent more on the trailer, kept it simple, but it'll last forever. (The theives must have like what we did too, since they never found our first one.)

Good call on the ATP floor. With the Vipers wide tires, it really helps it stay planted when tied down. Checkboard looks cool - but the first time you fall on your a$$ when its wet, you'll hate it.

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I'm thinking you won't be able to fit the living quarters in

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, but even if you don't put in A/C - at least have one of the roof vents braced for it.

Be ready to deal with some tie down issues as the Viper is soooo low. we have 2 sets of D-rings in the front that pull the car DOWN, and allow the entire ratcheting mechanism to be in front of the nose. No messed up fascias.

Hope this helps.

 

[dtittle]

Hey wiseasp and All,

What timing. Gary Bethurem has a "Perfect" trailer for sale at an astounding price. Please to quote me on the exacting detailes but the biggies are side door, walk on roof, diamond plate front, extra long rear door with ramps, imaculate interior with built in cabinets, and the list goes on. I'm not sure on the exact length but I believe its a 20' to 24' enclosed tag. Gary is one of the only owners that I know that is more paticular than I am. This trailer is used but perfect. I understand he's asking $8K.

Contact him at [email protected] and tell him that I sent you.

Regards,

 

[Jay Lopez]

I bought the 24 Ft Wells Cargo. Yes, the escape hatch on the driver's side of the trailer will not allow the Viper door to open. But, I do use that escape hatch to allow some good cross ventilation in the trailer when parked. I had a Warn Z3500 winch installed. In order to pull the car, you need to get the tow hooks from Archer Racing. . Their tow hooks mount inside the front fascia to the 2 bolts already there on the driver's side (can use passenger side also I think). On the rear of the car, their hook is installed to the frame and needs to be drilled for mounting. After mounting the front hooks, you can see that the hook is 18 inches off the center of the car. So, when mounting the winch in the trailer, make sure you set it up 18 inches off the center of the trailer. I also painted some black stripes on the floor that are 13 inches wide. It helps me load the car with the winch and I can make small adjustments in the steering wheel if the car starts drifting to either side. The stock ramp on the Wells Cargo is too short to keep the front facia from scraping, so I had to get a couple of 2x12 inch boards to increase the length of the ramp (longer aluminum ramp is on order). Also, when using the winch, you will start rubbing the floor of the trailer where the winch wire rubs on the joint of the flat part of the floor and the angled part of the floor where the dovetail starts. You can mount a small piece of aluminum plate there to save the floor.

If you want a tire rack (I'm glad I got a 24 foot or it would not fit), you can use vertical E-track in the front of the trailer and get 2 ajustable bars to fit between the E-Tracks to support the tires.

When mounting the drings in the floor, try to make sure you can put the car in the trailer first and then take your measurements. If you mount the front drings too close to the car, you might have a hard time using the straps to tighten the car down. Also, give yourself enough room to move the car forward/backward as much as 18 inches so you can compensate for putting a lot of weight on the front of the trailer with tools, tires, etc. You need to experiment with the placement of the car in the trailer to help keep the balance correct or you'll get a lot of trailer sway.

Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions about my particular setup, give me a buzz at the office 214-561-1910.

 

[Jason-Middle Tennessee]

Here's a few pictures of Jeff's new mobile home ug I mean trailer.

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[Michael Martin]

I just placed my order for a 24' Pace (10000 GVW). Has ****** tail with a 3' extended ramp... uses 3" door bumpers to level the length. One of the N. TX members has same setup and Viper w/frt splitter drives right in w/o scrapping. To help with angle, can use front jack to raise tongue.

Personally, I like the Pace construction better than the others that I looked at and was a little less expensive. Really like the Featherlite but was twice the price! I'm pulling with a 3/4 ton diesel... weight isn't an issue.

The tailer that David Tittle is talking about is a 24' custom built Carson Racer for a Viper. Has front cabinets, winch, left side door, 12v/110, tire rack, awning, top deck, and more. It is usually kept in the Los Angeles area but is currently in Arizona. I can forward their e-mail message with a couple of pics. They were ask $9000 but offered to me for $8000.