Schist4Brainz

I have a serious first-world problem. I recently "invested" in a 996 Grand Am series race car for DEs and ultimately club racing. Now I need a trailer. I have weighed all of the pros & cons of open vs closed and for my present situation have settled on an open aluminum trailer. I really like the idea of a tilt trailer like the Aluma, but I also want to have a tire rack for spare set of wheels (wets).

Has anyone installed, or even seen, a tilt trailer with a full tire rack?

wildcat077

If you plan to eventually race, go for an enclosed right from the start ... my Trailex was good for six years of DE's but when i started racing it became redundant very fast.
I'm sure others will agree to this as you need a whole lot more stuff once you bite the racing bullet

Cheers
Phil

KaiB

Why the tilt trailer?

Captain Slow

+1

If OP is worried about loading the car, I have no issues with my 997 GA car driving up on a Trailex 8045 without race ramps, etc.

The other option would be Featherlite with the angled rear platform

Schist4Brainz

Ultimately I decided on an open trailer now because I don't have a decent tow vehicle for a big box, so weight & visibility were important, plus It will be a while before I race or travel more than a couple of hours for DEs. Also a good aluminum enclosed is too $$$ for my current budget and there are way too many cheap enclosed trailers on the market to hope for decent resale value. Whereas there are very few used open aluminum trailers on the market & they have high resale value. Long story short, I'm going with open aluminum for now.

As for tilt, I like the ease of not messing with ramps, less rattling, & I just like them. However, if it's not possible to carry a spare set of wheels then I will go with ramps.

TurboCup87

Hard to beat Trailex if you're going open aluminum.

Schist4Brainz

I hear that a lot. What is so special about Trailex vs. Featherlite, Aluma, ATC, Montrose, etc.?

LuigiVampa

I have an Aluma which is for sale. Too bad you are in Fort Worth! I like my Aluma but recently went with an enclosed trailer.

BTW - I sold my steel trailer, bought the aluminum one, bought my Cayman a couple of months later, and then bought the enclosed trailer two months later. Now considering a bigger tow vehicle.

This is an example of how not to do it and also a glimpse into your future!

Schist4Brainz

I know that I will ultimately go enclosed, but for now... My dad always said I was hard-headed.

stownsen914

I'm not familiar with the Aluma tilt, but from other tilt trailers I've seen, my observation is that the angle of the tilted trailer bed is steeper than the ramp angle on a regular trailer. This might cause clearance issues with your front bumper in particular when loading/unloading a lowered race car.

Edit - actually I just looked, and maybe I'm wrong about that. Just looked at a few pics online, and on the longer Aluma tilt models the angle is pretty shallow. Nice arrangement.

jscott82

Texas Rollback tilt trailer - Very well made and VERY shallow load angle. I think they went out of business though, the patents picked up by ezloader(??)

I think I have the best of both worlds (Enclosed vs Open).

Added a Pit Cart with tire rack. The cart hold the tent and all accessories needed for a weekend (assuming you are not carrying full engines / transmission / etc).

Trailer is 1900lbs, cart is another 300-500lb. Not exactly featherweight, but easy to pull and maneuver with a full size SUV.

AiRick

First thought of going this way :

AiRick

Then I went this way :

AiRick

This Is what I would Like... Dreaming

Schist4Brainz

Nice set up AiRick. I like the tool box on the side. Does that make tying down more difficult on that side?

Is it cheaper to buy aftermarket/custom boxes, tire rack, etc than to get it all straight from manufacturer?