dogger15

I have received some great information and advice from several
members here on a range of issues concerning my entry into
auto racing. As a result, I've been able to firm up my formal
training plans, decide on how much car to start with and as the
title of this post suggest, what kind of trailer to use to transport
my car and equipment.

The open trailer option was to cut cost and storage space, but my
chief concern, is the towing capacity of my 1/2 ton pick up. My
truck is rated to pull 7200 lbs max with a GCVWR of 11700 lbs.
After a lot of research, I think I found a trailer that will fill the bill
and still come in under my weight limit. The trailer is a 20' ATC
Quest CH305 with a rounded front. The rounded front adds a
couple of feet of floor space and will reduce the "barn door"
effect of a flat front. With some light weight option choices
(Aluminum walls and floor vs plywood), I expect the final dry
weight to be around 2800 lbs. That leaves me with 3700 lbs of
car and equipment before I reach my self imposed weight limit of
6500 lbs which equals a GCVWR of 10700 lbs, safely and legally
below the limit for my truck.

I know 20' is on the small side where most opt for 24' or more,
but I think I can make this work. In fact I'm hoping this trailer
will be more than adequate at filling the "getting there" aspect
of the plan.

Thoughts?

Frank 993 C4S

3700 lb for car and equipment is really not that much. Guess it really depends on the weight of your track car. Add the weight of two sets of additional wheels and tires, tools, spares, jack, jack stands, fuel jugs, table, EZUp, chairs, etc, etc ...

TXE36

You generally don't want to be under-trucked. I don't have a whole lot of experience with trailers, but I can offer my experiences over the last year.

1) My truck is "rated" to pull nearly 11,000 lbs, but with a 1500 lb trailer + 2800 lb car plus 300lbs of gear in the trailer box (4600lbs) I know the load is back there. I drive on pretty flat roads too and this is an open trailer. There is always some fudging on truck ratings. (My truck is a 2010 Ford Expedition long wheel base 5.4L gasser with the max tow package).

2) A buddy of mine bought a new enclosed trailer. Probably a 26-28 footer. His Toyota Tundra had the tow rating to pull it, but after a few race weekends he showed up with a new F-250 Powerstroke to pull it. Said the white knuckle drive back from COTA was enough to get him to upgrade the truck.

3) You can put a lot more types of stuff in an enclosed than an open. Stuff tends to accumulate for guys with enclosed trailers.

I'd consider planning for a larger truck if your plan doesn't work out. When I bought my car, I picked it up with a 2007 Ford Expy with the short wheel base and the extra 12" of wheelbase on the LWB matters. The right tow vehicle can make towing a lot easier.

-Mike

linzman

There are many threads similar to this one. If you went back and read even half of them, the common theme is "I wish I had bought a bigger trailer the first time around". Started with an open trailex, went to a 20' enclosed, and now have a 24' ATC. The good thing is that ATC trailers are really nice quality, and they hold their value well, so you won't lose too much money in a year or two, WHEN,(not if) you upgrade. 😃. If you can, get the proper tow vehicle now to tow a bigger trailer so you don't have to trade them both in.

PS Get a weight distribution/anti-sway hitch, ESPECIALLY if you're towing near the towing or payload max.

Viperbob1

2 words.... Die Sel....

nxfedlt1

the barn door effect isnt as great as you think it is. Intech presented a wind tunnel case on FB about some of the misconceptions and it was surprising in the the round or v front trailers actually are worse in that regard in that the surface area is actually greater.

I digress on to the big issue. You want your tongue weight ~ 10-15% of total load. Owning an ATC, I dont know if you can get to 10%, maybe 15% at that short of a trailer since you can't move the car too much to balance. A 1500 series vehicle can handle what kind of tongue load? I would imagine you're around 1,000-1200 LBS tongue weight.

LuigiVampa

All the above are very valid points and I have been there.

Want to two around the limit of your truck? How about you buy a couple of transmissions in the last few years like me? That money could have been a good down payment on a pickup truck.

Diesel is the way to go because of the torque.

Weight distribution hitch and anti-sway are a must with trucks that do not already have this as a feature.

Half measures are not good when contemplating how to tow.

Viperbob1

I struggled with this for years with a half ton truck. Trying to do small things to help performance, weight distributing hitches, airbag springs, v-nose trailers, making sure I have trailer setup less than 10% below manufacturer maximum for towing, yada yada. Still always struggled with heat, gas mileage, trucks downshifting too often to keep speed, and just feeling safe. Finally we had a truck failure half way out of town year before last. We were able to rent an Enterprise Ram Diesel (stupid cheap like $82 day) on the road and I was hooked. We rented each time for a year and now I have a few year old Ram 2500 diesel that I use to tow a 15,000lb trailer with no problems (also street gas mileage about 19MPG and towing 13.5MPG).

Once you get over the barrier of tow vehicle you can get the trailer you want with the nicer amenities for the track. Larger interior space, AC, winches, cabinets, storage, etc. No compromising just so you can get it to the track. Our new trailer is 35', 2 AC systems, winch built into and under floor, large cabinets, enough room to carry our lifted golf car with a 7' 10" ceiling, 7000 watt generator. Makes time at track VERY pleasant now. All we needed was the right tow vehicle.

kurtkrum

This.

There are gas-powered 3/4 tons trucks out there used for cheap. For a 24' trailer a gas motor is fine. Diesels are great if you want to pay the $6000 premium and spring for more expensive maintenance, but a gas HD truck will handle a 24' trailer fine.

With the beefed up truck, you can buy a USED heavier trailer for cheap!

I'm making the same move from open to enclosed as you are. The slippery slope continues!!!

GWF911

I just went through all this very recently and learned so much from searching and reading on this site. I live in the Rockies and prefer not to die so went with the more conservative/safe opinions vs the cheapest. Bought my track car in Oct, diesel GMC 2500 in November and ATC aluminum Quest 305 24 foot trailer arrived this month. Optioned the trailer based on what I learned here plus some conversations with guys in PCA that looked happiest when at the track Couldn't be happier and the truck/trailer combo is perfect. Looking forward to first long trip and even if I have to cross mountains I am sure it will pull well as it works extremely well on the moderately flat areas around Denver. Good luck!

JCP911S

I'm going completely off the ranch here, but are you doing PCA racing? If so, how many events do you plan to do?

It may make sense to just hire somebody to bring your car to the track... lots of guys do that... also get some track support.

I know it sounds to hoyty-toyty, but do the math... if you do not need a pickup truck and trailer for work, this is a cost. Plus parking. Here in the NE, parking a pickup and an enclosed trailer is expensive and a huge PIA.

Assume you are paying $600/mo for the truck and $150/mo for the trailer, plus gas to and from and time and aggravation. This is about $10K/year.

Assuming you do 5 events/year, that's $2K per event for transport, not including gas and aggravation.

Might work, might not... get out your calculator.

analogmike

Are there places that rent good trucks for towing, with no ridiculous speed limiting devices? I'd do that so I don't need to keep a big truck around.
I found an Enterprise truck rental a half hour away (in Waterbury, CT) but their website says

"** Towing capability not available for consumer rentals."

audipwr1

truck rental would be very interesting - anyone know of one in bay area

TXE36

Don't know about the bay area, but in TX there is PV Rentals. We have a local guy who owns his track car and enclosed trailer and pulls it with a rented F-250 Diesel from PV. Rental rate is less than a typical monthly payment on the truck would be plus zero maintenance cost.

One caveat, the truck rental place has to be near to you. For me, it's too far away, thus, too much of a hassle and the SUV works for family duty as well.

YMMV.

-Mike

Viperbob1

https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/con...servation.html

We rented 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. The pricing is also negotiable as is the mileage charge. We usually negeotiated to $82 /day for the 1 ton with NO MILEAGE and get 7 day rental for 5 day charge... Try it. It worked great. Now we do are doing more and more events so the charges add up...