P.J.S.

My former 24 ft triple axle could be loaded unhitched
Storing - easy... Tongue jack down to unhook and drive away
I had all sorts of locks on it but no physical issue etc
My storage has on site security and is fenced and locked etc

24Chromium

That was exactly my original desire... to store the car in the trailer and have the trailer act as a mobile garage. However, in reality, that didn't work out and I covered those issues in the first or second page of this thread.

There is certainly nothing wrong with storing the car in the trailer. The only downside that I can think of is that if someone steals the trailer... well, your car just got stolen too. Likewise, if a big tree fell on it, or some other natural disaster, what happened to the trailer probably just happened to the car as well.

I'll most certainly be leaving the car in the trailer overnight at the track when I leave the track and head into town. I'll likely leave it park outside next to the trailer a few times as well, as I'm pretty lazy.

samiam

Excellent points, and I would (typically) only keep the car in the trailer the night before (all loaded up and ready to go) and/or over the weekend (nights) at the track; when I would probably leave the trailer/car when I head to the hotel in the tow vehicle.

In my case, I wasn't really thinking to use a trailer as "permanent" storage.

My main "concern" was...what happens when I unhitch with car inside trailer? For some reason, I see terrible images of returning to a "see-saw" nightmare scene; which would be a real bummer...to say the least...

P.J.S.

Lower the tongue jack to unhitch
Trailer rests on tongue jack and wheels
Easy peasy
Lock hitch latch, hitch ball coupler lock, chock wheels and leave

Potential thief has to cut through a few locks and haul it away but you can buy good locks designed for the specific task that would be difficult

A lock that often gets overlooked is the receiver shank pin lock - locks your hitch ball and shank to your receiver on your truck

mooty

my race car was always stored in the trailer on the lot. unless it's being worked on or washed.

montoya

Exactly, it's nice to drop off and leave the car and trailer secure, although any thief won't be deterred by a few locks. Important point is to leave in a secure location. One of the problems with an enclosed trailer is that it's like an unopened Christmas present to a thief. Just so tempting. We have had locked empty trailers broken into at my work.

mooty

ANOTHER reason to get GN.
you can steal a tag along with a suv, much harder to steal a GN. you actually have to come prepared with a big truck.

and the bigger the trailer, the less interesting to thieves.

Coochas

I occasionally load my trailer without it being hitched. I have thick wooden blocks that I place under weight bearing areas on the rear of the trailer. I then use the forward jack until the rear of the trailer is flush with the wooden blocks. I do NOT drive into the trailer. I only winch the car in with a remote control; hence, the car moves very slowly as it is loading. I'm not telling you to do this, but I occasionally have the need to do so. For example, I manually have the trailer pulled all the way forward in our lot (i.e. nose in up against the tree line), thus the trailer cannot be hitched. This is how I load cars for storage in the 'mobile garage.'

I have personally seen the result when someone drives a car into an unhitched trailer. It was like a bomb going off. The trailer left its parking spot and launched into the back of the tow vehicle. In a related fashion, a guy I know backed his car out of his Trailex (eager to unload his car) but forgot to put the ramps on. Not good.


BTW Chromium, this is an outstanding thread! I am considering adding or switching to a double car puller and I will definitely use your learning curve to guide me with the good, the bad, and the ugly! THANKS!!!!!!

24Chromium

You have to properly load the trailer, as far as weight and how its distributed over the axles. Your goal is to have positive tongue weight. In other words, when you un-hitch from the truck, the tongue of the trailer should be heavy - falling to the ground, not raising up. This is why you always see a tongue jack near the hitch receiver. The only way the trailer is going to see-saw is if the tongue weight is nearly zero and someone is walking back and forth inside the trailer.

The best way to insure you have properly loaded your trailer, and meet the tow vehicle's required tongue weight, is to use a tongue scale. Sherline makes a good one. You simply place it underneath the coupler. It works the same as a bath scale.

24Chromium

Sherline has an excellent trailer loading & towing guide. It's a must read for those who are thinking of towing, and even those who have been towing.

http://www.sherline.com/lmbook1.pdf

cracknut

Great thread. Lots of good info even for an experienced TPD owner =)

I road race a Honda S2000 with SCCA in the SFR region. In 2009 I bought a used 20" TPD Vortech and a 2001 Ford F250 Diesel. In theory a 1/2 ton truck or SUV could tow 7000lbs but my goal was never to worry about the tow rig. Beefier brakes, axles, hubs, trans, etc = relaxed towing. I look forward to loading up the rig and driving to Thunderhill or Laguna or Sears.

I would always prefer double axle over triple axle after talking to Justin@TPD about it one time. Triple axle trailers scrub the outer wheels a lot more in tight maneuvering and that's bad for tires.

If I were to build a trailer from scratch I would go with a 34 or 36ft gooseneck with a small living quarters. Any bigger and I wouldn't be able to park it next to my house. Trailer pad FTW!

Once you take delivery you get to have fun buying all your tools for a second time =)

Trailer parked next to my garage:

jpoint

Cracknut - I like the graphic on your trailer but just a note for those storing in public storage - the outline of a Porsche might inform thieves that at least some expensive "stuff" could be found inside. A friend had his trailer stolen from a "secure", gated, storage facility (fortunately no car inside). Not only did the facility not notify him of the missing trailer - they rented his space to another party and continued to charge him rent for the same space. Insurance will cover a trailer - but probably not the "lost" rent. Renter beware.

samiam

That is a really "funny" story, esp the part about the storage facility; hearing that story unfortunately forces a reminder about the harsh realities...so much for lot "security" promises (and equipment)...

I can't believe they even re-rented his space...how freakin' crazy is that???

samiam

Chromium, as other said, it is a great thread. I also will start in on the tongue weights, good advice. Keep it coming, the learning never stops!

Choochas, the story of the launched trailer the EXACT nightmare scenario I am afraid of... Good news is, my trailer is enclosed, so at least I am "protected" from the situation of backing off without ramps...But I'm sure I could figure out 1 or 2 more ways to get myself into the infamous "hall of shame..." Thanks for the advice about the blocks too, I'll remember that.

24Chromium

I went to Laguna Seca today to hang out with my pals, and to christen the "bowling alley" on it's maiden voyage. Wow, this thing is BIG! You could throw a rave party in there and not know everyone.

As we were relaxing in the paddock, I noticed a trailer across the way that looked like a late model TPD, in a very similar config to mine (quartz exterior lights, awning, door cabinet, etc.). Curiosity got the best of me and I wandered across the paddock to take a look. As I got closer I realized, that it wasn't a TPD, but a knock-off. How strange is that!?!!! To find a cheap knock-off of a such a niche product. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was another one (albeit, not as exact a replica as the first one we noticed) in the opposite direction. It made me proud that mine is the real deal.