Beantown Kman

I know this is a subject that has been batted around often. But, before I write the check for a brand new $9,300 open Trailex 7541 (includes tire rack, straps, tool box, front shield, spare tire), does anyone have a strong opinion as to why I might want to consider a Featherlite or some other brand instead?

I understand that I will probably make the decision to get an enclosed trailer at some point in the future. Right now, I can only fit an open trailer inside my garage and that is a plus.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or feedback you can offer.

multi21

I like the feather lite lower cg and ride height for loading and unloading. I'm also partial to a full deck rather than one with holes that I can fall through. At night or after a long hot weekend I don't want to go straight through. I've also found other uses for open trailer with full decks when hauling stuff. What can I say, I like playing with a full deck;-)

linzman

Buy used ? There was one for sale here not long ago. I loved my trailex 7541 and wish I kept it when I got my enclosed trailer. The good news is It held its value well and ended up selling it for about 200 less than I bought it for 2 years later.

mglobe

I used to own a Trailex. About a year ago I sold it and picked up a Featherlight. There are plusses and minuses to both, but in the balance, I prefer the Featherlight.

With the Trailex you have a high deck and very long ramps. The long ramps are great for getting the car on and off the trailer, but they are really heavy, and working with the ramps was always hard on my back.
The Trailex has a pretty short bed, and so if you use a tire rack, it has to be so high up that it is up in the wind stream and noticeably affects drag and fuel mileage. Also the tire rack ends up right over your car, so you really have to be careful if you want to load or unload tires while the car is on the trailer. Don't want to drop a rim on the car.

The Featherlight has a nice, low deck which give a low CG and makes it tow better in my opinion. I mounted a Trailex tire rack, which is really good btw, on my Featherlight. I chopped it down so that the tires are much lower, have less wind resistance, and are easier to load and unload. I find the trailer tows more easily then the Trailex even though it weighs more.
The one downside for the Featherlight is ironically the ramps. They are nice and light, but they are also short. I can load my Miata without problems, but I have to use race ramps for the Porsche.

Like I said, pluses and minuses. If I had to do it again, I'd stick with the Featherlight.

Floodj

Linzman,
So do you wish you had kept the open trailer AND bought the enclosed, or wish you had kept the open and NOT bought the enclosed?
--Joe

Coochas

Stop now, get the diesel truck and the enclosed triple axle two-car hauler. Motor home puller optional.
Isn't that right Mike?

multi21

Why waste his money with unnecessary steps.

Go Diesel pusher, (anything less than 40' is uncivilized in the Porsche world) and a stacker trailer.

Your Welcome

longhorn911

Mike is right - pluses and minuses to both types. I needed the shorter trailex because I wanted to keep the trailer (and car on it) in my garage. I also actually prefer the open floor of the trailex as it lets me work under the car and acts like a poor man's lift. I put the trailer tires on tire skates and I can easily roll the trailer and car around my garage by hand.

See this thread for more info and a picture of my setup:

https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...-question.html

And as others have said, if you can find a used one, they hold up very well. Good luck with your decision...

mooty

i had both.
the best would be feather light with trailex rack and race ramp extension.
but i hate having to remove featherlight fender to open car door.
the good: both hold value well.
the BAD: you WILL end up with enclosed trailer. funny thing is that enclosed is very inconvenient, hard to park, need tow vehicle, but you WILL end up with enclosed trailer and a bigger one than you ever imagined.

so... u can do it right buy once or do it like me who has gone through 6 very $$$ trailers and about to get another.

PorscheDoc

Like the others have said, pluses and minuses to both. The trailex is nice because it is SUPER light, can be pushed around easily by hand (or the wind if you don't chalk the wheels), and small enough to store in a smaller area (i know guys that store in their garage). If you aren't good at backing, you can get the trailer close, unhook it, and push it into a small space for storage.

A customer of mine stores his trailex enclosed with me, and only a couple years old, that trailer chews the inside of tires like nobodies business. I have heard the inside of the open trailers wear similar. My featherlight doesn't use up tires at all in comparison. I assume there is a difference in axle capacity that causes bowing and wear on the inside of the tires.

The featherlite is nice because they are usually a bit bigger which means the ability to haul different types of vehicles if needed. Lower gravity, tows beautifully. I can throw an SUV on my featherlite no problem if I have to tow something to the shop for a customer. The featherlite is significantly heavier though (you won't be pushing it around by hand without help), and your fuel mileage will reflect it. Granted I am towing a 22' open featherlight now, but my previous texas bragg open pit steel trailer before that (18') was actually lighter and I made a lot better mileage with it. The featherlite ramps aren't as long as the trailex, but they don't need to be for most cars.....you might use race ramps for either trailer depending on how low your car is.

One thing I miss about my old steel trailer was the open pit/center design. If you ever have a problem, at the track and need to work on something under the car, just throw it up on the trailer and you have an instant lift.

Basically you can't go wrong with either, just depends on your overall plans of use for the trailer.

Resale value with a new trailer with either brand is going to be 50% of new, the bonus for the guy who buys it from you is that his resale will be about 100% of what he pays to you.

mrbill_fl

I'm happy with my featherlite.
got the trailex tire rack and wrapped the cross bar's with 4" pvc.

+ I'm using (cheap) rhino ramps for the tow vehicle rear wheels, it helps get the car on the trl without rubbing.

only think I don't love is the bed has a perforated grip that's hard on the knees.

over all featherlite is more versatile if you want to move other stuff.


Oh, as Mooty said, you have to remove the trailer fender to open the door.... I'm still forgetting to do that sometimes... -but I could always bolt 2x10" to the deck to solve that.
---
1+ on buy used...

disasterman

Like everyone else:

Had an open and loved it: Featherlite w/rack, tire & nose.

Sold it and bought a Featherlite closed (and tow vehicle) and love it.

Think daily about a toter.

Still miss having my open trailer for short trips.

Frank 993 C4S

+1 very well said. The other benefit that you have with a Featherlite/Aluma, etc. is that you can open the front trunk of a 911/Cayman as the rack is NOT over the front of the car. It is also easier to load the tires on the rack as it can be lower.

mglobe

My setup is exactly this. Featherlight, Trailex tire rack, race ramp extensions. For my Spec Miata I don't need the race ramps, but my Spec996 won't clear without them.

As far as taking off the fender, it's not that difficult, particularly after you are used to doing it. But there is another way around it, which is to winch your car up on to the trailer. Yes, it's not quite as fast, but it's safer than driving up, the winch gives you one more thing holding the car on the trailer, and its REALLY handy when your car doesn't run!

mrbill_fl

do you have a battery for the trailer or run a plug into the car's 12v system?



Another thing about the featherlite... The ramps fit in a grove that runs full width, So they can be slid to make one wide ramp, or moved to handle different width cars.