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Got my first peek into designs. Changes since this design:
- Double hinged entrance door
- Move tire rack up 8" to allow 56" clearance below it for car
- Moved tie down points in front forward slightly and to the sides. I am using wheel straps and this will give me enough clearance on the front to clear the aero with the ratchets.
- Move external lights and plugs to account for wider double hinged door
the stability jacks in the front wont be needed, you can use the tongue jack for that.
- I would change the tongue jack to a hydraulic one, the electric one they use fails, constantly. I am on no. 5, and they keep replacing for free. It has a cheap china made worm gear in that fails.
- move the spare box forward so you can get to it with the car loaded, if that is infact a spare box.
- I'd move the fuel cell back either between axles or behind the rear.
- move the winch off to the side if its not going to be in cabinet or you plan to use a pulley. the angle at which you'll be pulling as the car comes in with the winch there is pretty severe as the front of the car will be close to the winch.
- upgrade to the 16" wheels/tires so you can run the better tires and not the lower rated trailer tires.
- not sure what length ramp extensions you are getting, but the gt4 will not clear the standard flap they use. You need either race ramps or the longer aluminum fold outs.
- I would add a door to the drivers side, the air cross flow is excellent plus the convenience of being able to enter from either side of trailer and load from either side.
- make sure they BOLT the tire rack to the wall. ATC uses self tapping screws otherwise.
- add more airline or e track now, so the backing plates are installed in the trailer.
If I had to guess, with that fuel tank unloaded, you're probably around 1150 lbs unloaded tongue weight, so the GT4 will sit further back in the trailer.
- the stability jacks in the front wont be needed, you can use the tongue jack for that. plan on camping out of it at a very windy track and have experience in RVs there they shake quite a bit, trying to minimize that
- I would change the tongue jack to a hydraulic one, the electric one they use fails, constantly. I am on no. 5, and they keep replacing for free. It has a cheap china made worm gear in that fails. ok will check on that, does it cost much more?
- move the spare box forward so you can get to it with the car loaded, if that is infact a spare box. going to use it for storage for straps and such that I won't need when car is in place, its got a spare on wall
- I'd move the fuel cell back either between axles or behind the rear. ok will ask about that, I assumed they were optimizing for weight placement already?
- move the winch off to the side if its not going to be in cabinet or you plan to use a pulley. the angle at which you'll be pulling as the car comes in with the winch there is pretty severe as the front of the car will be close to the winch. yeah good point will do that
- upgrade to the 16" wheels/tires so you can run the better tires and not the lower rated trailer tires. when I asked ATC dealer he said they have only one wheel option
- not sure what length ramp extensions you are getting, but the gt4 will not clear the standard flap they use. You need either race ramps or the longer aluminum fold outs. I have race ramps already which I plan to re-use
- I would add a door to the drivers side, the air cross flow is excellent plus the convenience of being able to enter from either side of trailer and load from either side. that would be nice but I do have the escape door already so I will probably just do that
- make sure they BOLT the tire rack to the wall. ATC uses self tapping screws otherwise. really? I thought the whole point of having it done factory is the do it right
- add more airline or e track now, so the backing plates are installed in the trailer. trying to keep it clean and simple, may regret later. I am not racing so everything I need usually fits in a totes in the car, this is mostly for camping
If I had to guess, with that fuel tank unloaded, you're probably around 1150 lbs unloaded tongue weight, so the GT4 will sit further back in the trailer.
- I dont believe ATC bolts the tire rack, a member here confirmed this on their recent build. Everything on every ATC I look at, is self tapping, two of my friends have 28's, and mine is a 22'. Intech will bolt as standard, ATC will not. I have an ATC.
- If you plan on using race ramps, let them know the height of ramps or the rubber bumpers on the rear door will be too short and you'll "drop" from the race ramp to the door as it will be too low. Both of my friends with 28s have this issue.
- they will do the 16" wheels, its a simple hub change, and the inner wheel boxes are a little bigger for clearance. In 15" you're forced to run trailer tires, which are horrible. in 16" you can run LT tires.
- on the side step, make sure its a mesh material and not solid, as the solid plank gets gravel in it from the road and gets stuck/bound constantly. I believe they have fixed this and stopped using solid material, but double check.
- i might consider putting the batteries in the floor. They take up cabinet space, and you need to access them about once a year. Also, have them add an onboard charger, as they do not come with one.
- I see you are doing a fueling station, where is your generator going, or what are you planning to do for power?
- I dont believe ATC bolts the tire rack, a member here confirmed this on their recent build. Everything on every ATC I look at, is self tapping, two of my friends have 28's, and mine is a 22'. Intech will bolt as standard, ATC will not. I have an ATC. Will check on this
- If you plan on using race ramps, let them know the height of ramps or the rubber bumpers on the rear door will be too short and you'll "drop" from the race ramp to the door as it will be too low. Both of my friends with 28s have this issue. I am using the 5" tall ramps with the 3" tall notch. I was assuming the ramp would just sit on the notch, does it need to be supported by the rubber stops?
- they will do the 16" wheels, its a simple hub change, and the inner wheel boxes are a little bigger for clearance. In 15" you're forced to run trailer tires, which are horrible. in 16" you can run LT tires. Ok I have heard different opinions on trailer vs truck tires but it would at least be nice to have the option.
- on the side step, make sure its a mesh material and not solid, as the solid plank gets gravel in it from the road and gets stuck/bound constantly. I believe they have fixed this and stopped using solid material, but double check. Looks like its mesh from the other drawings i have.
- i might consider putting the batteries in the floor. They take up cabinet space, and you need to access them about once a year. Also, have them add an onboard charger, as they do not come with one. I considered this - having them where they are will make wiring in 12v stuff a little easier like a big inverter... also just saving a bit of money on that one. On the charger - I assumed if I used the shoreline power plug there was a converter that charged the batteries?
- I see you are doing a fueling station, where is your generator going, or what are you planning to do for power? For now the plan would be to get a Honda Handi 3000 and put it in my truck bed. 70lbs so I think I could manage it there ok. Long term I may get a generator box added to the tongue. The track I am primarily interested in using this at has power luckily
Also on fueling station - I believe they are just powered by 12v. I plan on adding 160w solar panel at the trailer dealer after they get it. Should mean the only thing I need generator for is if I need A/C.
On the race ramps, no you don't need bigger bumpers. The race ramps have the flat notched area at the end. The rear door goes on there, and the little flap folds over onto the ramp itself.
If you don't have the required length bumpers at the door you run the risk of slippage, dropping off your ramps The hinge connecting the flap and the door is not intended to be a stabilizer holding weight up.
Regarding the power of the fueling station; don't believe but verify. Pumps are motors with a high start up current. Don't rely on a solar panel to be able to provide voltage and current at the same time; especially on cloudy, overcast days.
Regarding the power of the fueling station; don't believe but verify. Pumps are motors with a high start up current. Don't rely on a solar panel to be able to provide voltage and current at the same time; especially on cloudy, overcast days.
Cloudy days, we are in PacNW - cloudy / rainy days for sure. I verified the pump is 12v it pulls 18 amps while running. We are going to have two batteries with lots of spare amp hours. I also plan on bringing the generator any time power isn't available, just would only turn on if batteries low or we want to run A/C.
Ok I pulled the trigger. A note on wheels: I ended up spec'ing the 16" wheels like they have on the stacker trailers 235/80R16/LRE.
I compared some stats of the 16" vs. 15" tire setups using Goodyear Endurance as a baseline. Max load was 3,420 on the 16's vs 2,830 on the 15's. They are also 6 pounds heavier per tire! Wow glad I don't have to race this thing.
The deck height went from 20 1/16" to 21 5/16" and the wheel wells grew in the CAD drawings.
Still, I think the extra weight and slightly taller height will be worth it for the peace of mind. Seems to be plenty of stories of blowouts on the 15's.
Also on fueling station - I believe they are just powered by 12v. I plan on adding 160w solar panel at the trailer dealer after they get it. Should mean the only thing I need generator for is if I need A/C.
Originally Posted by pkh
Cloudy days, we are in PacNW - cloudy / rainy days for sure. I verified the pump is 12v it pulls 18 amps while running. We are going to have two batteries with lots of spare amp hours. I also plan on bringing the generator any time power isn't available, just would only turn on if batteries low or we want to run A/C.
Looks like your solar panel will not work.
Power = voltage * current (from Kirschoffs law)
160 W (solar panel) = 12 VDC * 13.333 Amps
Therefore your motor's running requirement of 18 Amps will stress your solar panel: i.e your voltage will drop < 9 VDC in order to supply 18 Amps. Will the motor run at that low of a voltage and will it be satisfactory (if capable)? And that is not even close to a start up current required which can easily be multiple times that current.
The panel is just for charging, the power all comes from the batteries which have hundreds of amp hours to spare. The panel is running all the time charging whereas the pump only runs for a couple minutes at a time.
BTW - I have a fair amount of experience with wake boats that run 4-5 pumps simultaneously pumping hundreds of gallons of water in and out of ballast tanks all off of 2 batteries, motor off.
I got the renderings from ATC with my GT4 in the trailer. This was based on measurements I sent them of the car. They pointed out the built in ramp will be too steep but I specified I was using race ramps.
I think this gives people considering a 22 foot trailer with cabinets a good idea of how much space they will have.
06-13-2018, 06:40 PM
