Where to get a cheap enclosed 20ft trailer (new or used)?
 

Looking to hit the track 4-5 times per year, don’t need anything fancy inside or out other than ability to carry 3,500 lbs between the car and the gear.

I know this is the exact opposite of what most do, but it will meet my need.

Located in Chicago, any suggestions appreciated!

TK

What kind of tow vehicle towing capacity do you have?

Hi - using a Cayenne diesel / believe it’s 7000lbs tow capacity. I plan on using weight distribution / anti-sway bars and go no further than 300-350 miles with no major elevation, so really want to go bare bones steel at min cost.

TK

Check out racingjunk.com. For example:

https://www.racingjunk.com/Enclosed-...e=&np_offset=1

Thank you for the suggestion - I’ve looked on there but seems like very few 20footers and prices ok but not great.

I always hear about $5-6000 steel 7000lb 20 footers but can’t seem to find one of those sites.

EDIT - here is one at $3,900, can’t get the place to return my calls, any other ideas?

http://www.enclosedtrailersforless.c...te-7k-gvwrgwr/

Welcome to the slumming it in the cheap 20' steel club :-) I had been looking for a few months for a deal, as the displaced Yankee in me hates to buy anything retail. I was about to give up and just buy one from the many trailer places in Georgia. Not sure what's up with Georgia, but they seem to the hub of trailer sales in the SE. I was perusing the nearby CL sites, FB marketplace, and the local car club FB pages. I was fortunate to be the first person to respond a local getting out of racing sale, and picked up a 20' with upgraded axles, WDH, cameras etc for $3,500. There were like 10 people in line in the first 30 minutes of the posting. Thankfully, I just happened to be online when he posted. Since then I've wired it for 30 amp power, LED lights, insulation, ceiling, epoxy floors, and most recently 15k BTU of AC. I've probably got another $1,500 in it, and a few weekends of work getting it to where I wanted. My advice, be patient, and be willing to purchase immediately when a deal comes along.

How easy was it to add AC to your trailer? I have a 20 foot featherlite (2008) that is pretty bare bones. I’d love to add air to it and use my portable generator to power it. Is this a pretty simple thing to do? There is no way I’d do it myself but I’d love to have an air unit on the roof that would have the power supply outlet on the outside of the trailer so I could hook the generator to it. It would be epic for sitting between races at places like VIR in the summer.

Thank you - this is kind of what I’m hoping for, and willing to be patient. What I was surprised by is the under $4,000 price point for a brand new trailer...

Any suggestions closer to IL on a brand new slummed?

It took me longer to scrape all of the stupid sealant off, under, and around the roof vent than to install the AC unit :-) I would say, it was 30 minutes to get the vent off and cleaned up. Another 30 to unbox and set the unit on the roof (with a helper), and another 30 to get it bolted down and the inside piece / controls attached. I had already wired the trailer and left a 30 amp circuit in the breaker box for a future AC unit. So all I needed to do was run MC cable along the wall, and across the ceiling. Since this is a basic / budget trailer, my wiring is exposed in MC cable, not hidden in the walls / ceiling like many of the nicer units seen in this forum. Definitely a requirement for VIR (will be there in two weeks for an HPDE with THSCC). VIR has lots and lots of power available, especially when compared to say CMP, so no worries about the generator (assuming it's big enough to run a roof top AC unit, accounting for hot compressor start-up current). I paid just at $850 via Amazon for a 15k Domestic unit with a heat strip.

FB market place is a great place to look. Dont buy new from Georgia. Too many horror stories.

Used trailers seem to sell *instantly*. I blinked on the forum here while at an event and a few good ones just sold recently at reasonable prices.

I'm about to break down and buy an Intech Icon or Lite. What's wrong with the GA dealers? The ones I'm talking are just front-ends to the factory... the trailer will be coming straight from the factory.

Check your owners manual to make sure you can actually use a weight distribution hitch on the Cayenne. I can't use them on my Q7 and they are similar cars. Also, elevation is not the killer and whether you tow 3000 or 350 miles you want to be safe if you hit a Thunderstorm and not destroy your transmission in stop and go traffic. Check your tongue weight limitation - the heavier the trailer, the harder that is to manage.

Go conservative with your weight assumptions as you tend to accumulate a lot of stuff in the trailer over time. Keep in mind that aluminum trailers usually hold their value very well.

Good suggestions, thank you!

or you could just get one of those portable units and run off a generator.... just need a 3/4" hole you can place anywhere

Unfortunately, there is a large efficiency difference between one of the portable units, which have the evaporator and condenser inside your trailer, and a proper roof top (or even window unit) where the condenser and evaporator are outside. My trailer actually came with a 13k btu portable one, and it was obvious even after I insulated the trailer, that it was almost useless. The key thing to remember with a typical portable unit, is that it exhausts hot air to the outside. That air has to come from somewhere. With a single hose unit, that air is made up by sucking in air (hot) from outside through the cracks in the trailer. If the trailer was 100% sealed it wouldn't work at all. They do make both portable units that have both an inlet and exhaust hose, which would at least not pull outside air into the space. The other negative is that the exhaust hose is gets hot and is then transferring that heat along the length of the hose back into the space.

The 3/4" hole you mention is just for the condensate drain. With a portable, you will need a roughly 4" hole for a single hose unit, or two of those for the dual units.

I was hoping the portable unit would work better than it did, considering it came with the travel. Unfortunately, myself, and most people that I've talked to who tried portable eventually switched to roof-top.