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I bought a 20ft flat trailer for hauling my skid steer (10,000#), logs and lumber, and am now looking at it as a possible car hauler for track days. Wondering if it's worth enclosing. It's just a bit too short to hold my GT3 and 996TT end to end, and other posts in this forum recommend against bumper pulling a stacked configuration. The trailer is beefy, with over 11,000# of possible payload. My F350 CC Powerstroke has no problem pulling it fully loaded, at 26,000# GCWR. There are good welding, carpentry and electrical skills on my team. Maybe just a hair-brained project looking for a need? If we went single-car enclosed, there would be quite a bit of room for tire racks, cabinets, etc. Enclosure would need to be lift-off-able, for logging/lumber/skid steer purposes. Skid steer has fairly high lift, and ~3,000# capacity, so lifting enclosure on and off shouldn't be a huge deal. Welcome any ideas. Not really excited about buying yet another trailer (beyond this flat trailer and a BigTex 14ft dump trailer).
Last edited by wkf94025; Sep 29, 2022 at 08:37 PM.
I design stuff like that in my sleep but...devil in the details. The lift off part needs to be strong enough to stay together when lifted off with all the tire racks, tools, etc. And you need a good space to keep it. So it would need a floor and doors to keep contents out of the weather when not on that trailer. Just my opinion, polishing a turd. By the time you build it you will only need axels/wheels to make it useless as a road trailer. And a place to store it when in two pieces.
Or buy an ocean container, 20' maybe? Modify as needed. Strong and secure. May need to modify your trailer to roll off standards. For sure it will not be light weight.
Serpent express will make you a custom soft side cover. I DIY'd one on my old steel trailer. I no longer own this trailer, traded up to a proper enclosed as I progressed in the hobby (DE to racing), but when I had it the setup worked well. Took about a day and a half to install w/ one helper.
Check the width of your cars and the trailer deck. You may not have much, if any, room to walk around the car inside. Will be a tight fit if any wall structure encroaches on the deck..
I design stuff like that in my sleep but...devil in the details. The lift off part needs to be strong enough to stay together when lifted off with all the tire racks, tools, etc. And you need a good space to keep it. So it would need a floor and doors to keep contents out of the weather when not on that trailer. Just my opinion, polishing a turd. By the time you build it you will only need axels/wheels to make it useless as a road trailer. And a place to store it when in two pieces.
Or buy an ocean container, 20' maybe? Modify as needed. Strong and secure. May need to modify your trailer to roll off standards. For sure it will not be light weight.
I have a "container village" with 3 @ 20ft x 8ft x 8ft containers, ~10ft apart from each other, with a continuous metal roof over the whole ~45' x 22' footprint. There is a full parking bay between each of the container pairs. The "trailer shell" can live in there, out of the weather, and installed/removed with an easy winch-up-and-off system, and stored hung in the parking bay. Not saying it's a great idea, but some of the issues you raised don't strike me as major issues in my situation.
Originally Posted by Nickshu
Serpent express will make you a custom soft side cover. I DIY'd one on my old steel trailer. I no longer own this trailer, traded up to a proper enclosed as I progressed in the hobby (DE to racing), but when I had it the setup worked well. Took about a day and a half to install w/ one helper. https://serpentexpress.com/home
Their web site says they no longer offer the soft side cover, due to severe supply chain issues. But thanks for your reply.
Originally Posted by jerome951
Check the width of your cars and the trailer deck. You may not have much, if any, room to walk around the car inside. Will be a tight fit if any wall structure encroaches on the deck..
GT3 and 996TT are ~72" wide, and clearance between trailer fenders is 82", so car fits between fenders with ~5" each side. Or more likely 2" on shotgun side, and 8" on driver's side. Thinking I would pull all the way forward on the trailer, exit driver's door, then winch/strap car aft into best position for 10-15% tongue weight. Left side of shell would have operable door for driver enter/exit.
Then again, Laguna Seca is only 2 hours away, and Sonoma only 1.5 hours away. Maybe I don't need no stinkin' race trailer. ;-) Or instead of spending time and $$ on the trailer shell, I just spend $$ on full PPE, and trailer open.
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DIY conversion from open to enclosed?
