Surfbum

I've gone through a bunch of different trailers over the years to fit my needs, everything from an open aluminum to a three car stacker, and everything in between.

I currently have a 28' Renegade all aluminum that I tow with a GMC 2500 hd, works perfectly for a single car with golf cart or my cup car with pit cart, tire cart, scooter, etc, etc.

My problem is that I am selling my warehouse that I store all my cars/truck/trailer/spares and will be downsizing to two cars, one i will keep at my house and one with a shop doing the arrive and drive at events far from my home.

I am considering getting a trailex enclosed vs other small aluminum strictly for the convenience of being able to keep my trailer at my home in a garage. With the height being low enough to pull into a standard 7' garage door, I won't have to rent an enclosed storage shed somewhere and keep everything nearby.

My concerns with the trailex are two:

With only a 14" tire/wheel won't those tires be spinning at a comparable rate of 100 mph + when the tow vehicle is doing 75mph?

If I have to do a 8 - 14 hour tow or longer how do these trailers hold up?

I would also like to hear from anyone who tows with a gasoline Cayenne, unfortunately when I bought my 2016 they had the ban on the diesels.

Thank you in advance for any info any owners are willing to share, if you prefer, please feel free to pm me.

Best

OpieT

I own a standard height Trailex for the same reasons you list. This is my first Trailex, it's a 2015 model. I have one car, the trailer stays in one garage stall in my home. I bought it to tow to three or four events per year behind a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel between 10-16 hours one-way. Most of my experience has been with more common 26' trailers, but I decided the hassle and expense of storing the standard trailer offsite wasn't worth it.

The Trailex tows like a dream, I'm thrilled with it. Build quality is beautiful. You need to be creative with storage. I recommend searching "trailex" on the forum to see some of the threads and maybe ping some of the members that have had theirs longer. You can get that scooter in, golf cart stays home obviously.

I share your concerns over the 14" wheels and carry a spare, a trailer aid for quick change. I only have few thousand miles on the trailer at the moment, tires look new, trailer looks new...you may notice that they don't depreciate much if you search used...in fact, used are very hard to find in my experience. If you're someone who washes their trailer, this thing is so much easier to clean than a standard car trailer.

The trailer comes with multiple keys for all the different locks. One for front doors, one for side doors, one for ramp lock, that's a little annoying.

I've discovered that it's unusual enough that people frequently ask questions about it at the gas pump on trips. Rarely happened with the 26' outfit.

Heading out tomorrow for a 13-16 hour trip to a weekend DE event.

ExMB

Now that does not compute. Its all about rotations per mile. You'll get that with different sized tires regardless.

Surfbum

OpieT, thank you for you response.

ExMB, the rotations per mile is what I was suggesting by the different wheel sizes. seems like the smaller wheels are spinning at a much higher rate, I was wondering if anyone has had any failures towing at 75mph with such a small tire. Im trying to ring out the tire rating from Tailex now.

Please keep the comments coming, I'm torn between the Trailex and the Aerovault.

skxf430

Surf,

Have you considered an ATC trailer? They will make any height you want and you can spec either 15 or 16" wheels. Beckers Custom trailer in Vegas is a dealer and they are very helpful. A couple of guys on RL just bought ATC's and they tow with a petrol Cayenne without any issues.

rnh204

I have a 2013 trailex enclosed. I just towed from the NYC area to Road America, straight 14-15 hour drive. Towed perfectly fine, just hated having to fill up on gas 6-7 times before I got there.

I tow with an Infiniti QX80 and I haven't had any issues with the 14 inch wheels. Change the tires out every 3 years and you should be good.

This season alone, I have gone to Watkins glen 4x (5 hrs), Mosport (8 hours), LCMT (8 hrs), NJMP 2x (2-3 hours), and NYsafety track (3 hrs).

I have the extra height which probably knocks down a few mpgs but it saves my back getting in and out of the car.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it despite the smaller wheels.

Good luck with whatever you decide. And as others said the ATC is also a very very nice setup as well if you want larger wheels.

RickBetterley

Trailex enclosed is a great trailer. My friends tow them long distances with great success.
I can't speak to the gas Cayenne, though.
Dave and Irene ('Coochas') have an AeroVault and seem to like it a lot.

ExMB

It seems like a lot of members on here that have bought an enclosed, regardless of brand, seem to either like or wish they had the side exit door. The few times I've seen cars winch loaded on trailers without the side door it appeared to be a PITA to get the car in straight (one guy mentioned he wished he had his skinny grandson here to steer).

Kein_Ersatz

Tow enclosed 1999 Trailex from Ohio to Sebring (18hours) / Ohio to RA (10 hours) / Ohio to WGI (8 hours) and back. Tow with '03 BMW X5 V8, quick enough thru WVa "hills". Other tow with Cayennes with no issues. We talk in paddocks :-)

If buying new from Trailex both side doors are worth it. Get canopy option too.

Rear door is different lock, but all side/front doors can be keyed to same lock/key combo. Get tire rack, winch, and floor storage.

Width is okay for typical 7ft garage door, but length and height (varies with Trailex options) can be a issue, so measure twice. I have both extra height and extra length options.

Swap out tires every 3-5 years, carry 2-spare tires (odds are if you run over something, it will do in both tires), and get TPMS monitoring (on Amazon) for trailer. TPMS, dest $99s I spent on trailer so far.

Surfbum

skfx, yes I have considered ATC and having one priced out at a local dealer. Bought an ATC open that I have for moving cars around in town, great build and Becker was a great source and the closest dealer at the time.

rnh204, thanks, that's a lot of towing and exactly what I wanted to hear. I have my tire guy looking into what the highest speed rated 14" tire is on the market, probably going to looking at some type of small truck tire if they make anything like that.

Rick, thanks, Im thinking of going out to Henderson to look at the construction, the people that have the Aerovault rave about how much more durable they seen to be.

EXMB, thanks but my first open trailer is the only trailer I have had without a winch, wouldn't ever consider not having one, Ive seen too many people burn clutches, and those Tilton's don't come cheap.

Kein, great suggestions, yup I checked all the boxes on options, I am going to have to get very creative with this limited space for storage. They didn't tell me about the canopy option, Ill call them back and get more info. I always put two spares in my trailers because you are right if one tire hits something, the one right behind it is probably going to hit it also.

Thanks again to everyone this downsizing thing is going to get tricky, no genny, no compressor, no ac, no folding bed, but im sure in the end it will end up being a lot easier having everything nearby.

Here is a pic from last weekend set up.

skxf430

Surf,

I think the least appealing aspect of the Trailex is the rear door swings up, and you have to use ramps rather than utilizing the rear door as a ramp. I have ramps on my Featherlite and they are a bit more cumbersome to move around.

ExMB

I don't know of too many Porsche's that have an approach angle that can use a 5' ft door and not scrape going up or braking over. Even the 11' ramps supplied by Trailex are not enough for some.

skxf430

with an ATC, they can make a 6' flap to the rear door and you can always use Race Ramps.

Sboxin

Dave,
When you are ready to sell your 28' Renegade and golf cart and misc please let me know - We are thinking of moving to a longer/better trailer . . .

Regards,
Roy T
NASA AZ Brian T driver and UPS Porsche

Surfbum

ExMB is right the trailex 11' ramps are not long enough for a cup car. I have two sets of race ramps already that could be used for either an ATC or Trailex.

Roy, Ive promised my Renegade to someone already but if he doesn't pull the trigger I will give you a call. I don't suspect it will happen quick though.

PM me your phone number and you can come check it out at my warehouse.