Trailer recomendation??

[sturgeongeneral]

I am looking to buy a trailer to carry my Elise. Nothing fancy, not too big, but should be big enough to also carry a Noble when I find one. (only one car at a time) Does anybody have any recomendations? Could also be possibly interested in something that is easily modifyable to fit an Elise. Who has one and what did you buy?

[XHILR8N!]

Open or closed?

[tvacc]

Trailex Home Page

[philethier]

I have a an ugly 20' Pace American trailer. One fender is missing. The outside is filthy. There are no Lotus or racing markings on it anywhere. Damage on one corner of the top is covered with white duck tape. Not interested in anyone at a motel on the road to an autocross thinking there is anything valuable there.

Inside, it has E-track all over and tiedowns that let me take any reasonably-sized car by the tires only. Race Ramps along with the integral ramp makes loading Elise or Stag easy.

OK, so you need a real truck to tow it...

[philethier]

Originally Posted by tvacc

Trailex Home Page

I like the door door on the left side, but don't understand the long skinny ramps instead of using the back loading door as a ramp like everyone else.

[sturgeongeneral]

DANG! Those are SWEET!!!!!!

[GronkDaSlayer]

I got a 20' open trailer from Orlandi Trailers in San Jose. For $1800 it's all I needed. It clearly isn't sexy, it's friggin heavy too, which means you need a decent truck to tow it.
I bought the aforementioned truck some 4 months earlier and that combo has been pretty nice. Since I have no space, I need to keep it at a storage yard but that's not so bad (<$600 per year).

Depends on your towing vehicle and if you like fancy trailers

[GronkDaSlayer]

Originally Posted by philethier

I like the door door on the left side, but don't understand the long skinny ramps instead of using the back loading door as a ramp like everyone else.

That's because the door is short. Those sport car trailer are very low, therefore, low door and higher angle, which wouldn't work with an Elise/Exige.

[RBH]

Who has this one?

[philethier]

Originally Posted by GronkDaSlayer

That's because the door is short. Those sport car trailer are very low, therefore, low door and higher angle, which wouldn't work with an Elise/Exige.

That's what Race Ramps are for.

[R4Racin]

I was just researching this last night and am always glad to hear more input from others- especially if you are looking for an enclosed trailer.

Whatever you are looking for, you might list some additional parameters such as what you want to use to tow said trailer.

I am looking for an enclosed trailer that I can comfortably tow with an Avalanche. I really don't care to buy a beater tow vehicle or a motor home.

I want a "Toy Hauler" because I want the option of additional use for other endeavors and have been tracking all of my life. One too many lousy toilets, no changing room, wrong drink selections, etc. mean that with a toy hauler I might not ever even sleep in the thing, but I can.

[Jack FFR1846]

If you're going open, a 14' will do the job. Trailex and Featherlite are very common but if you want something for a long time, look for a CargoPro or ATC. I owned a CargoPro that I had them build for me (14' was not a standard trailer) after looking at all of them. It's really a step above the other 2. They've sold to Thule and then Thule sold at least part of the company back and they go by High Country now (I have one of their snowmobile trailers). ATC appears to be built in a similar way in Oklahoma, I believe (cargopro is in maine). The big thing that I saw was that everything was welded aluminum. No bolt on stuff to loosen up. The 14' was 900 pounds. I pulled a 1600 pound CRX racecar with (gasp) a Wrangler. Not recommended as a tow vehicle....I upgraded to a Yukon XL. I also had an 18' enclosed cargopro cargo trailer (cheaper and lower rating than an enclosed car trailer). In retrospect, that was too big for my needs and I would want a low height enclosed at 16' if I were to do another enclosed. The V nose is a must for reducing pulling drag.

[tvacc]

Originally Posted by RBH

Who has this one?

I have one just like it. Mine is black. The only thing I do not like about it, is that when you have the clam shell open, you do have to be wary of wind. There were some days when I just could not open the trailer. It would be a bad deal if I were to drive it somewhere to pick up a car, have the wind above 15mph and not be able to open the trailer.

Montrose did tell me they have lost a few of the lids. And to be careful.

As to the previous post, i dont know what a LONG TIME is, but i had an open trailex for 10 years, sold it to a friend of mine and he still has it, almost 12 years later. Works great. Never unbolted itself, never had an issue. In fact, when I had a small incident it was easy to fix as everything was just bolted back on replacements.

Edit, Whoa. I looked at the picture too fast. That is one of the new ones with the doors at either end. Mine looks like that but opens with a huge clam shell.

Sorry for the mistake.

[plastique999]

another vote for Trailex
I have an open one, weighs 1000 lbs. and push it around in my driveway by myself (sometimes my 6 yr old son helps me steer it)
The enclose Trailex is real nice as well

[nate379]

Whoever owns the one with all the stickers on it, that thing is a thief and DOT magnet.

I use an 18ft 12k rated flatbed. Use it to tow bobcats, compactors, tractors, trucks, gravel, firewood, lumber, drywall, etc, etc, etc. Tow it with a 1 ton diesel pickup. Those little aluminum trailers are nice for just hauling light stuff like a Lotus, but it is very handy to have a trailer that can be used for all sorts of things.

[a43656]

Originally Posted by Jack FFR1846

The big thing that I saw was that everything was welded aluminum. No bolt on stuff to loosen up.

Interesting, I view this just the opposite. I've seen a few cracked welds in welded aluminum trailers, but I've never seen a bolt-together Trailex have a problem at all - and that includes some Trailexes I still see several times a year that are 10-15 years old.

I've had 3 of them over the years, and my current one is for sale.

[TiGumz]

Originally Posted by RBH

Who has this one?

I believe the owner is from Ohio and a LT member......

[RBH]

I just ordered one of these 18' X 92" with a straight back like the picture below from Montrose Trailers - Custom Aluminum Trailers with everything, doors both sides, winch and all under 2000 Lbs. My car is heavier than the trailer - 2051 Lbs

[RBH]

Here are a few pics of the new trailer before loading the car. Loaded all the tools and the cooler

[Gunpilot]

I have an open trailer.

You can get away with a 14' but I would suggest a 16' dual axle and get brakes on both axles for piece of mind.

If it has a dove tail, there's 2 1/2 feet off the back your car is not on. A dove tail makes loading easier and then you just need some race ramps. My trailer had 5 ft ramps on it and I made some 4 ft extensions to keep me from scraping.

Keep in mind to, the bigger it is, the bigger of a vehicle you will need to tow it. Most people think they have the weight capacity and find out they don't. Also you have a max weight you can put on a vehicle. You don't want to be at that weight, if you are chances are your trailer will be driving you.

These are some things you want to consider before you have your pride and joy behind you at 70mph.

We tow ours with a Tacoma mostly but use an FJ cruiser too.