Setting up a new to me enclosed trailer

[Axial_Flow]

Hello,

 

I recently purchased a 28' Car Mate enclosed trailer.  The trailer was used to haul a race car (Late Model) and will need some reconfiguring to haul several different prewar type cars.

 

Currently the trailer has 5 D-ring tie downs, but I am wondering if one started with a clean slate, how would you proceed?  I see a lot of trailers use E-Track in the floor and walls.  Would this be robust enough to tie down a large car like a 1941 Studebaker President?

 

Thank you for your ideas and suggestions.

 

 

[Gary_Ash]

Among many other things, get a trailer tongue scale so that you can mark off where to park the car in the trailer to have the right tongue load on your hitch. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-2000-Trailer-Tongue/dp/B007REK28M/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tongue+weight+scale&qid=1676672381&sr=8-2

 

[Avanti Bill]

On 2/17/2023 at 10:50 PM, Gary_Ash said:

Among many other things, get a trailer tongue scale so that you can mark off where to park the car in the trailer to have the right tongue load on your hitch. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-2000-Trailer-Tongue/dp/B007REK28M/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tongue+weight+scale&qid=1676672381&sr=8-2

 

Or you can get a Weigh-Safe hitch which has the scale built in, in either case you will have a better towing experience if you know where to place the car for perfect tongue weight.

Edited February 19 by Avanti Bill (see edit history)

[edinmass]

47 minutes ago, Avanti Bill said:

for perfect tongue weight.

Gee, if I comment do I get warning points? 🤔

[Bills Auto Works]

As far as tie downs go it is really all about personal preference. D rings are great & E-tracks are great also. Depending on your situation, they may give you more options. I personally use the D-rings with only a row of E-track across the front to tie down other things that I may transport besides the vehicle. I do not put tie downs on the walls at all My opinion is that the walls of an enclosed car trailer are there for no other reason than to hold the roof up. The temptation would be to stand heavy stuff up & attach it to the walls which I don't think is a good idea. Besides if you don't have wall tie downs.....Your friends won't be able to ask you to move from one house to another!😄

 

  Obviously an electric winch is a must. I also have a 4K power inverter that I run my LED ceiling lights & also my compressor system with quick fittings on the outside of the trailer front & back.

 

  My current enclosed trailer has well over a million miles on it & the way I do it while transporting my customers cars works for me. Your results may vary. As you can see by the date code on the 1st two pictures, this was back when I put this particular trailer in service & have changes a few things since, but you get the idea.

 

God Bless

Bill

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nationwide-single-car-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

"Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep." – Denis Waitley

 

 

Edited February 18 by Bills Auto Works (see edit history)

[Jim Bollman]

I have lots of E-Track in my trailer, all on the floor. Two strips the full length outside my normal tread area, two more in the front half that sit under my normal tread and one front center going back about 4'. Gives me a lot of options on how and where I tie things down. Unlike Bill above I do have some D rings on the walls but purposely kept them light weight so no temptation to tie something heavy to them. I have a few at about the 3' level and more up close to the roof. I use them to hang assorted straps, extension cords etc on the high ones and I strap camp chairs and such to the wall on the low ones. Nothing is hung on them that could swing out and hit the car.

 

If you go with E-Track use appropriate bolts and washers to bolt it down and use enough for the load you're strapping down. When I first bought the trailer I ask the dealer to install E-Track and where I wanted it. When I picked it up he had screwed it down with wood screws every 12-18". I never tied anything down to it till I replaced the screws with about twice as many grade 8 bolts with large surface washers & elastic stop nuts underneath.

[Trulyvintage]

If you have not worked on a car hauler trailer before - find a “ meat & potato “ trailer repair shop near you.

 

Have the following inspected:

 

Tongue & coupler

Emergency battery for trailer brakes

Safety chains

Running lights

Trailer brakes

Wheel races & bearings

Rims & tires

Axles & spindles

Axle mounting plates

 

Have the frame completely checked

for stress cracks & fatigue 

 

Check the frame for alignment

 

When you buy a used trailer 

that is where you start.

 

 

Jim

 

[Swear57]

 I have a 2003 Starlite 26-foot enclosed trailer. I have D rings on the floor & E-Track on the walls. I tie to the wall, not wall to wall. I tie dresser, pictures, cabinets, empty toolbox's, tables for the swap meets. I have even set up a table & had boxes on the tables & put a strap around all. Nothing heavy. We put about 4to 5000 miles a year on it. I have never had a problem. After reading Bills comments we went & checked our side walls & roof top. If I tweaked the walls I would think the roof would be leaking. We are going to repaint the walls tomorrow then the floor before the Portland swap meet next month. Just my experience over the past 20 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kgreen]

If you don't need the elevated ramps inside the trailer, you might consider removing them to reduce weight and lower the center of gravity.

[charlier]

If you don't absolutely need all the cabinets I would remove them. Same goes for the empty tire rack. Relocate the spare tire to the rear wall of the trailer near the ramp door. All these items are adding needless tongue weight to the trailer especially if not needed.

 

Depending on what vehicle(s) you will be towing in the trailer, the ramps may be more trouble than they are worth. Personally I would remove them and install E-Track in the floor and use wheel baskets on each vehicle tire to anchor your vehicles down. If you do install E-Track be sure to use good stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers that are anchored to the frame of the trailer. Before going with the E-Track and wheel baskets do some research regarding the weigh ratings for the equipment you are considering compared to the weight of the vehicle you will be towing. Also double check the D-Rings in the trailer to make sure they are anchored to the frame of the trailer. I have seen a few trailers where they were not anchored to the frame which is not good at all.

 

Unless you are planning on using the existing lights (which appear to need a generator to run), I would consider removing them and replacing them with LED strip lighting. I have 4 rows of these lights in my trailer connected to two separate switches which provide a LOT of light and consume very little power from my 12V deep cycle trailer battery.

[Axial_Flow]

@charlier  You make a lot of good points.  I was planning on removing the ramps, I won't need them.  I was planning on removing the left-hand cabinets on the wall and the tire rack in the front.  I removed the middle light so I could get a little more roof clearance.

 

I am on the fence about the front cabinets and work bench area.  I think they'll stay for now unless I need more room in the nose.  I would like to relocated the winch into the front, possibly inside one of the center cabinets.

 

The lights will be converted to LEDs, there actually is a 5500 watt generator mounted on the trailer tongue. 

[CarNucopia]

On 2/18/2023 at 7:08 AM, Avanti Bill said:

Or you can get a Weigh-Safe hitch which has the scale built in, in either case you will have a better towing experience if you know where to place the car for perfect tongue weight.

I've got a Weight-Safe hitch and recommend it.

[CarNucopia]

On 3/2/2023 at 7:32 AM, charlier said:

Same goes for the empty tire rack. Relocate the spare tire to the rear wall of the trailer near the ramp door. All these items are adding needless tongue weight to the trailer especially if not needed.

 

 

Another reason to do this is for easy access when (not if) you get a flat.

[charlier]

22 hours ago, Axial_Flow said:

@charlier  You make a lot of good points.  I was planning on removing the ramps, I won't need them.  I was planning on removing the left-hand cabinets on the wall and the tire rack in the front.  I removed the middle light so I could get a little more roof clearance.

 

I am on the fence about the front cabinets and work bench area.  I think they'll stay for now unless I need more room in the nose.  I would like to relocated the winch into the front, possibly inside one of the center cabinets.

 

The lights will be converted to LEDs, there actually is a 5500 watt generator mounted on the trailer tongue. 

From what my old eyes can tell the front cabinets appear to be kitchen cabinets someone mounted in the trailer. Definitely not light weight aluminum and most likely weigh significantly more than aluminum cabinets used in most late model car trailers.

 

It might be worthwhile to delay mounting the winch in the trailer until you decide if you are keeping the cabinets in the nose of the trailer. When you do mount the winch consider using a steel plate bolted to the frame of the trailer. Then mount a hitch receiver to the plate hitch and mount the winch to a  hitch with a hitch pin. That way the winch is EASILY removed if need be and can be inserted into your tow vehicle's hitch and connected to the tow vehicle power and you have another way to use the winch if need be. If I can find a photo of my winch setup I'll post it.

 

Not sure if you realize it or not but the 5500 Watt generator mounted on the trailer tongue could EASILY be adding 300 pounds of tongue weight (not counting the fuel inside it) to your trailer. For a race car trailer that additional tongue weight might be justifiable for power tools, etc. but for an antique car hauler I could never justify it myself. Heck I would rather have something like that connected to my house for when the power goes off or to power a car storage/shop building that does not have power running to it. Even if your tow vehicle is a diesel heavy duty truck that extra tongue weight will cost you extra fuel money every time you tow.

 

I power the lights inside my trailer, the winch, the ramp door lights, the wireless rear backup camera and my power tongue jack all from one deep cycle battery which is charged by my tow vehicle when towing. My deep cycle battery weights around 55 lbs which is about 200-250 pounds less tongue weight than a generator like the one you mentioned. When I am not towing the trailer I connect a 12V Battery Tender charger to the deep cycle battery and trailer brake battery. That keeps both of them charged and I usually get 5-8 years of life out of these batteries.

[Axial_Flow]

@charlier  More valid points sir.  I'm not sure how much I plan on using the tongue mounted genny, I already have a house back-up, I think its rated around 8.5K.  I planned on using this trailer for the flea market at Hershey, but this genny is going to be way too loud to be of any use if I need power there.  I would probably be far better off selling this unit and getting a smaller inverter genny.

 

I do like your idea about having a removable winch.  Something I need to consider.

 

Tongue weight on a bumper pull trailer is a big deal and something I need to consider carefully, I appreciate the advice.  

[charlier]

On 3/17/2023 at 2:05 PM, Axial_Flow said:

@charlier  I do like your idea about having a removable winch.  Something I need to consider.

I found some photos of the winch setup in my trailer that I thought might interest you.