Trailer Queen

[its a V-12]

I'm looking at a car hauler for my '48 LC. Question is 16 feet long enough or should it be 18'? I believe the car length is 18' and inches, but I was told you measure, for car hauler length purposes, from front wheel to rear wheel? First time buyer for a hauler and would greatly appreciate any advise or words of caution regarding what I should or should not consider. I'll be pulling it with a 2000 GMC Sierra, small 8, 2X2.

[Guest delson]

I have a '39 LZ 4 door sedan and '39 LZ limo. I recommend you get a 22 ft.

enclosed trailer as I have found you always need some room in front to carry

tools, chairs and etc. The extra room also gives you room to properly set

the car for safe towing balance. By the way, be sure to get the wide left

side door so you can get in and out of the car.

Don

[DizzyDale]

Dear Its a V-12,Is this an enclosed or open trailer we are discussing?Open 18' is fine,can you get brakes on both axles?all depends how much of the car you want hangin off the back of the trailer EXPOSED to EVERYTHING.I would go right to 24'box,MOST common length and easiest to sell when your done with it.I don't EVER recall someone lookin at their trailer and sayin....i WISH it was a couple of feet SMALLER.I believe your tow vehicle is MARGINAL at best,if you are going to be climbing ANYTHING taller than an ANTHILL you are going to have PROBLEMS.diz

[its a V-12]

Thanks Don and Diz for your response. I did orginally think about an open trailer primarily because of cost and frequency of use. I have been going back and forth with the pro & cons. I do need to keep weight in the equation because of the tow (GMC P/U 2X) vehicle.I do plan on using a trailer for some of the long distance shows and driving the LC to the area ones.I have found in at least Northern Ohio enclosed used trailers are selling at a premium and darn close to new prices.Maybe I should look at it as an investment and opposed to an expense?..Thanks again guys...

[imported_Phil Knapp]

I tend to agree with Dale, your tow vehicle may be marginal. I recently purchased a Wells Cargo 24 ft. "Auto Wagon" enclosed trailer from Don Randall in Lansing, Michigan. The trailer weighs 3500 lbs and our '47 Continental is around 4000 so if your tow vehicle isn't rated to tow at LEAST 8000 lbs, you'll be marginal.

Don Randall is a nationwide Wells Cargo dealer and will split the commission with you, making a pretty good deal. Don advertises in Hemmings. I picked the trailer up at the factory in Waco, Texas and have been very pleased with it. I initially pulled it with a 1977 Ford F-350 (460 ci gas-hog engine) with no problem, but have since upgraded to a 2005 F-350 Super Duty Turbo Diesel crew cab with an eight foot bed which is a LOT more comfortable!

Be sure you get the large left side door in the trailer. It makes getting out of the car and the trailer a lot easier!

I used to scoff at the "Trailer Queens", but not any more. I'm not up to driving a non-air conditioned car anywhere any more. It's not to protect the car, it's to protect ME! Besides, why risk a rare collector car in todays crazy traffic?

We drove our 1947 Continental from California to the LCOC Eastern meet in Vermont in 1970, then to the Western meet in Yosemite National park. It was fun then, but cross country trips in an old car aren't nearly as much fun now as they used to be! I guess I'm spoiled.

[its a V-12]

Thanks, Phil..I'll get in touch with Don Randall and see what he can do. As stated, I still argue with myself regarding the trailering but along with my recent AARP membership is the increasing need for creature comforts such as A/C, stereo and piece of mind. Just like everyone else on this forum, I have a "few bucks" tied up in that LC and certainly want to keep her reasonably protected. Thanks again for your response, its appreciated..Regards

[Guest BillP]

There was a recent thread on this maybe three months ago here also from a fellow in Cleveland. I'm from east of Cleveland, and suggested he call Tow-Pro in Mentor, where I got my 24' Pace GT. I think got a good deal. I tow with a F250 Powerstroke Diesel SuperDuty 4x4.

[CBoz]

This discussion about towing vehicles is pretty interesting to me, since I faced the same question last fall when I was looking at getting either an F-140 or F-250 Supercrew.

The F-150 w/ 5.4L V8 had a tow capacity of 8500-9500 depending on the rear axle ratio. The F-250 went from 9500 all the way up to 12,500 for the diesel.

I figured a closed trailer is going to run around 3000 lbs and my car is 3300 lbs, so adding in myself, luggage, etc., I'd be pushing toward 7500 lbs, still within the 8500 lb for the F-150.

I knew I'd sacrifice some towing capability if I went with the F-150, and If I was planning on towing alot, no question I would have ponied and gotten the 250. But I might trailer once or twice a year and I needed to consider gas mileage and out of pocket costs (the diesel adds about $6K!). For those reasons, I went with the F-150. Time will tell if I'll live to regret the decision .

[imported_Phil Knapp]

Speaking of tow vehicles, we opted for the diesel because of our moving experiences between California and Texas. Our first trip was using a Ryder 20 ft box van, gas powered, loaded with household items and a tow dolly with a 1967 Mustang on it. The fuel economy was dismal and the power just wasn't there. There are a few hills between California and Texas on Interstate 10 and the gas truck just couldn't cut it. Our second trip was with a 24 ft Ryder box van, diesel powered, with a tow dolly pulling a 1967 Lincoln Continental convertible sedan. The truck had some heavy car parts in it, engines, transmissions, Mustang parts, etc. The rig weighed 36,000 lbs and the diesel gave WAY better fuel economy and had NO problems on the hills where the gas truck bogged down.

True, the diesel engine costs about $6K more than the gas engine, but it will probably run about 300,000 miles, has WAY more torque, and gives much better fuel economy. Our 1977 Ford F-350 with a 460 was lucky to get 7 mpg. No trips yet in the diesel, but around town it averages about 14 mpg. The new Ford 6.0 liter turbo diesel develops it's maximum torque of nearly 600 ft lbs at 2000 rpm (that's about 70 mph with the 3.73 rear axle - perfect). The diesel doesn't care about high altitude either - it's all sea level because of the turbo charger. You need to wind the gas engine to over 3000 rpm to get it's maximum torque. Added bonuses on the 2005 Ford Super Duty trucks are a MUCH shorter turning radius (I can do a U-turn in our cul-de-sac without backing up and the wheelbase is 172 inches), an integrated trailer brake controller, bigger brakes, heavier frame rails, and a Town Car steering wheel with radio and temperature control on it. I figure that this is the last truck we'll ever need and we LOVE IT!

The quality remains after the cost is forgotten!

[DizzyDale]

Dear Phil,You said it all TORQUE.Towed a 24'trailer with a variety of Chevy trucks,crewcabs,suburbans,1/2 ton shortbox pickups ALL with 3 things in common.All had 454s and ALL had DEEP transmission pans and BIG trans coolers.MORE fluid and keep what you got COOL.I towed a 24' trailer to Hershey a couple years back with a buddies power stroke Ford,i think you coulda rotated the Earth with that TORQUE.Fuel milage was good if you kept it around 60,over that and it fell off a bunch.diz

[imported_Phil Knapp]

Update. We drove the new diesel F-350 from Austin to San Antonio over the weekend for it's initial "shakedown cruise" and got right at 20 mpg at 70-75 mph whenever possible! (20.2 going down and 19.8 coming back after getting lost in Saturday noontime downtown San Antonio traffic). Of course the truck was empty.

The next test will be a trip to California pulling the empty 24 ft Wells Cargo trailer and returning with the trailer and truck full of car parts for the Pate Swap Meet.

By the way, Diz, the truck comes with a transmission temperature gauge, a turbo boost gauge, and an engine hour meter.

[DizzyDale]

Dear Phil,Looks like a super rig,one question,are those the biggest tires you could get from the factory?diz

[imported_Phil Knapp]

Hi Diz,

We didn't question the tire size. The "King Ranch" model comes with "King Ranch" 18" wheels with LT275/65R18E tires. We could have gotten the optional "OWL" tires at extra cost (outlined white letters) but chose the plain black sidewalls. We got the 4X2 truck because we don't ever intend to go "Off-Roading" and the 4X4 trucks are taller and harder to climb up into! Besides, there's too much extra machinery involved in a 4WD vehicle. We had to special order this truck because the local Ford dealer seems to stock mostly 4X4 trucks. Hundreds of them!

I know I must sound like a Ford salesman, but I'm not! We DID look at Chevrolet & Dodge trucks, but didn't find anything comparable to the Ford "King Ranch".