I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

[Randy R.]

Does anyone have experience with trailer manufacturers in the near-Columbus Ohio area? I sent for information from TraileX which is a light-weight aluminum design. I also wanted to haul my skid-steer loader (5405 lbs.) if necessary. The current plan is go with an open instead of enclosed version, but I'm still not sure since I have heard horror stories about hail storms at Corvette events.

Having a trailer that does multiple duty helps convince the wife of the investment. She does have a horse, which if I could get an enclosed trailer to haul him around, as well as, my loader and my car, that would be the ticket.

Your thoughts please.

[mike cobine]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

Buy used. You will save a lot of dollars by careful shopping.

Enclosed:
Some have made their trailers cheaper by using the 3500 lb axles instead of the 6000 lb axles. As such, these trailers are gross vehicle weight at 7000 lb instead of either 10,000 or 12,000 lb. With a 24 ft enclosed typically weighing 3000 - 3500 lbs, putting a 3500 lb Corvette in there means it is maxed out. You can't put anything else in, and yet everyone does put more - coolers, tents, canopies, ice chests, tool chests, etc.

So be sure you check the axle ratings and do not assume.

Hail storms - think of this way, do you want your trailer or Corvette beat up? I would prefer my trailer.

I'm not sure it would work with yor horse. Typical floors ae half inch plywood with pressed steel beams for support. While a horse weighes less than a car, it puts its weight into four small areas, so the pressure is much greater. The plywood floor is probably too thin to work, however, you could double the floor and maybe support the horse.

The weight of the horse isn't just that standing static, but with it jumping up and down as you hit bumps and dips in the highway. F=ma.

Open:
Heck of a lot more convenient especially locally. Most are 3500 lb axles, but empty weights vary greatly. Econo Trailer out of Virginia build them roughly 1300 lbs empty for 16 ft. Some tell you theirs are stronger with additional beams but then they can get to be 2000 or more lbs. One of the main reasons for an open trailer is a lighter package to haul.

However, to load your loader on there, the lighter 4 inch tube/channel frames may be too light for regular use. As such, you may have to spring for the 10,000 GVWR equipment trailer. You will be closer to 3000 lb empty or more, depending on type.

Aluminum trailer:
The newest ones are vastly improved. I have heard many stories about the older ones. You would have to check with them about hauling the loader. However, you may have to sell your Corvette to pay for it.

Utility trailers:
While the weight rating is the same as open car trailers, they are designed for somewhat uniform loading of the deck. As such, the pressure points of car tires or the loader will end up bending the trailer where they are located and the deck will warp. Used can be a problem, as often landscapers use them to haul sod, and frequently overload them severely.




Trailering

[Mike McKown]

Uh, I can't top this but

forget the horse!

[Randy R.]

Re: Uh, I can't top this but

Mike...I tend to agree. I'm looking for a sanity check and you help!

[Randy R.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

Thanks for your information. So far a new open aluminum trailor with the $750 NCRS discount from Trailex is supposed to haul both my corvette and the loader and will cost less than $5,000 (to hell with the horse!). I will be sure to check the specified axel loadings when I get the mailed brochures. Thoughts like this are exactly what I was hoping to receive.

[Larry S.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

I run an open car trailer.

I chose the open trailer for the ease of pulling it with an Escualde. All though the Esculade can pull an enclosed trailer up and down hills no problem,with the added mass of the trailer we get pushed all over by wind bus's and tractor trailers.

But what we give up with an open trailer is the protection of knowing your car will be just as perfect when you put it in the trailer as when you take it out, the security of being able to lock the car safely in the trailer over night.(out of site out of mind)

Again I chose the open one only for its ease of use,but I can tell you after a 200 mile pull in a down poor,with all that stuff splashing up on the car,I am always saying as soon as I get home I am going to purchase an enclosed trailer.

[don 42616]

HORSE

Actually a trailer to transport cars could double for a slant horse trailer. Probably hold 3 horses. About same weight as vette. I have seen horse trailers with ratty floors. So you would have to have knowledgable person to check floor. You could install hinged gates or nets between horses. Slant trailer is the safest for horses. That would be a double duty item for you. Don

[Randy R.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

Another good point about splashing in a down pour...what if the trailer floor is solid (as I think most are) and I strap on a car cover?

[mike cobine]

NEVER tow on an open trailer with a cover!

Unless you want to repaint the next week.

[Randy R.]

Re: NEVER tow on an open trailer with a cover!

Your point is well taken...where was my head (please don't reply).

[mike cobine]

Re: NEVER tow on an open trailer with a cover!

Better to ask where your head is now than like the guy I saw going to Bloomington one year south of McLean. The cover blew off and they stopped to put it back on. However, they all stood and stared at the car in shock instead.

It had been a black C3.

[Dick W.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

Randy, smart decision 'bout the horse. All they do is eat, make fertilizer, and need more money to keep them up.

[Randy R.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

Dick, Unfortunately for me, the wife already has the horse and boy have I dropped a wad of cash on it already! I just decided not to put the #!@ animal in my trailer, I don't want my Corvette smelling like a horse!

[Joseph T.]

Re: I need a trailer to haul my Corvette

After buying a 24' haulmark trailer..I added a weight distribution hitch and 2 anti sway bars...( about $750 )

Pulling the trailer up and back from Funfest..it pulled straight as an arrow.

If I were to advise anyone on buying a trailer.I would say take your time and decide what your real needs are.

Don't buy any bigger trailer than you really need. I opted for a 24' so it would also fit a big car like my 59 Buick LeSabre. But it is actually bigger than necessary for the 57 Vette.Make sure your car fits in the one you are considering buying, and you can open the car doors over the inside trailer fenders, a strong electric wench comes in handy.

If you plan to own it for some time..order one in the color you want..white, black, red, blue etc..

Mine is white and is already showing some signs of dirt streaks. Maybe from the outside panel fasteners ..I don't know.

I have an open trailer that I had made to order about 15 years ago and other than the car being open to the weather..it worked like a horse. Full steel bed, wench etc..

good luck

[John H.]

Re: NEVER tow on an open trailer with a cover!

When I drove my Cobra replica from Michigan to Talladega in 1994 for the "Cobrafest" weekend, another participant pulled in just ahead of me at registration with his just-finished Cobra on an open trailer with a cover on it. When he pulled the cover off to unload it, the paint looked like it had been worked over with a cheese grater; he had never trailered before, and didn't know not to put a cover on the car. $10K lesson.