Tom, Myles,
I gotta agree with most of what Myles has said. Since my wife and I 'camp'
at the track (cabover camper the last 2 1/2 years. Got a 31' class 'A'
motorhome two weeks ago), many of the 'advantages' of an enclosed trailer
are negated for me. On my 16' 'open' trailer, I floored it with 3/4"
plywood, so you eliminate the road dirt while towing. I built a wood toolbox
the width of the trailer, 2 feet long at 30" high. This effectively forms a
'rock' dam to protect the front end and holds a "mountain" of equipment.
LOADING: In my case, my next-door-neighbor's (husband and wife) are both
Highway Patrol commercial enforcement Troopers, so I went over and borrowed
their portable scales. I put them under the tires and tongue and after
loading the toolbox, rolled the car up on the trailer. Then by moving it
back and forth, determined where the correct center-of-mass was for 10% of
the weight on the trailer tongue. Tandem axle, 7000# GVW rated trailer.....
It pulls like a dream!! Note: proper or improper loading will make them a
dream or nightmare!!!
Open Trailer Bad News: The first two events of the 2002 season, as I towed
from Reno to Sears Point/Thunder Hill, I went through snowstorms over Donner
Summit. By the time I arrived my beautiful Lotus 61 looked like it had just
run the Baja 1000!!
Open Trailer Good News: In the near future (which probably interprets to
"this winter") I'll be building solid wood sides for the trailer about 36
inches high. This will incorporate the toolbox on the front of the trailer,
maybe a small side door, and swing open doors on the rear. Some conduit bows
to attach to the sides will support a canvas top that I'll tie down for
traveling. The car will stay reasonably clean and dry, I won't be spending a
lot of money and I already own the trailer.
I have to credit David Love for most of these ideas. If you race CSRG, take
a look at the open trailer David tows his 250 Testa Rosa on. About the only
major difference is the hard sides in my design vs. soft sides on David's
trailer.
Carl
> Tom:
>
> Here's my 2 cents, having tried a 24ft. enclosed, an 18 ft. enclosed, a
tilt
> bed open, and now a 20 ft. enclosed.
>
> Regards,
> Myles H. Kitchen
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