Subject: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer

From: Brad Kahler <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2015 15:49:36 -0400

Sometime in the next 6 months or so I'm thinking about buying an enclosed
car trailer for hauling my TR6 behind my motorhome.

For those of you who may have been down this road I'd like to ask a few
questions:

1)  Did you use E-track for tying the car down?

2)  If you used E-track how did you fasten it to the floor?

3)  If you used E-track how hard is it to tire bonnets with ratchets on a
small car like a TR6?

4)  If you didn't use E-track how did you tie the car down?

5)  Did you get an extended tongue?

6)  Would you prefer a torsion axle over leaf springs?

7)  Did you get any 120vac wiring installed or did you wire it yourself for
120vac?

8)  Did you opt for a roof top air conditioner?

9)  Did you buy a 7' wide, 8' wide or 8'-6" wide trailer?  And why did you
select that width?

Ok maybe more than a few questions!

Thanks!

Brad
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From: Dave <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2015 07:48:44 -0400

If you put restraints on the chassis but don't compress the suspension sufficiently the restraints will go slack in a jounce situation and when the suspension rebounds and you hit the limits of the restraints you put a lot of kinetic stress on the restraints and the attachment points.  When you are hauling a car like a TR with a stiff, overdamped suspension there is little secondary bouncing.  If you are hauling a 70's vintage Cadillac, on the other hand...

Dave Massey

-----Original Message-----
From: David Hillman <[email-masked]>
To: Shop Talk List <[email-masked]>
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2015 1:37 am
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer

On Tue, 8 Sep 2015, Brad Kahler wrote:
> How much room do you have for the
ratchet straps when using the wheel nets
> (bonnets)?  I'm starting to think
that in the confined spaces of an
> enclosed trailer it might be somewhat of a
pain to try get the wheel nets
> around the wheels.

    The other question
is, do you want to secure the load in the trailer, 
or just the wheels?

I know some people like the idea of 1 to 3 tons of vehicle flopping 
around in
their trailer... I do not.  I think it's insane, but to each his 
own.  I tie
down the chassis, not just 100 pounds of wheels.  I have 
tied-down just the
wheels a few times in a pinch ( someone else's car 
lacking anchors, etc ) and
hated it.

--
  David
Hillman

[email-masked]

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From: Joe Szwed <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2015 15:29:50 -0400

What I have seen some guys do with race cars is they use blocks or stands
made that they put under the chassis where they strap to it, so they pull
the chassis down tight on the blocks to the trailer.  This way the car is
not bouncing on its own suspension nor are they loading down the suspension
very much.  Not sure if that's an option with your car.

Torsion suspension on a trailer typically allows the trailer to sit a
little lower,  because the trailer frame is basically sitting right on the
axle.

Extended tongues are nice as gives you room to mount a generator on it.

Wiring the trailer for line voltage is really nice if you need to work on
the car at where ever your going.  You can use standard light fixtures and
outlets, run a compressor or other power tools as long as you have a
generator or a place to plug into.

Joe

[email-masked]

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From: Brad Kahler <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 10:38:04 -0400

Joe,

Thanks for the info on the torsion/leaf differences.  I think the only time
I've dealt with a torsion suspension was on an old Airstream trailer.  The
rubber inside the tubes had definitely deteriorated as the trailer sat a
lot lower than it should have.  It's my understanding as the rubber
deteriorates the axle rotates such that it has less travel and the wheel
moves up into the wheel well more.

I've never heard of using blocks like you suggested but it sounds
interesting.  I would think one key would be to ensure the blocks can't
move out of position.

I've thought about a generator but since I'll mostly be towing with a
motorhome with on-board generator I don't think I want to go to the hassle
or expense of adding a generator to the trailer.

Thanks or the feedback!

Brad

On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 3:29 PM, Joe Szwed <[email-masked]> wrote:

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