How the right trailer can make towing not suck | Column

03Panther said:

In reply to frenchyd :

There is a difference in a trailer tire going flat, and a complete tire come-apart. 
While im glad for you that you've only had one, and it just went flat, that is not normal life experience for most folks that tow. 
I tow enough I carry two spares. I've had a couple dozen road hazard trailer tire problems. A single axle Airstream only had one... prolly only did a few hundred dollars damage, so it wasn't bad. My tandem axle Airstream Argosy had one fairly new tire complete blow out. Damaged interior plastic wheel well, galvanized outer wheel well, and outer skin. $2000 estimate, back in '99. 
I've had a road hazard take out the front right tandem on a 5th wheel... metal wire from that tire went in side wall of the brand spanking new rear right tire behind it. Had to throw that $200 tire away. 
Stop assuming your experiences are identical to others, and saying it as if it's a life fact. 
I've never had a blow out lead to flaming explosions (although I've used a extinguisher on 18 wheelers a time or three) and death. But about half have been MUCH more than a tire with no air!

And I missed where anyone said it leads to flaming explosions and death. 

At 100+ the recap came apart.  As in bang!   The result once stopped was a flat tire.  So you change it.   The physical work of changing it calmed me down and it turned into no big deal. 
      I'll grant some people spiral or panic in those situations. Or make things worse.  But tires do fail. Especially on trailers that tend to be neglected. Doesn't matter. If you're prone to panic  a tire failure on tandem axles will be a panic inducement. 
  My comment regarding flaming death was regarding those who tow lite race cars with a big dually on a tandem axle trailer.  They imply that anything less is dangerous  which is simply not true. They just want to be a Macho truck driver. 
   My 1964 Corvette race car never saw a tandem trailer, nor was it pulled by anything bigger than an S10 Blazer.  
       
I've been a professional driver back in the Mid 70's  hauling 80,000 pounds of Wisconsin Cheese. (Yep! Massively overloaded )  to San Francisco  Gypsy a load to Southern California. Pick up a load of Lettuce in Holtville  and back to Minneapolis.  Driving a well worn Cab over Jimmy with a 6/71  every 5 days. 3 days off and repeat.  

  I drove a double bottom trailer arrangement pulled by a top less USA  ( That's the Brand ) truck  from before WW2 from Subic Bay to Manila  and back, in the Philippines.  
    For the last 9 years I drive a school bus. 
 

In reply to 03Panther :

Fair points I suppose. The extra maintenance and opportunity for errors / failures on a trailer (in my experience) is not something I have any desire to deal with or risk.

Parking / gas stations in Utah are a fair bit different than in Texas, from what I've seen. Everything's tight out in this region.

te72 said:

In reply to 03Panther :

Fair points I suppose. The extra maintenance and opportunity for errors / failures on a trailer (in my experience) is not something I have any desire to deal with or risk.

Parking / gas stations in Utah are a fair bit different than in Texas, from what I've seen. Everything's tight out in this region.

Now the maint. and errors / failures potential, I can definitely agree! It adds another level, for sure. 
When I worked in Salt Lake City, I did not find anything (excluding downtown) any tighter than most places. 
S. A. and Austin, when I worked out that way, we're both a challenge. But out of downtown, even there, no problems finding plenty of room to fuel up. 

In reply to frenchyd :

To sum up to overly wordy reply, the original post did not say what you meant, was not related to what others were talking about, my reply was noted, and your response spent a lot of time off on a tangent. 
Normal. 
 

In reply to 03Panther :

Last couple times I trailered the Exocet to autocrosses, I had issues fueling. First one, the gas station that has ample space on the outer island, I waited (patiently) for some old fart on a motorcycle to do... whatever it was that he was doing. Probably waited 15 minutes for it to clear. There are only two other stations in town that are even the least bit truck / trailer friendly, and one of them only has one pump.

The other time was in the SLC area, up by Farmington. I don't know the area especially well, but the station that was closest to the event location had their pumps all of about 20 feet (if that) from a curb. Had to back the trailer out of there after fueling. Backing a trailer, near a gas pump? What could go wrong there with a guy who isn't great at driving a trailer?

Meanwhile, I don't anticipate any of those issues with the ramp truck. Admittedly the ramp truck would make a terrible daily driver, but I've never daily driven a truck in over 20 years now, not gonna start now.

te72 said:

Last couple times I trailered the Exocet to autocrosses, I had issues fueling. First one, the gas station that has ample space on the outer island, I waited (patiently) for some old fart on a motorcycle to do... whatever it was that he was doing. Probably waited 15 minutes for it to clear. There are only two other stations in town that are even the least bit truck / trailer friendly, and one of them only has one pump.

Is this the town you live in?  Why do you take the trailer to the gas station with you?  I fill the truck up before I hitch up the trailer, and any track that's out of single-tank towing range for the round trip is one I'm going to be staying overnight the night before.  So I drop the trailer at the track, then go fill the truck up on the way to the hotel.

There have been a couple times where I've towed further than a tanks' worth of fuel, but in that case I'm on the freeway and there are usually truck/camper/etc-oriented gas stations on those routes with lots of room.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

The Exocet isn't registered yet, so I was towing it to the gas station to fill up with fuel. For whatever reason it is a pain to try filling with a gas can. The one time I tried it made a heck of a mess, since gas cans have to be emissions friendly these days too...

The truck itself has a 35-ish gallon tank, so as long as I take it easy, it can go quite a ways on a fill. =)

I'm thinking of test driving both of these trailers soon.

Any input on either?

1st is standard 16ft wood flatbed double axle hauler.  The 2nd is a shorter tilt bed torsion bar single axle with e brakes.  The cars to be towed are my Subaru WRX and 96 F body.  

https://saffordequipment.com/product/caliber-7x16-car-hauler-trailer/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2Fj883dHN0SJiozJZgPvE1AMDbVBCxRTIMHaozZdOjD0wX86TTuK4UaAtZsEALw_wcB

https://saffordequipment.com/product/lt404-load-trail-77x12-scissor-hauler-7k/

I don't understand why towing a trailer a race car trailer  is such a problem to fill?  
     I mean I fill my 40' school bus without a problem. That's usually the one pump that's awkward to get to with a car let alone a 40' bus pulling an activities trailer. 
  For decades I pull into any gas station  and filled up the truck pulling the race car. Never have had  a problem.  

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm thinking of test driving both of these trailers soon.

Any input on either?

1st is standard 16ft wood flatbed double axle hauler.  The 2nd is a shorter tilt bed torsion bar single axle with e brakes.  The cars to be towed are my Subaru WRX and 96 F body.  

https://saffordequipment.com/product/caliber-7x16-car-hauler-trailer/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2Fj883dHN0SJiozJZgPvE1AMDbVBCxRTIMHaozZdOjD0wX86TTuK4UaAtZsEALw_wcB

 

https://saffordequipment.com/product/lt404-load-trail-77x12-scissor-hauler-7k/

The tandem trailer will pull harder.  Plus  it's not something that's not easy to move around empty without hooking to a car.  Very hard to turn.  
 An empty single axle trailer you can either move around by hand or  get one of those Dolly's  to  hook underneath and roll to wherever you want it. It's massively easier to live with a single axle trailer than a tandem axle trailer.   
  Don't believe the myth of a tire blow out   On a single axle trailer a major issue.  There are 5 tires left  keeping everything straight.

      I blew one out on the freeway by the Bonneville salt flats early one morning. I was going over 100 mph.    I slowed down and changed the tire.  
  Same thing that will happen if you blow out a tire on a tandem axle trailer.  You'll slow down and change the tire.  
  If the trailer is properly loaded.  60% of the weight ahead of the axle and the tires are rated for the load  a single axle trailer is just easier to live with. 

te72 said:

The Exocet isn't registered yet, so I was towing it to the gas station to fill up with fuel. For whatever reason it is a pain to try filling with a gas can. The one time I tried it made a heck of a mess, since gas cans have to be emissions friendly these days too...

Summit will happily ship VP Racing "utility jugs" to a California address. :)

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpr-3522

frenchyd said:

I don't understand why towing a trailer a race car trailer  is such a problem to fill?  
     I mean I fill my 40' school bus without a problem. That's usually the one pump that's awkward to get to with a car let alone a 40' bus pulling an activities trailer. 

You live somewhere that land is cheap, so gas stations are big.  That's not the case everywhere.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

F is 100% correct on all info... in his first paragraph. (Harder to move by hand, etc. ) 

The rest is an opinion formed from his one flat tire.
He has towed a lot, but my towing, and watching others, has led me to an entirely different option. And I'll share mine without slamming others! There is a lot of misinformation in there. 
For advice on those two trailers,  you did mention the load, but what are you towing it with?

As F has mentioned, it is the whole rig ya havta consider. 
A single IS easier to live with. IF it is up to the job. (And yes, some are)

The tow vehicle is plenty big with plenty of reserve power.  I will be using a new Tahoe Z71.  No issues there.  

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

Without looking at the links, if you understand (and I'm sure you do) the tongue load importance, and space allows you to balance it, a single will be fine behind that, with those relitivly light cars.

 Watch the axle and tire weight ratings.

Several things about the tandem are positives with a car on them, but the single is easier to own, over all. How far are you typically towing?  

In reply to 03Panther :

The single is a 7k axle with appropriate tires and torsion bars.  It also has electric brakes and the Tahoe has a controller.  
 

I will be towing 200-300 miles a few (6-9) times a year or more once in a while.  
 

I'm sick of paying uhaul frequently.

What's a scissor hauler?

and it looks like the scissor hauler (single axle) does not come painted just primed. 
 

Can you add brakes to the dual axle hauler??

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

That does look like a fine utility jug! Where I live isn't the issue with the gas cans, it's more that other states have made proper cans a pain these days, so they don't seem to make simple cans anymore. Mine has a weird spring loaded valve and o-rings in the cap. It works well, except when you're trying to fill a car. Then it either gushes out or drips out, difficult to find a balance when trying to hold the weight of the jug in the air. All because it doesn't have a proper vent. About the only option is a funnel and to remove the fancy nozzle it came with.

In reply to jfryjfry :

It's a tilt bed loader.  This builder calls it a scissor hauler.  That threw me off too.  No need for ramps.  
 

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm thinking of test driving both of these trailers soon.

Any input on either?

1st is standard 16ft wood flatbed double axle hauler.  The 2nd is a shorter tilt bed torsion bar single axle with e brakes.  The cars to be towed are my Subaru WRX and 96 F body.  

https://saffordequipment.com/product/caliber-7x16-car-hauler-trailer/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2Fj883dHN0SJiozJZgPvE1AMDbVBCxRTIMHaozZdOjD0wX86TTuK4UaAtZsEALw_wcB

 

https://saffordequipment.com/product/lt404-load-trail-77x12-scissor-hauler-7k/

The scissor hauler looks like it's designed for hauling scissor lifts.  I don't think it's going to work out very well for hauling cars.  I'm not sure the deck is long enough for them to fit.  If it does fit I suspect that it'll run off the back of the deck before it moves the weight far enough back for it to tilt and I think the approach angle is to steep to get a car on it in the first place. 

The other trailer looks decent.  My PT decked trailer needed to be re-decked about every 10 years.  Make sure the ramps are long enough to get a good approach angle and think about where you're going to carry the spare tire.  I prefer removable fenders on car trailers so I can open the car doors.

In reply to APEowner :

Old school guys, before treated 2Xs were as common, used to treat their trailer boards with used motor oil. Actually a very "green" use for it. Despite the sounds of it, it does not leave the deck slippery at all. 
Has anybody used oil to extend the life of treated boards? 
Here in the S. E. , we tend to only get bout 5 years out of treated boards. In fact, if trailer is "dot", box store treated lumber is not allowed. 

03Panther said:

In reply to APEowner :

Old school guys, before treated 2Xs were as common, used to treat their trailer boards with used motor oil. Actually a very "green" use for it. Despite the sounds of it, it does not leave the deck slippery at all. 
Has anybody used oil to extend the life of treated boards? 
Here in the S. E. , we tend to only get bout 5 years out of treated boards. In fact, if trailer is "dot", box store treated lumber is not allowed. 

That's only a green use for used motor oil if you discount the fact that it's carcinogenic. 

In reply to APEowner :

Used oil is only carcinogenic from skin contact, ingestion etc. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't try to eat my trailer wood (you do know that treated wood is poisonous and carcinogenic right?) and would not let the general public try to eat it either. And you can buy nitrial gloves (no medical license needed, at least where I live) while applying. 
I do hope you would not roll around on in in your skivvies. I know I wouldn't. 

And yes, I still grill beef, even though it's been proven to be a carcinogen.
what I don't do is pore my used oil on the fence line, to control the weeds. 
Let's keep a conversation in the realm of reality. 

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

Axle is too far forward. Worse the spare tire adds to tail weight.  Depending how he loaded the scissors lift I'll bet it was a terrible swaying thing.   A rough rule of thumb is the axle should be 60% back of the centerline of the deck.   If tandem the center of the 2 wheels should be at the 60% mark.

   Wood decks need a thick coat of paint every year  to protect the wood. 
  
   Depending on your budget an Aluminum trailer may well be worth the investment.  Not only are they lighter but infinitely more durable.  I often see 10 year old or older aluminum trailers go for big money but doubt if it's actually depreciated at all 

While a home made steel trailer needs lots of maintenance  to be worth anything at the 10 year mark.  

Okay so my search for a Big Tex 14' double axle auto hauler continues.....  I'm afraid a 16 ft trailer deck with tongue and a frame will be too much in my 22' long garage.