The Slippery Slope to Racing Hell . . .

I'm wrapping up my rookie season running SCCA Spec Miata, having rented a friend's car for the season. I was hoping I'd hate it so I could just walk away and go back to the relatively more affordable world of HPDE and autocross. Unfortunately, it's been more fun than crack cocaine (not that I know anything about that) so I need ot start thinking about next season.

I'm already committed to having my local speed shop (AR Auto Service in Lake Oswego, Ore.) build me a Spec Miata that I can call my own.

Now I'm thinking it would be nice to go with an enclosed 20 ft trailer for the convenience and comfort of having a place to keep out of the rain here in the Pacific NW once the car is unloaded. Or I could go with an open trailer. For someone just entering the sport, is it foolish to go with the size, bulk and expense of an open trailer or shuld I work my way up by starting with an open trailer?

Also, I assume that shopping for a used trailer via Craigslist is the way to go rather than buying new. For a trailer, I definitely do not need that "new car smell", just something that gets the job done and is mechanically sound.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

/Rich

In reply to rcl4668:

Oh, and I should add that I am a complete novice to the world of trailering and find the prospect of hauling a race car a bit intimidating.

What are you towing with? In my experience the bulk of a loaded enclosed is best handled by a 3/4 or above but a miata on an open trailer could be handled by something much smaller. In my neck of the woods a 16-18 foot open is usually within a couple hundred dollars or the same price as new. Around here you can pick up an "economy" car trailer for between 1800-2000.

I'm a cheap & poor SOB that can barely afford a AX/RX beater, let alone a tow rig and trailer. But one thing that I do know is that if I could afford an enclosed trailer, I would have one.

I have friends that ice race, I've gone out to crew for them a couple times, they have a decent sized enclosed trailer, and it makes it a much nicer experience.

OK, so... I am in my 2nd season with BMWCCA/NASA... after years of instructing, TT and HPDE. I have had a 20' enclosed and Duramax 2500HD for 4yrs now after having an open trailer.

1) There is no going back.
2) Yes, you should get an enclosed trailer for car, tools, etc and you should camp in it at the track too.
3) If you can go 5 wide into turn 1 in a roadster, towing is a breeze.
4) Enclosed trailers protect your E36 M3 all winter and leave the garage open for other projects.

Rock on.

Trailers are really cheap in the South for some reason. Not so much everywhere else. You can often find barely used ones for a decent price, that's how I got mine.

I started with an open trailer, moved to an enclosed. Assuming you've got something that will drag it happily, the enclosed is a whole lot nicer to deal with. You can get out of the rain, but also your tools and car are hidden from sight when you're staying at a typical questionable track hotel. As long as you don't sticker up the trailer, it could have anything in it. You can also leave the car in the trailer for storage.

Enclosed trailer.

And come co-drive my Javelin at the auto-x to save yourself from the lack of HP!

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: 2) Yes, you should get an enclosed trailer for car, tools, etc and you should camp in it at the track too. 4) Enclosed trailers protect your E36 M3 all winter and leave the garage open for other projects. Rock on.

Rock on indeed...

One last question: Can you park said trailer unattached outside your residence/on your property?

In reply to shadetree30:

Thanks for the replies everyone. So far it sounds like enclosed is the wiser, long-term way to go.

I have access to a tow vehicle that should be able to handle a 20' enclosed trailer (albeit just barely).

We live on some acreage so storing the enclosed trailer should not be an issue. (Well, it won't be for me; my spouse, on the other hand, won't be thrilled about having more of my car "stuff" creeping across the property.)

Finally, Javelin, I realized your car was up and running but didn't know you were dodging cones with it. Absolutely awesome.

I'm in my second season of SM. I've been renting from Uhaul for the last year and half since I don't have a place to store the trailer. I've also borrowed a friend's trailer once or twice. I rented an enclosed trailer one weekend when Uhaul screwed up my reservation.

The enclosed trailer is very nice to have. The only thing I hate about racing is loading the trailer late Friday after work and unloading it on Sunday night after an exhausting and exhilarating weekend of racing.

If you have the coin, do it. Used they're around $4-5.5k here in NorCal for a 20'.

Do be aware that the enclosed trailer is more difficult to tow - depending on the geography, traffic and truck you are towing with. I barely notice towing the open trailer. I definitely notice towing the enclosed.

I ran for 3 years towing a 20' enclosed trailer all over the state. They are very nice to have. Mine pretty much stayed loaded all the time. When it was time to go to an event, I'd hook it up, check the air in the tires and go. No loading required. It had it's own set of tools, air compressor, chairs, tent, A/C unit, fans, generator, basically everything you need. I even kept the golf cart in it most of the time. If anyone at the track needed something, they knew who to ask. Rolling out of the yard the rig was close to 15000 pounds. I still have the trailer, but it's been used as a storage building for the last year.

I have dropped back to a 16' open trailer for most of my car hauling. I got rid of the van and bought a Roadmaster wagon. I stopped hauling everything under to sun to the track. I carry the bare essentials and not much else. If something breaks, the car gets loaded and I go home. I guess I'm getting lazier as I get older. Working on a car in the pits just isn't much fun anymore.

I may eventually go back to the enclosed, but it's going to take me getting much more interested in racing than I am now. It's also going to require buying a much better tow truck than I had before. Towing with something that just barely works isn't a lot of fun.

In your shoes, running a points series, I'd do the enclosed. Stock it with everything you think you might need and leave it loaded. It'll do two things for you. One, you won't forget to load something because it will already be in the trailer. Two, it'll make getting out of town on a Friday easier and when you roll in dead tired on Sunday night, you put it in park, lock the doors, and go in the house. Clean up can happen later.

Keith wrote: Trailers are really cheap in the South for some reason.

That's because everyone has at least one. My dad has a 20' (18+dovetail) and a 24 foot (22 with dovetail). Even in indiana I find open deck 18 footers for 300-500.

moparman76_69 wrote:

Keith wrote: Trailers are really cheap in the South for some reason.

That's because everyone has at least one. My dad has a 20' (18+dovetail) and a 24 foot (22 with dovetail). Even in indiana I find open deck 18 footers for 300-500.

PM me those if you come across any.

Toyman01 wrote: Two, it'll make getting out of town on a Friday easier and when you roll in dead tired on Sunday night, you put it in park, lock the doors, and go in the house. Clean up can happen later.

Best reasons right there to me. Especially the Sunday night thing. Ugh.

I don't leave my enclosed trailer loaded, but I can see how that would be tempting if I was racing on a regular basis. Still, there's no golf cart or AC unit on board

We made the trip out to the Mitty one time with two Toyota Tundras pulling Miatas. One was on an open trailer, the other was my 16x7 enclosed. We saw about a 30% difference in fuel economy due to the extra wind resistance from the big box - especially when dealing with Kansas headwinds.

I can't afford an enclosed trailer or the truck to pull it, but if I could I would probably have one. However, my open trailer does have one advantage: it fits in my garage with the car strapped to it. I don't have to look at it in my driveway every day or find a place to store it.

Also, my once-red-now-pink open trailer was uber-cheap allowing more money to be spent on important things like tires, brake pads and fuel.

How did Peter Egan put it? "Racing makes heroin addiction seem like a vague wish for something salty."

If I had the means to buy and store an enclosed trailer and truck/van capable of towing it well, I would most assuredly make the step up from my old van and dolly arangement. It would be great to store my car in and you can back a trailer, which you cannot do with my Dolly. The only concession I see is having to make room for a big trailer rather than a smaller open trailer.

Toyman01 wrote: I ran for 3 years towing a 20' enclosed trailer all over the state. They are very nice to have. Mine pretty much stayed loaded all the time.

The only downside to leaving the car and gear in the trailer is that it makes it a whole lot easier for someone to steal everything at once. A couple times a year I see messages going across various mailing lists to be on the lookout for such-and-such a car, stolen in the trailer from the house it was stored at in the middle of the day while everyone was at work/school/etc. Most trailer security devices are pretty useless.

In reply to codrus:

When I was storing the car in it the security system was the Rottweiler, the two other trailers and the van parked in front of it. You are right though, theft is a problem. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter where you park the stuff. One of the local guys lost a trailer and all of his tools a couple of months ago. Everything was in his garage.

I'm currently using this.

5 cameras covering most of the yard and behind the shop.

We've gotten lots of camera footage of people that stole stuff but none of it has helped.. :-(

Wow guys, great replies. Thanks so much. Looks like the enclosed is in my future.

Congrats! I had never heard of AR Auto Service before, after checking out their website I think I will drop by next time I am in LO! Best of luck in your racing endeavors!

I've been racing SCCA since 1991, and all with the same open trailer, despite having raced in a few different classes in that time. I've got a Chevy full size extended cab with a topper on the back. I store all the tools and spares in the back of the truck, and can lock the topper up if need be.

The biggest thing I've noticed with my friends that have enclosed trailers, when they store all their tools and spares in the enclosed trailer, it makes it much easier and faster when people want to steal all their stuff.

racerfink wrote: I've been racing SCCA since 1991, and all with the same open trailer, despite having raced in a few different classes in that time. I've got a Chevy full size extended cab with a topper on the back. I store all the tools and spares in the back of the truck, and can lock the topper up if need be. The biggest thing I've noticed with my friends that have enclosed trailers, when they store all their tools and spares in the enclosed trailer, it makes it much easier and faster when people want to steal all their stuff.

Yikes. Yeah, I've heard stories about that as well. So just make sure the trailer is locked or is that not really a deterent?