Tow vehicle: how much is enough, and is newer better than bigger?

I did see you were going in excess of 100 mph with an overloaded single axle trailer with $10 tires, yes. At the time of my wheel loss, I was going 75-80 on the interstate. Again, I did not have to employ catlike reflexes and godlike driving abilities to avoid a crash. Did you take anything away from your experience other than "maybe the retreads were a bad idea"?  I've changed my inspection process to ensure it won't happen again.

It's possible to have a light trailer that still isn't quite strong enough to do the task. There are limits. But that wasn't my point. My point was that this light, small trailer with limitations was no more difficult to live with than a bigger, stronger trailer. A couple of feet on the deck and an extra axle underneath don't make a significant difference to maneuvering and storage, so the smallest, lightest trailer may not actually have any benefit.

Keith Tanner said:

I did see you were going in excess of 100 mph with an overloaded single axle trailer with $10 tires, yes. At the time of my wheel loss, I was going 75-80 on the interstate. Again, I did not have to employ catlike reflexes and godlike driving abilities to avoid a crash. Did you take anything away from your experience other than "maybe the retreads were a bad idea"?  I've changed my inspection process to ensure it won't happen again.

It's possible to have a light trailer that still isn't quite strong enough to do the task. There are limits. But that wasn't my point. My point was that this light, small trailer with limitations was no more difficult to live with than a bigger, stronger trailer. A couple of feet on the deck and an extra axle underneath don't make a significant difference to maneuvering and storage, so the smallest, lightest trailer may not actually have any benefit.

Kieth you do need to read more critically. The trailer was not overloaded. Nor did I have cat like reactions.  Heck At that point I’d been driving for more than 20 hours.  

But yes I was going too fast.  As for cheap recaps. Well,  nobody sells cheap recaps anymore so I doubt I learned a lesson from that. I kept using recapped tires until they weren’t available anymore. 

Out of all of the sets I bought only one blow out and that at 100 miles per hour plus?!  Not enough evidence.  By the way in those days 10,000 miles was considered great life for a tire.  

With regard trailer size and axles.  If possible I prefer single axle trailers because it’s possible to roll them around by yourself without the need to hook them up to a tow vehicle. They turn easy compared to tandem axles,  plus most of the trailers I built for myself were designed so I could tip them up on end and store them in the garage.  Obviously  that won’t work with the enclosed trailers I sold.

Besides I’ve sold enough stuff that I understand the principle of monkey  see monkey do. Try to sell someone convinced he needs a tandem axle  a single axle and either he won’t buy it or will hate it until he gets what he wants.  

So I sold bigger tandem axle trailers and got more for them.  

I did read critically. Single axle trailer with a big Jag on it, let's say 3000 lbs for the car. What was the rating on that axle? If it wasn't a 5000 lb axle, the trailer was overloaded. I'll ignore the state of the driver. You're lucky that didn't turn out a lot worse.

My small trailer was easy to hook up, but it wasn't really possible to roll it around without a tow vehicle. It certainly couldn't be folded.  I don't think I've seen a foldable trailer that could handle a car, I'd love to see pictures of that. So the storage difficulty was no different than with my enclosed. It towed well because of the decreased drag when compared to a box, that's for sure, and it was easier to load because of the lack of sides - but the flip side is that I can store a vehicle in the enclosed unit so they each have advantages.

I started a thread here years ago about building an enclosed trailer that used the box for structure instead of just being a shed on a platform, but didn't get a lot of interest. The general consensus was "the trailer weight doesn't really matter". WIth my current tow rig, that's true. If I was trying to tow a light car behind a smaller vehicle, it would be an interesting experiment to try although I think a low roof would also be a big contributor.

Wooooof, let's slow it down - I think this thread has good information and opinions on the subject.

A good spectrum of "too expensive, super lights" to "just build it yourself" to "steel is real, get the cheap one" 

Let's not derail too far! OP question:

"I’m considering getting a vehicle to tow an open car trailer. Is it better to get a newer “smaller” vehicle (ie big unibody SUV, midsized truck) or a older 3/4 ton truck (early 2000’s SuperDuty)?

I want to be able to tow my Miata to auto-x events or be able to pick up project cars at a moments notice."

Keith Tanner said:

I did read critically. Single axle trailer with a big Jag on it, let's say 3000 lbs for the car. What was the rating on that axle? If it wasn't a 5000 lb axle, the trailer was overloaded.

You assumed facts not in evidence. SCCA  D production Jaguars weighed under 2500 pounds. Plus fuel,  water, oil, etc.  on a single, err, axle?   It didn’t have an axle.  It had spindles. A pair of Cadillac spindles welded to the frame rails. Nope,  no suspension either.  Worse, tires didn’t have weight ratings back then.  But they were big tires,  I think 9.20X15. Enough so 6000 pound Cadillac’s didn’t have problems with them.   I’m guessing here but I suspect the total trailer weight was about 450 pounds.  The frame rails and a pair of aluminum ramps bolts to the frame rails served as decking.  

My point is that was more than adequate to go back and forth across country. From San Diego to Minneapolis. And back and  forth until I was done going overseas.  ( I served from 1967-1974 active ). 

When I sold the race car the  trailer went under it and new owner used it until he stopped racing.  

In reply to frenchyd :

Please stop.

I don't know who this frenchy character is, but let's get back on track and stop talking about a bunch of irrelevant nonsense.

The easy button that will tow nearly anything without struggle is a fairly modern (2003ish onward) half-ton pickup or half-ton-based SUV, mated to an 18' full-deck open trailer. Wham bam call it good.

In reply to Nate90LX :

I thought of you when I saw this "04 Ford F150 asking $4k on Toledo CL. Says 31k on new engine  (4.6L V8} but no mention of how many miles on body. But, Georgia body? 

That looks like a great truck, but if I would hold out for a 5.4 in an F150 (I know, sort of hypocritical if considering mid V6 trucks). And I’m not ready to pull the trigger yet. In fact I will probably look for a few months at a certain type of truck and then pull trigger one day on something different. But all the feedback here has really helped me to consider what I really need. 

In reply to Nate90LX :

Funny.  The 4.6L was the reason I pointed it out to you and didn't pursue the clean body for myself.  If it were the larger engine I might have been able to sell my F250 for near what this F150 is asking.  

Tow rating for this F150 = 6,600 lbs

Tow rating for my F250 = 8,800 lbs

That looks like a great truck, but if I would hold out for a 5.4 in an F150 (I know, sort of hypocritical if considering mid V6 trucks)

In the ~04-10 F150s the 4.6 is more desirable than the 5.4 in my opinion, because the 4.6 doesn't have cam phasers that ultimately render the engine semi-broken once hot oil pressure drops below 30 psi. Which, to be clear, most $4k F150s will have less than. If you want more power than the 4.6 in that gen (and i wouldn't blame you a bit) i'd skip straight to a v10 super duty. At least in Fords.  

I’d avoid the Ford 5.4

Did the Super Duty 5.4L Ever get the 3 valve (therefore the cam phaser issue)?

And I really like the idea of the V10 (plus they are out there with manual trans). I only hear about the spark plug spitting out issue with them. 

John Welsh said:

In reply to Nate90LX :

I thought of you when I saw this "04 Ford F150 asking $4k on Toledo CL. Says 31k on new engine  (4.6L V8} but no mention of how many miles on body. But, Georgia body? 

I posted up that F150 late Saturday afternoon.  I noticed that by this morning, Monday, the posting had been deleted.  Likely sold.  

I just installed 10 plug thread inserts into a v10. Only one blew out but it was an RV i was borrowing to go across country so i went ahead and did them all. Not necessary for a normal vehicle at all. I still like the v10 the most out of all the old ford Mod Motors.

Hey! If you love the v10 - snag this ugly thing! ;) (it's mine). Though it is an automatic. Seriously though - I like the v10, I think it makes some people uncomfortable towing because it doesn't mind reving a bit higher (it's always gotten the same or better fuel economy towing - ha), but besides the super annoying tired steering box - that's completely unrelated to the engine/trans - it's very nice. I'm hoping to try and adjust the gear lash today. 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/2000-ford-excursion-v10-105k-6k/151751/page1/

I just rented a new-ish U-Haul with the Ford 6.8L V10. Do they all sound like a 7.3 Powerstroke eating a bag of rocks?

It did move out with some authority. Smooth and torquey, and worked well paired to the 6-speed auto.

Do they all sound like a 7.3 Powerstroke eating a bag of rocks?

Not at all!! One of the things i liked so much about this RV (which is an econoline van so im only a doghouse away from the engine) is how smooth and relatively nice it sounds. Makes me wonder how the one you drove sounded. 

I've always owned 70s 3/4 and 1-ton trucks; currently I have a 1990 E250 camper van.

I use a single axle tilt trailer that weighs 700lbs and I use it to tow my 1600lb Datsun as well as the Formula 500. The trailer only has a 12ft deck, I strap the back of the car the rear axle and the front using the took hook. I use a heavy duty chain on the front that mounted to trailer frame up by the tongue. The trailer was custom built for a smaller British car, I have dragged a Miata home on it but wider cars don't fit well. Also there's no room for storing a lot of extras. I end up doing things like carrying the gas cans in the trunk of the Datsun (I've actually made mounts to strap them down) I end up carrying my spare wheels and tires in the overhead bunk of the van.

The small single axle trailer works extremely well for me but if you have room I'd opt for a slightly bigger trailer. 

Back to the tow vehicle; I'm fond of big ugly trucks and 25-35 year old ones don't faze me, they aren't as nice as newer trucks but I don't go over 65 mph. I seldom drive more than 250 miles (maybe twice a year) most of the time I have an or hour less to drive. 

In reply to Tom1200 :

I like  that approach,  a tow vehicle and trailer should only only cost a fraction of what the race car it hauls does. Require only a fraction of your maintenance time, and not be used as your daily driver.  

OK maybe as a back up for a daily driver assuming you have the space. 

Vigo said:

Do they all sound like a 7.3 Powerstroke eating a bag of rocks?

Not at all!! One of the things i liked so much about this RV (which is an econoline van so im only a doghouse away from the engine) is how smooth and relatively nice it sounds. Makes me wonder how the one you drove sounded. 

No, they sound more like this:

My towing setup was dictated by having a 99 1/2 ton suburban and never really trusting the 4L60 transmission.  So when it came time to sell that rig I opted for a 2004 3/4 ton 'burb.  Mostly because it came with the much more robust 4L80 trans but also because heavier suspension/tires/brakes has made hauling whatever I hook to it a lot more relaxing.  As mentioned, it isn't my DD but with 4 teenagers I need something with minivan space but also capable of hauling a small house.......and capable of plowing through 18" of snow without breaking a sweat.  It's probably the ultimate vehicle for the zombie apocalypse.

In reply to Tom1200 :

Do you have any pictures of your setup? That's the kind of trailer I'm looking for for my Exocet. All the ones I find are either too long or too expensive (see AL bolted a few pages back). I'm considering trying to weld my own - I just want to keep the weight/length down.

I'll try and get you some pictures. Basically from the axle rearward there is no frame, the hinges/pivots are on the backside axle, the axle runs inside rectangle steel. The deck consists of two 12' long x 12" wide ramps that are 1/8" steel plate welded to 1" wide by 2" rectangle steel, the two ramps are tied together by 4 pieces of 2" by 3" rectangle steel.  

I drive the Datsun onto the trailer but have to use ramps for the F500 as it's only 1" off the ground. 

I do plan to install some double folding ramps on the back so I don't have to lug the ramps for the F500.