Weekend Tow Behind Event Trailer

Suggestions for a smallish two wheel trailer to carry a set of track tires, tools/air/tank , cooler, maybe a pop up shade/ez-up.

My google-foo is weak today, I recall some conversations a year or so on GRM.

Thanks

I present to you this "sleeper trailer" attached to this "sleeper Caprice" at Drag Week a few years back 

Look close and you'll notice this opens as a lifting clam shell from the rear.

The rest of the story. https://bangshift.com/general-news/drag-week-sleeper-chevy-caprice-runs-12s-never-know-looking/

There are also serious, minimalist options like these...

https://leroyengineering.com/products/2022-grid-tire-trailer

In reply to John Welsh :

I've been dreaming of doing something very much like that - axle line above deck level, running the same wheels as the car so they can share spares, super light for towing behind a car where the towing section of the manual basically says "Don't."

I'd also want some brakes though and to try to keep the budget to a fraction of what that costs

My go-to answer for this is an HF 4x4 or 4x8 trailer.  They're awful, but easy to stiffen up and accessorize.  I used one as a boat trailer and it has lasted about 30 years now.

You could build a box for it to keep weather out.  A lot of the ghetto farm/scrap/junk trailers around here just use some 2x4s in the stake pockets with some thin ply, then they set a free/cheap truck cap/camper/topper (whatever you call it where you are) on top.

If you don't need it to be easily walkable inside, another good and often inexpensive option is a snowmobile trailer.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

To tow that behind something like a BRZ, you do not need the trailer to have brakes.  In the "old days" of autox'ing on R1's, before the advent of 200tw tires, I used to pull a Harbor Freight trailer behind my NA Miata to events carrying similar gear.  In no way did the car even know that trailer were back there.  I gave it more than one 100 mph test; you know, in the name of science.  

Not mine but a similar config:

Oooo....oooo..... another idea just popped in my head.

You can often times find old pop-up campers for free or really cheap.  The canvas gets wasted and people just want them gone.  You can tear out the interior.  Then you have a box trailer with a top.  Need something inside?  Crank up the top.  Don't want it to get wet?  Crank down the top.

These are near me, so maybe not applicable to you, but...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/952928039671544/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Af5177f27-ee45-4896-a978-869e8a98a328

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/954895089590875?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A4da0a939-1de8-4d72-84de-461aabdd830d

I've towed HF and Tractor Supply trailers for an embarrassing number of miles. Like an earlier poster says, it's easy to make the HF trailer a little more solid and they're super light and dirt cheap. The Tractor Supply trailers are a small step up in build quality. 
 

Re: pop up campers. A million years ago I sold a motorcycle (NT650) to a buyer who came from 800 miles away. His plan was to rent a uHaul to get it home but he found the one-way rate to be hard to stomach. I recalled that a buddy had a rotten pop up camper in his back 40. A half hour or so with a sawzall we had the top off and a section cut out of the rear. It was wonderfully stupid to see the bike strapped in between the table and sink. 
 

I actually built a decent trailer from a pop up frame many years ago. The frame was heavier than I think the OP wants. 

I also built a HF 4'x4' tire trailer.  The nice thing about these is that they're really small and light -- you can wheel them around by hand and even tilt them up on one end to store in front of a car in the garage.

(you can tell how old that photo is by the "Sears Point" sticker on the box :) )

Thanks for the feed back

What John posted is exactly what we are looking for, however the investment for 5 events in 2024, stretches the budget.

Yes you could say  the 5 event number is low to spread the cost, however, in order to justify a 1 year investment without having to depreciate and etc.

Great options

Thanks

John Welsh said:

In reply to GameboyRMH :

To tow that behind something like a BRZ, you do not need the trailer to have brakes.  In the "old days" of autox'ing on R1's, before the advent of 200tw tires, I used to pull a Harbor Freight trailer behind my NA Miata to events carrying similar gear.  In no way did the car even know that trailer were back there.  I gave it more than one 100 mph test; you know, in the name of science.  

Not mine but a similar config:

I also wanted to point out something about this picture.  Notice that it has 12" wheels and tall-ish tires.  You want that.  Pays HUGE dividends in bearing life.  These small trailers come with tiny 1" bearings.  The bigger the diameter tire/wheel you put on it will do two things: 1) slow down the bearing (big deal) and 2) be much smoother over potholes.  Both of those can really save bearings.  It will also have a third benefit of keeping the tires cooler since they have more surface area around the circumference and the rubber spends less time actually scrubbing on the road.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I also wanted to point out something about this picture.  Notice that it has 12" wheels and tall-ish tires.  You want that.  Pays HUGE dividends in bearing life.  These small trailers come with tiny 1" bearings.  The bigger the diameter tire/wheel you put on it will do two things: 1) slow down the bearing (big deal) and 2) be much smoother over potholes.  Both of those can really save bearings.  It will also have a third benefit of keeping the tires cooler since they have more surface area around the circumference and the rubber spends less time actually scrubbing on the road.

Agreed.  Mine had the small wheels/tires and I definitely wished I had the bigger ones.

I will also add that trailers are kind of like garages.  If you size it for what you need, it will be too small.  Right now you're talking about tires, a cooler, and an EZ-up, but you're destined to find a K24, a fender, or a free set of wheels that you want to take home with you.  I'm not saying you should get a 20-foot flatbed, but a 4x4 with your cargo list is pretty packed.

My 4x8 HF trailer weighs 275 with a plywood floor.

Valid Points

Thanks

I'll just add the HF trailers work well for what you want and are cheap. I towed a full size kart, pop up, tools, compressor, extra tires and a kart stand with mine behind a Fiat 500 for a lot of miles and it worked great. I did add the taller rims, bought from Wally World, which made a difference. 80+ mph on the Texas toll roads with zero issue. 
I welded up a frame out of 1x1 steel from Home Depot to put the kart on and all the other stuff underneath. You can get away with bolting slotted angle iron pieces to the trailer to configure whatever you need. I even put thin plywood around the lower part to help keep stuff hidden and not get as dirty. 
 

You might be able to find a used one locally, but they're not usually much cheaper. 

-Rob

Thanks all

Looking for something used, rather than build right now

Thanks again all