No, its not mine, but it is for sale locally. Could it handle my 2300lb Civic? Seems like a nice set-up for the money . . . especially since it'd only get used for maybe 10 track days per year. What do you think?


Posted by the owner on a local RR board:

"Well, i had the urge to upgrade to an enclosed trailer for my ITB car, so now I have a 19 foot open car trailer for sale. I had this trailer built in 2000 by Carter Engineering in Forest Lake, MN. It is all aluminum and does not use ramps to load cars. The trailer has a pivot that allows you to drive the vehicle on it with no problems that ramps produce. The trailer is in great shape, the electric brakes have lots of life left in them, the wheel bearings have been gone through recently. This has about 10,000 miles on it. The trailer weight is about 900 lbs. I was pulling a VW rabbit on it, but any car under or around 3000 lbs will be fine on it. The brakes are electric and hook up through the hitch wiring. I am asking $1750.00 for it. I have over $3800 invested into it."

 

If this guy had this thing custom built, this might not be true, but I remember hearing somewhere that a car trailer needed to be dual-axle. I have no idea why, or if it would apply in this situation, just something to throw out there. And if it comes up, I know nothing about trailering a car or what would be a safe/acceptable trailer.

 

I can't see, given the image, how that thing is 19 feet long. I have a 16' trailer and looks longer than that. Also, I like it from an engineering stand point but I don't like the fact that it only has one axel. So, ask youself this, would I feel confortable putting my car worth $X on it and then go down the highway at 70 mph for several hours?

 

L00ks like they're quoting the total length of the trailer from ball receiver to the end....and not the bed length.

 

I'd jump all over it if it was by me. Just verify your car will fit. Only drawback is single axle but as long as the tires are correct for load and in good shape it should not be an issue.

 

typically the most a trailer can carry is 3500 lb per axle (including the weight of the trailer itself) that is why most car haluers are 2 (or more) axle, since most cars weigh more than ~2500 lb.

my car alone weighs at least 2700 lb wet, so I dont even give single axle trailers a second look.

 

Things to keep in mind.

Tanden axle trailers pull better than single. They add some 'stability' to the trailer. Pretty sure from the pics that the axle is unsprung. That means that all the road vibration, bumps, etc will be going thru your cars suspension. Another thing to realize is that, given the small bed length, you won't have much say in where the car sits on the trailer. Adjusting the position for tongue weight will be tough. Proper tongue weight is important for the handling/safety of the tow rig & trailer.

It probably won't be aluminum but I think that you can find a decent used tanden axle trailer for that price.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicrr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">TPretty sure from the pics that the axle is unsprung. </TD></TR></TABLE>

actually, I think it uses a torsion beam axle. Most of the better trailers use them rather than leaf springs.

It is small, and it only has one axle, but its really low (lower CG = better) and it might actually tow well. Maybe the guy would let you load your car on it and take it for a test drive?

 

i wouldn't touch it.

i got my 16' +2' dovetail, dual axle, dual electric brakes, low profile fendered, diamond plate rock guarded trailer for that price........pic will be posted later. and oh yeah, mine was brand new.

 

I dunno man--single axle car trailers scare me. I've seen tandem axle trailers get flats or blowouts and the owners were glad they had an extra axle, that's for sure.

 

for that price you could by a 2 axle....doesn't look much safer than a dolly.

 

I towed 1900 lb CRXs for years with a single axle trailer and it is a mixed bag. For a single axle trailer, that looks like a very nice one but several stong points are made above.

-He is counting the ball to rear length and not the bed length so you need to be careful
-The comment about the axle weight rating is a good one. Most axles are 3500 and the tires need to be up to it as well. Easy math to see that a 2300 lb car and a 900 lb trailer are at the max load.
-Nice single axle trailers pull very well and can help tow vehicle speed and mileage but they can get out of shape easier and are much, much more finicky in load. The difference of an empty gas tank and a full gas tank on my CRX on the single axle or how many tires were crammed under the hatchback could turn it from a nice trailing rig to an evil bitch that you swear was trying to kill you. It could be really scary and only 50 lbs of placement could have a big effect.
-Double axes have more towing drag but they do run more straight behind you and less likely to wiggle. Much more condfidence or piece of find on a double axle trailer. I have blown tires under load on both single and double axle trailers and the double was by far less dramatic but no one died or crashed when the single axle tire blew although it has the potential to be nastier.

If your car was 1000-1800 lbs, this might be a better sitaution for you but with your heavier car, I would stick to double especially if you don't have a lot of trailering experience. If he invested $3800, that was his own fault, I think $1750 is high for this trailer although aluminum ones do get much more money than steel. I paid $1750 for my semi-custom steel double axle beavertail 18ft deck so this is no great deal. My vote is to keep looking.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoelG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

actually, I think it uses a torsion beam axle. Most of the better trailers use them rather than leaf springs.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

hard to tell. 2nd pic makes it look like the wheel could be offset like a torsion axle. it looks like it is round, though. the dexter torflex axles on my trailer have square 'axles'. aren't all of them that way?

 

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll keep looking. Still looking for the right tow pig (likely a Caprice Wagon) at this point anyway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i wouldn't touch it.

i got my 16' +2' dovetail, dual axle, dual electric brakes, low profile fendered, diamond plate rock guarded trailer for that price........pic will be posted later. and oh yeah, mine was brand new.</TD></TR></TABLE>

who sells em that cheap?

 

highway 55 trailer sales in buffalo minnesota. it's an H&H too. actually, it was $1850, but that's close enough.

no it's not aluminum if that's what you're thinking.

&lt;----goes to upload a pic.




1850 was pretty much standard price for this trailer in the minneapolis area.


Modified by tnord at 5:54 AM 5/21/2004

 

Damn . . . Buffalo . . . practically in my backyard! Thanks for the heads-up!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bull &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Damn . . . Buffalo . . . practically in my backyard! Thanks for the heads-up! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Keep in mind that steel prices went up, and are still going up, which is affecting the prices of new trailers....don't go by quotes from ppl that bought their trailers a while back.

Matt

 

Steel prices are killing me right now . . . we just got an estimate on gutters and a fence for the backyard last night . . . up 70% from last year!

 

i bought my trailer in march.......so i don't think prices will be THAT much different.