Mr. Stock

I am thinking about getting an open trailer for my 93 RX7.

I surfed the web and looked at a few companies that make aluminum trailers.

Is there anything that I need to know before purchasing one? What should I consider? Open versus enclosed, aluminum versus steel, any options, etc?

And what kind of tow vehicle would I need? I figure if I buy an open aluminum trailer, the trailer/car would weigh about 4000 lbs. Would an SUV or a truck with a tow rating of 4000 lbs. handle towing that amount or do I need a much higher towing capacity?

I am mainly going to use the trailer to transport my car to track events.

Thanks for any info.

BTW, did a search and got a "fatal error"

finky

iTrader: (2)

When my father used to race Super Late Model (circle track) we had a very nice open trailer. It was from a company in IN. I think that they have went out of business since but the thing that made this trailer special was the suspension. It was not dual solid axles it was a nice some kind of cantillever sp.? system. This alowed the trailer to be very low. If you were towing it you hardly knew it was back there. I will see if I can find some old pics of the trailer. We then moved up to a 26' enclosed. What we used to haul both trailers was a 91 GMC 1/4 ton ex. cab pickup w/5.7. It is still a great truck (it got passed down to me). Only other thing is you may want to get XL extra load tires for the truck. Hope this helps.

jeff

bradrx7

http://www.kwikload.com/

I've been using one of these for a year and it is great. I tow with a Chevrolet Trailblazer and made two trips last year from Houston to VIR (once through a hurricane) with no problems. Mant racers/trackers in this area use these trailers with very good results and I have few regrets (none about the trailer).

Hope that helps.

tims

I towed an open trailer with my Explorer for years and it worked fine, not fast though. I recently bought a 99 Ford F350 truck not a dually and this makes things alot easier the truck towes at the speed limit and beyond with the A/C blowing and the cruise control on. stops alot better and rides nicer, but it is not the best daily driver out there. My dad has an Expedition with the tow package and it seems the better compromise if you are only going to tow an open trailer or small lightweight enclosed trailer. anything near 5000 total weight I would use a 3/4 ton or larger truck(Ford,GMC, Chevy, or Dodge). also remember to add spares and tools to your weight calculations. the SUV(or similair model Dodge or Chevy) can work well though.

frazer

I use an 18' premiere open trailer to tow my ITS rx-7. It works great. No complaints. Dual axle, electic brakes. I'm getting a tire rack welded on and I'm installing an aluminum box up front for the fuel jugs, tools, etc... I have a '00 Chevy Tahoe Limited for towing. Great for starting out. The money needs to go in the car right now. I'll eventually get an enclosed trailer. Enclosed trailers are great because it's easier to haul fluids, tires, etc... and you can use it for sleeping or shelter from the sun and rain. Before I bought the Tahoe, I almost got an F-250 w/ the Powerstroke Diesel. That thing could move a house.

Good luck,

Mike
RCF MotorSports

specRX7_22

make sure you get a... ahh what do they call those?? beaver-tail or something?? where it angles down at the end. all 7's are pretty low, as all of you know. dual axle (which makes brakes necessary by law) is what most have. one thing to be careful of with open's.... measure the height from trailer deck to the top of the wheel covers, and from the ground to the bottom of the door... my dads care BARELY makes it when the door is opened, the bottom scrates a little bit on the wheel cover.

and theres two kinds as you know.... full deck, or "open deck(?)" where theres only strips for the wheels, and open in the center. IMO, the open center is better for 3 reasons. 1, it lighter than a full deck and easier on your tow vehicle. 2, if you ever gotta pull a tranny or work under the car, you can pull it half way up or whatever and work under the trailer. and 3, a problem we had with a full deck we used was the cat-cover scraping in the center of the back of the trailer as the car was pulled up... theres plenty of clearance with the new one. HOWEVER... if you planning to use it for other purposes besides rex towing (lawn mowers, brush, etc) you'll want a full deck for obvious reasons. good luck finding a trailer.

bradrx7

Guys. Look again at a KwikLoad trailer. http://www.kwikload.com/
Check these images before I installed the fairing (before I painted the car, too)
http://www.bradbarber.com/towrig/bradtrailer.JPG
http://www.bradbarber.com/towrig/towrig2.JPG
http://www.bradbarber.com/towrig/loading2.jpg
http://www.bradbarber.com/towrig/loading3.jpg
http://www.bradbarber.com/towrig/loading5.JPG

These trailers cost right at $3k and are a great value. No ramps, no ratlles, and if you look closely, the doors open while the trailer is back without taking the fenders off. I've jacked th ecar up on jack stands while the car is ON the trailer, too,

Mr. Stock

Thanks for all the advices guys.

I think I am sold on the Kwikload trailers.

Brad, did you get yours with the aluminum options(It doesn't look like it)? How much does the all steel trailer like yours weigh?

bradrx7

I got an 18' with dovetail and fairing which is not shown in picture, but you can see it here...
http://www.bradbarber.com/VIRReunion...ionPitKwik.jpg

The trailer weighs 1700 lbs and is very solid. If I had it to do again, i 'might' get the aluminum floor and fenders, maybe not. The trailer works great and loading is a snap with the dovertail. I asked Dean Sloan to make my tool boxes 10" deep and I think he may do them all that way now. I can carry a jack and jack stands easily in there.

twister

Looks good.

How do you tie the car down?

bradrx7

Tie down straps to flush in deck D-rings.

Rx7carl

Related to topic. Can you add electric brakes to a trailer? My axles have the mount for it,and my truck has a brake control harness. Is there anyone who makes a setup as an upgrade kit type of thing?

bradrx7

Try this...
http://www.easternmarine.com/em_stor...kes/index.html

finky

iTrader: (2)

On my truck I meant 1/2 ton. Stupid 1500 always messes me up. If you get a full bedded trailer you may want to put down diamond plate under engine/tranny and rear end. Fluids killed the paint on the floor of our trailer.

twister

What are the large black containers on the front?

With the straps, do you go off the wheels or around suspension points etc?

bradrx7

twister,
Those are in-floor locking tool boxes. I hook the car around the billet sway bar monts on front and the inside lower suspension mounts in rear (criss crossing the tie downs in rear, btw). Works fine even towing through a hurricane.

twister

Thanks. Were the locking tool boxes custom made and what are they made of, expensive? And what are the dimensions, they look like they could store a stack of stuff really well.

Sorry to ask so many questions, I am currently getting my trailer modified and I like the look of those!

sbaker25

The one thing I would strongly recommend is making sure that titling the thing won't be problem whatever you buy. I'm in the middle of a nightmare right now in PA trying to register a trailer that I bought from a friend. He built it himself, it's very well constructed. He originally owned it in NJ where no title was necessary, then moved to MD and had it titled there. I've been trying to get it titled in PA for some time now. It's an absurd situation... I had to send them photos from all angles, get it weighed and inspected. Meanwhile, they don't have any kind of temporary tags or anything to allow me to transport it to get these things done. I guess I'm supposed to get a scale built underneath the trailer where it sits. I had to tow it around with no plates to the inspection mechanic and to the scale.

Anyway, larger manufacturers will issue a VIN and title with the trailer but state laws vary widely (apparently PA is one of the worst in this respect). I'd just make sure that you have no headaches with title and plates.

Good luck!

Rx7carl

Thanks Brad, thats just what I was looking for!!!!!

foko

i tow my 93 on an open 18ft aluminum trailer made by featherlite. believe it or not, i use a toyota tacoma 4x4 as my tow vehicle (V6, 5 speed). i added some helper springs and an electric brake controller. it actually works much better than i expected, but i don't have to haul up any long grades. if i'm on a steep grade and need to start rolling, i use 4 wheel low and move to a flatter spot, then shift the transfer case back to 2 wheel high. works great.

i'm sure it would be easier and safer to use a large tow vehicle, but since my tow vehicle needs to be my daily driver as well, i hated the thought of having some "semi truck" type suv or pickup . i had the tacoma already so i though i'd try it and it works ok.

fabian

Mr. Stock

Foko,

How heavy is your Featherlite trailer and what is the tow capacity of the Tacoma truck?

foko

i really don't know the weight of the trailer....i'm guessing it's around 1000 lbs or so. i do know that it is significantly lighter than the equivalent steel trailers though, because i've trie using a steel trailer, and you could "feel" how heavy it was even without the car loaded. the aluminum trailer is not even noticable without the car on board.

the literature on the '99 tacoma states a 5000 lbs towing capacity. however, towing capacity is not measured by everyone the same way. some manufacturers include the tow vehicle weight in that number, while others only use the weight of the cargo. i'm almost sure that the tacoma's stated towing capacity includes the weight of the truck.....so subtract the 3200 lbs or so of truck and you only have an "official" cargo capacity of 1800 lbs. i'm well over that with the trailer and an fd....regardless, i'm not having "much" problem with it. i'm relatively sure i'm right on this because i really doubt that the tacoma could pull 5000lbs of cargo, since its a bit of struggle with the roughly 3800 i'm pulling now.

since this is my first real trailer and tow vehicle arrangement, i'm pretty much ignorant. can anyone chime in on tow capacities?

fabian

bradrx7

The towing capacity is referring to the trailer and what is on it. The GCWR is the total rig capacity. The manufacturers figure is weighted more toward braking capacity of the tow vehicle not frame or engine torque, Look at this from Chevrolet's web site:
"GCWR: The Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) is the total allowable weight of the completely loaded vehicle and trailer including any passengers, cargo, equipment and conversion. A properly equipped tow vehicle and trailer at the maximum GCWR should be able to accelerate and merge with traffic, climb typical interstate grades at highway speeds, handle the combination on most road surfaces and stop adequately within a reasonable distance. "
IF you exceed the recommended tongue weight, you need to use a weight distributing hitch like I do with my Trailblazer. It works great and cost only $250.
Hope that helps.

Mr. Stock

Is anyone towing their RX7(preferably an FD3S) with any of the following vehicles?

Acura MDX
BMW X5 3.0
Toyota 4Runner
Ford Explorer/Lincoln Aviator

Please tell me about your towing experiences such as trailer used(its weight), any additional towing accessories such as towing package, transmission oil cooler, etc, and how the tow vehicle fared.

Thanks.

sbaker25

You don't have to haul up any long grades? You live in Los Gatos! . My brother lives in San Jose and, IIRC, Los Gatos is right at the bottom of the Rte 17 mountain pass to get to the coast, isn't it? Wouldn't that be the way to go to Laguna Seca?