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Re: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer

To: Brad Kahler <bkahler1@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer
From: David Hillman <hillman@planet-torque.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2015 19:37:54 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: Shop Talk List <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Delivered-to: mharc@autox.team.net
Delivered-to: shop-talk@autox.team.net
References: <CADm3DLENw0Y5fMfp29=DUDCdrMs_W+2jxEsm8q8odGAY0cA1Jg@mail.gmail.com>
User-agent: Alpine 2.02 (BSF 1266 2009-07-14)
On Tue, 8 Sep 2015, Brad Kahler wrote:
> For those of you who may have been down this road I'd like to ask a few
> questions:

    I may or may not be the right guy to ask... I'm on trailer number 4 at 
the moment.

> 1)  Did you use E-track for tying the car down?
> 2)  If you used E-track how did you fasten it to the floor?

    Yes and no.  I installed E-track in the floor of my current trailer ( 
it came with full wall E-track ).  I used it for a while, but in my 
particular case, it did not work well.  I haul an iceracer in the trailer, 
and the snow and ice falls off the car, and collects in the E-track, where 
it re-freezes and renders the track useless.  The same thing happens with 
dirt, but slower.  Eventually I put a couple 6K lb D-rings in, and use 
those instead.  The track still comes in handy for moving furniture and 
the like.

    I bolted it through the floor every foot, with washers, and then 
screwed every other hole into the floor as well.

> 3)  If you used E-track how hard is it to tire bonnets with ratchets on a
> small car like a TR6?

    Dunno, never used bonnets as my cars have always had tie-down points.

> 4)  If you didn't use E-track how did you tie the car down?

    Ratchet straps from Lodi Metals in Ohio, run to 6k D-rings at each 
corner.  If you are only ever going to haul cars, this is the way 
to go.  I made some 1/4" aluminum backing plates on my Plasmacam, drilled 
4" diameter holes with a holesaw, and bolted them in.

<http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Cargo-Control/Brophy/RR06.html>

> 5)  Did you get an extended tongue?

    No.  The only time I ever wanted one was when I installed a tongue box. 
There wasn't room between the WD hitch brackets and the front wall for a 
traditional box, so I had to use a truck-bed side box lightly modified.

> 6)  Would you prefer a torsion axle over leaf springs?

    Yes.  There's a reason they are an added cost option virtually 
everywhere.

> 7)  Did you get any 120vac wiring installed or did you wire it yourself for
> 120vac?

    My current trailer was previously owned by a guy who hauled a junior 
dragster to the track for his kid.  He finished the interior walls, 
and wired it with 120v and even surround sound, because they'd sit and 
play videos games in it during downtime at the track.

    That said, I have only used the 120v when working ON the trailer... 
like when putting in a new floor, and installing d-rings, and such.

> 8)  Did you opt for a roof top air conditioner?

    No, but mine sits in storage all summer and mainly gets used in the 
dead of winter.

> 9)  Did you buy a 7' wide, 8' wide or 8'-6" wide trailer?  And why did you
> select that width?

    I have had all three widths.  You couldn't give me a 7 again.  I 
wouldn't buy an 8.  I can't think of any reason to go skinny, maybe unless 
you are wedging it into a garage.  I bought a 7 because it was cheap, from 
a friend, and my car fit in it ( just ).  Then I bought an 8, because I 
learned my lesson.  Now I have an 8.5', because I'm a slow learner ;)

--
  David Hillman
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