European-style car hauler trailers.....

We've always rented/borrowed/begged standard 16-18 foot dovetail steel trailers for hauling racecars, and usually at the track that's what I see for the most part.

But when I'm in Europe and see cars being hauled (racecars or otherwise) it's usually on a much smaller/lighter trailer, and often towed behind a small van. I was actually passed on the autobahn once by a guy hauling a Volvo 242 racecar on one of these, and being towed by a Volvo 700-series wagon, must have been going 90mph..On friends who rally in Europe, all the pics seem to have all the racecars coming to the track on these small/lightweight trailers.

But this isn't about tow rigs, it's about the trailer. Why don't we see this type of trailer used in the US very much? From what I can tell they're steel, but they're very short, no dovetail (ramps), and seem to have very centrally-located axles compared to most 16-18 foot trailers I see in the US (for lower tongue weight, since most Europeans don't have big SUVs and trucks to tow with).

So, any thoughts on this type of trailer, why we don't see them much, and were one might find one in the US? I mostly ask because I'd like to get a trailer in the next year or two, but space is always a concern here in the 'burbs and these seem to be much more compact (in length and width) than even the fairly basic open-deck dovetail we usually tow with (borrowed).

like this. An e30 is 14 feet long total, so the bed area on this trailer must be 13 feet at best. But I like how narrow it is (not meant to fit a big 4x4 on it, just big enough to fit a normal-size racecar on it....and fit thorugh my backyard double-gate :) )

Anyone have a really big metal brake? My trailer (that CGLockracer has at the moment) is 14", weighs 700lb, and can carry 3000lb. My friend has a varient that can pull 3500lb (toung redesign). The sad part is that he has the very last trailer made, and he got it at least a decade ago. I got mine back in the '90's, and some saw it at the '02-04 challenge.

It pulls great- I've used an Edge (have not pulled with our new Escape) and my friend pulls with a volvo 850.

Sadly, demand just isn't there.

They used to be pretty common.

Tow rigs got bigger and more capable. Trailers got bigger and people started hauling the entire shop to the race track. Just as important, interstate speeds went from 55 to 70. A long trailer tows better at high speeds.

indeed.. most americans think you need an F350 dually to tow even the smallest HF trailer anywhere.. why would they want such a tiny "useless" trailer like that?

With all the oddball specialty trailers out there for hauling everything from Bobcats to whatever, you would think that there would be ONE manufacturer out there interested in a niche product.

Alfa - is your trailer aluminum or steel (700lbs is mucho-light!)? Also, how wide would you say it is (under 8 feet?) Who manufactured these trailers back when they were made here?

Toyman01 wrote: They used to be pretty common. Tow rigs got bigger and more capable. Trailers got bigger and people started hauling the entire shop to the race track. Just as important, interstate speeds went from 55 to 70. A long trailer tows better at high speeds.

My main interest is in the weight and a narrower width. Even a short deck with a normal-length neck for better towing would be pretty cool if it could be 1000lbs or so. Right now we tow with a 1700lb open-deck and that seems to be about as light as we can get our hands on without going aluminum these days.

Sadly I don't have the fab skills to make one to suit :/

I dunno, man. I dream of having one of those Euro minitrailers.

I will just leave this here:

Toyman01 wrote: Tow rigs got bigger and more capable. Trailers got bigger and people started hauling the entire shop to the race track. Just as important, interstate speeds went from 55 to 70. A long trailer tows better at high speeds.

The Interstate speeds were 70-75 when those black and white photos were taken.

I love those small trailers in Europe with the aerodynamic fiberglass clamshell tops. Wish we could get them here.

Edited to add: Can't find a photo of what I'm talking about. They look kind of like this, but are meant for hauling cars...

I'm using a 7X14 utility trailer that is probably in the 1000-1200 range. It's weak by comparison with most car trailers. Most car people don't like them because of the sides. You can't open a car door once the car is on the trailer. The sides let them use a lot smaller steel. All the structure is 2.5" angle or smaller.

The average trailer buyer doesn't want to see any flex in the deck. Mine is like a spaghetti noodle until the car is strapped down. If I was willing to loose the full deck and just have two runners for the tires I could probably shed another 200+ pounds.

If you get the right trailer, a conventional trailer can weigh very little. My 16' dove tail, open bottom trailer weights in at 1280 lbs with both axles having electric brakes. I ended up getting this trailer because it was lighter than any aluminum car trailer I could find for less than $6k, and I paid less than half that for a custom order trailer brand new.

Here is my rig, trailer and all the stuff on it, weights less than the tow vehicles (which weights 3760lbs).

Better shot of the trailer...

Knurled wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: Tow rigs got bigger and more capable. Trailers got bigger and people started hauling the entire shop to the race track. Just as important, interstate speeds went from 55 to 70. A long trailer tows better at high speeds.

The Interstate speeds were 70-75 when those black and white photos were taken.

And they're a hell of a lot higher than that in Germany ;)

blaze86vic wrote: If you get the right trailer, a conventional trailer can weigh very little. My 16' dove tail, open bottom trailer weights in at 1280 lbs with both axles having electric brakes. I ended up getting this trailer because it was lighter than any aluminum car trailer I could find for less than $6k, and I paid less than half that for a custom order trailer brand new. Here is my rig, trailer and all the stuff on it, weights less than the tow vehicles (which weights 3760lbs).

what kind of trailer is it? I really can't seem to find any steel trailers under about 1600lbs anywhere...

irish44j wrote: what kind of trailer is it? I really can't seem to find any steel trailers under about 1600lbs anywhere...

Better shot of the trailer...

I ordered it from a local builder called Reliance Trailers in Virginia Beach, VA.

Interesting....I'm not far from VAB and actually know where that place is (over by Little Creek, as I recall). Mind if I ask what ballpark you paid for it? (you can PM me if you prefer)

The trailer I use for my Opels weighs under 800# and is a single axle 13' long. This summer I will finish it's replacement, open deck instead of flatbed, and I expect it to be under 600#. I will tow it with a V8 S10 too.

It's easy to escalate and keep buying bigger than strictly necessary, restraint is much more difficult.

oldopelguy wrote: The trailer I use for my Opels weighs under 800# and is a single axle 13' long. This summer I will finish it's replacement, open deck instead of flatbed, and I expect it to be under 600#. I will tow it with a V8 S10 too. It's easy to escalate and keep buying bigger than strictly necessary, restraint is much more difficult.

True, we really have a need for something with sub-3000lb capacity (e30s, mostly). But I assume your Opels are well under 2000lbs.

I had a heckuva time trying to sell a small trailer. Anybody that looked at it felt it was too small for their needs. I even had a local rally team turn it down because it wasnt big enough. It would have held an impreza perfect and they towed with a midsize SUV.

If I made trailers I wouldnt bother with smaller ones unless it was custom. The market just isn't there. I could sell my regular 16 foot real easy. Nobody wanted tiny.

irish44j wrote: Interesting....I'm not far from VAB and actually know where that place is (over by Little Creek, as I recall). Mind if I ask what ballpark you paid for it? (you can PM me if you prefer)

That kind of information is always being asked, so I guess it should be posted somewhere. I paid right at $2400 brandy new (the second picture is the day I got it). There were a couple issues with the trailers.....well one really. The position of the tail lights......notice that the license plate bracket is below the tail light on the left.....about 4" off the ground...... That's ok though, because about two weeks later as I was going to pickup a friends car, a dump-truck decided he wanted to park on my trailer at a stop light. He broke off the bracket that held that light, so with the check I got I purchased some new LED tail lights, cut the other side off and moved them to the top of the dove tail.

I used to use a very light single axle trailer to tow. It was originally built for sand rails. Good for up to about 2300 lbs. It had a sloped deck and torsion axles, making it the easiest loading trailer...in the world. Easy to hook up too, you could just lift it up and drop it on the ball. Towed like a dream, you'd forget it was there.

I beefed it up over time, adding some tall angle iron along the deck sides to add a bit of strength. I don't have any pictures of that. A coworker still uses it for his Seven.

Ah, here it is in the final form.

Made it very easy for things like sway bar adjustments.

Sometimes, little just isn't enough.

cool, thanks. So is this a custom-built to your specs/requirements, or was it a "catalog" design so to say?

Those things are in my mind because I have literally an 8-foot gap to get a trailer into my backyard, so would of course like to try to find (or have built) a trailer with an 8-foot overall width (most I find are 8'6 overall width)....

irish44j wrote: cool, thanks. So is this a custom-built to your specs/requirements, or was it a "catalog" design so to say? Those things are in my mind because I have literally an 8-foot gap to get a trailer into my backyard, so would of course like to try to find (or have built) a trailer with an 8-foot overall width (most I find are 8'6 overall width)....

It was a catalog design with a modification for having to haul a car with (much like yours) a very narrow track width. And it also seems that 2 axle brakes is purely custom order now (I swear I remember that being more common in days past). I'm sure, if they are still there, and you asked them to narrow the design to fit that they could work something out. They were very willing to work with me on my requirements.

In reply to blaze86vic:

That crown vic is sweet.

This thread is relevant to my interests. I have a Volvo 740 that I plan to tow my rallycross Miata with. I may do a tow dolly but I would just as soon to a light trailer with brakes.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Where did you get the ramps on the little trailer? I have (what looks like) the same trailer as your big ones and the ramps are way too short for proper car loading leading me to a series of shenanigans that I don't always like. I need longer ramps.