Having difficulty picking a car trailer

So I made a hand shake agreement on an '03 16' trailer with dove tail. $1900...more than I want to spend but it has less than 1000 miles on it. It does have some surface rust here and there...so it needs a coat of paint. It also does not have any tie down points. That is really odd to me. How does a car trailer not have tie downs?

Should I get bolt down or weld in tie downs?

miatame wrote: does have some surface rust here and there...so it needs a coat of paint. Should I get bolt down or weld in tie downs?

Tractor supply for paint and hardner spray or use a brush but spend the $$ on the hardner.

Tie downs...hum that a hard one. what type of tie downs are you going to use? hook type go bolt down if you like the flat 3 inch wide hook go weld on.

Me i like E-track but only if you never haul crap on the trailer.

Remember anything you put on the deck you have to roll over at some point. One of my old trailers had bolt on types all over it. it was great except when going to the scrap yard or picking up a car with no rims everything got stuck on those...

I just painted mine with $16 worth of Rustoleum Professional and a HF HVLP gun I bought on sale for $10 a couple Christmas' ago. That same gun is now onsale for $15, and is still a bargain. Plus, use your 20% off coupon and it's only $12.

I just washed it with a hose and broom, let it dry, wiped it down with paint thinner and shot it right out of the can. I held one of those giant paddles to keep the overspray on the deck to a minimum. Not a perfect job, a sag here and there, some orange peel, few bugs, but it looks a lot better than it did.

Make sure that you are buying a "car hauler" as compared to "cargo" trailer. The major difference is the location of the axles. Axles on car hauler will be behind the center line of the trailer. I count selling my flat bed trailer when I got my enclosed trailer as one of my worst decisions in racing. I didnt have a place to store it but the flat bed would make hauling the car to the alignment, body or whatever shop so much easier. An enclosed is great for a race weekend and providing storage for the car AND parts but it is generally a PITA to hook up for a 3 mile trip for an alignment. I have been known to drive the car to the shop but the mandatory insurance laws and mandatory loss of license for any violation thereof cause me to be very reluctant to drive a race car on the streets anymore.

Yowza!! That's a lot of money! And for a 1 ton pickup. I'm guessing Montana hasn't thought of that yet (the commercial license thing), as I see many heavy 3/4 t and 1 t crewcab pickups around here, and most of them are family rigs. Even the ranch trucks with bale handlers and flatbeds are licensed as family vehicles. 'Course, we also don't do the inspection thing...yet I'm sure it's coming, but nothing's on the horizon so far. Just paying too bloody much for licenses every flipping year! My '01 Chevy van is still over $150. And if I tried to trade it, it'd only be worth maybe $3000. Ah well.....

miatame wrote: It also does not have any tie down points. That is really odd to me. How does a car trailer not have tie downs?

By not being a car trailer. Sounds like a utility trailer instead. Maybe an equipment hauler.

I suspect if you look at the trailer you'll see the scrape marks of hooks being attached to the side rails.

Oh yea, tiedown points. Considering most peoples welding skills, bolt on is better. Any tie down in the bed gets gunked up and bent, and is a pain to move things over. They also frequently have terrible leverage arms, bending the deck or ripping out. Far better to attach to the much more solid frame of the trailer.

No it is definitely a car hauler...it has a dove tail.

It is in my driveway. Seems like a good trailer, pulls straight and no bad noises, brakes work. Had a little issue with the f'ing ladder style ramps causing the E30 to sit really low driving up. Good thing the exhaust from the header back is slip fit! Add that to the list of things I need to do before Sunday's autoX. lol

add a 2x4 to the ramps that should keep the wheels from sinking inbetwwen the angle brace on the ramps and still be lite.

Where you autoXing sunday? It's been 15 years since i did it last and i've got the weekend off from dwarf racing as its broken.

I have a travel lite custom hauler for sale 7k 17 ft all options, electric toung jack full size battery, all tie downs duilt in air compressor for height adjustment wthe remote control from truck can be lowered 4inches from ground, mag wheels with spare bj@bjsport1.com 2628622207

miatame wrote: So I made a hand shake agreement on an '03 16' trailer with dove tail. $1900...more than I want to spend but it has less than 1000 miles on it. It does have some surface rust here and there...so it needs a coat of paint. It also does not have any tie down points. That is really odd to me. How does a car trailer not have tie downs?

Mine came with no D-rings as well, but it does have stake pockets, which is what I've been attaching the ratchet strap hooks through. It's not great, but it does seem to work.

I really ought to put some proper D-rings on it, though.

--Ian

It's a canoe, this thread is a year old.

However, what trailer would you guys recommend for a Miata, I need to carry tires and possibly a kart in the future?

Well since you brought it up I have a car hauler I need to sell. If anyone is interested you can PM me and I'll send you the details.

We've hauled a (real) Shelby Cobra, several kits, Miatae, Zs, S2000s a John Deere tractor and several Escalades.

I'm almost certain it doesn't have brakes but I've never used brakes on any trailer I've hauled and I've hauled some heavy ones loaded with rock.

I personally hate dove tails (or beaver tails as some regions call them). They effectively remove 4 feet of flat deck space. If you want easier loading, just get longer ramps.

I bought a homemade 2-axle, 10k lb trailer with brakes on both axles used for $1100. It was cheap because it was a bit rusty - mostly because it had only been primed, not painted. I'm going to buy a couple gallons of Rust Oleum and a paint brush.

Dove tails work best for trailers with higher decks. A low deck trailer is easier to load a car on, but you can't always open the door because of the fender/tires. I can open the door on my cars with my dove tail trailer. Without the dove tail I would need 7 ft or longer ramps for my car. Not easy to carry ramps that long. But a lower deck height would eliminate the need for long ramps.

Also, check your state laws about brakes. In Georgia, 96 and newer trailers over 1500 lbs gross weight require brakes on all axles. Mine has it on the one axle, but was home built in 82 by a good friend. Darn good trailer with torsion axles, rides real smooth even empty. I can put them on the other axle and may do so this winter, just for piece of mind.

I was to quick to describe my 2006 travel lite trailer, this company went out of business because these tralers were not production they were all hand welded It is one of the finest car haulers I have ever owned This trailer is for sale, 17 ft long bed ramps built in, I had a remote compressor added to rase and lower at will, trailer is flat no dove tail to hang up on, rear can be lowered to 4" off the ground, mag wheels and spare, electric toung jack full 12 volt batterie storage for tie downs loading spot lite tie down bracket installed on front to drive on then tie down, also 4 d rings less than 15 hundred miles Used to tow custom corvette, we want to drive the new one. asking $7,000 bj@bjsport1.com 262 862 2207 sorry about last posting I was in a hurry

wow - double zombied.