The Dark Side Continues: Enclosed Trailer.

Well first it was the Fox body Mustang and as of yesterday afternoon I now have an enclosed trailer.

A friend is getting out of racing; he texted me to come and get his 1995 Top Line 8 x 16 enclosed trailer. As the asking price was $0 it was rather hard to say no.

So after 30 years of towing with single axle open trailers we shall see how this goes.

I expect my 1990 E250 camper van, with its 225hp 5.8 motor to be chugging up hills. The title say 2500lbs empty, which is 1600lbs more than the open trailer.

Fortunately the Datsun is only 1652lbs.

I'm now looking at things like an electric trailer caddy (I have a very tight spot store it) and various locks. 

I'll bet you'll notice the drag on the highway more than the hills. Enclosed trailers are nice but they poke a big hole in the air.

Tying that down might be a little tight, a Fox body is 15' long :)

Sometimes a front hitch works in tight spaces too

I towed an enclosed trailer that size with my 2006 E-250 with the 4.6 V8. It would do it, but it wasn't happy about it and Florida hills were about as much as it could comfortably handle. Granted, this was with a Miata in it, but as Keith said the drag was the issue more than the weight. 

Yes as others mentioned you'd be unlikely to be able to tell if its empty empty or loaded re power or mpg.

 Having a dry lockable space is 100% worth it imho though.

I towed my 7x16 from CO to Newfoundland and back with a Miata inside, using a first-gen Tundra. That includes going over at least two 14k passes. Truck did okay - it was working, but not straining. Definitely saw a drop in MPG compared to the open trailer though.

The aero drag with my van isn't going to be the issue it normal would be.

The van being a high top camper is over 9ft tall so the van is already punching a big hole in the end.

I forgot to add the Mustang will be street driven so there is no plan to load it in the trailer.

If it did ever breakdown I'd have it towed.

Also note with the Mustang the GCWR would be right on or slightly over the 13,000lb limit for the van

In reply to Keith Tanner :

A drop in mileage with a Tundra means you're getting less than a mile/gallon! Those things are thirsty!

In reply to rdcyclist :

This was before Tundras became ginormous :)

I remember one tow across Kansas with a headwind in convoy with another Tundra towing a Miata on an open trailer. The open trailer truck got 13 mpg and the enclosed one got 10. The weight of the car in the trailer isn't really important once you're on the highway, although you definitely want to be under your max weight.

Tom1200 said:

The aero drag with my van isn't going to be the issue it normal would be.

The van being a high top camper is over 9ft tall so the van is already punching a big hole in the end.

Was going to mention this.  I towed Tom's trailer with that Miata with a pickup and hated it.  Towing a larger enclosed trailer with my Suburban isn't even close to being as bad.

Just remember that the drag goes up exponentially with speed.  The difference between 65 and 70 mph is MUCH greater than the difference between 60 and 65 mph.  If you're willing to cruise around 60-62mph it may not be too bad.

My own experience is that the height of the tow vehicle doesn't matter much.  The space between the tow vehicle and the front of the trailer is a mess of turbulent air regardless.

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

My own experience is that the height of the tow vehicle doesn't matter much.  The space between the tow vehicle and the front of the trailer is a mess of turbulent air regardless.

Yeah, if you want the tow vehicle and trailer to share their "air disturbance" pocket, they need to be much closer than a typical trailer gap.  You see this on semis sometimes, where there's a fairing on the back of the tractor that goes to within 6-8 inches of the front of the trailer.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Warp speed in the van is typically 65mph or less.  

Even on downhills I keep it to 65 as a see no reason to rush. Also when I tow from Vegas to Buttonwillow, California has a 55 mph speed limit for towing........not that anybody really seems to stick to it. I only do that drive twice a year so the 30-45 minutes extra it takes by driving a little slower doesn't bother me. I typically average about 60 mph.

Make sure you can try the electric caddy before you buy...

I got one with my stacker, and it's a big, heavy duty model rated for 10k trailers.  Even with my smaller enclosed trailer (4k empty) it's useless on anything but perfectly flat pavement.  Dirt or gravel, it just spins the tires.  Any kind of down grade and the trailer tries to run away, and uphill the caddy can't move it.

Rodan said:

Make sure you can try the electric caddy before you buy...

I got one with my stacker, and it's a big, heavy duty model rated for 10k trailers.  Even with my smaller enclosed trailer (4k empty) it's useless on anything but perfectly flat pavement.  Dirt or gravel, it just spins the tires.  Any kind of down grade and the trailer tries to run away, and uphill the caddy can't move it.

 

There was another thread recently about caddies, and someone recommend a ball on a lawn mower. I have a zero-turn that'd be PERFECT as a little tugboat. And the HOA won't see the trailer behind my garage. The HOA was the biggest obstacle to getting an enclosed trailer (I borrow an open trailer for track days, and the kart trailer and karts fit in the garage nicely), but I am back to getting dangerously close to breaking the promise to my wife that'd I'd run a tight budget this year...

In reply to Rodan :

Good to know. I managed to fit everything in yesterday.

The garden tractor tug solution

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/916970630431016/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A9de12468-2460-4cc6-b52f-4cc8057418f7

That was to show what's possible. On FBM there's numerous state of repair deck less wonders, add some $s and there's runners with a snow plow (not that's  a thing for you). 

I wonder how much lawn tractor it would take to handle 900lbs of tongue weight... 

In reply to Rons....

I use my garden tractor (regular sized JD D120) to maneuver my empty utility trailer (4×8), and smaller fishing boat around the yard, but anything heavier (pontoon boat, big tent trailer) causes the tractor to get very light in the front.  I have a raised hitch to make sure the trailer is level.   

Not sure I'd want to try to move a 2500lb trailer...

This is my hitch setup for reference

Just bolt on a loading pin on the front to accept 45lb plates to weigh down the front

How 'bout one of these:

https://tools.woot.com/offers/superhandy-electric-trailer-dolly-7500lbs-max

In reply to rdcyclist :

That's pretty similar to what I have.  The theory is much better than the reality...

In reply to Rodan :

As you can see from the picture I just need to push the front end over about 12" to 18". My thought is chock one wheel and swivel one side of the trailer downhill. The caddy would be at a 90 degree angle.

In reply to Tom1200 :

For what you're trying to do, it would probably work.  Not sure if it's worth the investment, though...