What should I look for in a car hauling trailer? Also, towing vehicle questions.

I'm not generally in the know on this. Given the amount of national autox events I will be doing in an S2000 it's quite likely I will buy a trailer rather than drive the vehicle across 1/3 of the country. The alternative is to rent, but for $2000 or less it probably ends up being a wash and if I use the trailer for two years it's definitely a money saver.

As of now I have a 2004 Lincoln Navigator with a standard tow package rated at 6000lbs. A car trailer looks to be about 1500lbs and the S2000 about 2800lbs, so we're at around 4300lbs minimum of tow weight. Car has the air suspension, which I wonder about when it comes to towing. I will undoubtedly get horrid gas mileage as it's got the gas V8 that already gets horrid gas mileage without towing.

I'm looking around at various new and used open car trailers and seeing things as low as $1000 for ones that need some work to $2500 for 16 foot trailers that need nothing.

Anything you can give me for tips on how I should prep the tow vehicle is good. I have thought that if I buy a trailer with brakes that I would definitely get a brake controller. As for the vehicle itself I plan to do a fluid swap on the trans and transfer case and various other service items. I might end up getting some new tires as well as these all seasons are kinda on their last miles.

Pulling behind a Navigator, you probably want a weight distribution hitch setup. It'll tow much nicer with one. Also, a trailer with brakes on BOTH axles is an absolute, non-negotiable requirement in my mind (and a good brake controller to go along with that).

For the tow vehicle, make sure it's got good cooling for the trans and that everything is healthy drivetrain-wise.

I do not want to get in trouble for pushing a product here but I among other things I own a large Trailer dealership in Tulsa OK and would be more than happy to answer any questions. If this is not allowed by the moderators I apologize, just let me know. I can be contacted at 918-609-0204. I know idea what your local market is like and prices vary based on shipping distance from a manufacturer but I could at least tell you what not to look for and steer clear of.

In reply to rslifkin: This is all sage advice

rslifkin wrote: Pulling behind a Navigator, you probably want a weight distribution hitch setup. It'll tow much nicer with one. Also, a trailer with brakes on BOTH axles is an absolute, non-negotiable requirement in my mind (and a good brake controller to go along with that). For the tow vehicle, make sure it's got good cooling for the trans and that everything is healthy drivetrain-wise.

Apparently with the optional tow package the Navi gets a brake controller and weight distribution hitch and tow value goes up over 8000lbs with that setup. I think for the money I will probably put that setup on the truck, but I'm also not sure where to buy one.

chriswadsworth wrote: I do not want to get in trouble for pushing a product here but I among other things I own a large Trailer dealership in Tulsa OK and would be more than happy to answer any questions. If this is not allowed by the moderators I apologize, just let me know. I can be contacted at 918-609-0204. I know idea what your local market is like and prices vary based on shipping distance from a manufacturer but I could at least tell you what not to look for and steer clear of.

I'm fine with people offering up their services in this thread, but obviously I'm looking to get something cheap and local for a trailer so I'm looking used for the most part.

I do need more advice on the weight distribution setup and how that would work and hook up. I am not even sure how to hook something like that up and whether it hooks into the existing tow bar setup or what?

Is this what we are talking about? Or is this overkill?

https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Curt/C17500.html

That's exactly what I was referring to for weight distribution. It plugs into the existing hitch on the tow rig, and you have to mount the attachments for the bars on the trailer. Some of them have built in sway control for adding extra stability, but the primary purpose is to prevent you from un-weighting the front end of the tow rig, which makes things drive nicer, especially at highway speed.

i see no need for a weight distributing hitch on a fullsize vehicle pulling an open trailer. properly loaded trailer is more critical without it though. navigator = expedition = f150 right? this is well within the safe range for a normal hitch. i do use a weight distribution setup on my enclosed trailer with the datsun inside, but the trailer alone is pushing 3k plus car plus spares/tires/tools.

there was a thread the other day about trailer brake controller recommendations. it's definitely not the place to cheap out.

Over the past twenty years I've had five trailers and a wrecker. Three of the trailers have been this one. It has the best ramp design of anything out there. href="http://www.diamondc.com/trailers/car-haulers-motorcycle-trailers/12chs/"

It's an F-150 with IRS. And less wheelbase, but only slightly less rear overhang (ratio of wheelbase to rear overhang is what determines how much you'll un-weight the front end).

According to Ford, you're ok to 6000 lbs without a WD hitch (for an Expedition, Navigator should be the same). I'd still tend to want one with a car trailer though.

Basically it's gonna be open trailer with relatively light car. I can't see much more than probably 5000lbs at max, but probably 4500lbs. The car itself is 2800lbs and has 50/50 weight distribution so I doubt the load will be an issue.

The Lincoln has the air suspension, which I guess is self leveling.

I will be driving for 20+ hours in this across country so if it makes it overall better to have the weight distributing hitch I will probably do that.

I do need to do the brakes on the truck as I'm getting vibration on harder stops.

Should I consider the trans cooler? If so, should it just be the radiator type that installs inline with the trans lines?

Yeah, a stacked plate (not the tube and fin type) trans cooler inline with the existing in-radiator cooler should be fine.

And at that weight, with the self-leveling suspension, you could always try it and see how it sits / drives before spending up for the WD setup.

rslifkin wrote: Yeah, a stacked plate (not the tube and fin type) trans cooler inline with the existing in-radiator cooler should be fine.

Like this?

https://www.etrailer.com/Transmission-Coolers/Lincoln/Navigator/2004/D13504.html?vehicleid=2004754190

Harvey wrote:

rslifkin wrote: Yeah, a stacked plate (not the tube and fin type) trans cooler inline with the existing in-radiator cooler should be fine.

Like this? https://www.etrailer.com/Transmission-Coolers/Lincoln/Navigator/2004/D13504.html?vehicleid=2004754190

Exactly what I'm thinking of. Just don't use the through the radiator zipties to mount it, they tend to rub holes in the radiator tubes over time.

Install the trans cooler in line in front of the radiator cooler. That way if your first cooler ever gets the trans fluid too cold, the radiator cooler will heat it back up to the right temp for the trans.

Trailex.

The key for SUV towing is tongue weight. A pickup can take a much heavier tongue weight than an SUV in most cases because the rear of the SUV is heavier with more structure. The IRS in the Gator also isn't as stout as the solid axle in the trucks.

If I were you I'd add the trans cooler (definitely, this is part of the factory tow pack on those) and a trailer brake controller. Go buy a trailer with good brakes. Load your car and use load positioning on the trailer to adjust the tongue weight on the truck. The SUV will be happier withe car slightly further back on the trailer than a similar pickup would be. The trick is that a trailer needs a certain % of weight on the hitch for good stable towing, and it's often hard to balance those two demands.

I'd try experimenting with that and driving around a bit. I think you can probably get the car in a place that works for the SUV and still tows well without going to a WD hitch. I wouldn't buy one to start off with, but if it feels sketchy you can always add one. They can be a PITA to hook up an detach if you plan on dropping the trailer a lot at the races.

Just FYI, when I was looking at Ford SUVs as tow vehicles, the only things added in the "towing package" on the full size vehicles was a hitch, a 7 pin wiring harness, and the extra trans cooler. No change in trans or rear gearing and it jumped the towing capacity from 6 or 7k to 9k or 9500 depending on the year. So you should be fine.

I have to agree on the fact that you don't need a load equalizing hitch with a single car open trailer. It's all in how you load the car "on" the trailer. Put a front engine boat of a car to far forward and you send the hitch weight skyward as well as the front wheels of the tow vehicle. Sometimes you have to load a car on backwards to get the weight centered on the trailer over the axles.

In my case it helps that I carry the same cars all the time (Racecar) so I know where to place it so the trailer follows along nicely. Load the car just a bit to far forward or back from that sweet spot and I can feel it as I drive down the road.

So really if your going to be hauling the same car all of the time just figure out where it should be on the trailer and your good. But if you're going to be hauling many different cars then perhaps a load distribution hitch would be a good investment.

Same car all the time. I'll get the trans cooler.

Unless you're spending a lot of money on a fancy aluminum trailer or going custom, you'll be lucky to get a car trailer that weighs sub 2000 pounds. Sure, you don't need a heavy duty trailer for an S2000, but that's pretty much all they have at the trailer yards. Your average cheap car hauler weighs about what a Miata does and then inevitably you're going to wind up loading a few hundred pounds more stuff onto it. Even if you don't add a tire rack to the trailer (and it's a really nice thing to have), you're going to want to mount the trailer spare on it. (You are getting a spare for the trailer, right?). You'll probably want a tongue box as well, that's a good place to store your extra tiedown straps, locks, water bottles, different size draw bars and tow balls, spare trailer brake components, and the chunks of 2x4 and 4x4 lumber that are useful as trailer wheel chocks, jack supports, and makeshift ramps. Then when you're walking out to the tow rig with your suitcase and you look at the stuffed-full trunk of the tow vehicle, you realize that the race car has a perfectly good trunk that's completely empty... :)

Anyway, what I'm saying is with a 2900 pound S2000, I'd budget for a 5500 pound trailer. Maybe it comes in less, if so then you've got some margin.

with my 2002 Liberty with tow package, I towed my dual axle trailer with brakes loaded with my ZX2SR and spare tires. App. 3900 lbs. I installed airlifts after a while just to level things up. Once I got the hitch weight right it towed great. Easy way to help position your car on the trailer. Find the CG of the car, center it over the space between the axles, maybe a little forward. Might take a little fine tuning. Then install stops. Never felt the need for load levelers.

I removed the clutch fan since it came with the stock electric fan, The stock transmission cooler(radiator) was deemed adequate by the factory. I never had any overheating even in 90+F temps.