Cal Club Autocross Forums

For those of you that tow your car to events - where did you get your trailer? I'm looking to buy one soon (hopefully before the No$ event next weekend). I live in North OC and would love, of course, to buy local but will do what's needed...


Thanks

Eric

I got mine at Carson in Norco

Eric Stanley wrote:For those of you that tow your car to events - where did you get your trailer? I'm looking to buy one soon (hopefully before the No$ event next weekend). I live in North OC and would love, of course, to buy local but will do what's needed...


Thanks

Eric

I bought mine used from another autocrosser. Its a Dico built in 1980 but its a very high quality trailer and tows great despite its age.

Carson in Carson

watch out for their electrical stuff -- the only complaint I have

came with bad wiring and the electrical fixtures are very cheap....

other wise -- very good trailer

Another Carson. Hesperia I think. No problem with electrics, but it came with crap for tires. Brand X and small. First thing was an upgrade set of trailer wheels and tires, 225x75-15 D's. As they wear out I'm replacing them with Maxxis E-range. Everything else seems to be Chinese-made and poor quality. Even Goodyear went to the dark side.

Featherlite
Chino

Thanks for all the info!

Carson in Corona. It is an open deck steel car hauler. Bought Sep. 07

It was delivered later than promised, in fact I didn't even get a chance to put it in the garage until I came back from towing it 3000 miles round trip to Kansas....
So there I am backing it in to the garage for the first time when I hear Shauna yell STOP! I thought "that's weird I should still have plenty of room, I measured twice and ordered once, what's the deal here? Turns out they made it the standard length not the length I ordered, and I was so frantic trying to get ready for the trip I didn't inspect as closely as I should have...They made it right in the end, and even gave me a loaner trailer while they made the new one, but still.

I have a couple of complaints about the design...they cannot offer removable or hinged fenders, and the ramps are way too short. They store well, but are waaaaay too short.

It does tow very well though, nice and straight. As far as wiring, it is all exposed, but my brakes and lights have worked fine so far. I got LED lights on the advice of the folks here, I'm glad I did.

My top three options:
1. Electric brakes on both axles
2. 2 spare tires (came in handy already)
3. LED Lights

Good luck.

If you're on a tight budget, listen to the advice on Carson trailers or find a used one (even less expensive).

If you have a little room, get a Featherlight from their Chino Hills distributor. Aluminum trailers are great not only due to their low weight, but also because they tend to look good for years and hold resale value much better than steel.

I've seen two year old steel trailers that look a couple decades old due simply because they were parked outdoors. My aluminum trailer just needs a quick rinse to look almost brand new.

Mike

Sebastian Rios wrote:Carson in Corona. It is an open deck steel car hauler. Bought Sep. 07

It was delivered later than promised, in fact I didn't even get a chance to put it in the garage until I came back from towing it 3000 miles round trip to Kansas....
So there I am backing it in to the garage for the first time when I hear Shauna yell STOP! I thought "that's weird I should still have plenty of room, I measured twice and ordered once, what's the deal here? Turns out they made it the standard length not the length I ordered, and I was so frantic trying to get ready for the trip I didn't inspect as closely as I should have...They made it right in the end, and even gave me a loaner trailer while they made the new one, but still.

I have a couple of complaints about the design...they cannot offer removable or hinged fenders, and the ramps are way too short. They store well, but are waaaaay too short.

It does tow very well though, nice and straight. As far as wiring, it is all exposed, but my brakes and lights have worked fine so far. I got LED lights on the advice of the folks here, I'm glad I did.

My top three options:
1. Electric brakes on both axles
2. 2 spare tires (came in handy already)
3. LED Lights

Good luck.

I'm glad to hear they made it right in the end, but it sounds like quite a hassle. I've heard a few complaints about them from others as well.

I think I'm going to avoid them for now only go there if I have to...

Mike Simanyi wrote:If you're on a tight budget, listen to the advice on Carson trailers or find a used one (even less expensive).

If you have a little room, get a Featherlight from their Chino Hills distributor. Aluminum trailers are great not only due to their low weight, but also because they tend to look good for years and hold resale value much better than steel.

I've seen two year old steel trailers that look a couple decades old due simply because they were parked outdoors. My aluminum trailer just needs a quick rinse to look almost brand new.

Mike

I'm definitely looking to buy a used one first before I give up and buy a new one.

List of must have options is extended.
Mike suggested Swivel D-Rings...man those babies are nice.

What makes the Fetherlite nice is all the standard features:
1. Dual removable fenders
2. Long flat ramps
3. Spare tire
4. Break away box
5. Swivel D-rings
6. Long tongue(able to open tailgate)
7. Dual axel electric brakes

I was supprised to find these as exspensive options from Aztex trailers.

Another benefit to a Featherlite trailer is that they hold their value. I bought a 3110 back in 2000 and paid $4,800 for it. I can easily sell it right now for $3,500, if I wanted to sell it. Hell, with the price of aluminum, its worth about $1,500 as scrap.

John Coffey wrote:Another benefit to a Featherlite trailer is that they hold their value. I bought a 3110 back in 2000 and paid $4,800 for it. I can easily sell it right now for $3,500, if I wanted to sell it. Hell, with the price of aluminum, its worth about $1,500 as scrap.

On that note, I might advocate the featherlites as well. The Carson seemed appreciably cheaper on sticker price, but they really gouged me on all the extra crap I wanted; having recently sold it, too, I can say it did not hold value very well

John Coffey wrote:Another benefit to a Featherlite trailer is that they hold their value. I bought a 3110 back in 2000 and paid $4,800 for it. I can easily sell it right now for $3,500, if I wanted to sell it. Hell, with the price of aluminum, its worth about $1,500 as scrap.

Ok, but I bought my trailer used for $1400 three years ago and it already had new tires and brakes. I could easily sell it today for what I paid. I think buying a good used trailer is way more cost effective than buying new.

I think off-the-lot Carsons are a good deal, but everybody complains about their special order stuff. Featherlite's great if you don't mind the high up-front cost.

For loading, the most ramps are too short for low-slung cars. My Mustang requires a couple short 2x6's to pop the spoiler up before getting to the ramp. My Z06 requires 4x4's under the end of the ramps, and 30" planks down to the ground, plus the pop-up boards. Any ramps long enough to load my Z06 without help would be way long and way heavy.

BTW, before you get jazzed about lightweight aluminum Featherlites, check factory specs. When I was shopping they weighed prettymuch the same as steel trailers. But I'm not dissing their quality or resale value.

Thomas Smith wrote:

John Coffey wrote:Another benefit to a Featherlite trailer is that they hold their value. I bought a 3110 back in 2000 and paid $4,800 for it. I can easily sell it right now for $3,500, if I wanted to sell it. Hell, with the price of aluminum, its worth about $1,500 as scrap.

Ok, but I bought my trailer used for $1400 three years ago and it already had new tires and brakes. I could easily sell it today for what I paid. I think buying a good used trailer is way more cost effective than buying new.

Yes. Lesson learned, here

I think featherlite's are considerable lighter than the exact equivalent steel trailer. They have solid decks and such.

You can get some pretty light open deck short steel trailers.

Mine isn't one of them.

Its a carson. I like the trailer. Special ordered. Yeah it was late. Yeah it was wrong. They are just hopeless. And man, as Bill said, the tires are really throw aways. But ultimately, I really like the trailer. Oh yeah, they custom did a removable fender for me.... On the wrong side. I think that was the start of their new policy.

Brian Robertson gave me a tip on fenders for trailers like the Carson. Don't get them removable, just drop them 2 inches are so. The tires will still clear. And you're very likely to get even a vette door to open above them. If not, maybe just a small board under the tires will raise it enough to clear.

The ramp issue is why I like the idea of a roll-off. They're not cheap either.

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:The ramp issue

I have these......

http://www.discountramps.com/truck-trailer-ramps.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

8' long and I slide them under the car from the rear. Nothing has ever rubbed on my lowered Miata w/spoiler or lowered Civic and they barely even bend as I load the car.

When I bought my Featherlite it weighed exactly 1,304 lbs with a spare tire, ramps, etc. The axles and tire give it a 7,000 lb. GVWR so I can (and have) loaded 5,000 lb vehicles on it (1964 Lincoln Continental, 1975 Ford F250).

I have one of those cheap Big Tex wood-deck open trailers with the dinky 4' ramps. I also have a lowered Miata. But rather than messing with longer ramps, I just back my truck up on my Rhino ramps to lower the rear of the trailer. Works fine. Also, to get the door to clear the fender, I built car-length wood stacks (three 6"x2"x10') and drive up on them. Elegant? No. Functional/inexpensive? Yes!

Pat.

Another nice feature of the featherlite is when you need to store it in a tight spot you can push it around yourself quite easily.

If you are looking for an open trailer, I recommend Diamond C, a brand made in Texas. I owned it for several years, and w/moderate use (one trip to Topeka and monthly 200 mile trips) it remained in very good condition. I bought mine in 2000, lightly used, from a man doing a used truck business who would drive to Texas in their T-bird, then buy two trucks and a trailer. (They drive the trucks back to California and tow the T-bird on the trailer behind one. When they return to CA, they sell the trucks and the trailer.) I bought the trailer at his cost (I had the original invoice). Mine, now owned by another autocrosser (I bought an enclosed Haulmark), had electric brakes, a diamond plate steel deck, the split dove-tail, pull out ramps, a step all around, and fenders so low, that I did not even have to climb out of the window from my 'Vette, which has been lowered. Tie-down was very easy. I liked the trailer so much, that for a time, I considered ordering a new one w/a rock shield and tire rack. It hauled beautifully. I e-mailed the manufacturer back in Texas at that time many times asking questions about options. They were very helpful and nice to deal with. There is only one dealer in So Cal, Heathcock Trailer in Atascadero (not directly associated w/Heacock in Glendale, CA). I never got as far as going up to see them because of my decision to go w/an enclosed.
I looked at Featherlite, although lighter (not a worry for me)- they are very expensive. I bought a new enclosed for about the same price as a Featherlite open deck.
I also shopped around a lot for enclosed trailers and ended up buying from a dealer in Lakeside. Great price. I have not used the new one yet to actually haul the car anywhere, but the trip home from San Diego area was fine.
I know an oval racer who swears by the "Big Tex" brand. He hauls all over the country with his open trailer (tire rack w/tool box).
If you buy used, talk to someone who can help you understand the things you need to look for to protect your interests.I found mine in "Car Trader" or "Truck Trader".
Good luck!