Looking for an open trailer

[Lainey]

Aluminum preferred, please PM with details.

Thanks!

[STEVEMCMORN]

Lainey, what are you going to use as a tow vehicle?
I don't know much but a Ford Escape doesn't seem big enough to me????

[Lainey]

HAHA... yeah sad but true! I have a friend who will let me borrow his F-250 Ford Pickup (sweet looking I might add) if I can find a trailer.

Had I known how badly I was bitten by the DE bug I wouldn't have gotten my little Escape... but hindsight is 20-20

[George3]

PM sent.

[ninjabones]

Lainey:

Lots of pros and cons to moving up to the trailering ranks.  Adds a whole level of complexity, planning and work.  It is part of the natural evolution, but I do envy the days when I could just throw a bag in my trunk and be off for a long weekend.

Now, I've got fuel jugs, tools, tents, coolers, spare wheel sets, etc.  Takes me 1/2 a day to prep everything before an event and then a few hours on the back end to get everything unloaded and settled back at my house.  It's also one more piece of machinery that you have to maintain (tires, brakes, inspections, storage, etc).

There's also a learning curve to the trailering experience and i'd recommend putting in the time to learn how to do it safely.  I definitely made a few bonehead mistakes early on (despite having had quite a bit of boat-trailering experience beforehand).  I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just carefully weigh the options and then make sure you put in the effort to do it safely and fully understand what you're getting yourself into.

In my case, the decision was made for me. I crashed at WGI and had to rely on a friend to trailer me home, while I drove his barely street legal track car (no exhaust, seat jabbing my ribs, race suspension) 7 hours home.  I would have been royally screwed if I didn't have a few friends with me at that event to help.


 

[Lainey]

Thanks for the perspective... I never bought a horse trailer and always "caught rides" but its a little tough with a car! Understand about "stuff creep" - I just am conscious about putting so many miles on the Little White. Plus, there isn't really much room to pack a bag, not to mention other stuff for DE.

So down the slope I slide.....

Even tho I want something lighter, I just found a steel full deck trailer for cheap that I'm going to maybe try - will also get some help driving around with it (as you suggest)

Isn't this fun?

[MikeKling]

L,

Just bought an open alum trailer from a PCA member in Delaware.  Last month there were about a dozen on the PCA classifieds for trailers.  This DE really is a slippery slope, once u begin it really is quite addictive.  Maybe we can get the govt to mandate a warning label on MotorSport Reg?  Better yet, maybe we should get stimulus funds.  After all we are creating or saving jobs thru DE.

[APXD 30]

Lainey wrote:

Even tho I want something lighter, I just found a steel full deck trailer for cheap that I'm going to maybe try - will also get some help driving around with it (as you suggest)

Hi Lainey,

The F-250 you mention affords you flexibility in trailer choices. Your 987S weighs 3100 #. My Bri-Mar steel open trailer, CH-18O, weighs only 1800 # and I am quite satisfied with it.

It is manufactured in Carlisle, PA with an extensive dealer network in the area. A new one from a local dealer for about $2750 with LED lights, ramps, and new brakes. http://www.bri-mar.com/trailermenu.php?categorysid=4 With a box and a spare tire, you'll be just over $3k.

When I went through this process a couple of years ago I did a lot of research. In the end, I couldn't justify spending 3 times as much for an aluminum open. If I had already owned a tow vehicle with a low rating of say 5000# my decision might have been different. Rust has not been an issue on my '07 even though it is kept outside.

[Lainey]

Great input all around.... going to check it all out! Of course after all this snow disappears!

Unbelievable.... here in Cherry Hill we got 28".... more coming on Tuesday? Enough already!!

[michael lang]

Lainey wrote:

Plus, there isn't really much room to pack a bag, not to mention other stuff for DE.

You'd be surprised how much crap you can get in a car for a DE weekend. My usual weekend pack includes:

10 x 10 easy up up canopy

four drawer tool box (packed)

regular sized cooler (packed)

folding chais

helmet, shoes, gloves

extra clothes for various weather

5 gallon bucket to keep the canopy from blowing away

storage container filled with: shop rags, various fluids, cleaners, tools that will not go into the toolbox, etc, etc, etc...

and sometimes my dad comes with me in my car too.

The list can go on & on but the point is, if it's packed in the car correctly, you have an pretty much as much space as you need.

The advantage I have is that I'm only 40 mins from Summit so even if something happened and my car was not driveable, I'm not in that bad of shape. However one of my DE goals this season will be to travel to another event, maybe Pocono in Sept appears to be looking pretty good but I so want to drive Carolina Motorsports Park.