Enclosed trailer advice?

Researching enclosed trailers, used primarily to trailer a 69 Charger RT. From what I've read, if used to simply trailer the car, 8.5 x 20 would be about the minimum size. Most of the trailers I've seen have a side door on the right. With an 8.5ft width is it possible to drive a B body onto the trailer and exit the driver door side? Do you have to exit through the door glass opening? Realize I can install a winch, but trying to keep cost down. Suggestions?

If you are buying a new trailer, ask the manufacturer about a roadside escape door.

Those are a popular option for allowing easy access into and out of the loaded car.

IMO a 24' is the shortest I would look at . The extra room to get in front of it to strap it down is nice, not to mention storage space for tool box, jacks etc etc
A street side door is nice, but not a must for me. I use a winch to pull them in and out . If on the rare occasion the winch fails, I can still open the door slightly and get in.

I have a 24ft to haul my road runner. I wouldn't want to use anything smaller than that. I do have the "fat man" door. It makes it way easier to get out of the trailer.

Pls elaborate. Is the extra 4ft necessary for just the car, or for additional storage or ? Does the escape door line up with the car door so you open car door enough to exit? Pic?

at least 24ft, if you want to get in front of car to tie it down, we tow 69 charger in 24 and 28ft, think of coolers tool box etc

The 4ft isn't necessary, but very nice to have. With the car in it I have about 4.5 feet of space in front. Yes, the door lines up (its almost too far forward) and I can open the car door, and get out of the trailer side door. I don't have the car in it to get pictures right now.

Both. Ive used both a 20 and 22' trailers. the 20 footer makes it really tight to get in front of the car to get it tied down

the 22 footer had boxes in the front, again makes it tight to get in lay down and tie it down.

So as long as you plan to put NOTHING on the floor in front of the car. You may be ok. But IMO going any less than 24; leaves no room for tools, floor jack, a winch. Nothing. Not to mention used values are much better at 24' and above for all the same reasons

Understand trying to keep costs down but how often are you going to be towing the car? Personally a winch is cheaper than the side door option and you don't have to worry about firing your car up in a potential fuel vapor filled box. I've seen the result of that after a backfire and flooding carb, just a molten mass of metal when it was over. Spend the money on the extra length too, 24 would be a minimum I would consider. 26 or 28 would be better and you will be glad you got it later. The other thing is get the heavy duty axles and tires, don't cheap out on them.

Hauled all over the Country with a guy that had an 8 x 20 enclosed.
He was obsessed with weight, so no left door, only the curbside and an electric winch.
Kinda difficult to tie down the front of a B-body sized car.
Getting in & out involved an open window and brushing up against the car walking in/out.
Being the skinny guy, that was my deal, and often a challenge to not touch the car.
So for the nice stuff, it was winch only, with the car aimed dead straight.
Nowadays (retired), he has a 24 & a 28 for his own stuff.

He'd get over a million miles on his trailers, and specified 16" centers on side framing and nothing mounted above the car.
Used to buy them out of Kentucky, IIRC, some big outfit.
I ended up with one of their Duallys, but that's another story

If you run your front straps all the way to the back you can tie down the car entirely from the rear.

I know, you are going to say that will allow the car to move around.

After 2 different trailers and over 160,000+ miles of towing the cars have never moved. Longest tow, 1350, with 550 a regular for me 3 times a year. Throw in another 3 350 milers and you can see those are some good distances. My first trailer was a 19 ft unit and it necessitated the rear tie down. But, works so good I will never do other wise.

Good luck.

My opinion (along with a few others who've already responded) is a 24' length is the best size to go with. I had a 28 and while the extra length was nice, it proved to be too long to get around in some tight spots. I found a 24' adequate in space and easier to manipulate in limited spaces.

I've not heard of the running straps from front to back approach. Would be curious to know more.

Spend a little more money now to get a 10,000 GVW rated 24 ft. trailer with 16 inch wheels and tires, 15 inch trailer tires SUCK badly. Get one with the side door that you can open okay inside in case you decide to sleep in front of the car sometimes in the future
Get and install a good brand 4500Lb rated winch that will power both in and out and make sure the trailer tie down rings are placed so you can use them on your car
I bought my current used 24 Ft. Pace Shadow 10,000 GVW after having Pace custom build me a 22 Ft 7,000 GVW trailer that the salesman told me would weigh right at 2900 Lb. empty, he lied It weighed 4360 Lbs. when I picked it up at the factory Most of my cars that I haul all weigh over 3,000 Lbs. so there was no room to add weight into it for spare parts, tires, winch, battery and so on The 7000 LB rated trailers come with 3500 Lb. rated axles, five lug 15 inch wheels and C rated tires Another thing on the tie downs, my trailer was used to haul a 1970 Challenger and a 1968 B body before I bought it from a friend. He had to redo, added another pair of the front tie down rings, to use it on both cars I used it mainly to haul my old pump gas 1971 Duster with using new the front rings he added
I've owned 3 enclosed car trailers, five car hauler trucks and put a lot of miles under my butt towing and going to races and other places hauling cars for friends, relatives and myself. You don't want to be broke down in the middle of the night a long ways away from anywhere due to using cheap parts, do you
One other thing is don't use a 1/2 ton truck to tow with unless it is rated to haul your car in the trailer and be over the gross combine rated weight of the car and trailer I made that mistake on the first race car, 1969 Hemi GTX, I was hauling for a friend with a borrow home made open two axle car trailer with no brakes , a large stray dog ran out in front of us in my 1960 Ford 1/2 ton long bed pickup, I couldn't stop quick enough to avoid hitting it and it got wedge up between the right front tire and wheel well jerking the steering wheel out of my hands and jack knifing the trailer into my truck making the race car come off the trailer and roll over, not good enough tie downs, totaling the car
I had my D500 flat bed truck converted into a car hauler after that No more hauling cars unsafely after that
Be safe

As other have said, I would get at least a 24 foot trailer.
It's great to have extra space in front of the car to make it easier to tie the car down.

You also have room to store other stuff that you might want to have with you (tools, coolers, etc).

My first enclosed trailer was a 24 foot and now I've upgraded to a 28 foot and love the extra space.
The 28 foot lets me have room to have the golf cart along as a pit vehicle.
The one thing that I wish it had is an escape door, but I'm planning on adding one at some point.
I added the awning last summer just before the Mopar Nats.

I don't know if you're looking at new or used but you can usually find a reasonable deal on a clean used one.
I got the 28 ft about 3 years ago and it had new tires on it then (cabinets in the front and a winch in it) and I got it for $4k which I think was reasonable for a clean used trailer.

To me it's tough to tie up a lot more money than that in a trailer that get used maybe 6 to 10 time a years.
It is great for storage also.

I agree with most of what is said.

I would not consider less than 24ft, for resale, ease in tie down and room for cabinets later. Get the tie downs from Mac's. If you have the room a 28 would be good so you could haul a golf cart later. I have a 24 because I don't think I could back a 28 in my back yard driveway.

Get a winch, very important if the car is not running. If you are not driving it in I would pass on the expense of the extra door.

Get the very best tire and wheel combo you can probably 16".

You might consider a generator compartment even if you do not plan to have a generator now.

Consider installation in ceiling and doors.

Enjoy! After pulling with an open trailer for years I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the enclosed. One thing is that you always bring some shade.

Hook up the front straps to tie downs, run them to the back ramp. Pull the car in, put in park. Put the ratchets on the front straps and pull the car forward tight against the park pawl ( I put the hooks on the rear subframe by bumper bracket, race car). Put the axle straps on the rear and pull the car back a little to release tension at park (watch the tire move). Don't cross them, as the pro's advise as well.

Your done, working with plenty of room on the beaver tail and ramp. Go under the car once, not twice. Of course unstrapping saves the same amount of trouble as well.

Best of luck.

When you go and price trailers you will find that the difference in price between 20' and 24' is very small. Most people buy 24' trailers so the volume of the build keeps the price down. My 32' LQ trailer has a 20' box and 12' living quarters. I have put my 69 D200 pickup in there with no problem, but it being taller it made the tie down easy, with a lower car not so much...

Listen to Cab. Get a 24’. A 20 is hard to get enough tongue weight with a heavy car. I’d show you a picture of what it looks like when a 20’ is not quite loaded right and it hits a wet spot on a hill and a gust of wind hits you just right, but this is a hard sire to post pictures on. Not to mention cheap axles and the 15” wheels just don’t cut it for trailer tires. Ok. Added a picture. Bty, I think this one can be bought cheap!

Get a 24' trailer with a side door, if you don't you'll wish you had, if you do you'll be glad you did.

Best money I spent was for the full length E-track, luggage doors and wheel straps. No crawling under the car to strap down.

What is your tow vehicle ?

That is where you start.

Take the curb weight of the vehicle you are hauling - multiply it by 125% - deduct that weight from the tow rating of your tow vehicle.

What remains is the curb weight of a trailer you can safely tow.

I pull a trailer every day - I see accidents usually caused by failure to control a tow vehicle in an emergency stop.

After you figure that the curb weight is of a trailer you can safely tow - that will determine the type of trailer you buy.

Steel frame or aluminum.

What I spec on my custom car hauler enclosed trailers:

12' on center for floor - walls ceiling

Third frame member continuous from center of tongue to first axle

5 foot tongue

Nosecone on coffin front ( increase mpg of tow vehicle by 1 to 2 miles )

.040" aluminum skin screwed to each structural member inside & out on sides - inside on floor

One piece roof - no roof vents ( leak points) - adjustable aluminum side vents at front & rear both sides

Interior overhead led lighting with switch at side and rear entry

Flush entry doors on passenger & curb sides minimum 40" wide set back 48" from front

Etrac mounted full trailer width every four feet on trailer floor - I install after trailer delivery with 1/4" nut and bolt thru wood floor

I have always loaded & unload by wireless remote control electric winch

I park on an uphill grade - when loading this keeps tension on the winch cable so vehicle doesn't roll into the trailer
and when unloading this helps the vehicle roll out easily while attached to the winch line

12VDC deep cycle battery for winch charged off tow vehicle at the front of the trailer



Jim

I was lucky to inherit a 24' Pace trailer from my Dad that has worked well for towing a varied array of mopars, a-body, b-body, e-body, 79 Cordoba, 79 LRE (it has an extra high roof so stacks clear).
In my opinion the thing that makes it universally good is having a full size door at the front on BOTH sides. Makes the strapping down much easier when you can easily walk in from both sides and also lay down without banging into the walls. Having on both sides also works well depending on where you park and possibly being blocked access to door. The side cutout doors I see people put in are slick but if you load cars of different dimensions, no guarantee they will line up.
My a-bodys I can squeeze out the door with window open, although not as easy as my stomach gets larger. The best way to load is to winch in. Once you get good at the setup, it takes no time to do. Just remember to take the key out before rolling in or have a trunk key on quick disconnect if you want to get in the trunk after loading. A few times I had to ask my girls to climb in the car to grab the key.
I use mine as a permanent garage for one of my a-bodys and drive it in and out all the time. Having the 24' allows me to store crates with tie downs, the hitch load bars, etc up front and out of the way. That extra length is so nice to have.

One suggestion to add: if you’re re in the snow states, get a curved roof. Reduces the chance of standing water during thaw/freeze cycles.

I have a curved roof 20’, 10k axles, winch, etrac and D-ring equipped trailer. Have two roof vents which I believe are worth having to allow balancing of interior vs exterior temps- a good thing to consider if using it for storage, besides transport. A street door and an extra 4’ would be nice, but this unit was the best deal I could find when was needing something and don’t regret it one bit.

I agree w/ everyone on the 24' length. That's what I have and I couldn't imagine anything smaller.
Do NOT get a black trailer. You'll regret it come summer time.

I do not ever recall hearing anyone say "man I wished I would have bought a shorter trailer". IMO buy the largest trailer you can comfortable tow. I started at 24 up to a 36'er now and have some spare room for now..

How about some chit chat about tires ?

I’ve got to reTIRE a 6x10 (14”) and 2 24 footers... both Haulmarks ... one is a real older one(mid 90’s) and the other is a 07.... 15’s

That is simple, get the biggest most heavy duty tires possible. At least 16". I have 15s and regret that I did not know what I know now when I ordered my trailer years go.

Can you get 16s on a 5 lug wheel ?

And UNLESS the tires are overloaded... or waaay under inflated....I don’t understand the failures that many report...

I like these Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tire

Exactly.

My 28' Stealth that I bought new in 2012 has 15's. It's been all over the Northeast, as far south as Maryland, as far west as Chicago. I've never had a tire issue. It's actually still riding on the factory installed Westlake tires. I'm replacing them this year due to age, but there is nothing wrong with them otherwise. I check tire pressures before I leave home, and before I leave the track.

I agree as stated though, 24' minimum for sure. I have the 28 as I drag along a golf cart...but that's going away as soon as I get a few spare minutes to build a tow cart for a fuel jug for my minibike. The only things I would suggest are a 110v light package, and torsion axles for sure.

All the trailer tires I've had issues with was due to their age(3 yrs or older), not wear or over loading. the best 15 inch trailer tires I've found have a maximum load rating of E which is from 2800 up to 2880 Lbs. depending on the brand is what I see out here on the west coast, my current trailer with the Duster in it with tools, gen set, spare 8 spare car and trailer tires other extra parts weighed around 8650lbs on both axles and it would add right at 700 Lbs. onto the rear truck axle and remove 300 lbs. from the front axle on the truck. 4x2800=11,000 tire carrying ability hauling 8800 lbs. max so no overload correct
It use to be all trailers tires that I could find or buy where made in China, not sure about now.
I replaced all four last year and thought I was buying American made, but not so
I've had three enclosed car trailers, two 24 ft.10,000 GVW and one 22Ft 7000 lb. GVW, I decided to replace the C rated tires on the 22ft. trailer when they had less than a 1000 miles on them due to weighing it with some of my Son in laws household stuff and his 1981 El Camino type car with no motor or trans, the trailer was sitting lower than I expected loaded so I took it to a commercial scale and it weighed right at 8300 Lb. total weight disconnected from my old motor home That trailer weighed right at 4300 Lbs. empty brand new, those tires had a weight rating of under 1800 Lb. each is what I remember now, not good Those where 5 lug wheels on 3500 lb. rated torsion axles that had 2x10 inch brakes on them ,the tire store would not sell me E rated tires and installed them on those five lug wheels NO GOOD
The trailer salesman had lied to me about the empty weight of that trailer and he swore Pace would not install 5200 Lb. axles, wheels and tires on a 7000 Lb. GVW trailer, HE LIED
I can't tell you how many 15 inch trailer rated tires I've had blow out or have the tread sling off going down the road with no warnings over the last 20 yrs
Rant Off

Trailer tires probably require an entirely new thread and there will be many stories.
For 16” there are many commercial tires options. All of my trailer are 15” which throws you in the world of what I consider inferior tires.
I am a big fan of Maxxis trailer tires. They are very well made and when I mount them I can see how true round they are. Can’t tell you how many crummy trailer tires I have seen that I can tell are bad when you go to install them.
Get the highest load range you can so you have the best ply rating. But your pressure is limited to the actual rim rating so you can’t air up past that psi value. To me though I like the stiffer sidewall of the higher load range tire as you get a trailer that tracks better.
I have Maxxis on 3 trailers at the moment and have zero complaints. Can’t say that about the Goodyear or Kenda ones I have had.
And if you want best tire life, I am now a fan of tire beads. I used to balance trailer tires but now use beads. Yet another topic deserving its own thread.

Trailer drums can be 8 lug 16 inch but your wheel wells have to accept them.

My current trailer has 7K torsion axles.

I run 14 ply ST trailer tires.


Jim

Hi, if you are still a look out for a winch for an enclosed trailer. I suggest you to read readthis article so you can choose which one is the best for your needs.

IMO buying a winch is like buying a trailer. Buy the biggest and best you can afford. Yes small ATV winches will work but IMO if you can afford a larger one buy it.

May go without saying but I'm not sure they are standard...Reverse lights

A lot of good advice here already.

I’m also on the camp of 24’ minimum. I bought a 24’ +2( V nose).

One of the first things I did with my trailer was put in a 12k badlands winch. The V nose works great to have the winch and battery tucked in there out of the way. I don’t have an escape door, so I winch everything in and out.

I bought mine to occasionally use, so I didn’t get one super fancy or expensive. It was mainly to be used to move across country. But here I am, 30k miles later in it, and she’s earned her keep! Haha

Good luck with your search!

I have had dozens of enclosed trailers over the last 40 years, currently have two 24' with one of them having a 2' V-nose that I like the best. My 32' LQ trailer has a 20' garage and I have had my 69 D200 long box truck in it, but it does have the escape door making it easier to get in and out of that small space. Going from 20' to 24' is usually around $400 more and makes a world of difference. For someone buying their first trailer go ahead and get everything you eventually may need, don't waste your money on "keeping the cost down" as if you decide to sell it eventually the 24' will hold most of it's value and be easy to sell while the 20' will sit around for a long time waiting for that perfect buyer. Buy only trailers with torsion axle suspension, they are lower and last MUCH longer than leaf spring trailers, DAMHIK!

As others have mentioned, use at least a 5200# axles with brakes on both axles. Over the years I've seen enclosed trailers with 3500# axles that have the tires tilted in at the top. It doesn't cost much more to upgrade to the right axle. IMHO on any 24' trailer it should be mandatory to run at least a 5200# axle. My 18' open goose neck car hauler has 5200# axles under it.

Buy good tires. I tow with a open trailer and last summer installed 15" Goodyear Endurance, load range E radials. It tows nice and smooth, money well spent.

What? Goodyear finally makes a good trailer tire? If you put truck or car tires on a trailer in Illinoise you WILL get pulled over and fined bigly...

It's a trailer tire. I don't live in a communist state, thank God.

I guess the real topic here is transporting a race car. That being said, last week I stopped off at a used school bus lot. Not sure I'm maybe fond over the finished look, and one would need some fabrication skills, but with a diesel real truck air ride chassis, converting it to an RV, and an enclosed car hauler, with always the possibility of hauling a second race car. or an errand vehicle, I liked all the options. School buses appear to be become obsolete (seat belts, crash protection, etc), rather than worn out, are seldom if ever overloaded, likely are run empty 50% of their mileage, are well maintained, never driven hard, are rather plentiful, and come in all sizes. Biggest downside, to me they are seldom high or over powered.

i always liked the idea of using a school bus as a vehicle hauler. around here, the prices i have seen seem cheap to me for a pretty nice, somewhat low mileage starting point.
as i have had the "privilege"[ ] to drive trucks with auxiliary transmissions, the ones where you loop your arm through the steering wheel to shift gears, the "low or under powered" statement might be a moot point with a two speed rear axle.
however, most buses now days are equipped with automatic transmissions, and i don't know if a guy could retrofit a two speed rear axle to one of those or not.

Mack B-61 Thermodyne with a Triplex? A buddy of mine had one he pulled a low boy with, it was always fun watching him double clutch with one arm through the wheel and a shifter in each hand.

those B-Macks were a real Hoot !
shift SIX times to go TWELVE feet !

I adopted my dads 28’ trailer after he retired from racing. Sold my 24’ Haulmark. The 28’ is on leaf springs that definitely have required a bit more attention than the torsion flex my old trailer had. There again it went a good 7 years and had multiple trips from SoDak to AZ on it and I used in two of those putting a lot of miles on it too. Shackles and bushings wear out and we had an axle replaced to rid of some weird tire wear issues. I’ve also had a friend that had the rubber on his torsion flex axles wear out and it was a costly procedure to replace them. Disclaimer is that living in the hot/dry desert is hard on rubber anything... most will never have issues. Don’t buy a box trailer with 3500lb axles PERIOD! 5 and 7k axles usually have the EZ lube set up too for the wheel bearings. I do have the 16” wheels and my latest experiment in trailer tire he77 is running G rated 14 ply tires. Longest I’ve ever gotten on a set of trailer tires is 3 years.... again, life in the desert. Not uncommon to pull over and hit the tires with the temp gun and see 160 degrees.