Trailers

[magnusfeuer]

Ok,

Chris and I are about to make the leap and turn our cars into trailer queens.

We have been looking into Zieman trailers, who has a large number of dealers in SoCal.

The F810 and the somewhat larger F812SL seems to be the ticket for us. The 812 SL (as in Side Loaded) can apparently be rear loaded as well.

During the next couple of days I shall try to get my Caterham on top of one to see if the available ramps solution are good enough for us.

The 810 seems to retail at approx USD1750, while the 812 goes for USD2150. We can probably get the price down if we buy more at once.

I will check what brakes will add on top of the price.

If more people are interested, I can orchestrate a bulk buy. I am planning to place an order this week.

The trailer specs can be viewed at:
http://zieman.com/old/Specs_pdf/mc.pdf

The Caterham has the following dimensions:
Overall length: 133" (SV + 3.2")
Overall width: 62" (SV + 4.3")
Wheelbase: 87.5"
Weight: 1100-1300 lbs.

/Magnus F.

[magnusfeuer]

Update:

A disk brake upgrade would cost us USD545.

They also have tool boxes and gas tank storage as options.

There is a company in Laguna Niguel with an 813 in stock. I am planning to swing by them with my SV later this week to see if I can get it on the trailer.

The 813 has the same basic design as the 812 and 810, but is a foot longer. If I can get the car onto that one, the 812 and 810 should work for us as well.

/Magnus F.

[Doug Liedblad]

Magnus

Are these trailers made for cars or ATV's?

A dedicated car trailer may be better for what you need and have better ramps.

Ask M. Murphy about how heavy his steel ramps are. His are modifed ladder type steel ramps that he put aluminum diamond plate on for a better ramp surface.

No matter what you buy, I'm happy to help you put tire racks on it if you are interested.

I've got the stuff to cut and weld.

Doug

[magnusfeuer]

Doug,

They are ATV trailers which seem to be well suited for the size and weight of our cars. Although a brake upgrade is probably in order.

Ramps are one of the things I will look at when I visit the dealer with a Caterham. They claim to have several different lengths available.

Thanks for your offer to help us out with tire racks. I will probably take you up on it.

/Magnus F.

[moosetestbestanden]

Industrial Metal Supply right by my house (where I ain't at the moment) has 6' long ali ramps for about a C note, as I remember it.

Tie down locations are important, as are ramp pockets / racks. I'm ambivalent r.e. boxes or tire racks as I'll be using my ol pick em up truk fer towin and so I can throw lots of that kind of stuff in the bed.

Btw, I have the normal 4 pin connector for the lights etc. Brakes are usually electric so I'm wondering if an adapter is req'd.

Istr that MM got a 12 footer and thinks it's the right size.

[TonyI]

Newbie here, Check and make sure of your break over, other wise you'll need verrryyy long or curved/angled ramps if you get an atv type trailer many car trailers already have a beaver tail (lowered rear).
Brakes, most states under 2000lbs don't require trailer brakes, if your in hills or use a small-ish truck brakes are a wonderful thing.
If you insist on a open trailer get a full width box/deflector for the front of the trailer the small one they show will leave you with stone chips.
May I ask if you have to store a large-ish open trailer why not concider and inclosed one? I started with the idea of a small trailer then the wife said maybe it would be nice to put the bags in there and ended up with the bags, two crotch rockets and the 7... go figure and i'm quite happy i did it. Get the rubber torsion axles don't bother with leaf springs you'll be happy you did( the trailer just stays put no bouncy and is self dampening).
In short I started looking at 12-14 ft and ended with 24' (Then add the pointy end so just shy of 26') Picture is with the old suburban now its a yokon xl

[slomove]

Brakes, most states under 2000lbs don't require trailer brakes, if your in hills or use a small-ish truck brakes are a wonderful thing.

See: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12.htm
"In California, brakes are required on any trailer coach or camp trailer having a gross weight of 1500 lbs. or more. "

Strangely enough there are some outfits that sell 2000+ lbs trailers without brakes here and don't warn buyers. Product liability anybody?

I have a "smallish truck", and agree that the brakes are helpful (hydraulic surge brake in my case). My trouble is, however, that the trailer sometimes sits around for months. I had the brake cylinders seize up already and had to disable them to get to the track.

Gert

[Jim F.]

Hello, all, from So. Oregon;
Just a quick note to throw in my 2 cents. I purchased a Big Tex single axle trailer model 35SA-12 a couple of years ago and it works just fine for my needs. Light enough it doesn't need brakes (at least in OR.) and tows okay behind my '01 GMC Jimmy V-6 FWD. I enclosed all sides w/ 2' high 1/2" thick plywood, bought a pair of wider rims w/beefier tires (for personal piece of mind), and made a couple of ramp extensions of 2x12 planking (blocked in the middle for support) to enable my 7 to easily be driven on & off the trailer w/adequate sump clearance for the Zetec. Paid $1349 out the door in Medford for the trailer & $195 for the rim/tire combo @ Les Schwab. $1544 plus plywood and stain. Check it out! If your useage is limited, this may be an acceptable way to go. Works for me. Plus, you have a light utility trailer you can use for an awful lot of other things.

[moosetestbestanden]

I had actually acted on your earlier communication w/ me but, oddly, I couldn't find a Big Tex dealer in So. Cal. that stocked any trailers of that size. Or any other manufacturer. In fact, my search thru utility trailerland in the area was mostly frustrating. So, down motorcycle trailer road we went.

This here:

http://www.expresstrailer.com/images/A-Car/Large/A-CHFD%2029.JPG

is what I'd really like to find.

[magnusfeuer]

I've spent two hours searching the web for trailer dealers in SoCal. Almost nothing popped up.

Although I did find a Big Tex dealer close by:

http://www.bigtexwest.com/homepage/

I'll give them a call tomorrow to find out more about their pricing.

/Magnus F.

[Roll a 7]

The SoCal SCCA monthly pub has a for sale section that often has something useful. I'll check the next one and let you know what's offered.

[TonyI]

Featerlite http://www.fthr.com/

haulmark http://www.haulmark.com/

pace http://www.paceamerican.com

Heres a couple trailer manufactures do a dealer search to see whats around you.

I know i'll get flamed but anyway.. do yourself a favor don't buy cheap, nobody needs a gold plated anything.. I'm Dutch so if anyone knows how to ber cheap its me..definition: able to buy from a Scott sell to a Jew and turn a profit= Dutch

Something I could never under stand in life I watch guys going "up nort to go sleddin" (snowmobiling to the rest of us) and they have $45000+ in sleds on a $10 trailer doing 80mph. I've seen to many of them play sled toss and then they say..glad we have insurance.. so they have a ruined weekend and then have to deal with an insurance company on monday.

Around here a cheap trailer is just that, ment to last 2 years with a landscaper and toss away(open or enclosed trailer).

The green 7 looks great on the open trailer and it looks like a very well built rig but I couldn't deal with the road grim and possible road rash.

Most likely nun of us have less than 20k(many, much,much more) into our cars.. thats disposible income. . I'm not saying buy a huge trailer but think "that will do" 6 month from now it probably won't. A plus for an enclosed trailer I don't like to advertise what i'm bringing..

Flame away

cheers
Tony

[moosetestbestanden]

Tony, you missed one:

Uhaul: http://www.uhaul.com/guide/?equipment=trailer6x12

(empty weight of 1800 lbs. Bleah.)

The Big Tex dealers are in Anaheim and Beaumont (3/4s of the way to Palm Springs on the 10). The Anaheim dealer didn't have a product to look at. The Beaumont dealer didn't have anything to look at, after finally answering their phone. They don't respond to web enquiries. Big Tex makes an equipment hauler that would be great as it's really low but... the frickin thing weighs 3000 lbs. To tow an 1100 lb. car. Oh, and no, we don't have one that you can look at, sir.

I won't bother to relate my experience at Carson trailer here. Suffice it to say that they just weren't at all too interested in selling me a(ny kind of) trailer the day I went to see them. So I won't be buying anything from them.

I found a guy in Cypress who makes trailers. Starting at around $5500.00. Everyone's entitled to their opinion about protecting their property by using a box kite, but for me the extra $4000 that I won't spend on a trailer will be spent at Cosworth or Freestyle or someplace else like that, someday I hope. Then I'll get a fancy trailer.

My truck has 235,000 miles on it. There's so much carbon buildup in the combustion chambers that it pings on 100 octane right after a tune up. I need a trailer that weighs less than the car most of all. That ali one in B.C. would be just the trick. I don't need a big box kite because I won't be hauling the car that far or that often.

[slomove]

I have a trailer that is home-built based on a 2300 lbs capacity dual bike trailer kit but I would not do that again. It works great (the tilt-bed function eliminates the need for ramps) and is only 700 lbs but it was a lot of work to assemble, convert to car carrier and it still kind of looks like crap. Cost with surge brake add-on was about $ 1700.

My conclusion: Next time I would buy something finished (if there is anything under 2700lbs as allowed for my tow car).

Gert

[magnusfeuer]

ARGH!

I was up at Mission Motorsports and had a look at their Zieman trailer. It fits our purposes fairly well, especially with an extra set of ramps (which they have) so that a Caterham can get on and off without shaving off the oil pan.

There is a small 2" lip at the rear which necessitates two pieces of wood for the wheels to come down on when the car enters the trailer. Nothing major.

What is major, though is the price (incl tax and registration fees):
F812 trailer. including disk brake upgrade: USD 3167
Ramp set: USD 240.
Total: USD 3407.
I'll start looking for a used trailer...