Car hauler trailer and towing a car

jaxbusa

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I am tossing around the idea of getting an open car hauler to tow my 2001 Mustang and to tow random stuff. I don't know anything about trailers or hauling cars. I searched the interwebs for info, but I got so much conflicting information I figure I'd ask the pros on here. My tow vehicle is a 2016 F150 that tows 11,000 lbs. The following are my questions:

What style trailer would be good for towing a slightly lowered car and be able to put sides on it to haul other stuff?

What length trailer?

How do you strap the vehicle to the trailer and with what? The car has a panhard bar if that matters.
 

Mpoitrast87

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if money is no object then for a lowered car id get a tilt deck car trailer. But, with enough wood any trailer can work. Just look at my abomination of a ramp setup.
Also you have a few strap options but it depends what your trailer will have for hook up points.
 

jaxbusa

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Were you able to open the car doors without hitting the fenders?

Most of those have four D rings, one near each corner. What style straps did you use and how did you attach it to the car?

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STAMPEDE3

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Mine I could open the door. That example does look like the fenders are kind of high. Some have removable fenders. You will have to see what's out there in your area. I have seen a few guys add 2X12s where the tires are to raise the car enough to miss the fenders in other cases.
I used ratchet straps to the D rings with some of these,
Axle Strap w/ D-Rings and 12" Protective Sleeve
 

olympic

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I went through a few trailers and finally ended up with a 20' tilt deck with 2 x 7000 lb axles. It's so much easier to load and unload vehicles with low ground clearance. The trade off is weight and $$. Tilt decks weigh more and cost more than other trailers. I definitely recommend 7000lb axles as the 3500lb axles will not hold up long term. I also modded the left fender to be easily removeable because it usually has to come off to open the car door once it's on the trailer.

25u4nzd.jpg


For tie downs, I use 4x 2" retractable ratchet straps rated at 3300lb each. I also installed 4 D-rings on the trailer deck, 1 near each corner.

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As for installing sides on the trailer, it shouldn't be too hard to fab something out of lumber that slips into the stake pockets.
 

tistan

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To address the door hitting issue on my lowered cobra, I had 2x12s for the wheels to drive onto that was on the drives side of the trailer. It cocked my drivers side up just enough for my door to clear the wheel arch.
 

Goindeafonmtx

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View attachment 1523434 View attachment 1523433 if money is no object then for a lowered car id get a tilt deck car trailer. But, with enough wood any trailer can work. Just look at my abomination of a ramp setup.
Also you have a few strap options but it depends what your trailer will have for hook up points.

Looks like a pain in the ass.


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TaraFirma

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I’ve got an 18 foot dovetail that’s been working great for 13 years. I put a hinge on the front of the left fender so it can rotate out of the way of the door.
 

PaxtonShelby

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16’ trailer with 7000 lb axles and any dovetail will be fine. Get the longest ramps you can so you don’t high center when loading / unloading. My ramps are 6’6” long and my super low ‘66 Mustang does not scrape. The base ramps that come with most trailers are too short and as a result you will scrape.

If you find a good deal on a bigger trailer or want a bigger one go for it. I couldn’t get a longer one as it would have been a tight squeeze when I have to fit it in my garage.

To be able to open my doors without hitting the trailer fenders I bolted 2x12’s ( 12 feet long) to the trailer floor so my car tires would sit on them and get the car high enough to open the doors.

I welded a receiver to the front of my trailer so I can hook my winch to it and pull cars into the trailer.

As for tie down straps, it depends on your car. I have tow loops that bolt to my rear spring plates and it makes strapping the rear easy. Up front I have D-hook straps with padded sleeves that I wrap around the front frame and hook my ratchet straps to them.

Open trailers typically have the stake pockets welded to the sides so you can hook your straps to the pockets.

Worst thing about having a trailer is you always want to drag things home....until you run out of storage room. This was my last impulse buy...
 
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xchamp

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I have a 18' dove tail car trailer. 10000lb gvwr, definitely worth the $500 over a 7000 lb trailer. Ive used these wheel straps for three years now. I highly recommend them. Takes 5 minutes to securely strap down your vehicle, never had one move an inch. As far as ramps, I get away with the standard ones that came with the trailer, if I have a low car or truck I just use the trailer jack to raise the back of the truck and lower the rear of the trailer.
 

slow306stang

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I have an 18' full deck trailer with a 4' dove tail. Using the trailer ramps with some race ramps makes loading a lowered car pretty simple. I have 2 2x6's that i park the front tires on so i can open up the drivers door.

The deck has 4 D-rings and rails on both sides so you can strap pretty much anything down to it.


Skip to 10:40 to see my trailer setup.
 

PaxtonShelby

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@xchamp - Wow that truck is absolutely perfect!

Do you have a link or info on those wheel straps? Something like that could come in handy when hauling other people’s cars that aren’t quite as easy to strap as my ‘66.
 

xchamp

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Sorry Paxton I don't. Got them when I got the trailer. Owner of the trailer sales said I would love them and I do!
Thx for the kind words on the truck! Just got it on the road a few weeks ago. I love it! Was really hoping to catch a few shows in the area but the weather hasn't cooperated as usual here in SW PA!!
 

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