What to tow with....

[Pearldrummer7]

Hey all--

I'm looking into an enclosed trailer for my 818. Anything specific that you do or don't want in one? Local ones are fairly cheap ($4-5K), and I think 24' is plenty big enough for tools and the car, right?

http://www.wowcargotrailers.com/products.php?id=136


Someone spot check me here!

[Mitch Wright]

We have a 20' enclosed that works great for me and has plenty of space for the 818 and stuff I take to the track when I travel. After over 40 years of hanging out at race tracks I personally have learned the essentials I need to take, over the years less is more.

Just replaced my wife's BMW with a 17 Honda Ridgeline. For us this truck is awesome, drives like an Accord, 27-28mpg on the highway and 22-23mpg around town (with out trailer) it is super quite hand hands down the best handling nicest riding truck on the market. It has a 5000lb towing capacity (less than it's competitors) but tows our 20' enclosed trailer with my 818 with out issue and as well as our 17 Silverado's 1500 we have at work offering better MPG.
Worth taking a look if you planning on towing your 818 with a open or small enclosed trailer and don't really need a truck as a daily driver.

[phil1734]

A spare tire on the tongue. Unless you want to unload everything on the side of the highway to get to an underfloor spare.

[NAZ]

Depends on what you're going to want a trailer for. The one you're looking at will haul a car and a few other items but not a lot of support equipment. Weight capacity is as important as size. The one you're looking at appears to be a 7,000 lb capacity trailer. Remember, the GVW rating includes the weight of the trailer and the payload. If the trailer weighs 3,200 lbs you have a payload capacity of 3,800. If you want to build out the interior in the future with cabinets, shelves, a work bench, compressor, generator, and toolboxes you're adding lot's of weight and taking up space. If all you want to haul is the car, some gas cans, and a few tools you're probably going to be happy with you're selection. I downsized from a 15,000 lb capacity 30' gooseneck to a 10,000 lb 24' bumper pull and wow what a difference in space. I'm really cramped now but the 30 footer was really tight getting into my property when we moved to this place so the downsizing was out of necessity. My advice -- if this is for a track car, go bigger than you think you'll need as it will support future modification as you're trailer will grow to support your growing operation. It costs much less to add some capacity now than it does down the road. If you outgrow the trailer and need to upsize in the future your trailer will be worth much less on the resale market while new trailers will only increase in price.

[RM1SepEx]

Go with all aluminum, my 16 foot 8.5 wide Thule works fine for an 818. You need the width to make getting in and out easy. 8.5 w x 20 long is very nice, my 16 v nose is minimum size.

[Sgt.Gator]

Electric Brakes on BOTH rear axles. Many economy models have them on one axle.
Electric brake controller. Newer trucks that are built to tow often have these built in as an OEM option, like my Ram 3500. Otherwise you'll need an aftermarket controller that hangs under the dash.

Pay for a taller than basic trailer, usually 6'4" Interior Height is basic. Reason: You can put tire carriers up high enough on the side walls to still get a car underneath. My trailer is 6" taller than normal and worked fine with an Acura Integra but not with an STI or Legacy. If I ever spec one again it will be at least 1' taller.

A spare tire. Amazingly a spare is an Option, not Standard oftentimes!

As for the tow rig. Lot of folks use 1500 size pickups/SUVs. I switched from a Ram 1500 with Hemi engine to Ram 3500 Cummins Diesel. I would never go back to a standard pickup/SUV to tow, the big diesels just flat tow great.

[mikeinatlanta]

Towing with what? Makes all the difference.

[SixStar]

Mine travels in a 8.5x24. Just recently downsized to a 8.5x20' V-nose. Should have lots of space still with a bit better mileage.

[NAZ]

Don't discount Mike's comment above. I still see ½-ton P/U trucks pulling enclosed trailers that may be pushing 10,000 lbs.

[Innkeepr]

Towing with what? Makes all the difference.

Not only that, but also "How often" - makes a difference.
I tow my MK II twice a year. I use a 2500 pound steel trailer with dual electric brakes on it. The MK II weighs in at 2300 give or take. So just under 5K.
Its no issue for my 06 Tundra crew SR5 with the 4.7L with the tow package. I do drop from 18mpg to 13.5-14. I can live with it.
If I were towing every weekend, then I would follow Gators lead & go diesel for sure.

[phil1734]

Not only that, but also "How often" - makes a difference.
I tow my MK II twice a year. I use a 2500 pound steel trailer with dual electric brakes on it. The MK II weighs in at 2300 give or take. So just under 5K.
Its no issue for my 06 Tundra crew SR5 with the 4.7L with the tow package. I do drop from 18mpg to 13.5-14. I can live with it.
If I were towing every weekend, then I would follow Gators lead & go diesel for sure.

Not to thread jack, but I think you're only the third or fourth person I've ever heard use such logic when buying a truck (I live in high bro-truck country.)

I borrowed a gasser F-250 and decent sized enclosed trailer to pick up my kit and haul it back to south-east michigan. Did about 10.5mpg for that trip.

The owner gets similar mileage for the few thousand miles of towing a year he does, but it'd still take 20 years to offset the extra purchase cost of a diesel, and that assumes those fancy diesel injectors and particulate filters never need to be replaced.

Heck, I used to pull an unquestionably overloaded 30ft gooseneck through the rockies to Los Angeles and back once a year with an old V10 F350 at 5mpg and still would never be able to break-even on a diesel. Sure there were a few mountains you'd crest with your foot to the floor at 60mph but it never had any real problems.

[Hindsight]

The diesel stuff, IMHO, is more about convenience and comfort, than it is about economy. If you can afford the extra $$ for the diesel then it is much nicer to tow with one. But yes, you aren't going to make up the money on fuel economy unless you are towing multi-weekly (IE it's for a business).

[narkosys]

Have you checked out Serpent Express (http://www.serpentexpress.com/)? Apparently they are used by quite a few FFR owners.

P

[Mitch Wright]

I like that and would suite my needs, looking for something light and the amount I tow anymore.

[Sgt.Gator]

The diesel stuff, IMHO, is more about convenience and comfort, than it is about economy. If you can afford the extra $$ for the diesel then it is much nicer to tow with one. But yes, you aren't going to make up the money on fuel economy unless you are towing multi-weekly (IE it's for a business).

^^^^ This.

And I live in deer country. With a Ram 3500 + Buckstop bumper I don't steer, slow, or brake for deer and elk, especially pulling a trailer. Seriously this was a major reason for the purchase. The local National Forest rescue rig was getting taken out 3 times a year running code 3 on rescues. Then they installed a Buckstop, now they have a series of deer-elk heads with X thru them on the bumper like a fighter plane. Their advice, hit the accelerator to keep the hood up so the deer go flying off the road to the side instead of up over the hood into the windshield!

http://www.buckstopinc.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/detail/D-082_550x365.jpg

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http://www.buckstopinc.com/

[RM1SepEx]

Love this post! I also live in deer country, you brake for moose, drive right through a deer. Drag em up and toss em in the back so you can eat that fine natural protein. One hell of a bumper.

I tow a few times a year, my 8.5 x 16 v nose all AL trailer has a 6,000 lb max, my V6 Silverado does just fine. Drops from 19-20 MPG to 11. My friends with Diesels have costs at least 2x as much. Towing with one is indeed sweet tho.

Everything is a compromise, my setup is bare minimum enclosed. Avoid a narrow trailer, too hard to get out of the car unless you have a side door in the right place.

[NAZ]

Col Red, I had a Buck Stop bumper on my old K2500HD and it is stout. We don't have moose up here but we have lots of elk and dear and a big 1,000 lb plus bull elk can do more damage than most folks realize. Driving the highways working for ADOT I've seen some nasty damage when people hit these big critters and in a car or light P/U they often get scooped off their feet and through the windshield they go. The worst one was a small SUV that hit 6 elk all crossing the road together. You couldn't tell what the vehicle even used to be.
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[rwcaudill]

I've got a 20 foot enclosed aluminum trailer for my '33 hot rod. I pull it with a 2017 Silverado 1500 and have had no issues.

[Sgt.Gator]

NAZ, Flagstaff is beautiful country, very similar to Bend. It was on my short list for places to live before I moved to Bend.

I was trailering my race car home yesterday when a deer ran out in front of my truck. The stupid thing ran across 3 lanes at full speed before deciding to try to beat me across the fourth lane. I was going 45 mph. As I've mentioned above I bought a Buckstop Bumper because I'm not slamming on brakes while pulling a trailer for a deer. It was like I hit a squirrel. Not one bit of damage to my front end, not even a scratch in the bumper paint. The only indication was a few deer hairs stuck between the front license plate and the plate trim holder. Awesomeness! The Buckstop totally paid for itself right there.

If the same thing had happened to my wife driving her Mini Countryman AWD the results would have been very different. Probably totaled the car and put her in the hospital.
Interesting stat: Deer–vehicle collisions lead to about 200 human deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage every year!

[axelthrasher]

What brands aluminum trailers is everyone going with? I know Featherlite is expensive, but Aluma and Legend seem like pretty decent set ups as well.

[flynntuna]

Just came across this. A good tip when towing a Subaru.