To trailer or not to trailer?

[LuckyWinner]

Looking for some advise on getting a trailer or not. I could go pick up the kit and have a nice road trip and also use it to get to AutoX and other events. Or just have it shiped. What should I do and if the answer is trailer, what size do I need and where is a good place to pick one up.:confused:

[Kevin Davis]

Doing it by trailer will take you 2+ days each way, and it's 3000 miles, assuming you're talking about coming from CA. It's a nice trip, and a heck of a road trip, but I think that the issue of buying a trailer is separate from the pickup. Personally, unless I just wanted to make that road trip, I'd have it delivered. That being said, I went out and got mine from a guy in Green Bay. We left on a Friday afternoon, and were back by Sunday am. It was a lot of fun, actually.

I've been shopping for a trailer myself, and there are a lot of benefits to having one. If you decide to get one, check out the serpent express trailers, they are pretty cool.

[BigLeo69]

lucky
are you staying in CA after leaving the sand.

the trip for me from st. louis to f5r was very memorable, i say go for it.
if you looked at some of my profile pics on ffcars, you will see how i transported mine :)
the other thing is the trailer has to have a place to store, some places, (neighborhood assoc.) for example won't allow the storage of trailers. just something to think about.
cumshaw a military transport and get it shipped with the help of the supply depot, just kiddin'

[LuckyWinner]

I would be driving from Louisiana to pick it up. Then the Army will pay for some of it when I move to Cali. I think I want to make the road trip. Go see the factory, see Big Dave and then I always have the trailer, but trailers are around $5,000 so we will see.

[Joee]

If you can get a trailer for about the cost of shipping get it the drive from Lousianna won't be that bad. You will use it again, I have moved my car around with borrowed trailer. Go kart in a vacant lot twice, 3 AutoX's and Im sure a few more this season before Im tagged (I am having trouble finishing now that I have raced it and I have access to a trailer).

[Wayne Presley]

Price wise, the amount Stewart charges it would be hard to beat IF you factor in your time. That being said I will always have an enclosed trailer or Serpent Express trailer for my FFR's.

[tfalk]

Do you have a tow vehicle that can handle an enclosed trailer? That will make
a major difference as well... I would not have bought my trailer if I didn't already
have an F250 CC/LB that can tow just about anything... The advantage of having
the trailer is if you race it, you are going to break it and then you need a way to
get the car and yourself home - the trailer eliminates that. It also gives you a way
to keep the car out of the weather and doubles as a storage garage when needed.

[Joe]

It would be less expensive to just have Stewart Transport bring the kit to you, especially if gas continues to go up in price. Use you vacation leave time for something much more fun at a later time!

Once you get it built, DRIVE IT, DON'T TRAILER IT! :)

[dallas_]

I'd vote for getting a trailer.

I try to never turn down an excuse to aquire tools or gear. :D

[riptide motorsport]

Stewart delivery, build it and buy a used trailer, cheaper easier and the most important thing....................insuring there are no breakdowns and your on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, where everythying cost 10x normal!!!! Steven

[Someday I Suppose]

David,

A couple thoughts, first if its just kit pick up and registration you would use it for, then I wouldn't bother. For kit pick up, I rented a 16ft box truck from Budget in Providence Rhode Island, drove out to Factory Five and was on my way. For you, you could fly into Providence and just do the drive one way.

That said, I did recently buy a Serpent Express trailer. During paint I had the car on a trailer 3 times and rented one from u-haul, borrowed one from a friend, and finally bought one. I am really looking forward though to some longer overnight type trips with the wife where we can trailer the car, and then have some fun and not worry about the weather. Lots of guys would call that blashphomy, but for us I think it fits the type of trips we want to do and gives us a lot more flexability.

-Scott

[Mike N]

If you don't have a good tow vehicle don't bother with the trailer, however if you do you will use a trailer more than you think. It's kind of like a welder you get by without one but once you have one everything looks like a welding job :rolleyes:

I bought a 14ft Featherlite all aluminum car hauler and love it, tows like a dream. Here's where I got mine http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2011-FEATHERLITE-14-BEST-PRICE-ALUMINUM-CAR-TRAILER-/150569263760?pt=Motors_Trailers&hash=item230ea0a290 You could stop on your way to Factory Five and pick it up.

[Joe]

Lots of guys would call that blashphomy, but for us I think it fits the type of trips we want to do and gives us a lot more flexability.

Naww.. just kidding around. I could certainly see how having a trailer would come in handy. Another use is for track days. Right now I have to drive to the track. If I break the car at the track it's going to be a pain trying to figure out how to get myself and the Roadster back home.

[Someday I Suppose]

Yes, guys like Joe who are getting ready to drive 1800 miles from Texas to the open house, while I'm planning to toss mine on the trailer and drive it the 260 I have to go lol. In fairness to me though, if all goes well I plan to bring it up to the painter on Friday for a quick polish and a fix of one or two issues, and the car will also only have a few miles on it, so not ready to drive it that far until some of the bugs are worked out. -Scott


Naww.. just kidding around. I could certainly see how having a trailer would come in handy. Another use is for track days. Right now I have to drive to the track. If I break the car at the track it's going to be a pain trying to figure out how to get myself and the Roadster back home.

[Gumball]

I picked-up my car at FFR using a 14' open trailer (see avatar - photo taken as I was pulling out of FFR and later posted in their archive). I was there the day that Two Guys Garage were filming an episode and the FFR team was sponsoring a cruise to the town of Plymouth. Even though he was crazy busy that morning, Dave Smith still took a couple of hours to show us around the factory and see to it that I was happy with the purchase. We did the round-trip from the Chicago area in just 48 hours. It was a beautiful fall weekend, so I wish we'd spent an extra day and enjoyed the ride more.

[Gopher]

Trailer definitely. I went with a featherlite 16ft enclosed. This gives room in front of car for spares and tool boxes.At 13ft overall length 14ft is minimum .I like enclosed because it out of the elements when towing and away from prying eyes when parked .I got mine local it was special ordered for someone else and they didn't pick it up.It was 9000.00 plus tax title an license.

[Arch]

My car was built as a long distance traveling machine. I have driven it on a 3,000 mile trip and had a ball. I will do it again this summer.
I also have a Serpent Express trailer. I used it to get to and from paint, alignment, and a couple of other times. It is nice to have the option to drag the car if I want to. For instance, the gathering next month in Huntington Beach is way too far to drive the car there and back for the weekend (2,400 miles round trip) but I am considering loading it in the SE and doing a couple of very long days just to have the experience.
So, if you have the coin and a place to keep it, a trailer is a nice thing to have. I would do a SE again if I had to do it over.
Good luck,
Arch

[Chepsk8]

I bought a used open trailer, and love it. But then again, most of myuse is at race tracks, and just knowing I can get it home no matter what makes having a trailer so good. One time, I did have to have what remained of my car after a wreck dropped on my trailer.

all the advice above is good. Digest it carefully.

Scott - bringing the roadster to breakfast Sunday? I'm bringing mine if we don't get washed away.

[jlfernan]

For those of you that don't track their cars, how do you protect them when hauling them on an open trailer. I may take my car up to Central Florida, and I know I'm a wimp, it's 300+ miles and I'll take it on a U-Haul trailer. How do I keep my nice paint from getting chipped up and damged?

[Someday I Suppose]

George, is it really any different then taking it on a 300 mile drive? I think as long as the tow truck has flaps on it, and some trailers have some shielding in the front its about all you can do.


For those of you that don't track their cars, how do you protect them when hauling them on an open trailer. I may take my car up to Central Florida, and I know I'm a wimp, it's 300+ miles and I'll take it on a U-Haul trailer. How do I keep my nice paint from getting chipped up and damged?

Dan, no on Sunday, doors and hood arent on it yet. Possibly April, but probably May.

-Scott

[Jeff Kleiner]

How do I keep my nice paint from getting chipped up and damged?

Never leave the garage...but where is the fun in that?

Jeff

[Garry Bopp]

I also struggled with the "trailer" issue. I went back and forth, couldn't make up my mind. Finally, my wife got tired of listening to me worrying about it and said, "You know, you would go to a lot more of these weekend events if you didn't have to worry about the weather!" I took that as approval for a trailer purchase. I went with a United Express 8.5' x 20' enclosed trailer, with 10,500 gw axles. It has a rear ramp door and the "beavertail" mod. Also, has an escape door on the driver side. It's a bit of a struggle getting out of my coupe but is doable. The trailer is pretty heavy, about 4,000 lbs, but my 2004 F-150 pulls it quite well. I've towed down to Florida 3 times and even trailered up to my hometown of New Salem, ND last summer. 8-10 mpg at 65 mph.

Garry

[trublue]

Like Garry, I bought a 20 foot slope nose trailer. I drove it up to Wareham to pick up the MK3 kit using a Ford Expedition. I bought mine from Trailer World Inc in Bowling Green, KY. They outfitted it with electric brakes, anti-sway bar and stabilizer bars. When I got home, I used the trailer to store the body while I worked on the frame in my garage. I also stored extra part boxes there until I needed them. I have upgraded the standard tires to wider 8-ply for added safety. Unless I'm pulling a hill, I don't even know it's behind me.

When I bought a Mustang GT500, it fit perfectly into the trailer and I traded the Expedition for a Ford F250 to handle the additional weight. I have enjoyed having the trailer for storage and hauling other big items as well. The extra feet of space in the front of the trailer comes in handy for spare tires, tools and supplies when going to car shows. I will be towing my MK3 up to Carlisle, PA this summer for the All Ford National.
Good luck on making your decision.
Art

[CraigS]

I would love to have a trailer but don't cause,1;I would need to upgrade my truck.My standard f150 would be fine for a few local tows but not what i would want for anything longer or done regularly.2;Where do i park the trailer for the 320 days a year it's not in use. 3; it would be one more vehicle I would have to maintain.

[Jack FFR1846]

If you're looking for an excuse to come check out the factory and have the time to make the trip, hey, why not? I bought a trailer to pick up my kit and have had one ever since. I've used it to pick up furniture to save the $65 delivery charge, taken the leftover steel to the scrapyard to get $200 per ton and of course the pickups of plywood and other big items at Lowe's. Key in your decision is whether you have a place to easily store the trailer and the cost for registration. A snowmobile trailer is plenty big enough to pick up a kit and you don't need a huge vehicle to pull it. Think about your future use. Sure, an enclosed trailer is nice because the roadster can be stored during down times, but will be far harder to pull. I went full circle, starting with a couple steel trailers, then a 14' Cargopro open aluminum that only weighed 900 pounds, then a cargopro 18' enclosed V nose that could hold a lot of storage in the winter, but was far harder to pull. When I sold my racecar, I sold the enclosed and then bought a snowmobile trailer which I have today. I may go back to something a bit bigger like another 14' aluminum so I have the option of putting a car on it. I seem to rotate trailers every 2 years.

[johnnyb26]

If your looking for the cheepest way out rent a uhaul trailer , or if you going to buy a trailer buy it down south in GA, FL, SC, any of the southern states they sell car trailers open pit or full deck or even a 14' utility / landscape trailer would work
but don't buy a trailer up by Factory Five in MA as I work for a trailer Co. and we get slammed on shipping to bring them up from the southern states Good luck!

[gwnorth]

I rationalized my trailer purchase when I started to realize how impractical it was to plan on using the top: ($1800 fo the top plus can't get in and out with it on plus it's an erector set adventure every time you use it . Bought a 14 ft single axle open trailer (3500lb capy) which I plan to learn to weld aluminum making a tilt-top for: trailer cost about $2000 (no top at this point).
I plan to go places, drive the car and come home without worrying about weather and breakdowns.

[South Dakobra]

It seems during the build process, a trailer is needed. I bought a cheap open trailer for the build and took the go-cart to the tuner and then later used to haul the car to the body-shop. I trailer for national shows with my wife and an enclosed is nice for weather and security. I broke down and bought a Serpent Express because it is so light. The trailer is also my winter storage container and the S.E. fits in my heated garage with the roadster inside it. Also though I had Stewart deliver, couldn't match that price. I'm bummed I've never been to F5 headquarters though.
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p121/dakobra/IMG_1619.jpg

[kpribbleS281]

Very cool traler nice design and ver flexable

[Shockwave]

When I bought my 3.1 I went over to Conneticut Trailers and bought a enclosed trailer, took it back to Wareham, they loaded all the boxes and the car and helped strap it down. My fuel milage back to San Antonio driving 55 instead of 60 in the MH was the same as it was before getting the trailer; granted, it takes longer to get somewhere, but ! The car stays clean, I have the car when I get wherever, and I have a garage to keep it in.

[neilmathieu]

I live in Quebec province where the weather is very instable ; I bought a Rance Alu , Rough Rider model, 17' opened but I am looking to cover it with a cover from RollerJack Industries : paid trailer 6,300.$ and the cover with hydralulic shocks will cost 3,000.$ with taxes. The trailer weighs 1400 pounds and the cover less than 300 pounds. My tow vehicles are Nissan awd Murano and a RV class B , Roadtrek on the 3500 Express frame from GM , 6.0 li. I want travel and visit many areas without the weater stress.