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28' Enclosed Car Trailer Order Question

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I have placed an order for a 28' enclosed trailer. I am ordering an escape door to be install above the wheel well fender to ease getting in and out of the car from within the trailer. I have determined the height the escape door needs to be at to allow the Boss door to clear the opening. Now I need to determine where to position the escape door, front to back, to ensure it lines up with where the car will be once parked. Does anyone else have an escape door in a 28' trailer that could tell me where I should be installing it? Or if you have a 28' trailer without the escape door, if you could tell me the typical distance for optimal trialer balance from the rear of the trailer to the rear of the car, I could figure out where to place the door.

Second question, any critical options that I should ensure I have installed? I am going with some basics such as winch, front cabinets, spare tire tub in the floor, added lighting, 110 outlets, added roof vents, 4 corner scissor jacks. Anything other items I should be adding?
 
AC and a heater.
 
I have a 24' enclosed.

Front of escape door is 11' back from front of box and 80" wide. (Center of escape door is 14' 4" back). Car fits perfectly, with about 1 foot between rear of car and door. Assuming your axles are positioned the same relative to mine you'd need to move the escape door 2' back and would have 3' between the door and the rear of the car.

I have similar options. Also have a Tire rack. Ordered silver exterior to minimize heat, but got A/C prep just in case.....

Only option I wish I'd thought of was small roof mounted solar panel to trickle charge battery during storage.
 
Thanks for those dimensions. That is what I was looking for. Now I need to determine the impact of 24' versus 28' and where exactly my axles will be. That is very wide door at 80" and not sure mine will be that wide. I should get that number as well.

I have been thinking about the tire rack option but am hesitant as I will continually be taking tires in and out of it which can be tough on the shoulders if the rack is up high. Where do have these racks? Along the front of the trailer running side to side? And in may case, replacing an upper cabinet with a tire rack.

Rick - You would think in MN I would need a heater. No ice racing is currently in my future. AC on the other had would be nice for those 90 degree days, but I am thinking of the cheap big fan option for now.

Fuel jug rack is a great idea and I have seen several of these online. Will also be getting a rack for the jack, and a helmet and fire suit rack. Given no AC, my suit can get a bit ripe.
 

Domestic Product

Big fat tires and everything !
OK, you have 28' that's a lot of room! Think Honda generator , normal box fan , coffee maker and small micro wave. Several propane tanks , propane heater , propane barbecue . Water, coolers, fuel, tires, wheels, tools and tool box , jacks and on and on. I have seen couches, beds and chairs in there. Your trailer ends up looking like your garage. Been there and it was great. I miss my trailer.
Ideally you want the weight low in the trailer just like your car, so tires go up high as they are relatively light.
It comes down to what the trailer is rated for and what your tow vehicle is rated for. I keep mine some what on the light side even though I had a diesel excursion to tow with.
I did not do a escape door , but that's not a bad idea. I would go ahead and set it up and use it and then put the door in. I moved my car around when I had the trailer to get it just right ride wise. So the escape door is either big or dialed in with use imo. Oh and a side shade , rain awning like the RVs are awesome.
Good luck and best wishes
 
Awesome! I've had my enclosed trailer for 15-yrs and have used it a lot. Two things I would give more consideration to next time around would be axles and construction. Axle weight will define trailer gross wt (e.g. dual 5000# axles will carry 10K#) and type of construction (steel or aluminum) will define usable load. For example, my 18' trailer has dual 3500# axles and weighs 3000# (its a steel trailer)...leaving me with 4000# usable load. With the Boss loaded, that leaves ~400# for stuff and extras....that goes pretty quick with jacks, tools, etc. Recommend knowing how much usable load you have to play with...it'll help inform the "weight cost" for extras....some of which though desirable, you may find aren't feasible.
 
LS110 said:
Where do have these racks? Along the front of the trailer running side to side? And in may case, replacing an upper cabinet with a tire rack.
I put the rack on the side in front of the Escape door, that way you can retain cabinets up front.

On the Escape door be sure to check the door swing clearance height (especially on lowered springs). I had to get the removable wheel well option on the trailer.
 
NFSBOSS said:
It's a Ford. ;)

Rick is correct... of course it is a Ford. An F150 however and thus slightly underpowered for 10,000 lb loaded trailer.

All these ideas are very helpful. My option list just got longer, and my pocket a bit lighter!!
 
John - Mine's a 28' as well. When pulling with the F-150 I have found that it works best when the car is as far back as possible to alleviate some tongue weight. I have front cabinets and winch along with a scooter and spare parts, wheels etc. at the front of the trailer, in addition to loading the bed of the pickup that can lead to too much tongue weight. I typically load it to within 6" of the rear so you could use that as a measuring point for your escape door. That said your axles might not be in the same location as mine so your results could vary.
 
Thanks for the dimension Gary. Hopefully I will be able to position my car the same. Domestic Product's idea about waiting to install the escape door after I have taken delivery makes sense just incase I need to move the car forward. I am going to see what that will cost me to do that late install. Maybe once I try getting in and out of the car through the window a few times I won't mind doing it. Just learning how to do that quickly is probably a good think anyway.
 
Built in air compressor is nice to have with air plumed out the side for the awning area and out the back for the two areas where the car will be and carry a loose 50'-75' hose, i also have nitrogen tanks for the tires but that's not necessary. Again a side awning is extremely nice to have, 24' should be a standard size and that would work great your trailer as well as a pit pal work station w/ paper towel holder on the side door so you can put tools on it with the side door open under the awning so you don't have to go in and out of the trailer to get tools again not necessary but a convenience. A/C Heat built into the roof is great and i have a Guardian quiet 7000kw built into the left front corner like a motor home that has a 20 gallon fuel tank. Also for extra storage you might think about having a set of cabinets installed from the factory over the right side wheel well, because whatever you do you will never have enough storage space.
 
Well congratulations. As far as what to get, I guess as long as we're spending your money! I have a 24' enclosed trailer and pull it with an F250. After pulling the trailer over the mountains and over 3000 miles, I'm glad I had the F250. As far as the trailer, the minimum would be a folding table, clock, folding chair, box fan, tire rack, and cabinets in order to put some things away (tools, jack, etc), spare trailer tire carrier. Once you get to the track, set yourself up a small office with the track schedule on the wall of the trailer next to the clock. You can have a place to write in your log books, or open your laptop. A/C is nice, but not necessary unless you have the money or bring your wife! :) A winch would be nice. I don't have one, and if I ever got in a situation where I broke down with no power, it would be tough getting it in the trailer. A fold out awning would be nice as well. Not too big on carrying fuel. I would need 30 gallons for a three day event which means 6 jugs. If I was running race gas, then I might consider it depending on the tracks I run.

I do not have an escape door. To get out of my car, I leave the window down and partially open the door. I then have to take one leg over the door and step on the door sill, and then follow with the other leg. Not pretty, but it works. I have gotten in and out once with the window up. Don't do that unless you real skinny and I'm not! Good Luck with your purchase!
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
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Are you pulling with a F150? At 28 ft., regardless of make , I would probably have recommended a 3/4 ton as one gentleman suggested. You will likely find yourself struggling in the hills and mountains as you will likely be right at the limits with car,trailer and extras. We sell Fords, Rams, and Chevy's and with the amount you are pulling with the car, trailer, tools, cabinets, supplies ,etc. I would have probably even suggested a Diesel 3/4 ton.

What did they spec out for you on total weight with a loaded trailer? If you have a 3/4 ton, sorry for mentioning.
 
The awning is a great idea. Thinking I should also set it up now with the ability to add the AC later.

Regarding my two vehicle, it is a 2013 F150. I was very close on buying the F250 and my dealer convinced me to to go the 150 route as 90% of the time it is my daily driver. All of my racing is in the MN/WI/NE area, there is not much in the way of hill climbing much less mountains. I am going to give the 150 a try and see what I think. Up till now, I have been pulling assorted boat trailers and a '17 open car trailer and the 150 does great with all of those. The 28' foot enclosed will be a different animal however.
 

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