Covered car trailer "needs" vs wants.

[Fabman]

 

[EF1]

The Chev/GMC diesels were giving us trouble with false codes for contaminated DEF. Truck goes into limp mode and time for the hook. Dealer cleans tank out, fills it with DEF and bills us for contaminated DEF, no warranty. Two weeks later same problem, truck is in another location, my fleet covered state of Minnesota. Hooked into another dealer, same story, no warranty, call Chevrolet, little help. Have dealer get the regional service rep on the phone, the DEF is from the last repair, somebody must of poured water in it. Third time, get rep on the phone, well GM has had some trouble with the DEF sensors. Put in new sensor, problem solved, now refund the past bills, that took about 3 months. Another Chevy kept throwing codes indicating problems with the emission after treatment system. Vehicle was out of warranty, Chevy thru everything that had at it, tech support cases with the Detroit boys, we ended up scrapping it for parts. P.S. I worked for GMC Truck and Coach Division for 9 years, had to lean on old connections for help.

Fords, were do you start, 6.0L, head gaskets, fuel pumps, EGR coolers, 6.4L head gaskets and fuel pump failures contaminating whole fuel systems. 6.7L early ones were eating belt tensioners left and right not easy to repair, had to argue with Ford to even get them replaced. Ford was a stickler for photos of failed fuel pumps, almost always blaming water contaminated fuel. Oh, see this tiny little rust stain here in the pump, that's why it destroyed itself and the rest of the fuel system.

Dodges seemed to like to destroy the high pressure fuel pump which will contaminate the whole system with metal particles, the rest of the truck was where we had problems and Chrysler was the worst for warranty repairs.

So one of the constant themes seemed to be fuel systems. We get fuel all over the state, retail and our own tanks. One would say there must be a lot of crappy fuel out there. However our fleet also sports over 1000 Class 7 & 8 trucks, lots of heavy equipment, all diesel powered yet no where near the problems with fuel systems using the same fuel supplies.
So goes the fleet manager life.

It sounds like emissions and fuel problems across the board with the newer diesels. I blame this on the EPA. Before DEF and low sulphur fuel these problems did not exist. It is kind of like the problems everyone had in the 70's when they took lead out of the gasoline and nobody could make them run right. It took the a decade to get the power levels back to where they were.

This is one of the reasons I am still driving my old 5.9 Cummins. I don't have these types of problems, but the newer diesel formulations cost me in mileage and at the pump. Fuel costs more and I dropped a couple miles per gallon since the reformulation.

 

[302BOB]

I've been following this thread for a while...it seems the "wants and needs" are pretty close in their value to those needing/wanting them.....Bottom line....your wallet will dictate whether you can splurge or conserve........that's why I keep my wallet as deep in my pocket as I can...

 

[funksouljon]

@Fabman , Im still looking online at trailer options, probably after I relocate pull the trigger. The first item I keep coming back to is with the width of the mustang, how tight it is on a 8.5 wide trailer. Does one need to go the ramp over route? Looks like not per your pics. Which is good, stumbled onto a thread where a guy built ramp overs with wood and it consumed so much of the edges of the trailer, looked like he'd trip over them constantly. So they mainly help with door clearance when exiting. But if one goes with the Bo Duke approach, doesn't matter. Or winching it in and out. And lighting or go stark white like you did, clean trailer BTW.

Guess part of me is thinking, jesus, $15k for a decent, simple trailer seems cheap, are these crap builds?

 

[302BOB]

Guess part of me is thinking, jesus, $15k for a decent, simple trailer seems cheap, are these crap builds?

Capital "J" please..........Most times you get what you pay for......one way or the other.........................

 

[Bill Pemberton]

8.5 is fine, I have had three Boss Mustangs , 1 GT 350, Mach 1 , and two different Vipers in mine and they all fit. You probably have 6-8 inches on each side if you park straight -- at my age crooked is about 50% of the time, ha.

 

[Fabman]

@Fabman , Im still looking online at trailer options, probably after I relocate pull the trigger. The first item I keep coming back to is with the width of the mustang, how tight it is on a 8.5 wide trailer. Does one need to go the ramp over route? Looks like not per your pics. Which is good, stumbled onto a thread where a guy built ramp overs with wood and it consumed so much of the edges of the trailer, looked like he'd trip over them constantly. So they mainly help with door clearance when exiting. But if one goes with the Bo Duke approach, doesn't matter. Or winching it in and out. And lighting or go stark white like you did, clean trailer BTW.

Guess part of me is thinking, jesus, $15k for a decent, simple trailer seems cheap, are these crap builds?

The “Haulmaster” I had was 8’ wide….no bueno.
The “Interstate” I had and my TPD are both 8.5’ wide. I consider that a minimum. Im 65 years old and 260 pounds. I squeeze through the window like a wet Saint Bernard through the cat door. If I can do it, you can too.

 

[Fabman]

And lighting or go stark white like you did, clean trailer BTW.

Guess part of me is thinking, jesus, $15k for a decent, simple trailer seems cheap, are these crap builds?

I have both 12 volt and 120 volt fluorescent lights in my trailer.
Definitely get lighting. One of the main reasons I traded my interstate for the TPD was that it has a dedicated cubby for my generator and room for a tire rack. I used to work out of my truck bed and it was such a pain. Now everything stays in the trailer and the generator is wired in. No extension cords running in and out of the trailer or hoping no one steals it at the hotel or wherever. If you have the budget get one with A/C. Sitting in an enclosed trailer at the races can be like living in a shipping container in July. Hot hot hot. I have a big fan in mine and that helps a ton, but A/C Is high on my wish list. Another reason I like the TPD is that I can bolt to the walls. A lot of the other trailers have paper thin luan walls and sheet metal studs. Very difficult to attach things like tire racks and so forth. If you are going to order a new trailer, get the most features you can afford. Adding them later may be difficult depending on the type of construction of that particular brand. I had a couple 20’ trailers and that worked out ok, but as soon as you start adding a roll away tool box, fuel jugs and extra tires it’s gets challenging to fit everything in. 24’ is a better go. In fact, I wish I had a 26’ but my little truck is already maxed out with this one.

 

[xr7]

It sounds like emissions and fuel problems across the board with the newer diesels. I blame this on the EPA. Before DEF and low sulphur fuel these problems did not exist. It is kind of like the problems everyone had in the 70's when they took lead out of the gasoline and nobody could make them run right. It took the a decade to get the power levels back to where they were.

This is one of the reasons I am still driving my old 5.9 Cummins. I don't have these types of problems, but the newer diesel formulations cost me in mileage and at the pump. Fuel costs more and I dropped a couple miles per gallon since the reformulation.

Diesel fuel has lost a lot of its lubrication qualities especially when the ultra low sulfur came along. Bio-diesel has better lubrication qualities. It just seems odd that the big boys can seem to make it work but the light duty folks seem to struggle. The pressures in the fuel systems are incredible, 30,000 psi is not uncommon and the only lubricant is the fuel.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I wish we had a laugh button with the like button.

 

[funksouljon]

@PatrickStapler Me too.

 

[funksouljon]

@Fabman , I just found out that if I don't buy a house with a pool already installed, it might be a 2+ year wait and about $70K (just one place's estimate). My trailer budget may have just taken a massive hit! Guess the 2 on the market WITH a pool got more enticing. Vast majority of what I have seen so far are NOT wired, I really do like the idea for a generator cubby. The a/c would be good but I could prolly survive with fans. Again, NEED vs WANT. Being a casual racer, Im not going to go crazy, but I was looking at getting a cheap little RallyX car to just go to a track when schedule allows. No autoX this weekend, fine, rallyX it is. It's fun, but Im beyond the point of chasing points anywhere. Laid back track time when life allows.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Pool vs trailer .......................pool with lots of bikini clad babes or sweaty old farts at the track . Ok, we understand your logic!!

 

[EF1]

Diesel fuel has lost a lot of its lubrication qualities especially when the ultra low sulfur came along. Bio-diesel has better lubrication qualities. It just seems odd that the big boys can seem to make it work but the light duty folks seem to struggle. The pressures in the fuel systems are incredible, 30,000 psi is not uncommon and the only lubricant is the fuel.

I think in time they will figure it out. The big 3 did after the switch to no lead fuel, it just took awhile. They just aren't there yet with the light duty diesels, but they are getting better.

 

[EF1]

@Fabman , I just found out that if I don't buy a house with a pool already installed, it might be a 2+ year wait and about $70K (just one place's estimate). My trailer budget may have just taken a massive hit! Guess the 2 on the market WITH a pool got more enticing. Vast majority of what I have seen so far are NOT wired, I really do like the idea for a generator cubby. The a/c would be good but I could prolly survive with fans. Again, NEED vs WANT. Being a casual racer, Im not going to go crazy, but I was looking at getting a cheap little RallyX car to just go to a track when schedule allows. No autoX this weekend, fine, rallyX it is. It's fun, but Im beyond the point of chasing points anywhere. Laid back track time when life allows.

Trailer wants vs needs always require trade offs. Only you can decide what is right for you. I started looking at a 24 ft enclosed with the options that I thought I needed. In the end I ended up with a 20 ft. aluminum open trailer for many reasons. The biggest being that my wife was not interested in camping at the track. If I bought the enclosed trailer with the AC I was still paying for a hotel. There went the AC and insulated interior. I looked at several steel frame trailers and most of them were still on the dealers lot and already had rust on the frames. I wanted something that would last and wasn't interested in crawling under to repaint periodically, so I started looking at aluminum. Aluminum trailers get expensive pretty fast. An aluminum enclosed with the full escape door was out of my budget for occasional track use. Pre-covid I was able to order my aluminum open trailer with tire rack and the options I wanted for less than $6,500. It is easy to load and tie down the car and pulls really well, but does not give the secure storage or protection of an enclosed trailer. I did pick up a used Leer fiber glass topper that gives me protected storage for tools, etc. It has worked out really well for me the last couple of years. Eventually I will get an enclosed trailer for the convenience of being able to leave everything loaded and the protection it offers. It will most likely be a 24 ft aluminum without an escape door. I will add a winch for loading the car, so I don't have to climb out the window. I will look for one with square tube framing instead of hat post and a rounded roof to allow rain and the occasional snow to roll off. An aluminum floor would be nice, so I don't have to worry about rot down the road. Cabinets and lighting can be added later.

 

[PatrickStapler]

Hilarious…

 

[Fabman]

@PatrickStapler Me too.

Bigger cat....smaller dog.

 

[Fabman]

Yeah, I went the other way. I had to buy 3 trailers to get the one that I wanted.
I could have saved a ton of money just buying the right one the first time around but I thought I was saving money....Kind of like buying cheap coil overs because, well, they're cheaper. Then you have to replace them with a good brand once they prove insufficient. Buy once cry once I suppose.

Speaking of Enclosed vs Exposed trailers, how about the tilt back trailer I built back in 1992?
....it was neither, but both!

 

[Fabman]

I'll just leave this here....

Pre-owned Trailers - TPD Trailers

tpdtrailers.com

 

[blacksheep-1]

Thanks guys, now I;m in the market for an enclosed trailer...my rollback is in the classifieds,
My issue is that I'm getting older and want to spend some more time with the wife, in the enclosed we can use A/C and have a place to sleep instead of a tent when she goes with me to the races/ HPDE... whatever. So barring something weird, I (which of course means "we") will be ordering an 8.5 x22 from my local trailer guy, Not the nicest or most expensive, but a reasonable unit that can be maintained, I've used many of the ideas on this thread to put that together, so thanks for that.
I was having dinner a few days ago with a buddy of mine and talking how about a mutual friend of ours had a cough for a couple of weeks, goes to the doc, turns out she has terminal cancer.. just as she was about to retire and take a trip to europe, her lifespan is now literally months.
So when I mentioned the price of an enclosed, he tells me " Dude, at our age, it's the fourth quarter, no need to hold back now" ... lol