Buying an enclosed car hauler

Maclab58

Maclab58

Well-known member
I am looking at buying a new enclosed car hauler to transport my ModelA's. I'm looking at a 18' Lark V nose, 8.5 feet wide. Are any of you familiar with the brand? We have a local dealer here. It falls in my 5K budget. Any opinions????
 
I would stay away of any 18' new enclosed trailer for 5K. Not going to get much besides trouble down the road. I am a factory rep for a couple of enclosed trailer lines. Been in this industry for over 22 years. I only have one thing of wisdom to say . You get what you pay for .
I have not herd of a brand called Lark.
Vic
 
Just purchased a 20 ft H&H all aluminum enclosed car hauler for 8500.00. Pulls great and looks really substantially built. Hopefully my last trailer?
 
You've just given me a super idea. I'm going to need storage for my worldly possessions in contemplation of selling my house and not knowing where I'll end up. The trailer would pay itself off against storage fees for 2-3 years. And provide haulage to whatever state is im my future. Thanks !
 
Whatever brand you choose I'd go with a 20 foot trailer. Your model A will fit in the 18 footer but I have never bought a trailer yet and said "this trailer is too big". The extra 2 foot will come in handy when you use it haul things other than your Model A and that will happen.
 
The V-nose gives you extra storage inside as well as something to break wind (Not gas).
I agree that a 20 footer is better after using ours to move all our world collection of stuff 600 miles in only 10 loads. We haul our 34 Fords and occasionally a 35 Buick, even hauled a friend's 53 Cadillac and the 20' was almost to small, think BIG.
Make sure you buy one with Dexter Torque Flex axles, NOT spring suspension! Also avoid the glued together models, insist on rivets. It makes them follow you like a shadow instead of pushing you all over the road.
Another requirement is an inside beaver tail (Sloped floor inside makes loading much easier)
Ours was a Horton Hauler with two 5500 Lb Dexter Axles which gave us 11,000 load capacity and 4 wheel brakes. Bought used for $3500, used it 5 years and sold it for $3500, no complaints. Towed like a dream! We still tow, but with an open aluminum 1100 lb car trailer with two 3500 lb Dexter torque flex axles and 4 wheel brakes.
 
A lot of "sound" info here...The only "other" thing I can add to this as I gave to my dad when he was buying both a tow vehicle & trailer......You are pulling what is precious to you, things that you have worked hard to get & a few things that are irreplaceable both in forum & sentiment....its better to spend a little more than you should have than less than you could have SO get the safest, best suited, biggest trailer you can. That is why we pull with a dual rear wheel pick up truck for highway traction and stability, we use both the sway control and load leveling hitch, and we got a 24' trailer.....which we have always found having the extra space most helpful..... After experiencing hitting black ice on the highway in Arizona pulling our 32 Ford to the west coast and being flipped around 180 degree's in about 3 seconds facing on coming traffic (Standard pick-up) then having a car plow into the side of our truck totaling it....ALL the above info has since been employed!!!
 
I have used trailers, both open flat and enclosed to haul my cars on/in for the past 20 years. I went through a couple of small, 16/18 ft. light trailers until I got smart and bought a 25 ft, 12,000 lb rated enclosed trailer, four wheel brakes, 8 lug wheels and an equalizer hitch.
A 25 ft trailer might sound a little long to most people, but believe me, once you have a good trailer the size raises to the occasion. An average 40/50 car will fit in a 20' trailer without to much trouble, however, keeping the tongue weight down might prove to be a challenge.. When towing, the tongue weight is all important.
Last May I hauled 7,500 lbs of building materials to my daughters new house in McCall, ID, a distance of 1,050 miles, I left there and then drove west 350 miles to Idaho Falls, ID to pick up a '52 Buick Riveria HT that I had purchased. The round trip was 2,200 miles in eight days. My tow vehicle is a F250 4 x 4 7.3 Diesel Super Duty.
Look around before you jump into the market for a trailer, the old adage, if a deal sounds to good to be true, it usually is. The enclosed trail I have cost $12,k when new, I bought it when it was four years old for $5k, it would still sell for at least $5k in a heart beat..
If you would like to PM me I will be glad to respond to any questions you have..
 
Don't put any words or graphics on your trailer that indicate its contents,
including a vanity license plate.

This is great advice. I thought of it the day when I saw a small enclosed trailer with Harley Davidson stickers all over it. I think I would put something like " Fred's Porta-Potty" on the side of mine..... Mark
 
Bigger is better only if you have a tow vehicle that will handle it. What are you planning to pull it with?
 
Here is a hint Sir,
If the price new is less than the $7500.00 it would take to replace my open Featherlite, it is built cheaply. Now this might not be a problem if you are only going to use it once in a while, but if you are going to put any serious miles on it you should probably look for a used one of a higher quality!
 
I have had two open tilt deck trailer a 7000gvw and still have a 14,000gvw and been Towing for 30 years. I had been wanting a enclosed so purchased a enclosed trailer this past summer. Prior to my purchase I used my cousins 20' twice. I have some larger cars and his 20' worked but I chose to go with a 24'. I bought it used from a guy that bought it new to move from Colorado to Washington. It has the white interior with E track and all the accessories, 4-wheel brakes 5500 dexter axles 110 ac panel. Also included was the equalizer anti sway hitch. It's a 2014 and I paid 6000.00 and it never had a car in it, only household goods and furniture and looks like new.
 
I have to agree with Bill's Auto Works
if the price new is less than the $7500.00 it would take to replace my open Featherlite, it is built cheaply. Now this might not be a problem if you are only going to use it once in a while, but if you are going to put any serious miles on it you should probably look for a used one of a higher quality!
I use a Triton Prestige low boy with surge disc brakes. 20' with a 5' V . tips the scales @ #2,800 . I pull this with a 1500 GMC crew cab truck with a 5.3 motor. I have pulled all over the states. Have over 200K miles trailering experience and would only consider a trailer that is 100% made of aluminum. Also I live in Alaska and I can attest that we have the worse roads of any 48 states.
Vic
 
A couple of items: we recently moved from a Featherlite open trailer to an enclosed JimGlo. The enclosed trailer is much easier to load/unload since the back door is the ramp. The open trailer has D-rings while the enclosed has track....easier to place tie downs on track. Also, with the track, you can tie bulky items down.
Ultra important is getting a ball mount that positions the trailer level. Don't go cheap!
We installed a solar charger to keep the trailer battery full. We installed a GPS alarm and painted the license plate # on the roof. Our enclosed trailer is a 24' so it has plenty of room for a hot rod plus spare tires, tools, gas jugs, etc.
 
A word of caution about "SURGE BRAKES"
My first flat trailer had surge brakes, I opted for this type of brake system because I thought it would be more cost effective not having to have a brake controller wired into the tow vehicle.. It was a very poor decision. Surge brakes are not a good idea if you pull in mountainous areas. It is a natural function of surge brakes to be applied when going down a hill, however, if it is a long hill the brakes can't release, therefore they burn up.
On one trip between California and Montana, 1,500 miles, I burnt the brakes up twice. On one occasion the trailer almost pushed me and my tow vehicle off of a steep mountain grade.
Another word of caution; If the tow vehicle is not a factory equipped tow vehicle have a trailer company install the brake controller in the tow vehicle. The modern computer equipped vehicles have to be wired correctly, not like in the old days when is was simple to cut into a wire loom to hook up a brake and tail light wire to a trailer.
For my money a 1/2 ton vehicle, F-150/1500 is far to light to pull a loaded trailer.
I tried to save money in 2001, bought a new 1500 4x4 Yukon to pull my trailer. It was rated for 8k GVW by the factory. Lost the transmission and rear end in less than 100k. I went back to 3/4 ton tow vehicles with HD differentials.
I have found it to be very interesting trying to enlighten people that have never towed and/or owned an RV.. It is like preaching to the choir, they listen, then go out and take the word of a salesman who's only intent is to take their money. Seen it happen many times.
 
mike in tucson said:
A couple of items: we recently moved from a Featherlite open trailer to an enclosed JimGlo. The enclosed trailer is much easier to load/unload since the back door is the ramp. The open trailer has D-rings while the enclosed has track....easier to place tie downs on track. Also, with the track, you can tie bulky items down.
Ultra important is getting a ball mount that positions the trailer level. Don't go cheap!
We installed a solar charger to keep the trailer battery full. We installed a GPS alarm and painted the license plate # on the roof. Our enclosed trailer is a 24' so it has plenty of room for a hot rod plus spare tires, tools, gas jugs, etc.
Click to expand...

A very smart man!
 
I have several enclosed trailers and an open flat bed. I have
hauled cars to shows all over the country to National shows
in the past years. I prefer the open trailer, it's lighter, less
wind resistant and much better visibility. Unless you need
the closed trailer to store the car in I wouldn't waste the
money on it. If you buy an open type, get a good one. G.M.
 
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