Trailer Tramp

[Cracker39]

There is a difference between a trailer queen and a trailer used to move a car distances.

A trailer queen is a car whose engine runs just long enough to get the car from the trailer to the show field and back.

You guys that transport your car in a trailer then drive it around like you live in the area and then back to the trailer (garage). Not the same two things to me.

"Trailer Queen" certainly has no derogatory meaning. It simply applies to a whole lot of cars owned by enthusiasts who spend thousands of dollars to achieve winning results at car shows, or who take great pride in their accomplishments and simply love showing the car. You sure as heck don't want that class of car subjected to the hazards that normal driving entails. You hit the nail on the head with your next to last sentence! That's exactly what my trailer allows me to do - explore areas that would otherwise be out of "reasonable" reach for Prunella. It also provides a means to get her home if she decides to misbehave.

 

[P.S.]

Is touring a road in a Model A really THAT much different as to justify the tremendous expense and additional hassle of trailering the Model A to the area and unloading/loading, etc. vs. just doing the whole trip in a more modern car?

If the answer is "yes", then for less money and hassle, you could simply add some hotel stays to your trip's itinerary and drive the Model A for the whole thing. Spend an additional $100 per year and get an AAA card that will get you home on the magic metallic flying carpet if the Model A were to misbehave. Still cheaper than a trailer and big truck.

The local Model T club uses their trailers to move the car 20 miles to a tour start point, and all their tours have to be a big loop. The fun to hassle ratio is high. Gets even worse when they get back to their truck/trailer staging area only to find the truck and/or trailers have been vandalized or burglarized.

If your Model A is restored and maintained properly, there is no reason it shouldn't be as comfortable and reliable on a long trip as your modern car. Well, minus the radio, heater, etc.

 

[Cracker39]

Is touring a road in a Model A really THAT much different as to justify the tremendous expense and additional hassle of trailering the Model A to the area and unloading/loading, etc. vs. just doing the whole trip in a more modern car?

If the answer is "yes", then for less money and hassle, you could simply add some hotel stays to your trip's itinerary and drive the Model A for the whole thing. Spend an additional $100 per year and get an AAA card that will get you home on the magic metallic flying carpet if the Model A were to misbehave. Still cheaper than a trailer and big truck.

The local Model T club uses their trailers to move the car 20 miles to a tour start point, and all their tours have to be a big loop. The fun to hassle ratio is high. Gets even worse when they get back to their truck/trailer staging area only to find the truck and/or trailers have been vandalized or burglarized.

If your Model A is restored and maintained properly, there is no reason it shouldn't be as comfortable and reliable on a long trip as your modern car. Well, minus the radio, heater, etc.

All good points but I think a lot of the decisions have to be based on individual circumstances. I mentioned earlier that I already had a very capable truck. Our location in Northern Maine, although an interesting location in it's own right, is a long way from other interesting locations. There is only one Interstate highway that runs North and South, and the secondary roads aren't the best. There are great places to tour on the coast of Maine, in New Hampshire, in Vermont, and in upstate New York - not to mention New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia - but they all entail a lot of driving. The closest MAFCA club is in Kennebunk, Maine, or about 125 miles to the south. As for the trailer itself, like our Model As, they hold their value fairly well - especially around here. You'll seldom see a used one for sale for very long.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Is touring a road in a Model A really THAT much different as to justify the tremendous expense and additional hassle of trailering the Model A to the area and unloading/loading, etc. vs. just doing the whole trip in a more modern car?

If the answer is "yes", then for less money and hassle, you could simply add some hotel stays to your trip's itinerary and drive the Model A for the whole thing. Spend an additional $100 per year and get an AAA card that will get you home on the magic metallic flying carpet if the Model A were to misbehave. Still cheaper than a trailer and big truck.

The local Model T club uses their trailers to move the car 20 miles to a tour start point, and all their tours have to be a big loop. The fun to hassle ratio is high. Gets even worse when they get back to their truck/trailer staging area only to find the truck and/or trailers have been vandalized or burglarized.

If your Model A is restored and maintained properly, there is no reason it shouldn't be as comfortable and reliable on a long trip as your modern car. Well, minus the radio, heater, etc.

Difference of opinion for sure.

My family would only attend a small fraction of the events/tours TOGETHER with our cars if we were not able to transport our antique cars to the event. The expense of my Hauler and trailers is just part of Model-A ownership ...and no different than the cost of a garage to store it in.

For example, for us it was over 1500 miles one way from my home to Rapid City, SD. where we vacationed a few years ago with antique cars. It would take us nearly 6 days to travel there by antique car (250 mile a day) whereas we were there in 2½ days traveling by a modern vehicle. That method however did not stop us once we arrived to drive 180+ miles one day in a Model-T to view the Badlands, --or drive nearly 100 miles R/T to go visit Mt. Rushmore with them. That was half the fun for us driving in antique cars together as a family with our friends!!

FWIW, in a 6 day period while on vacation there, we had logged over 400 miles in the antique cars and when we needed to get back home for commitments there, the cars were loaded and we were able to drive 75mph to make time to get back in less than ½ the time it would have taken driving antique cars. It is all about priorities and what someone wants to do with their car.

3 of my Model-Ts at Mount Rushmore State Park.

Loading up after a week of touring up in Vermont with 3 cars, 6 passengers and a weeks worth of luggage.

Traveling towards South Dakota with 2 adults and 3 teenagers who had a couch & bed to lounge on, and WI-FI to surf the 'net and watch movies while we were rolling up the road. (Everyone was refreshed when we arrived!)

.
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Below is how we traveled to the Dallas Word Meet in 2008. A '29 Fordor Fine-point vehicle inside the Hauler, a '31 Roadster used for the Youth-Build, and a '30 Tudor to tour with at the meet. This 1100 mile trip was made in 1½ days where it would have been 4 - 4½ traveling on secondary roads in a Model-A.

 

[Cracker39]

Brent - you surely represent the epitome of using a trailer and transport for long range travel with an A!

 

[P.S.]

Difference of opinion for sure.

My family would only attend a small fraction of the events/tours TOGETHER with our cars if we were not able to transport our antique cars to the event. The expense of my Hauler and trailers is just part of Model-A ownership ...and no different than the cost of a garage to store it in.

For example, for us it was over 1500 miles one way from my home to Rapid City, SD. where we vacationed a few years ago with antique cars. It would take us nearly 6 days to travel there by antique car (250 mile a day) whereas we were there in 2½ days traveling by a modern vehicle. That method however did not stop us once we arrived to drive 180+ miles one day in a Model-T to view the Badlands, --or drive nearly 100 miles R/T to go visit Mt. Rushmore with them. That was half the fun for us driving in antique cars together as a family with our friends!!

FWIW, in a 6 day period while on vacation there, we had logged over 400 miles in the antique cars and when we needed to get back home for commitments there, the cars were loaded and we were able to drive 75mph to make time to get back in less than ½ the time it would have taken driving antique cars. It is all about priorities and what someone wants to do with their car.

My goodness. That is quite a rig!

Obviously, for your use, that truck and trailer is necessary. This is apples and oranges here.

I merely added the suggestion that an occasional hotel stay is much less expensive than a trailer for the Model A and a suitable truck with which to tow the Model A and trailer. Just adding another idea to the discussion. I certainly did not intend to suggest that a trailer would be of no use to every situation.

Switching gears (double clutching, of course)...

I have read several articles about the Model T guys that traveled on the Amtrak "car train" along the east coast. Now, THAT looks like some serious fun! Combining the love of trains and horseless carriages.

 

[CarlG]

...

I have read several articles about the Model T guys that traveled on the Amtrak "car train" along the east coast. Now, THAT looks like some serious fun! Combining the love of trains and horseless carriages.

Now that sounds like something that Tom Wessenberg would invent.

 

[jthomas6]

Now that sounds like something that Tom Wessenberg would invent.

That's funny!

 

[mshmodela]

Hey if you're got a trailer full of toys nothing wrong with that --enjoy! Hey, before my Model A, I keep a shead full of about 60 collectable Tonka Trucks