It had nothing to do with uHaul or axle count and everything to do with the paint damage done to the cars from towing on an open trailer behind a truck on roads full of grit and in the rain. I slathered the front of both cars - one with two layers of painters tape and got caught in a snow storm with gravel. The tape came off and the car was covered with mud. This was the Mustang we donated to the Shelby foundation. I got it to SAI for the supercharger and they "washed" it without thinking of the gravel so put scratches in the clear coat. It was real close to having a paint job done on Shelby but they got one of their guys who is a paint restoration guru to wet sand and it turned out like new.

The Cobra on the way from Colorado to Vegas for another trip I blue taped it. On the way back I used the white plastic wrap that is used on new cars - you've seen it and know what I'm talking about. That did pretty well but in the wind at the very top of the (you apply it from the top down so the seams overlap the opposite of roofing - the lower layer overlaps the top so wind won't get under it. But the lip at the very top to the paint did get a little lift and underneath collected some dust which in the wind the action of the plastic/dust was like sandpaper. Again, it was limited to the clear coat on the hood and the detailer at Adams Polishes pulled it out no problems (I actually took my other Mustang to him at the same time and he also made the black paint on it look like new).

So lesson learned: No long distance open trailer tows. A couple of hundred miles in known weather sure, but not a cross country trip.

For as often as I need to move a car (now limited to the GT) it costs a lot less to ship via a closed carrier like InterCity or Reliable than owning/storing a trailer that I'd use once or twice a year. The only downside is that scheduling carriers is problematic unless you plan way in advance.

By the way, for an open trailer, the uHaul impressed me. It was very easy to tow. Loading both Mustang and Cobra I needed to raise the ramps which I did with some 2x10s stacked

Word is the Ford GT is too wide for the uHaul.

Thanks for the advise about open towing.
My Dually with dual rear BFG 285s would really kick up rocks.

I haven't read all the replies, but where are you going to tow the car, cross country ?? Drive it man. If you need to tow it to get it fixed, I'll loan you mine.:D:D:D:D:D:D

Thanks for the offer Scotty.

Scottie,

"I haven't read all the replies, but where are you going to tow the car, cross country ?? Drive it man. If you need to tow it to get it fixed, I'll loan you mine."

Great advice Scottie......and how long has it been since you took your car out farther than to get some fresh gasoline?

It occurs to me that if an open tow is considered too damaging for your car, then you shouldn't even think about driving it - EVER... The terms 'trailer queen' and 'waxer' come to mind. Just sayin'

Most folks who cannot be described by those terms and actually drive or track their cars (the track is very damaging to paint, but is where the originals got their fame from) will be perfectly happy with an open tow.

I agree ItBites. Common sense would make the world a smarter / safer place. And Karl, just cause you went on a ride last weekend, probably your 5th ride in the last 6 years, doesn't mean that I'm a storage queen. Although I admit, Cobie really likes
the garage in the summer here. I'd be up for a ride this Sunday, you in church ? :rolleyes:

" I'd be up for a ride this Sunday, you in church "

Before or after your tee time? Wheredidja wanna go?

Anywhere out of the heat. I know you just had a ride, so anywhere it's cool and hopefully good food. You just went to Globe ? I'll post a thread.

Here's my 15+ years of trailering
 

DWRAT DW, If you are going to tow a trailer with a dually You need low rear and front mud flaps on the truck. The closer to the gound the better. With full load I am 4" off ground. You would believe the stone clips, garbage, junk and died bodies you pickup on the interstates. I trailer my cobra for 12 years to the R&G from NJ to St Lious. It takes 1 hour to wrapup the car. I found that sheets of scuba foam works the best to protect the car and paint. Over this a added moving blankets and finished with a water proof tarp. about 20 bungie cords to keep everything tight on the car at 65-70 mph. Over time this got to be a pain. If the track has garages you have a place to stay out of bad weather, if not, your wet. I finally went with a Haulmark custom. Plain Jane special. 10,000 pound trailer. Cabinets in the front with working top. Both lights for 110 and 12 volt. Drop 4" axles. Brakes on all wheels. Some trailers have 4 wheels and only 2 have brakes. I went electrical instead of surge. Trailer height is 6" inside. 24' length. It has a 6" slope nose but is not a Vee nose. I will add a "Pace" bubble front to help with the wind buffeting. This is the best money I spent. Down the road, I may add AC. I have a 8000watt generator that fits under the front cabinet. Thanks to Sandy. Trailer was wired for this or external hookup from out side. The MPG lost between the 2 is 1.4 miles per gallon at 65 mph. Still getting over 10 mph with SBC dually running up and down mountains. With open trailer at 65 was getting 12.8-13.2 I looked at the lowhauler from Haulmark that the motorcycle guys use. They dropped their 20' one and the little 16' gives you no room to move around and also there is no clearance for the car inside from right to left. you have about 3". IF you go full size trailer, go the 24' one. It pulls well, stable as hell at 70 mph. Get a full metal floor and extended dove tail rear door. You will need to jackup the trailer to get a low car out of the trailer without bottoming out. I did this on mine.
Couple of side notes, Have the trailer frame undercoated. Extends the life.
You don't need an equalizer hitch with a dually but recommend one or at least an anti sway bar setup for cross winds from trucks and weather.
Mudflaps. I have aluminum ones that drop down to 10" off the ground. I picked up trucker mud flaps on the highway and cut them to clear the road by 4" They are plastic. This stops 98% of tire pickup off the road from hitting trailer. My trailer has the rap around the front with diamond plate. It did get some hits even with my setup. Rivet the pastic with 3-4. If hit hard will break off with damage to rest of mud flaps. Trailer places also sell wisker kits that mount to the bottom of the rear bumper that help deflect road debrie.
Make sure the trailer is level when hooked to the truck and with full load you would carry. I run a 4" drop on my setup. If you have to get an adjustable tow hitch for the ball height, get the nut welded or drilled and pined to pervent possible trailer seperation. I had this happen with a hitch and trailr I had towed for years. Vibration loosened the nut. It had a locking washer on also. DON'T trust it. You only need a small spot weld, or drill and pin with a tension pin. If you need to change the balls, grind off the weld or drill out the pin.
Last note, Maintainance, Check all lights, Grease all wheel bearings, same for hitchball and cup of trailer hitch. If you travel at night like me, Reflection tape on the back and sides of the trailer. Have had the open trailer hit 4 times when driving. You should see the amount of damage a steel fender does to an aluminum and plastic car body. Just pull out the fender on the trailer to not rub on the tires. Also check tire pressures. They will go up from 6-15 pounds with driving. This depends on how hot it is out. I Nitro fill mine at work and the max is about 3-4 degree temp with full load and highway speed.
Sorry for long story, last note. If you see a mess on the road road that looks like some one spilled paint there, slow down and look for ROADKILL. It's big here on the east coast.:eek:%/:o The dogs where under both trailers for a week and the smell was bad. Multi power washes needed. Good luck Rick L.

Rick Lake has the right idea. While I use a 95 F250 7.3 TD instead of a dually, I expect to get 15 to 18 mpg over long distance trips by using/building a bed mounted sheet metal/alum. frame wind (50#or less est.) deflector attached on top of my adjustable alum. ladder rack system. With the back section of the rack system adjusted to almost the equal hight of my trailer & the front section set to match the roof line of my truck cab. As it stands now I average between 12/14 mpg without the deflector. My truck w/o tow averages 17/18 mpg. The HaulMark basic trailer is a great platform to custom build what you need/want. I like Rick, have the 4 wheel electric brakes & hight adjustable hitch. They are smart options. IMO the HaulMark 20'/24' trailers are a very good choice for hauling Cobra's or any other low slung classic. I have had a GT-40 with 2" clearance, load with only a couple of 3/4" x 6" x 7' pine boards placed @ the ramp end with out any problems. My Cobra with 3.5"/4" clearance loads with out any assistance.

Think of whatever trailer you get out of the box. I look at my trailers as a portable single car garages. I went with triple axle TPD trailer, 24' box with winch and generator, both of which are used more often than you would think. I use it for storage also, like a single car garage. I wish I would have went one more foot taller, 7' 6" instead of 6" 6". It makes the door / tailgate longer. I would not have to take off light bar on my sand car every time I put it in. I also use my power jack to tilt the trailer for very low cars. My second enclosed trailer is Feather light stacker, almost a two car garage. I had to store my sand car and all my kids quads in it for 3 months while I remodeled the garage. They were out of the weather and locked up. Also nice to have enclosed trailer if weather changes, as in a sudden hail storm or cloud burst. I have been to events where people were looking for places to park under before hail storm, panic comes to mind. Stacker needs to be pulled with a motor home, but the TPD is pulled with Chev HD 3/4 ton pickup just fine. Side note , I had a tire blow on TPD triple axle and did not know it till I got home, Very stable.

Maybe the real question is where are you going to tow it to and what do you expect to haul with it. I know you a real nit pick, so that means enclosed trailer, you'll be in cardiac arrest with any resulting chips. You have a big boy truck so why short yourself on headroom, you'll be banging your head on the roof and you're already too dizzy. That leaves the length, a couple extra feet won't cost you much and would be easier to get around inside especially if is raining outside when you do your tie down.

Now go buy that. No more discussion. Oh I forget, make sure you add nice bumper rails and mirrors and lights so you can get it in and out by yourself and no damage. Carry on.

The question that should be of concern before responding with advice is what are you going to tow it with?



Bill S.

I have 2 different tow vehicles that I would like to be able to use.
One is a Toyota Tacoma with a 6,500 pound tow rating and the other is a Chevy 3500 Duramax Diesel.

I must agree with you on that, it's like being OCD or something and it makes life a real pain in the azz at times.:confused::confused::confused:

Here's my tow set up. F350 Dually with Featherlite trailer extended and enclosed. works for me.

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/pict...ictureid=12699

I bought a u-haul (dumb) it took 3 strong guys and a mule to move the damn thing. I gave it to my mechanic and he uses it to move old cars around - yes he has 3 strong mechanics and a mule. My next stop will be a light weight trailer.

Forget about using the Tacoma, no matter the rating, it is an accident waiting to happen as you will be on the ragged edge of your package with anything enclosed, and even some open trailer combinations as well.

With the Duramax, the sky is the limit, although, for all around use, a 20 foot enclosed is the way to go. Be it aluminum or steel/aluminum in construction. Hallmark makes a nice, simple race trailer, add a side door for easy of entry and exit from whatever you are towing inside, along with some E tracks in the floor, and you are good to go.

Bill S.