911 hauler/trailer purchase. Share your experience.

[MotoSook]

All right! I’m going to take the plunge and get a trailer to haul the 911 to DE’s. I’m considering a 16 ft or 18 ft tandem axle. I would love to get an aluminum one, but they are more than I want to spend or can justify to “the family accountant.” So I’ll be getting a steel trailer with wood or diamond plate floor.

I know a lot of you have trailers. SO! I need to hear some opinions to help make me an informed buyer. Options to consider? Things to watch out for?

I've had my eyes on the tilting bed ones. Pros? Cons?

If not tilting, what? Beaver tail? Dove Tail? What the heck is all this animal crap! I want a trailer not a farm!

I’ll be installing a hitch on my 2001 Cherokee (XJ). I know there are some XJ owners on this BBS, so share your thoughts please. Best hitch for an XJ?

Keep in mind I'm on a budget so smart spending tips will be appreciated. On the other hand, I can justify spending a few more hundos to make sure I'll be happy and get good use of the trailer for some time.

Thanks (Of course if you have a good used trailer..I'm a sucker for used by good stuff!)

[jakermc]

LOVE my tilt bed trailer! Makes loading and unloading an easy and safe one person job. No hassels and never have to worry about scraping a lowered car. The only downside is cost. The easier you make the towing experience, the more you'll enjoy your time on the track.

http://www.kwikload.com/

[304065]

Souk:

What's the towing capacity of the Cherokee? If you are talking steel, you are talking a trailer in the 1500# range, more if you add that tilting stuff.

I know you've got a budget but I say bite the bullet and get a Trailex. They set the axles for a 911. There is NO sway. They weigh 750 pounds all-up, and if you want to save a few bucks, you can drive down to Canfield, Ohio and pick it up at the factory.

And then when you decide to upgrade, you will find that you have multiple offers for it. A new one is like $6k. A used one, if you can find it, is like $5k. Not too bad.

[thabaer]

Less than $2K for a wood deck 18' w/ beavertail made by PJ Trailers. I pulled it first with a Fud F250SD PSD, and now (thankfully) by a GMC 2500HD Dmax; some of these things are pretty heavy by themselves before you even load a car.

my ramps are kind of annoying; they used spaced angle iron for the treads and you bounce a bit going up or down.

stake pockets all around provide lots of tie down points and let you add sides to carry loads of whatever looose stuff you want.

[s2per]

I use an 18' wood-floored utility trailer/car hauler. The last 4' are beaver tailed (angled down) and it is an ideal length, IMHO for an open trailer. You can add a tire rack and/or tool boxes at the front, move the car back and forth to get the right balance. It tows beautifully behind my 30' Airstream MH or my Avalanche 2500. Of course, big block Chevy power helps in either case. Hope your GC is a V8--a six will have to work hard in the hills.

The trailer came with 4' ramps from the factory. They are WAY too short for loading a P--car and at present I'm using 4' extensions hand-fabricated from real wood; 2 x 12 PT in this case. Works OK, but 7 to 8' aluminum ramps are in my future.

I also highly recommend one-axle trailer brakes with in-car electronic control for your Jeep. Great peace of mind.

[MotoSook]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The Trailex is REALLY out of my budget, but I agree that the resale value will make my investment (is it an investment? ) a wash when comparing to a steel trailer.

I recall the towing cap for the CJ is 5000lbs. Some of the steel trailers I have been eyeing (some on E-bay..yes, I know, I'll have to option in some stuff..dang marketing crap!) are about 1700 lbs, which add my 2300-2600 lb load of 911 and tools will still keep me below 5000lbs.

Of course I'll be looking for helper springs for the Jeep too! Dang..I'll have to wash a lot of cars to make up for the over-budget

[MotoSook]

Tim, I have a non-Grand Cherokee with the HO I-6-Cylinder. I've seen lots of XJ's hauling what seemed to be heavier loads. The later XJ's had a "better" engine post 1998 models. I THNK I should be OK.

I've seen lots of Steel/wood trailers for less than $2000, so I'm setting my budget around there (including hitch install).

[s2per]

I paid $1380 plus tax for mine new last year, including the ramps. Figure $150 for a class 3 hitch, another $150 for wiring, etc. But be aware that my trailer is 1,950# unladen. Maybe a little overbuilt.

[thabaer]

With the weight margins you mentioned, take Tim's brakes+controller suggestion very seriously.

The Tekonsha Prodigy had the edge on most other controllers last year when I went searching for opinions, new for around $125 so that wouldn't be a big dent to add to your budget.

Of course you know we all want you to be safe, many of us wouldn't be able to dress properly for weekend DEs without your help

[MotoSook]

Yep Charlie. Safety is not going to be over looked. A friend suggested hydraulic trailer brakes...

...opine ye!

[JoeF]

Souk,
-I would not buy a used steel trailer unless you are sure of where its been. If you know the trailer is almost new or has some kind of maintenance record, maybe. Many used trailers will need brakes, bearings or tires. When you add every thing up you will be very close to the price of a new steel trailer.

-I have seen a few guys at track towing with a steel trailer with a cherokee with no problems, they were using hitches with load stabilizers. One guy wth a cherokee told me he tried towing without stabilizers first but didnt like the ride, stabilizers made it much better.

-Trailex trailers are very nice, but very pricey and very specilized.
Unless you get a heaver duty one (read more $$$) you may find it can only transport smaller cars. Trailex offers many nice accessories that other manufacurers do not. I do not know how well they hold together, I have been told the are bolted together not welded if that means anything. I see more Trailex alluminum trailers than any other brand if that means anything. They hold their value but so do most trailers. They may be harder to find used, but when you decide to sel you will be able to unload it quickly at any DE.

-Featherlite and Exiss both offer nice generic alluminum trailers at somewhat reasonable prices, check their prices before you buy a new steel trailer, you may be surprised. Neither Featherlite or Exiss offer much in the way of specialized accessories, but I have seen Featherlites modified with Trailex and generic aftermarket tire racks and winches and boxes. No matter what new trailer you buy, you will want somewhere to carry a spare for the trailer, and later probably some fuel cans and a set of rain tires.

-I wound up with a new Featherlite alluminum trailer. The Featherlite made sense to me because it comes with a full deck as standard equipment, (Exiss does also, trailex charges you more). Its longer, it will trailer better. Its heavy duty and can transport up to 5500#. The price was right. I am sure the Exiss trailer is just as good, but the featherlite dealer was a state closer and had it in stock. Featherlite is a good name that will
resell to any car enthusiast market.

- I have had the trailer for one season, and I have already decided i want to sell it and get an enclosed trailer. Everyone told me this would happen, so consider an enclosed one first.
JoeF

[rfuerst911sc]

I have a few thoughts to add to the discussion-first your vehicle may be rated to pull 5000 lbs. but that is maximum towing capacity and I believe most experts feel you should have a 15 to 20 percent safety margin deducted so now you are looking at safely towing around 4000 lbs.I totally agree with the suggestion to have brakes on the trailer,for anyone who has been in a situation where the trailer starts to sway badly you can stomp on the gas of the tow vehicle and give the trailer brakes a light tap and the rig will straighten right out,ask me how I know.Also if I remember correctly there have been some problems reported on the Jeep vehicles where people have overloaded the hitch and it can tear the mounting bolts out of the floor pan,remember this vehicle has no frame,it is unibody construction so make sure whoever installs the hitch that they properly re-enforce the mounting area.I have been involved off and on for about 30 years towing travel trailers and there is nothing scarier than a tow rig that is improperly set up or too light duty for the task.Good luck and think safety.

[Zeke]

Used flat 16' bed, 20' overall trailers sell for $600-700 around here all day, any day. The first thing I would do is install new bearings at $10 per axle. Electric brakes can be added for $200 direct from the manufacturer. The controller is $100. 8-10' ramps are a must, I made mine out of C channel steel and 2x12s for about $80. The 4' angle iron things are useless unless you are loading a tractor. If you want a tilt trailer, unhook the trailer from the tower, put jack stnds under the back of the trailer so it doesn't fly up when you back the car off and raise the tougne with the jack. I beaver tailed mine and I think it would hve been just as good without using the above procedure.

[thabaer]

I'm drawing a blank on the details, but I had seen hydraulic systems built into the draw bar on some boat trailers, something about why not to use them made sense so I went electric.

All else notwithstanding, the hydraulics are also more expensive.

The load leveling hitch will cost more but give you better control and safety if you don't up$$$ your tow vehicle.

[Zeke]

Hydraulic, or surge brakes are more expensive and less adjustable. I had those on a previous enclosed trailer. When going down hill, the trailer doesn't know you aren't trying to slow down, yet as it pushes into the tow vehicle, the brakes are actuated. So you have trailer brakes on all the way down any hill trying to equallize the foward pressure. That's how they work. I disliked them. I like electric brakes.

[bigchillcar]

I'll toss in my question from last night while we're on the subject. I have a tow dolly. I've never pulled my 911 with it and although I'd prefer to have all 4 wheels off of the ground as we all would, does anyone have any experiences godd or bad to share with using a tow dolly on the 911?
Ryan

[89911]

I've owned a Trailex for 3 years. I bought it used locally. I've been very pleased with it because of the weight, quality, and performance. It has surge brakes which work fine for the amount that I'm hauling, (2800lb car and 850lb trailer). Prior to this, I would rent a U-Haul steel car hauler that weighed close to 2000lbs itself. The saving in gas and wear and tear on your tow vehicle was reason enough to change. Another big advantage is you can move this trailer around by yourself on level ground. It is great if you have a tight turn around. Just pull in, take the car off, disconnect the trailer, and pull it around to put it away. Also, because it is all aluminum, there are no worries about rust from sitting outside. Enclosed trailers are nice, but what do you do with them for the 355 days a year they sit in your yard? It was tought enough convincing my wife to get this!

[tiorio]

Perfect thread for me! I searched the archives and got some great information but this is even more.

I'm going 24ft-26ft enclosed alum., justified by giving up the 10X15 storage unit I currently use as a shop and moving tools and such to the trailer.

I've heard good things about Featherlite, but I've seen a lot of Haulmarks lately. Anyone care to comment?

Thanks!

[Tim Walsh]

I haven't read all the posts but just to let you know that I pulled my porsche from WI to NC behind a I-6 Grand cherokee. The ride was long and slow but it is possible. The biggest problem we had we setting the tounge weight with that much weight it's easy to overload the tounge.

[arrivederci]

Originally posted by Souk

I’ll be installing a hitch on my 2001 Cherokee (XJ). I know there are some XJ owners on this BBS, so share your thoughts please. Best hitch for an XJ?

I went with the dealer installed MOPAR hitch on my 2000 XJ. I first got it to tow PWCs, but later decided I wanted some security when at the track (crash, break down, etc). So I did the same research you're doing now.

I bit the bullet and bought a Trailex. While the XJ is rated to 5000 lbs, you gotta take into consideration proper tongue weight and trailer length. All car trailers are long and even with less than 3500 lbs (my car weighs 2200 lbs), the trailer has enough leverage to toss an XJ around. My setup is safe, but I still feel the trailer back there.

The Trailex people were more than helpful. Talk to them about PCA discounts. They'll also deliver it (drove to VA) for a nominal fee. They talked me INTO hydraulic surge brakes. They said they'd recommend against it if I periodically towed in the mountains. But basically, they're very low maintenance and self contained. The trailer always applies the right amount of braking force depending on how fast you're slowing down and how heavy of a load you're towing. I've never had to touch mine.

Again...I would NOT get a steel trailer for your XJ. I've seen and talked to people that did use steel trailers with XJs. If you do so, invest in a load-equalizing hitch. That'll help distribute all that weight to the front wheels of your jeep.

I'm waiting until the timing is right to replace the XJ with something more capable (towing wise). Key factors for me right now are a minimum of 5000 lb tow rating, longer wheelbase, and V8.