I'm having a tire rack custom built on my open trailer-need recommendations pls

[JonT]

I'm adding a tire rack to the front of my 18ft open steel trailer and need some recommendation do's and don'ts from folks that have done this. Would really appreciate any type of measurements as well ie. how far off trailer bed, distance between bars that support tires and such.

Pics would be great too! Thanks

[ClickClickBoom]

Built this for a customer:







All measurements were for his car, your mileage may vary. The rack over the hood is for coolers, chairs and whatnot. The top of the rack will hold whatever also, expanded steel for decking.
eric

[Silveresrty911S]

Here's one I built, holds two full sets. Made from 2x2 steel, my first welding job!

[Bill Verburg]

If I owned any of these steel trailers i'd install fixed wheel stops, if nothing else it would help position the car consistently and it could stop a lot of damage

just some 2x2 square tube bolted or welded would do fine

[gearheadgreg]

That's a good idea, Bill. I just hauled a widebody across several states on a trailer that was narrow and had tall sides - I screwed some wood blocks into the wood trailer surface to help secure it.
Bolting down a stop for your particular car would make it secure and safe, and allow it to be quickly changed for a different car setup (as trailers always seem to be used for more than one vehicle, even if only later when sold).

[175K911]

If you're having it custom made, angle the square tubing about 45 degrees so the tire sits on the flat of the tubing rather than the corner like almost any other tire rack. I'd had that done on my old steel trailer and it worked very nicely. Unfortunately my current aluminum trailer had an aluminum rack on it when I bought it and the tires sit on the corners again.

I also have padded plates that slide over the tube which goes through the wheel centers. If I'm only carrying 4 wheels and tires, I center then in the rack and these padded plates slide up against the wheels on each end to keep them from moving. The plates are held in place with simple hose clamps pushed tightly to the plates. Think of the plates sandwiching the wheels in place.

Make the rack as low as possible so as to offer the least wind resistance and still clear the nose of the 911. On my trailer the bottom of the tires in the rack is just 6" above the headlights of my 911. But my tire rack is height adjustable.

Height adjustable- Nice feature. You can set up the height and location of the tire rack optimized to your 911, but one day when you sell the trailer, or if you get a different track car, you may want to raise the rack higher. On my previous steel trailer the 4 legs were not welded to the trailer but were held in place with 2 Grade 8 bolts per leg. But there were 4 holes in each leg. So I could raise and lower the rack by as much as a foot using just those different holes.

Fold down rack. Not sure where you plan to store the trailer, but having a rack that folds down is a nice option. My BIL had his rack built so that the rear legs were held in place with 2 bolts each, and the front legs held by 2 large hood pins each. To get it into a traditional garage, he just pulls the two upper bolts on the rear legs and the front pit pins and the whole rack pivots rearward on the lower bolts on the rear legs. Drops down onto the tops of the fenders and he can get it into a 6'6" standard height garage. When up, the front legs rest on a steel plate (foot) that's welded to the trailer so that the pit pins just slide into place.

Consider that you will be adding significant tongue weight. Your rack could add 100 lbs of steel, and with each wheel/tire combo weighing 50 lbs, with 8 wheels and tires plus the rack you've put 500 lbs of weight up there. If you measure the moment arm from the center of the leading axle, that 500 lbs of weight probably drops 250-300 lbs additional weight on the ball.

[BK911]

I have been wanting to make one of these for a while. One thing I would like to add to mine is a set of casters, maybe retractable. So I can store the tires on the rack inside, but roll onto and secure to trailer for track events.

[BoxsterGT]

You might want to allow for a tool box up on the tongue, and a plate to mount a winch.

Once I began using a winch, I would never be without one.

Also, with increased tongue weight you will need to adjust the position of your car to maintain proper weight balance.

Len

[JonT]

Some great ideas here guys thanks. I'll be putting some ideas on paper and getting estimates from two welding shops on Monday.

[dad911]

I used to have a trailer with a rack, similar to Rick's, but the bottom 'steel frame/box' was skinned with aluminum sheets, and it had locking doors on both ends. Kept jack, fuel jugs, tools, etc. secure and protected from the weather. Also kept the front of the car cleaner and protected from road debris.

Sorry I don't have a picture.