johninar

I'm torn between a 4x8 flatbed that is all welded. Seems to be just better quality & slightly heavier guage than the bolt together Harbor Freight 40" x 48" trailer. I like the idea of being able to put the tires upright across the front of the trailer, and have room for a tool box and my canopy etc. The Harbor is just a little small to do that. Does anyone pull a trailer in the 4x8 range with their Vette? This thing is fairly light, I can stand it on end easily. That would help storing it in the garage. Thoughts anyone. And please if you don't like trailer hitches on a Vette, or don't think you should pull any kind of trailer with a Vette, I don't want to hear about it (thank you).

John

see5

I had a small HF and it was like nothing to tow. The current one is probably 1000 lbs loaded and it tows fine. I try to keep tongue wt down cause I am running VBP springs and am lowered but no probelms ever. Fine without kart, just wheels/tires, have different mounting holes to move the the tire rack back toward axle.

Oyishdog

mine hold 4 wheels/tires, my cooler, 10 gallons of fuel, and a big tool box with all the tools i need....I have the harbor frieght trailer, extended the "bed" and covered it in 316 stainless diamond plate....so needless to say, it is pretty heavy loaded..tows fine

rbeckham

Did this for a couple of years, and often reflect that maybe it is a better way to go than dealing with all the hassles of a tow vehicle and open trailer. I pulled from Annapolis MD to Watkins Glen NY and back twice with no problems, plus lots of shorter hauls. Thinking about switching back to this configuration (I still have my C5 hitch, though removed it from the car a while ago).

To answer your other question, the Corvette will certainly easily pull a larger trailer than the Harbor Freight special which I used to use, no question about it.

c4cruiser

I pull one of the small HF trailers behind my 87 autocross car. I stack the tires two high side by side as they really aren't that heavy to lift. I have a Contico box at the back. I used a 4'x4' piece of 3/4" plywood and cut out around the fenders.



With the trailer fully loaded (wheels/tires, tools, small floor jack, assorted liquids), I don't think it weighs much over 600 lbs. The tongue weight is about 50-55 lbs and I really don't notice it behind the car.

Depending on the width of the tires, you could stand them side-by-side if you built a rack or some method of keeping the tires in place. In the B&W pic, the post is simply a piece of 2" galvanized pipe that is threaded at both ends. The top wheel is face down so the pipe doesn't have to be too long. Everything came from the local Home Depot and the pipe does a good job of holding everything down.

If you need more deck space on the trailer, you could extend the deck back about a foot using 3/4" plywood, My deck is just bolted down and it's very solid.

Cobra4B

^ I have the same setup and it pulls great, but I use tow straps w/ eye bolts to secure the tires.

Red5

I use a jet ski trailer. 15/335s fit fine.. I even carry other tires at the same time. It works well and allows multi use for a trailer I already have.

johninar

Thanks for the great photos and replies. I think I can make that HF trailer work okay. Can you guess what I'm going to be doing tomorrow?

tchapma1

Does anyone have any ideas for how to "lock" the tires to the trailer? I will probably be having some events that I will attend where the car/trailer will be parked outside of a hotel two nights during the weekend and want to make sure no one can steal my wheels/tires?

I like the mounting method through the center of the wheels, do you put anything on it to keep the pipe from scratching the centers?

astock165

Here's my setup, wood deck on steel frame with two toolboxes. Just under 4ft wide and 7 ft long tip to tail.





whether the wheels are horiz across the trailer or stacked vertically just make sure the pipe through the center is long enough so you can drill a cross hole through it and run a long padlock through it. Things are easy if that is keyed the same as the lock on the trailer tongue.

johninar

Well it's just my luck. Went to Harbor Freight this morning. No trailers. Went to the local Chevy dealer to get a front caliper seal kit. No kits in the state.

tigerdrvr

I ordered my HF trailer on line...cost was less ("internet special" or something) and HF picked up the shipping

johninar

Well I would do that. Of course I planned ahead on all of this...not! I'm leaving Friday to run at Hallett. I've got an alternate plan for this weekend(small boat trailer). The store says it has three on a shipment that may arrive on Thursday. Otherwise I might order it online. I like the pipe mounts of c4Cruiser. I think I will go ahead and get these made up and buy a tool box. Did I mention my wife is out of town this week?

LeadSSled

Well, this one is behind a 4-door Vette, but here is how I do it. There is a large eyebolt bolted to each side of the trailer. It is the attachment point for the ratchet straps. When I need to lock up the wheels/tires, I run a 6-foot long piece of vinyl-coated aircraft cable through the spokes and padlock each end to the eyebolts. The vinyl coated prevents scratching the wheels. You can buy one of these cables in the bicycle lock section.

Umrswimr

John-

Your race tires are Kumho MX's, right?

Just a thought: I run the MX's as my street tire. You CAN drive to Hallett on them without a problem.

-David

tchapma1

Thanks for the ideas... liking them so far.

johninar

Hi Swim, yeah I could. I just don't like driving long way at night without sensors or run flats. I guess I'm just getting old and lazy.
If I have to I will, but I think the clouds will part tomorrow and things will work out. You should come up.

TravisD

I pull a 4x6 all-welded trailer that I bought from Tractor Supply Co. Works great. I can carry two comeplete sets of wheels, and the standard storage box on the back. Pulls just fine.

Here's a picture of how mine is set up

And another that shows the bar I added.

Basically I added a piece of angle-iron across the top that holds the tires in place (tip: leave enough room for larger/full-tread tires -- my race rubber is slightly smaller than my street tires I found...). I also ended up welding some angle-iron under the back to support the box -- bolting the box to the expanded metal floor causes fatigue in the floor. You could use some plywood just as well.

IIRC it was ~$300 out the door and I used it the next day (yeah, before I even got tags...). I use a 7ft. "kryptonite" cable around the frame and thru the wheels for security, and a ratchet-strap to keep them from shifting.

Whatever you get, make sure it has the 12" or better wheels. As it is, I've had to replace both the stock valve-stems due to them flexing at the base -- guess they weren't made for 80mph cruising speeds...

johninar

There is a TSC near here. I might give them a call. That looks great. I like the extra bar you added.
I agree about the 12", I didn't even ask if they had the 8" model in stock.

chocoholic

Here's another thought for you: http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/cho...1116-small.jpg

This is the trailer from Northern Freight, but we somewhat over-engineered the tyre carrier as well as extending the bed and using stronger fasteners all around.

You can see an alternate view here: http://userpages.i-america.net/austin/bpkatmosporta.JPG