What size car trailer for a 2nd Gen??

[bakerhillpins]

After talking with the MFG no one seems to be able to tell me where the default escape door cut is.  Apparently I'm the only person to ask this question. Folks just know and spec it or go with whatever falls off of the back of the truck.   

I have one set of data for where a door hits on a 24' but no info for an actual door cut for a 2nd gen. Anyone out there with an escape door on a 24' and a tape measure?

I'm getting the feeling that I'm just to needy. 

[6pkrtse]

One bad thing I know even about the escape door that it is above the trailer fender wells so it is usually to high up the wall to be able to open the car door anyway since the car door hits the trailer inner fenders. Most cars sit too low. I have never loaded a car & not been able to get out of the drivers door inside my ole junk 28' Hallmark.

[bakerhillpins]

One bad thing I know even about the escape door that it is above the trailer fender wells so it is usually to high up the wall to be able to open the car door anyway since the car door hits the trailer inner fenders. Most cars sit too low. I have never loaded a car & not been able to get out of the drivers door inside my ole junk 28' Hallmark.

I've transported my 69 on several different open spring axle trailers and have not had an issue with the door being obstructed by the wheel fenders. There has always been a few inches of clearance. That' being said each trailer is different. I can always put down 2x runners to raise the car. Wanted to avoid that though.

All of this would have been moot if I had been smart enough to ask this question when a 24' escape equipped unit was on the lot. 

[sccachallenger]

I'm sure your tired of hearing about the escape door by now, but.....
I saw a trailer where the escape door was like a concession door, hinged at the top, flips up with gas struts to support it.
Why would you like this? Gee, I can think of a few reasons, when up it provides shade when it's hot, and shelter when loading/unloading in the rain.
The extra air flow with any escape door is very nice on a hot day.
Good luck!

[Troy]

I'm sure your tired of hearing about the escape door by now, but.....
I saw a trailer where the escape door was like a concession door, hinged at the top, flips up with gas struts to support it.
Why would you like this? Gee, I can think of a few reasons, when up it provides shade when it's hot, and shelter when loading/unloading in the rain.
The extra air flow with any escape door is very nice on a hot day.
Good luck!

I had one - and actual concession door. The extra weight is a lot more than you'd think! You need extra steel beams in place to hold the weight of the door so I'm sure it also adds a fair amount to the price. (I got mine used so I don't have exact figures other than the weight.) That style but with a smaller door may not be as bad.

My car doors clear my open trailer detachable fenders fine. Not sure if I have tried opening them with the fenders mounted. It does seem common that enclosed trailer fenders seem to cause problems. Taller tires? Maybe they are able to mount the floor lower? Or maybe open trailers tend to have a higher floor and steeper ramps for some reason? I'd start with centering the car in the trailer (or a box the size of the trailer) and measuring where the car door would be. Remember the door moves forward so the back doesn't have to align with the back of the door but the front needs to be at least aligned or farther forward. You'll really only be able to adjust the car 1-2' in either direction. Even with a 24' trailer you don't want the bulk of the car in front of the axles - especially if you go in front first as all that engine weight is going to end up on the tongue.

Troy

[bakerhillpins]

I had one - and actual concession door. The extra weight is a lot more than you'd think! You need extra steel beams in place to hold the weight of the door so I'm sure it also adds a fair amount to the price. (I got mine used so I don't have exact figures other than the weight.) That style but with a smaller door may not be as bad.

I seriously considered asking about it but figured the costs would go up and couldn't justify it. So I went with a standard door.

My car doors clear my open trailer detachable fenders fine. Not sure if I have tried opening them with the fenders mounted. It does seem common that enclosed trailer fenders seem to cause problems. Taller tires? Maybe they are able to mount the floor lower? Or maybe open trailers tend to have a higher floor and steeper ramps for some reason? I'd start with centering the car in the trailer (or a box the size of the trailer) and measuring where the car door would be. Remember the door moves forward so the back doesn't have to align with the back of the door but the front needs to be at least aligned or farther forward. You'll really only be able to adjust the car 1-2' in either direction. Even with a 24' trailer you don't want the bulk of the car in front of the axles - especially if you go in front first as all that engine weight is going to end up on the tongue.

Troy

I did almost that... I went out and measured from the top of the latching door jamb (b pillar? which isn't really there on a hardtop.. so  ) to the rear of the car. I got ~7'4" to the lip of the trunk and if you add in the bumper it's probably just over 7'6".  Most feedback I got was charger sat ~1' off the rear door. So that puts the door swing at about 8'6" from the back of the unit. playing CSI with photos of 24' units they had 6 lengths of aluminum skin on the outside (4' sheets) and 24" on center roof bows and standard sheet goods (also 4') on interior walls. So that gave me a reasonable guess at the standard location for the door at about 8' + say about 3-4".    But you have to subtract the dept of the rear door too. So flying by the seat of my pants I'm going with about 8'2" +/- off the rear door. Which should be fine. I'll post back when I pick it up and see how close I got it.

Thanks, for the feedback everyone.   

[69rtse4spd]

No clue on the door placement, but 24-26 footers would also resale faster if you ever wanted to. On another note does a V-nose really help in the mileage, anybody know.   

No. You have to do a bit of google searching but the best shape for fuel economy is the teardrop. Take a look at a lot of the new campers forward profile or better yet look up articles on aeronautics (airplane design). The problem with the teardrop is that we want to be able to put a car (or other crap) inside the trailer.  IIRC the biggest drag issue we have is the flat and tall back of the trailer. That's what creates the biggest portion of the CD.

If you're board this might be interesting to you: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-economy/aerodynamics.htm

If you add one of the "bubbles" to the top of the standard box trailers you will reduce the drag (turbulence is drag).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfTv8Nt-x6o

The V nose actually increases the forward facing surface area and thus drag over the flat front. About the only useful element of a V nose is taking advantage of the space on the tongue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mRNjU0wYgg

If you spend some time digging through youtube there are some decent videos in there.

The drag (CD) is really just a small factor in the equation for us non commercial towers, it mostly boils down to the total weight and not driving like a maniac. 

Thanks.