Towing a Charger - Anyone have a cool trailer setup for towing their ride?

[hookem78613]

Need to get a larger trailer and thought someone may have a few tips.  The Charger is much bigger than my Cuda!  Anyone have a trailer or enclosed trailer they use for towing their Charger?  Tell me the specs of your trailer and rig.

Bryan

[Chargen69]

I use a 16ft (+2ft dovetail) and a 99 suburban, no problems yet

[firefighter3931]

I purchased a 2005 dually this past september specificly for towing duty. The truck is awesome....killer torque and gas milage (22 mpg @ 70mph) empty on the way home from Fla. 

Over the christmas break i made a deal on an enclosed trailer ; Vintage Outlaw, 26ft, awning, aluminum wheels, 5200lb axles, aluminum cabinets, wired for 120v, power inverter, 5000lb winch, finished walls/ceiling, lights installed,carpet and checkplate floor runners.


Here are some pics ;

[hookem78613]

How does your Charger fit in there?? Plenty of room?  There is a local dealer around town that has a new 24ft with the same specs...no cabinets or anything though.  They want 8200.00 for it?  How does that stack up?

[mikepmcs]

here's a picture of my 25 footer

v/r
Mike

[firefighter3931]

How does your Charger fit in there?? Plenty of room?  There is a local dealer around town that has a new 24ft with the same specs...no cabinets or anything though.  They want 8200.00 for it?  How does that stack up?

Hookem, i still don't have the trailer home so i can't comment on the fit....but i don't anticipate any problems. A 24ft will also work fine for a Charger so don't sweat it. Make sure anything you look at has 5200lb axles or it will be useless to you. That price seems in the ball park. I paid more than that for mine and it is used. A new "Outlaw" similarly equipped would be 13K + tax so i'm happy with the deal i got. I'll be heading to Indiana this spring to pick it up.


Mike, nice trailer (and neice) 



Ron

[Troy]

Mine looks like this:





It's a 18' H&H open pit trailer. It's all steel and only weighs 1550 pounds. I had plans for a 26' enclosed like Ron's but after towing my 22' trailer (with the aerodynamics of a barn) around I suddenly liked the idea of an open trailer. It fits perfectly behind the Ram and barely effects gas mileage (I lose 1 mpg at 80-85 mph with a car on it).

Almost forgot to mention... that's a 5' dovetail with 5' ramps. I can almost push the cars on there and I never have a problem with hanging up the frame rails like I had on previous trailers.

Troy

[xs29j8Bullitt]

My latest open trailer is a 20 ft Iron Works Challenger trailer with a 4 ft dovetail & captive long loading ramps.  I really like the long dovetail and long ramps, makes loading clearance problems a thing of the past!

Here are a few pictures...

XS

[Paul G]

I use an 18' (16' deck with 2' dovetail) open. It is easier to store and lighter to pull. Only weighs around 1500 pounds and can be used for other types of uses with the flat deck. I actually keep one of the cars on it in the garage for the winter. I would like to have an enclosed but it was just too difficult to find a place to keep it.

[daytonalo]

WHAT DID THAT 20 FT CHALLENGER TRAILER COST , THAT IS THE SWEETEST OPEN TRAILER I HAVE EVER SEEN . LOVE THE ROCK DEFLECTOR , ALL THE OTHERS SANDBLAST YOUR CAR , NOBODY REALIZES THAT !

[resq302]

My dad and I started out with a 18' open car trailer and after his el camino got soaked coming home and during a show in Hershey we decided to get an enclosed.  (we found out the hard way that his el camino had a water leak).  Since then we got a used 24' enclosed Pace American trailer with the torsional suspension axles that are 5200 lbs each.  Plenty of space inside but we do not have any cabinets or anything like that up front, just a spare tire and a tool box.  We have also added some other items such as a paper towel holder and tie down strap holder for when the tie downs are not in use.  One thing we would do differently if we bought a new one, would be to go for the option side escape hatch as with the el camino having the upper door frame, it is quite a contorsionist act getting out of the vehicle.

Brian

[Troy]

I suppose that I should mention that I've only trailered a running car three times.

That's why I'm so excited about the 10' of ramp - because I also don't own a powered winch! I put 10,000 miles on the Barracuda last summer and I plan on at least that much this coming year. That's why I ditched the enclosed trailer - I plan on driving all of my cars at every opportunity (yes, even in the rain). That's always been my goal but I found myself straying towards a pristine show car and had to re-evaluate things. I got into this hobby specifically because I was tired of all the cool cars being hidden away in climate controlled warehouses never to be seen by us "regular" guys.

So Larry, if I sandblast a car on my trailer it's a good thing because two of them will be on their way to the media blasters the next time they move.

Troy

[hookem78613]

how about space between the fenders?  What is the narrowest that you should go?  I think the widest I have seen is 83".

thanks for the nice response!

[resq302]

I would go at least the amount of your car is wide and then some for safe meaure.  Also, one thing to make sure you check is the height of the top of the fender.  You dont want to open the door into the fender and chip the paint like my friend did with his concours restored Mustang Convert.  Best thing to do is to have someone sit inside the car and then take a measurement to the height of the bottom edge of the door.  This will allow you clearance when you are inside the car and open up the door.  Just little things like that only take once and then you know for the next time.

Brian

[xs29j8Bullitt]

WHAT DID THAT 20 FT CHALLENGER TRAILER COST , THAT IS THE SWEETEST OPEN TRAILER I HAVE EVER SEEN . LOVE THE ROCK DEFLECTOR , ALL THE OTHERS SANDBLAST YOUR CAR , NOBODY REALIZES THAT !

Thanks, I selected the IW Challenger trailer after a lot of research, and looking at about a dozen different manufacturers.  Some folks thought I selected it because of the name, but that had nothing to do with the selection.  I liked most of the design features, and it is close to how I would design a trailer myself.

I bought the trailer from the "Texas Trailer Man" dealership in Haltom City, Texas... here is their website:  http://www.texastrailerman.com/

The Challenger trailer specifications and options pricing is here:  http://www.texastrailerman.com/new27.htm

The trailer cost was about $4400, which included the options that I selected & sales tax...  the base price for the trailer was $2750.  The SuperWinch S5000 electric winch was purchased seperately from Summit, but installed by the dealer... turns out they sell those winchs also at about the same price.  The $2750 base price includes some features normally options, see the spec page for details.

Some of the options I selected were:

Air Dam / Rock Shield
Electric Brakes on 2nd Axle (1st Axle included in base)
Heavy Duty Drop Leg Jack (probably should have gone with an electric jack)
Tire Up-Grade to ST225/75R15 (from 205s)
Spare Tire
Spare Tire Mount
Winch Mount (floor mount with doubler plates, done by dealer)
Battery Mount (custom built)
10 Heavy Duty D-Rings (4 included in base)
Dual Loading Lights in Bed of trailer
Utility Tray in trailer tongue (custom built)

Here are some more pics...

XS

[Alain426]

for sure its not the coolest way to tow a car, but certainly the cheaper

[72chargerSE]

[It's a 18' H&H open pit trailer. It's all steel and only weighs 1550 pounds. I had plans for a 26' enclosed like Ron's but after towing my 22' trailer (with the aerodynamics of a barn) around I suddenly liked the idea of an open trailer. It fits perfectly behind the Ram and barely effects gas mileage (I lose 1 mpg at 80-85 mph with a car on it).

Almost forgot to mention... that's a 5' dovetail with 5' ramps. I can almost push the cars on there and I never have a problem with hanging up the frame rails like I had on previous trailers.

Troy

Troy!

Man, please be careful, that IMHO is WAY to fast!

I'd hate to see you lose your car, or worse...lose you!

Mike

[Charger_Fan]

Well, whatever you do, don't buy one like mine.



I didn't spend a 10th enough time researching what I needed. At the time, I just needed something to drag home dead trucks that I would fix up & sell. The trailer's great for trucks, because they are tall enough to make most clearance issues a non-issue.
Everything was fine, until I went to load my Charger on there. I ended up ripping off half my exhaust (rusty anyway), when a muffler got snagged on the end...I didn't have the nose of the trailer up high enough.
The I had to crawl through the windo to get out. Yeesh.

At least it was only $1,600 at the time.

[Troy]

[It's a 18' H&H open pit trailer. It's all steel and only weighs 1550 pounds. I had plans for a 26' enclosed like Ron's but after towing my 22' trailer (with the aerodynamics of a barn) around I suddenly liked the idea of an open trailer. It fits perfectly behind the Ram and barely effects gas mileage (I lose 1 mpg at 80-85 mph with a car on it).

Almost forgot to mention... that's a 5' dovetail with 5' ramps. I can almost push the cars on there and I never have a problem with hanging up the frame rails like I had on previous trailers.

Troy

Troy!

Man, please be careful, that IMHO is WAY to fast!

I'd hate to see you lose your car, or worse...lose you!

Mike

Yep, I know. The only times I've had it at those speeds were on the way back from Minnesota coming through the flat, open highways of Illinois and Indiana. I really do drive slow compared to some of the guys I know... 

Did you see the truck? Let's see... 1 ton dually with 5200 pounds behind it. Overkill? It never wobbles or bounces and most of the time it's hard to tell there's even a trailer back there (I can only see the top 10" of the car in the rear view mirror and the fender flares block the trailer itself from the side mirrors). I asked about getting stabilizer bars and you'd have thought I had a horn growing out of the side of my head from the look I got. When I bought the 22' enclosed it weighed 4400 pounds empty. It was designed for a sprint car with 8' ceilings and a 4'x8' "concessionary door" which required a lot of extra steel for the beams. The hitch was a bit high but the guy said it would squat down some with the full trailer weight. The look on his face when the jack was 6" off the ground and the truck never moved was pretty funny.

I have towed Chargers with my Suburban using a different trailer and almost always had problems with them wobbling. A lot of that was tongue weight with a short trailer - I couldn't shift the weight because the cars only fit in one spot. I am usually very cautious but it's easy to get comfortable with this setup. Maybe too easy! Most of the time when I'm pulling cars they are shells or at least missing engines and transmissions. If I were pulling with my little truck I'd worry a lot more. Once the cars are drivable I shouldn't be using the trailer much at all.

Troy

[BlueSS454]

I have a 26' enclosed Pace American trailer that I haul my 70 SS Chevelle around in.  It will pull double duty hauling the Charger around should I ever decide to take it far away (more than 2 hours).  I use a 2004 Silverado 2500HD diesel to pull it with.  It's made 5 trips to Tennessee, 4 trips up to Niagara Falls, a trip out to Michigan, and a bunch of other places.

[Charger1973]

Saw a pretty cool feature on a U-haul trailer today.  The fenders had spring loaded pins that you could pull, and then they fold down to allow you to open the door and get out of the car. 

[my69]

My latest open trailer is a 20 ft Iron Works Challenger trailer with a 4 ft dovetail & captive long loading ramps.  I really like the long dovetail and long ramps, makes loading clearance problems a thing of the past!

Here are a few pictures...

XS

XS, May I ask (and others)  How OR what is the best way holding your ride?
I couldn't see your pic on the rear of the cuda of where you fastened it!

So I can be prepared to tow the charger in town this coming spring!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

XS, May I ask (and others)  How OR what is the best way holding your ride?
I couldn't see your pic on the rear of the cuda of where you fastened it!

So I can be prepared to tow the charger in town this coming spring!

At the back end I use two sets of rachetting tie down straps and axle straps.  The axle straps have to be placed carefully to avoid damaging a brake line or chafing the straps on various brackets, bolts, or other sharp edges.  The use of redundant tie downs reduces the chances that damage to one strap will become a serious problem...  Dual tie downs also distributes the loading better, and for long trips an added safety chain might be a good idea.  Some people cross the tie down straps, believing this increases the stability of the tie down... but I don't agree with that approach.

At the front end I use a heavy duty chain looped through the center of the K-Member.  Then I attach the looped chain to the D-Rings with two separate chains, using heavy duty chain couplers at all connections to take the load.  I leave a little extra length of chain loose to be able to attach across the couplers with a padlock as a theft deterrent.  I definitely would use a closed loop tie down arrangement in the front in case the back tie down straps come loose... and check the tie downs often!

Below are a few pictures of the tie downs...

XS

[my69]

Thanks XS for answering my question completely

The items that you showed on the bottom of the pic is exactly what I need to know! Thanks for sharing
(I don't know about you but I'm getting anxious for spring to make it's return.)

[mikepmcs]

those are what i use as well.

[skip68]

I've got an old (1986) 40' toy hauler. 7klb axles and 28ft garage = lots of room.  Going to make one more trip to Cali. and back and then sell it. It's tooooo BIG. I put new D-rings in it just for my Charger so it's in the right spot. After 2500 miles with a few bumps in the road here and there my car didn't move at all.    No dirt from the road, no rain, and it was locked inside so it stayed safe.    Chuck...........

[mikepmcs]

Chuck

By toy hauler, does that mean you have some sleeping qtrs in there as well.  Is this a motor home or trailer.  Do you have any pictures?? 

v/r
Mike

[skip68]

It's a 5th wheel trailer. The kitchen was in front by the side door but we took it out (stove & stuff) was old and we did not need it. Then in front of that there is the bathroom with sink, toilet and shower. (still there in case someone wanted to make a race car trailer out of it) Then you climb up in the gooseneck for the bed.  It's an 1986 Alfa 40' Toy Box, the first Toyhauler that was made. Look them up it's interesting. I can get some pics if you want but it's not pretty.  I thought if U-haul was going to cost me about 5k, why not just buy a race car trailer or something and then sell it when I'm done.  This saved me on shipping my car and the wifes car when I go back soon for rest.  I'm out about the same but I can sell the trailer for less and still come out ahead.  I'm about $5,500 into the trailer, new tires, D-rings and some other stuff. Like I said, it's not pretty but worked great.   Chuck.................

[OldGuy]

Need some input on a few questions.  We bought a 18 foot trailer (16 ft. with a 2 ft. dovetail) with 7 ft ramps.  The company gave us a pretty good deal.  As you can see from the picture, it has a pretty plain jane rock shield.  The shield is 2 ft tall.  We are thinking about modifying the rock shield by adding a piece above it - a 2 ft high section angled back at about 60 degrees or so since the top of the hood of our 69 Charger is 32 inches above the ground.  We are thinking this would prevent rocks from coming above the 2 ft. shield and hitting the windshield.  I am not an aerodynamics engineer so the question is - would this addition above the rock shield create too much downdraft on the front of the trailer thereby increasing the tongue weight?  I am pulling it with my Dodge Ram 1500.  The truck has a 5.9L engine, 4x4, with heavy duty package.  The trailer is 1,800 lbs + the 3,700 lbs Charger (5,500 lbs total) is within the manual specs for my truck (7,500 lbs GCWR)  We pulled a similar trailer when we picked up the 1968 Charger R/T last fall without any problems.  Then again, the trailer did not have a rock shield on it.

Second question - I am looking at buying some axle straps to tie the Charger down.  The straps come either 24" or 36".  What length do you recommend getting?  Straps are shown at the following site:

http://www.trailer-parts-forless.com/mr_tiedowns/auto_axle_straps.htm

I already have a couple of 8,000 lbs come-a-alongs that can be used in lieu of ratchet straps.  What are your thoughts on using those?

[TeeWJay426]

Here's mine.... it was custom built by an outfit up in Weare NH called Specialized Trailers; it's an 18 foot, full deck, Torflex axles, handles a B body with no problem- tows like a dream behind my '03 Hemi Ram. The fenders are removable with two wing nuts, so door interference is never a problem. Had them paint it the same patriot blue as the truck when I had it built.

[WheresMyCharger]

I like this setup,
No maintanence
No storage problems
Cost is an event T-shirt, 'cause its BORROWED    (Thanks Paul)