is this the way you build trailers in USA

[ian Staples]

Hi Guys ,
I have just watched an advertising video clip on racing junk of a trailer manufacturer whose name I wont mention but it is like a large wind storm and I was truely shocked that they would boast about throwing the trailers together like they do , I certainly would have thought they would have pretended to do a good job for the add or is this normal practice over there ?? and their safety practices were dismal to say the least.
Im I correct or am i just being picky ??
And yes my spelling is crap I know !!

Ian Staples

[carnut169]

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. The prices Hurricane charges are fair IHMO. You get a lot of trailer for the $$. Want a better one, get a Featherlight, Pace, Haulmark, etc (all made in the USA) but expect to pay at least double.

[budawe]

Most of the trailers and RV's made in the USA are a bit marginal. Especially if you plan to tow a lot of miles in the rain.

[tjcezar]

wheres the link to the vid?

[ian Staples]

Hi ,
Go into the trailer section and you should see the ad for hurricane
Ian

[-pru-]

I believe this may be the ad/video in question : http://enclosedtrailersforless.com/

[rmccown]

Interesting things I noted in the video:

VERY quick welding on the frame rails. Walls seem to be tacked together, not full bead.

No sealant between exterior wall panels that I could see. Screws used to attach walls and roof.

The stainless/aluminum and diamond plate seem to be VERY thin.

[tjcezar]

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. The prices Hurricane charges are fair IHMO. You get a lot of trailer for the $$. Want a better one, get a Featherlight, Pace, Haulmark, etc (all made in the USA) but expect to pay at least double.

Definately get what you pay for but like said not bad for the price. It comes down to how hard you will use it and how much. Also depends on your budget. A friend of mine has a 24 or 28'' and beats the pee out of it every weekend on long hauls and it is still together. You can see a quality difference in the construction though.

[glenn cooper]

Billy Bob done us proud down here in Jaw-ja!
Crikey - Ya think maybe they coulda put some of that stuff up on shelves, or maybe a little organization before they broke out the camera?!!
I gotta say that product looks a tad shoddy, not to mention very light-duty.
Am I a trailer construction expert? No, but I did sleep in my own bed last night.
I love the comments in regard to you get what you pay for - these guys look like the JC Whitney of trailers.
I'll stick w/ the name brands, thank you.

PS Beauchamp, if you bring these guys aboard as F1000 Championship series sponsors I'll delete the post!

[Larry]

Ian, what you saw was a successful manufacturer producing trailers and making a profit. The only thing close to a "dismal" safety problem I saw was one person putting in a tack weld without proper eyewear.

Also, "quality" is defined as conformance to standards, and not value or goodness. If you question this, try reading Juran or almost anything related to manufacturing and quality process. I'm sure these trailers meet the quality specs for the manufacturer.

Professionally, I admire anyone who can start and sustain a profitable manufacturing business in our country. We've already seen that neither GM nor Chrysler can currently meet this standard in spite of many years experience.

In spite of our advantages (abundant power, educated workforce, plentiful resources and raw materials), America has lost much of its manufacturing to countries with less government regulation and lower corporate taxes. There are some other factors, but these are the "biggies." I wouldn't disparage a successful manufacturer unless you have been responsible for meeting a payroll for your employees.

Larry Oliver
International Racing Products

[tjcezar]

so far i am "hearing" that they are built shoddy but have not heard any examples of failures. Some one has to know a person that has one of these.

[PCalhoun]

Ian- In the southeast market dominated by low cost manufacturers in South Georgia this is fairly standard operating procedure. In the video at least their facility is larger than most, but they all operate on the slimmest of margins and disappear from the market, as quickly as they first appeared.


Bob- It is not common to put any sealant at the seams or on the wall posts of the exterior aluminum panels, unless the trailer is being assembled w/ 3M VHB for a screwless exterior. In the case of VHB it is a very strong double sided tape, which must not have any fasteners thru it either so it is able to float w/ the differing expansion & contraction rates of the dissimilar metals; alum walls on steel wall posts.

Hurricane's alum exterior is an industry std .030 aluminum, they do not use stainless (it is mirror finish alum), and their ATP is of lesser grade than the big names, but for the purpose it serves it is really not a big deal and does save some weight.


The low-cost market, which is unique to the Southeast US, is commonly referred to as "2 Year Trailers" within the industry. They are low priced and will work well for a couple seasons. After that if not maintained well and looked after they quickly start to fail and offer little in the way of warranty or dealer support.

There is a new trailer company just starting operations that recognizes some of these short comings within the industry. Started by the founder and ex-CEO of Pace, I toured the Bravo Trailer facility a few weeks ago and their base frames were very impressive, including a full steel tube frame and wall posts. Auto trailer production will begin next month and they will be servicing a dealer base within approx 700 mi of Elkhart, IN.

[brownslane]

These guys sell a cheaper product. Agreed. But their price is what attracts customers. Otherwise they would not be selling as much as they can. I guess both the un-educated and more financially challenged don't care about the quality of construction.

The roof scares me. A couple of the guys had posted they had to clear the snow off the roofs of their trailers. I couldn't understand....Now I do!

My 28 footer is a 1996 (Haulmark). Last year I re-skinned the whle thing because it was looking really ratty. I looked at other trailers, but I did not see anything that was in my snack bracket that would have come close to my existing trailers construction. At the track, we have had well over a dozen people on the roof.... The thing has four 6 inch channels, mazlins on the floor every 24 inches, then 8X10 2 inch spruce floor, then checkerplate. Unbelievably strong.

But in todays market, that trailer would have a small market share. People just will not or cannot afford the price.

Best,

[Matt King]

The people reading this forum approach the purchase of a trailer from the perspective of long term use to haul their race car. But most of the enclosed trailers I see are used to haul lawnmowers and keep construction tools out of the rain and they are not used for long distance tows. I think it's easy to assume everyone in the market for a trailer has the same standards or requirements we do for a trailer, but I doubt that's the case.

[RussMcB]

Everyone would prefer a high quality, well built, long lasting trailer, but for many racers with ~$10,000 race cars doing a handful of races per year, what sense does it make to buy a high end trailer (assuming it's financially possible)?

[bonedome]

I used to work for Verizon's construction department as a supervisor up in Elkhart IN in the 90's. ALL of the trlr mfr's were our customers and I got to spend a lot of time in the shops while my crews ran cable through them and spliced it. SO, some observations:
Most of the people in those plants work on piecework-they get paid by how many of a certain function they do. That's why they're fast in motion. They have very high goals set by the companies and they must meet those goals or else. That being said, just because they're fast it doesn't mean they're not good. The people you're watching may have been at that job for quite a while and have the swing of it down pat. AND...repetitive work does put you in a rhythm. Take it from me-do NOT get in their way!
Safety gaffs happen in every company and sooner or later, you'll catch one on film.
Industry standard does not necessarily equate to the quality YOU expect. What seems reasonable to you might not be practical in a production line world.
Many plywoods like that used on floors and walls look alike, but are NOT!
The big-name mfrs up there all have their own dual-level cost lines. Years ago I bought a Haulmark for my RC helicopter business that was still serving me well until it was wrecked last year. Haulmark also has another line that just doesn't have the frills of their more expensive trailers. As I recall, that's pretty much standard across the mfr board. I bought a 2008 16' v-nose from a not-a-big-name mfr and had a lot of trouble with it-it kept spitting screws out of the high left side and egging the holes in the vertical overlap of the first and second skins. That tells me the frame was flexing there but neither the dealer nor the mfr would do anything. The dealer told me to "put some bigger screws in it" which I did...followed by bigger screws, then BIGGER screws, and on until it would have taken a 1/4" bolt to fill those holes! The ramp leaked water from the top and the frame was rusting after just two years...
The next one will be a name trailer.

[ian Staples]

Hi Guys ,
I understand the "get what you pay for " comment and that with a lot of products like this that there are different levels of qualitiy and cost which if you are lucky the more expensive ones lasts longer with less problem but what suprised me was that they used this video as an advert for the product !! I thought they would have used a bit more of a profesionaly made video ( which may not be an exact record of the construction method ) if I were looking for a trailer there video would put me off their company not attract me to it.

As an aside , I am in engineering and have been involved with production manufacturing and our country is a shodow of it's former self in this regard as it is imposible to compete with the chinaman or indian on price , which is what most of the paying public base their buying choice on but I do think that very slowly and to a small degree this is changing as people are getting sick of unreliable junk. an example is it is posible to buy a chinese stainless steel electrical switch board enclosure cheaper than buying the flat sheet here

It suprises me there is no sealer between panels . I sit down here at the bottom of the world looking at a lot of adverts in the US for RV's and it would seem that leaks are a big problem do they use sealer on RV panel joints ???

Regards Ian

[Tiago Santos]

ya know.. at $1750 for a brand new 6x12 (FV size!) I'd totally buy one if they were a bit closer.. I understand that they're nearly in the same quality bracket as some other much more expensive makes, but driving an FV, I have a really hard time spending more money on a trailer than on the car itself

[glenn cooper]

I actually can't recall anyone I know that has purchased a brand new trailer.
While I'm sure it happens, it seems that the majority of the roadracers I know have gone the pre owned route. The used Pace and Haulmark market is prettty strong; most used brand name trailers I have seen sell fairly quickly. In fact the vast majority of trailers I see at the track are those brands.
I don't ever really see anything else.

As our cars tend to cost way more than most other forms of motorsports, and often require towing across a couplea three states, perhaps that's why the quality/cost thing does not come up often - we know what makes a better trailer and are not skeered to pony up.

The guys at the local dirt bullring, running a late model bomber, who run only that and maybe another local track are not really needing a top of the line Pace Pursuit, and I'm guessing this is where these guys are finding their motorsports specific customers.

Have you guys seen the Aerovault from BRE?
Talk about top of the line!

(Tried to linky but failed miserably, sorry)

[glenn cooper]

ya know.. at $1750 for a brand new 6x12 (FV size!) I'd totally buy one if they were a bit closer.. I understand that they're not nearly in the same quality bracket as some other much more expensive makes, but driving an FV, I have a really hard time spending more money on a trailer than on the car itself

Fixerated free of charge!

[-pru-]

Have you guys seen the Aerovault from BRE?
Talk about top of the line!

(Tried to linky but failed miserably, sorry)

BRE Aerovault Trailer

[glenn cooper]

Makes me-so-horny...
I think they are like 19k, YOWZA!

[rickb99]

BRE Aerovault Trailer

LOL I like the "add to cart" and qty box. Like, you're gonna buy several at a time.. LOL

[-pru-]

LOL I like the "add to cart" and qty box. Like, you're gonna buy several at a time.. LOL

Take two...they're small...

[veefan]

[FONT=Verdana]I remember about 30 +/- years ago... some of the same people moaning and groaning about the quality of these trailers… were probably saying same thing about those Japanese cars… [/FONT]go back further... they were saying Ford builds junk on those assembly lines...

[FONT=&quot][FONT=Verdana]People will buy cars/trailers/etc. that aren’t built to the highest quality why… because for the price of one high quality Haulmark trailer you could buy three of those trailers! A new trailer every 5 years… doesn't sound so bad...

[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]BRE Aerovault Trailer
Price: $18,900.00
Quantity in Basket: none

[FONT=Verdana]Honestly it is a really nice looking trailer... but at 18k???
[/FONT][/FONT]

[Mark_Silverberg]

The BRE aerovault pciture is definitely trailer porn - and while they have beautiful crafsmanship I am not convinced of the aero qualities.

The center fin to move the center of pressure back slightly is a stability improvment but trailer aero is determined more how the low pressure on the back of the trailer is minimized than streamlining the front. The back of the aerovault is square like any other ramp door enclused trailer has been and probably ever will be.

Figure out a way to make a streamlined tail cap on a ramp door and I will be impressed.

[Purple Frog]

Hey, I only live a few hours from Fitzgerald and Oconee Georgia... Trailer manufacturing hub of the South.

In 2004 i sold a massively heavy Haulmark for one of these low-cost rigs with the "rivet-less" sides. 7 years later, not a problem. My average tow is over 7 hours, one way. It still doesn't leak. Granted I'm careful about load balancing, and throwing away the tires every 3 years, but it has been a good bargain. A 22' V-nose back then was about $3,200 delivered.

[Tiago Santos]

Fixerated free of charge!

Thanks, indeed I meant to say not the same quality

[veefan]

Have you guys seen what us regional Vee guys use to get our cars to the track. These are a few of my friends trailers and they get the job done! We'd rather spend our money on racing, our cars... and beer.

[glenn cooper]

Hey, I only live a few hours from Fitzgerald and Oconee Georgia... Trailer manufacturing hub of the South.

In 2004 i sold a massively heavy Haulmark for one of these low-cost rigs with the "rivet-less" sides. 7 years later, not a problem. My average tow is over 7 hours, one way. It still doesn't leak. Granted I'm careful about load balancing, and throwing away the tires every 3 years, but it has been a good bargain. A 22' V-nose back then was about $3,200 delivered.

I just got all the proof I need right here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.
There'll be no more slander headed in the direction of these guys comin' outta my pie hole. Ever. Again.

[Daryl DeArman]

A friend and I bought 2 brand new trailers in 2004. One 102" x 20 and one 16' x 7'. I looked at Pace and Haulmark....wasn't impressed with the value AT ALL. At that time, the lower end models by both manufacturers, IMO, were banking on their name to sell the trailers and not their quality. Notice I didn't say "features", I'm talking about the materials utilized in the frame, how the tongue attached to the frame rails, the spacing of sidewall slats and floor crossmembers, quality of suspension, tires and brakes.

We bought two "lesser brand" trailers each in the $4000-5000 range new. I sold the 16 x 7 tandem axle for $3500 after using it for 3 seasons--only added e-track and a cheap bench. Both trailers are now 7 years old, probably have close to 50-60 weekends on them and seem to be in fine condition.

You don't always get what you pay for.

[formulasuper]

Hey, I only live a few hours from Fitzgerald and Oconee Georgia... Trailer manufacturing hub of the South.

In 2004 i sold a massively heavy Haulmark for one of these low-cost rigs with the "rivet-less" sides. 7 years later, not a problem. My average tow is over 7 hours, one way. It still doesn't leak. Granted I'm careful about load balancing, and throwing away the tires every 3 years, but it has been a good bargain. A 22' V-nose back then was about $3,200 delivered.

Good try Froggy, but your bid for the "King of Cheap" title was lost when you got that motor home.

[Beartrax]

Have you guys seen what us regional Vee guys use to get our cars to the track. These are a few of my friends trailers and they get the job done! We'd rather spend our money on racing, our cars... and beer.

I spoke with a Vee racer at Lime Rock who tows his race car on an open trailer behind a Jetta wagon. That's sticking to your budget.

[DanW]

In the old days, real men and women didn't bother with trailers...

Of course, Pete travels in a bit more comfort now.

[Tiago Santos]

I spoke with a Vee racer at Lime Rock who tows his race car on an open trailer behind a Jetta wagon. That's sticking to your budget.

I tow my vee in a $400 open trailer, behind my wife's '89 Volvo wagon My daily driver is a volvo sedan that would probably tow it even better, but it wouldn't have enough room for all the crap I need to take to the track.

[formulasuper]

I spoke with a Vee racer at Lime Rock who tows his race car on an open trailer behind a Jetta wagon. That's sticking to your budget.

Yes, but does he camp in the tow vehicle? A van makes a great open trailer tow vehicle, hauls all the equipment & makes a great paddock camper.

[Don Denomme]

When old AJ won his last Indy 500 he told of the car being towed on an open trailer behind an old pickup driven by a local neighbor kid. Those were the days.

[Jim Garry]

.... Granted I'm careful about load balancing, and throwing away the tires every 3 years, ...

Frog, do you toss your tires due to mileage or age?

Thanks,
Jim

[Purple Frog]

Age.

Scott,
I've lost the "King o' Cheap" title. First, i started buying new race tires. Then i had Rollin build me a motor. Then an enclosed trailer, with working lights. Then beer in the bottle. And now the RV... with wine bottles that have corks.

[rickjohnson356]

Where can I get crew like the one in the picture of Pete Lovely's car?

Complete with shop rag, to boot! (or should I say, 'in the boot')

I already have a VW transporter.

Scott: I think the Motorhome belongs to Janice, for her photography work. the Purple One, just rents it from time-to-time.