Becker or Neo trailer knowledge?

[northarrowracing]

I have decided to finally bite the bullet and buy an enclosed trailer this winter. The open route is just a pain. Because my tow is a V-6 Tacoma we want to keep it light and are looking at aluminum frame units. Bravo makes the Star with an aluminum frame but I am really looking at Becker, which is made by Neo. Does anyone have experience with either of these product? Are they really as good quality as they look on the web. It will probably be smaller, maybe a 16' V-nose, than most would recommend, but my car is a Formula Ford and we are use to traveling light. And no, I am afraid Featherlight is out of our price range. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Ric

[S Lathrop]

If you get a set of Pit wheels for your car, you can use a trailer that is much narrower than one that a car with race wheels will fit in. This will save a lot of weight and as important, frontal area.

An additional plus is tha car is a lot easier to roll on and off the trailer.

[northarrowracing]

Thanks and you are right Steve. I'm looking at 7' wide.

By the way that new oil tank you made me is working great. Thanks again.

Ric

[Rick Kirchner]

I recently got the bright idea to replace my GMC K2500HD 8.1 with an 06 Tundra - last of the midsize trucks with a small V-8 before Toyota went behemoth.

I have an 18' flat-front box trailer that weighs 4000 lb without the race car, and tried the Tundra on before I bought it. A complete disappointment. Any grade, wind, or requirement for acceleration dropped it to 4th gear. The engine couldn't maintain speed against the drag, so every minute or two, back to 4th gear. The mirrors weren't meant for towing, so I'd have needed to get a strap-on set.

Sometimes we forget how good the big trucks are at their intended purpose. Although it will suck a lot of gas doing it, my current truck will pull a 6% grade in 100+ weather at 80 mph and not break a sweat.

If you can swing a narrow trailer and make it work, that's great, maybe go with one that's a foot lower as well, but it's going to get awfully crowded inside. I remember back in the day a lot of Indy Car transporters being nothing more than a hard-sided suitcase for the car. There's a guy out of the west coast, old racer, can't remember the name, who builds small aluminum race car trailers that open up a lot. $$$$ tho.

There are lots of full-size trucks out there for not a lot of money that would make your tow situation a lot happier. I'd bet the AL trailers are going to be at least 50% more expensive than steel construction.

[S Lathrop]

Another trick for storage space in a trailer is to haul the car up on benches down the sides of the trailer. This will allow you a lot of storage under the car, space that is otherwise lost. When the car is out of the trailer, you have work shop.

[northarrowracing]

Rick,

Everything you say about tow vehicles is correct. My part time retirement job is moving cars between auto dealers. Driven just about every kind of truck there is in the last few months. Best one recently was an F-250 turbo diesel back from Alabama. That thing would pull the side of my house down the interstate without downshifting. Thing is my longest tow is about 300 miles and an aluminum 7' wide x 16' will weigh in at 1900 lbs empty. I know the aluminum is more but I will never drag another heavy steel trailer down the road while watching it rust in the rear view mirror. Latter, I may move to something larger to tow when and if finances allow.

Ok so who out there is towing anything with an aluminum frame. And you guys with the featherlights don't count. I don't have that to spend.

Ric

[Brian]

Weight is less important than wind resistance in my experience. Weight does play into acceleration and hill climbing of course, but not as much as you would think. I really have a hard time telling if my trailer is full or empty once I am on the highway. I went from a 20 foot all aluminium to a 28 foot vee nose steel frame, and they pulled about the same until I got really heavy with two cars in the bigger trailer.

Brian

[problemchild]

I was looking for a trailer I could tow with my half-ton Chev pickup and was specifically shopping for a Neo. At some point, I decided that the extra couple $K to special order a trailer that was only a couple hundred lbs lighter, was not effective use of my funds. I purchased a 7X18 V-nose, in stock from a local lot, that was loaded with extras, for less money than the Neo. If I want to save some weight I leave stuff at home. My 7X18 tows nicely below 65 mph, but needs to be perfectly loaded to handle 70-75 mph. Gas mileage sucks empty or loaded. Any legal width FF/FC fits, BTW.

[BillH]

Rick,

Everything you say about tow vehicles is correct. My part time retirement job is moving cars between auto dealers. Driven just about every kind of truck there is in the last few months. Best one recently was an F-250 turbo diesel back from Alabama. That thing would pull the side of my house down the interstate without downshifting. Thing is my longest tow is about 300 miles and an aluminum 7' wide x 16' will weigh in at 1900 lbs empty. I know the aluminum is more but I will never drag another heavy steel trailer down the road while watching it rust in the rear view mirror. Latter, I may move to something larger to tow when and if finances allow.

Ok so who out there is towing anything with an aluminum frame. And you guys with the featherlights don't count. I don't have that to spend.

Ric

Too bad you're not on the west coast, Ric,

I'm considering selling my 18 ft. Featherlite enclosed.

IMO, the "perfect" open wheel trailer, I bought it specifically for FF. But, a FSCCA will just go up the ramp and thru the door. I haven't tried an Atlantic with transport wheels yet.

I call it "perfect" because:

It weighed 1,700 bare when I bought it new. This is not a car trailer but a cargo trailer.
With the interior and cabinets I installed plus roller cabinet, small welder, etc. and the FF, it probably weighs 3,100 or so.
My 2000 Silverado with a 5.3 pulls it over Donner Summit (8,400 ft) at 60 mph.
The trailer has zero sway and no load lever hitch, no sway control and no extended mirrors on the pick up.
It's not a beaver tail so, the tongue has to be up to load the car but an electric tongue makes that easy.

This trailer's been a real pleasure.

[jaltaman]

I just sold my 8.5 x 20' Haulmark thrifty hauler as I needed a 24' long trailer. Reason is we also pack an atv as a pit vehcile, and while we figured out a way to get that and the F1000 car plus the MK Hoist, setup tables, toolbox and 3 sets of tires/wheels all into that 20' trailer, it was a bit of effort to do so.

I also looked at the Becker - very nice - and there's also a company called Stealth trailers that also makes a very nice aluminum trailer.

Having said that, I went and purchased a new 24' Haulmark Edge and am very pleased with the decision. The Edge, while steel and not aluminum, is undercoated at the factory so it should have a very good life. Note that the 2008 Haulmark had no real signs of rust underneath, in spite of having been towed 70,000 miles in the 6.5 years we had it.

We were able to get the Edge with a lot more features in it than the Stealth for the exact same cost so do your homework and you may find a similar deal.

Since we have a GMC 2500HD Diesel the weight issue was non-existent when comparing aluminum to steel. As the others have mentioned, the diesels just tow fantastically.

Cheers,

John

[loudes13]

If you can wait 2 weeks, I will be selling my United 18x7 enclosed for $5000.

Aero > weight

My United is extra low, designed to fit in a garage. It has less frontal area and is easier to tow. I currently have a gas 5.4L 2006 F250, but used to tow this trailer with a 2006 Chevy 1500 with a 4.3L v6.

http://www.tegtmeyertrailers.com/uni...ler-xlmtg.html

[Mike Holland]

Also look into a Montrose Trailer
http://www.montrosetrailers.com/

Purchased a used one off Ebay 18' enclosed (picture 058 in Automotive gallery section) that I am towing with a 5.2 Dodge Dakota.

[northarrowracing]

After much looking around and talking, I have pretty much decided on an ATC v nosed 7 1/2 x 16. The extra 6" wide makes loading much easier while still being 1' narrow from the standard 8'6" wide. They make this trailer with a steel or aluminum frame which I still have to decide on. It may come down to the $$$$. They can put the awning on it which I consider a must.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas. Most everyone agrees about buying a well made unit pays off in the end.

Ric

[NPalacioM3]

I just bought and was delivered a 24' ATC all aluminum back in October. They were fantastic to work with and the trailer is a gem, I went a little overboard maybe but they were up for any customization I asked about. Cannot speak highly enough about the company and their product. Go for it without reservations. Photos of mine below, towing with a Suburban 2500. If you need any dealer recommendations, mine was fantastic.