Enclosed car trailers, do more harm than good?

I don't know about closed trailors and damage claims, but for a trip of any length on an open trailor, your car will get filthy even if it doesn't rain. Plus you can get rock chip hits etc. For a valuable collectable car, I would be worried in an open trailor.

Ken

 

Enclosed trailers are the way to go but it's really easy to screw your car up. Use buckets of common sense, get a spotter for you and take extra time to rig the car to the trailer. It's not as easy as drive it on but some patience works wonders.

 

trailer aside, i'm of the personal mindset of 'drive' these cars were masde to be driven and enjoyed. to me a car that is driven and shows 'patina' from doing so is far more interesting than a trailer queen.

not to say this is what your car is, but if you do drive it now why not drive it to Monterey?


oKay the trailer, Boulders right it takes patience and loads of commen sense. you'll need at least another set of eyes when loading. if your slight enough you can get out with the limeted space if not then it'll get interesting. i'm far to big myself so i've climed out windows -don't wear shoes!-

 

oh the ramps are loads of fun, now i'm anal about some things so here is what i have done. i measured the front and rear tracks of the car and then placed the ramps so that the center of the ramp was in line with the center of the track width. my buddy thought i was crazy for constantly measuring the ramps out to make sure i didn't 'curb' a wheel.

i have had the pleasure of dropping off a ramp with a wheel, -NOT FUN- but funny now.

so my advice is use a tape measure, but i'm just overly cautious.

 

I have seen cars get dinged up in closed trailers, bad. I used to think they were the only way to go. Now I am leaning towards an open ride. It will be dirty when it gets there but not damaged.

On the other hand, a really good independent with a solid reputation in a closed truck may be the best. They are just hard to find and always more expensive.

aehaas

 

The drive to Monterey is fairly boring? I guess it comes back to the driver vs queen dicotomy that will never be resolved. I have not had one boring mile of the 39k+ miles in my f-car over the past 13 months. I guess I am an odd minority.
Steve

 

Not all enclosed trailers are equal. I've seen some that were too narrow, no side doors, and were filthy inside, and others that looked like rolling living rooms with ample side doors for access to the car.

If your car is nicely painted and detailed, I wouldn't use an open trailer. There's also a security issue if you need to stop and leave it unattended.

I'd guess driving a Boxer from Vegas to Monterey is going to get you a chipped up or cracked windshield, sandblasted paint, baked on bug spatter and an undercarriage-view of a bunch of trucks. I doubt Enzo intended these cars to be driven 70 mph along a big, flat, straight stretch of road through packs of semis. That's what Lincolns and Crown Vics are for.

 

When you hire an enclosed truck transport service, part of what you're paying for is their experience in getting cars on and off of their enclosed trucks without damage. (They've done it before.)

If you just rent an enclosed trailer or truck, you're (a) relying on your own luck at getting the car on and off without messing it up, and (b) dooming yourself to taking that boring drive in a tow vehicle or the truck. If you're moving multiple vehicles, maybe. But if you're driving the route anyway, drive the fun car.

When you need to ship a car across a trip you aren't going to be on, enclosed is the way to go. When I moved, I drove one car and shipped the two italians via enclosed trucks. One associate had his car shipped on an open truck (with a shipper selected by the relo company). He's still trying to get reinbursed for the damage.

The difference wasn't as much open or closed truck as the quality of the shipping company. Do your homework. Especially look for how they've handled things when it doesn't all go right.

If you don't want to drive to Monterey, go with Passport Transport or an equally reputable local company. Passport isn't cheap, but I'm not easy to impress.

But driving the longer fun route sounds like the way to go to Monterey.

 

next weekend i'm heading over to the cabin in mammoth and plan on taking montior pass. that is FUN!! driving.

the 395 is a mixed bag if you ask me, south of mammoth it can be boring and if your stuck behind a motorhome - hell-. after bishop it gets fun again. then onto to monitor pass over to placerville it's great.

i haven't figured a route myself for monterey this yr, but i won't be going the I5 most of the way like last yr booooring!

anyone plan on doing a group drive out to the Cavilino?

 

Where do they rent enclosed trailers in Vegas?

Thanks

 

J.P.
I just drove my 355 into my enclosed trailer for the first time today. I must have gotten in and out of that car 10 times going up the ramp to make sure I was taking the right line. The key seems to be TAKE YOUR TIME and it should go well. You do have to be a bit nimble getting out of the car once in the trailer but it isn't too difficult. No way would I use an open trailer. In addition to the road hazards there are weather concerns as well. Around here a sunny day can be replaced by a hail storm in a matter of minutes.
Regards,
Chris

 

Thank You

Paul

 

Before you do it, make sure you can get in and out of the window. You will not want to open a door, especially in a fairly wide car like a BB. Otherwise, take a lot of time loading and securing properly. Getting a spotter is wise.

Dave

 

Something to watch is the straps you strap the car down with. I was part of a NMRA race crew and we were trailering a car to FL from TX in an enclosed trailer and at our first stop just inside of Lousiana we realised that the straps securing the rear portion of the car had come completely loose. Freaked us out a little but luckily the car did not hit anything in the tralier. And quite lucky it was in an enlcosed, had it been on an open it could have been a completely different story.

We ended up having to check the car every couple hundred miles or so and every time the straps had loosened but not so much as the first time. We attributed this to possibly being brand new straps and them strecthing but I cannot imagine them stretching enough to be completely loose, laying on the floor of the trailer. I still don't know what caused it, possibly using cheap straps....

 

in my fathers trailer there is a winch. hook the cable to the tow hook. and 1 person control the winch and the other controls the stearing wheel. To get the right ramp angle we put the front jack on the trailer down to lift the trailer to control the angle of the ramp in the rear. you can really mess up the transmission if you try driving it up the trailer and keep trying to realign pushing the clutch in and out going up the trailer. if you dont have a winch try a come a long.

 

You'd rather put up with a 1200 mile trip in a truck to save the perceived depreciation you'd get from a couple of month's worth of use?

Are you taking the car to Monterrey to sell it?

Because if you're afraid to drive it, why do you own a Ferrari?

Windscreens, paint, tires -- these are expendables. But the days you spend denying yourself the pleasure of driving your car ... those you can't replace.

 

As long as you take your time, an enclosed trailer is the way to go. You do have to check the straps from time to time, but that is just good common sense. Another thing to make sure of is to put the gear in Neutral after you have strapped the car down. If you don't, the constant rocking back and forth will damage the transmission. When I had my enclosed trailer, I used some wall cushions that I purchased from Griots Garage (which they don't sell anymore) to protect the door when I exited the car. You definately have to be a contortionist to get out of your vehicle, but it can be done.

 

Your problem underlines the complete sea change that F-car owners have experienced since the genesis of these sports cars. We used to drive our cars long distances, sleep a few hours and then race them. The cars could cover huge distances realtively quickly. I once drove 962 miles (on the odo) in 10:20, and went racing the next morning. Now you are risking jail if you try and to do that. and with that we have seen the end of the need for a GT car in the USA and possibly elsewhere too. Their ownsership is an affectation in the context of their designated purpose. So today its about bling, looks, some performance and for very few, the ability to use the F1 technology from which the cars have originated.

With that said, I would still drive it, crack the windshield and destroy a few million bugs. After all thats what its for. Yes boring but a lot more utility from the car. Your statement sounds like the private pilot who did not want to fly to a place for the weekend because the plane could not get hangered at the destination; or the boat owner who never take it out of the harbor because it has to be washed down when it returns. The quality of the toys are making you into a prisoner of your perceptions.

But hey you are in the majority so feel good at least about that.

 

If you can afford it, make it easy on yourself, call Intercity Lines and let them deliver it in pristine condition, both directions, with no worries. They do a lot of hauling during the car week in Monterey and you may get a slightly better deal then because of that. But then there's $3.25 diesel, so you may get the dreaded "fuel surcharge" added on. Still worth a call- fyi. Another thought- if you let Intercity do the hauling and are then considering flying, I would recommend flying LV to San Jose, and renting a car there (only 80 miles SJC to Monterey). Any flights directly into Monterey are a huge ripoff.