Enclosed Trailer Recomendations

Chad E532 · 06-16-2009, 11:08 AM

I am looking to upgrade to an enclosed trailer from my open trailer. In my area (Minneapolis / St. Paul suburbs) there are dealers for Haulmark, Classic, United, and Team Spirit. The Team Spirit trailer is very nice looking, but I have not really heard of them so I am not sure about the quality level.
Anyone have an horror stories on trailers to stay away from or recomendations on a certain brand?
I am thinking of going with a 26' tag with 5200 lb axles and basic cabinets.
Thanks
Chad

7820 · 06-16-2009, 11:12 AM

I have a 28 foot Classic and really like it. No problems so far, have owned it for four years. I did , after I bought it, put 16 inch wheels and tires on it.

Floyd Staggs · 06-16-2009, 11:42 AM

If you are going to upgrade go ahead and get everything you think you might want to start with. It is cheaper than doing it piece meal. We started with a Haulmark Thrifty Hauler for 5 years. When we decided to step up we found a Pace Shadow GT with Daytona package and all the goodies, extra cabinets, double doors, dragster ramps at Flyin A down in Missouri. Allen treated us real well.
If you're buying everybody out there is dealing, just don't scrimp.

FED 387 · 06-16-2009, 11:47 AM

Buy the BIGGEST trailer you can afford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buy the BIGGEST trailer you can afford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I have your attention about buying the biggest trailer you can afford think about all of the "crap" you are gonna be taking to the track with you. When you get that big box home and look inside your gonna say wow look at all that room.But,put a car /workbench/tool box/ jacks/ gas cans/etc and you run outa room REAL fast---
Not sure what you are looking at but get at least 2 roof vents and put a generator door on the left front corner as far to the front as you can--if its for a door car get at least 4-6 floor tie downs----

Trailer sales are real slow now so see if the dealer has any special equipment packages available too-I would buy a white colored one easier to sell down the road and no extra cost for the color either

Get HEAVY DUTY 16 inch wheel/tires and see if you can get a deal on a spare tire or 2
Other than that most all the trailers are pretty much the same some are definately better than others and some offer trackside repair /warranty services too
Ask around at the tracks see if they would buy the same trailer again what they do/dont like about their present trailer---My .02 cents---Comp 387

treessavoy · 06-16-2009, 12:24 PM

I agree, buy the biggest you can afford and if it doesn't have 16's make sure you can get some to fit it.

If you have a door car I would advise a drivers side door on the trailer....and most important : measure the height of the wheel wells in the trailer and the height of the bottom of your car door to insure that the door will open if you drive your car into the trailer.

Jim

Jim Kaekel · 06-16-2009, 12:33 PM

I went through the purchasing of an enclosed trailer just over a year ago and I would highly recommend a Classic Dominator. I talked to many friends that owned several different brands and I wound up looking very closely at Pace and Classic. Like FED says earlier, the 16" wheels would be a VERY WISE move as well. I had blow-outs with 15" tires on my open trailer. If you're going to purchase a tag, get the 28'. If you want something longer, get a gooseneck.

B Aceves · 06-16-2009, 12:34 PM

Best bang for my buck was a 28ft enclosed from Vintage Outlaw, lots of upgrades availible and all I did
was upgrade to the 16inch wheels. Call Smith trailer sales he runs a add in the back of ND and is
a great guy to deal with. Up front and honest is good policy in my book no BS. If your looking for top of the line a Pace is hard to beat but big dollars
I belive Dan Fletcher is a Vintage dealer also

Denny Steward · 06-16-2009, 12:42 PM

Call Mike Gardner @ Hillwood Sales he has an add at the top of the page

bobby · 06-16-2009, 01:28 PM

I am NOT happy with my Haulmark. It's one year old. They use sheet metal for crossmembers. It is not a full frame. They cut the frame off behind the axles and weld in a piece of sheetmetal for the dovetail. The back door is 1" higher than the floor of the trailer. It cost me a $450 set of headers the first time I backed the car out of it. You have to order roller wheels for the back, added option they don't tell you about. The hydraulic jack, I paid $1800 for and it didn't come with a battery. Most trailer manu's sell the jack for $1200 with a battery. The light switchs are behind the double side doors, should have put them in the front of the doors. You have to climb inside the trailer to turn the lights on, wouldn't it be safer if you sould see to get in to the trailer? And they are not a member of the BBB. The dealer I bought it from is pretty good, but it was manufactured in Georgia and they stink at building trailers. I should have bought a Millenium.

Rob Petrie E395 · 06-16-2009, 01:55 PM

I can recomend both Mike at Hillwood and Kevin at Flying A. I just dont know if I can recomend Haulmark any more. The first one I bought from Hillwood was a 24 ft race trailer and it was great never had a problem with it and they were awesome to deal with. Got stupid and decided to get a bigger one and got a 28 a few years later from a dealer that is now gone not any problems with it either. Bought 3rd a 40' gooseneck with all the stuff I wanted three years ago. It was totaled 29 days after recieving it in a extremly bad storm that flipped it and truck over with car inside at my house but it had already started showing signs of problems. The one that has replaced it is a 44 ft. GN (now 2 1/2 years old and honestly It looks nice but has had more than its share of problems. If it could go wrong it seems it has. IE Light fell off wall and hit car doing damage just after getting it repaired/ repainted from storm deal, then the flap came off the rear door hitting the car again and putting a major dent on inside wall of trailer, rubber coin floor looks like I have moles under it, side door saggs and wont open/close right, wiring was pinched going to ac so when we installed the ac we had to pull a bunch of panels out to find the screw pinching it which is not a easy job due to the way they are built. Welds on both rear door latches broke plus some other small stuff. Now you might think no big deal warranty, yea right none of the local Haulmark dealers will work on it because all they sell is little trailers and they say its too big for thier shop. This after I was told you can take it to any dealer to get warranty repairs. Flying A is 3 hours away one way. I did finally arrange ( with kevin from flying A's help) to get some parts from Haulmark shipped straight to me but for the most part it has been on me to fix stuff when it goes wrong because its faster/ less hastle to fix it myself than it is to haul it to Cuba MO. and then go back the next week to pick it up loosing 2 days work to do so. If you do get a haulmark from a dealer that is not local to you make sure you have a dealer close who will do warranty. Maybe I am just having bad luck with this one but I am more than a little disapponted with it. For a 24 thousand dollar trailer it should be holding up better. Like I wrote before I would buy another trailer from Hillwood or Flying A in a heartbeat they are both great dealers but I think if I cant kick this racing addiction I just buy another brand from them next time.

06-16-2009, 11:08 AM	#1
Chad E532 Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lindstrom MN Posts: 156 Likes: 7 Liked 54 Times in 7 Posts	Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I am looking to upgrade to an enclosed trailer from my open trailer. In my area (Minneapolis / St. Paul suburbs) there are dealers for Haulmark, Classic, United, and Team Spirit. The Team Spirit trailer is very nice looking, but I have not really heard of them so I am not sure about the quality level. Anyone have an horror stories on trailers to stay away from or recomendations on a certain brand? I am thinking of going with a 26' tag with 5200 lb axles and basic cabinets. Thanks Chad

06-16-2009, 11:12 AM	#2
7820 Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 201 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I have a 28 foot Classic and really like it. No problems so far, have owned it for four years. I did , after I bought it, put 16 inch wheels and tires on it.

06-16-2009, 11:42 AM	#3
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,522 Likes: 152 Liked 229 Times in 99 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations If you are going to upgrade go ahead and get everything you think you might want to start with. It is cheaper than doing it piece meal. We started with a Haulmark Thrifty Hauler for 5 years. When we decided to step up we found a Pace Shadow GT with Daytona package and all the goodies, extra cabinets, double doors, dragster ramps at Flyin A down in Missouri. Allen treated us real well. If you're buying everybody out there is dealing, just don't scrimp. __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

06-16-2009, 11:47 AM	#4
FED 387 VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,419 Likes: 528 Liked 332 Times in 180 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations Buy the BIGGEST trailer you can afford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy the BIGGEST trailer you can afford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that I have your attention about buying the biggest trailer you can afford think about all of the "crap" you are gonna be taking to the track with you. When you get that big box home and look inside your gonna say wow look at all that room.But,put a car /workbench/tool box/ jacks/ gas cans/etc and you run outa room REAL fast--- Not sure what you are looking at but get at least 2 roof vents and put a generator door on the left front corner as far to the front as you can--if its for a door car get at least 4-6 floor tie downs---- Trailer sales are real slow now so see if the dealer has any special equipment packages available too-I would buy a white colored one easier to sell down the road and no extra cost for the color either Get HEAVY DUTY 16 inch wheel/tires and see if you can get a deal on a spare tire or 2 Other than that most all the trailers are pretty much the same some are definately better than others and some offer trackside repair /warranty services too Ask around at the tracks see if they would buy the same trailer again what they do/dont like about their present trailer---My .02 cents---Comp 387

06-16-2009, 12:24 PM	#5
treessavoy VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Dunnellon,FL Posts: 1,103 Likes: 0 Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I agree, buy the biggest you can afford and if it doesn't have 16's make sure you can get some to fit it. If you have a door car I would advise a drivers side door on the trailer....and most important : measure the height of the wheel wells in the trailer and the height of the bottom of your car door to insure that the door will open if you drive your car into the trailer. Jim

06-16-2009, 12:33 PM	#6
Jim Kaekel VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,227 Likes: 133 Liked 531 Times in 108 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I went through the purchasing of an enclosed trailer just over a year ago and I would highly recommend a Classic Dominator. I talked to many friends that owned several different brands and I wound up looking very closely at Pace and Classic. Like FED says earlier, the 16" wheels would be a VERY WISE move as well. I had blow-outs with 15" tires on my open trailer. If you're going to purchase a tag, get the 28'. If you want something longer, get a gooseneck. __________________ Jim Kaekel 3836 STK

06-16-2009, 12:34 PM	#7
B Aceves Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 457 Likes: 1 Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations Best bang for my buck was a 28ft enclosed from Vintage Outlaw, lots of upgrades availible and all I did was upgrade to the 16inch wheels. Call Smith trailer sales he runs a add in the back of ND and is a great guy to deal with. Up front and honest is good policy in my book no BS. If your looking for top of the line a Pace is hard to beat but big dollars I belive Dan Fletcher is a Vintage dealer also __________________ Bob Aceves, 746 E/SA A&M motorsports Last edited by B Aceves; 06-16-2009 at 12:36 PM.

06-16-2009, 12:42 PM	#8
Denny Steward Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: PORT ORANGE FL Posts: 283 Likes: 408 Liked 131 Times in 24 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations Call Mike Gardner @ Hillwood Sales he has an add at the top of the page

06-16-2009, 01:28 PM	#9
bobby Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: League City, Texas Posts: 243 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I am NOT happy with my Haulmark. It's one year old. They use sheet metal for crossmembers. It is not a full frame. They cut the frame off behind the axles and weld in a piece of sheetmetal for the dovetail. The back door is 1" higher than the floor of the trailer. It cost me a $450 set of headers the first time I backed the car out of it. You have to order roller wheels for the back, added option they don't tell you about. The hydraulic jack, I paid $1800 for and it didn't come with a battery. Most trailer manu's sell the jack for $1200 with a battery. The light switchs are behind the double side doors, should have put them in the front of the doors. You have to climb inside the trailer to turn the lights on, wouldn't it be safer if you sould see to get in to the trailer? And they are not a member of the BBB. The dealer I bought it from is pretty good, but it was manufactured in Georgia and they stink at building trailers. I should have bought a Millenium. __________________ Next time wave all of your fingers at me. Last edited by bobby; 06-16-2009 at 01:29 PM. Reason: added lines

06-16-2009, 01:55 PM	#10
Rob Petrie E395 VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Woodlawn IL Posts: 1,092 Likes: 162 Liked 216 Times in 77 Posts	Re: Enclosed Trailer Recomendations I can recomend both Mike at Hillwood and Kevin at Flying A. I just dont know if I can recomend Haulmark any more. The first one I bought from Hillwood was a 24 ft race trailer and it was great never had a problem with it and they were awesome to deal with. Got stupid and decided to get a bigger one and got a 28 a few years later from a dealer that is now gone not any problems with it either. Bought 3rd a 40' gooseneck with all the stuff I wanted three years ago. It was totaled 29 days after recieving it in a extremly bad storm that flipped it and truck over with car inside at my house but it had already started showing signs of problems. The one that has replaced it is a 44 ft. GN (now 2 1/2 years old and honestly It looks nice but has had more than its share of problems. If it could go wrong it seems it has. IE Light fell off wall and hit car doing damage just after getting it repaired/ repainted from storm deal, then the flap came off the rear door hitting the car again and putting a major dent on inside wall of trailer, rubber coin floor looks like I have moles under it, side door saggs and wont open/close right, wiring was pinched going to ac so when we installed the ac we had to pull a bunch of panels out to find the screw pinching it which is not a easy job due to the way they are built. Welds on both rear door latches broke plus some other small stuff. Now you might think no big deal warranty, yea right none of the local Haulmark dealers will work on it because all they sell is little trailers and they say its too big for thier shop. This after I was told you can take it to any dealer to get warranty repairs. Flying A is 3 hours away one way. I did finally arrange ( with kevin from flying A's help) to get some parts from Haulmark shipped straight to me but for the most part it has been on me to fix stuff when it goes wrong because its faster/ less hastle to fix it myself than it is to haul it to Cuba MO. and then go back the next week to pick it up loosing 2 days work to do so. If you do get a haulmark from a dealer that is not local to you make sure you have a dealer close who will do warranty. Maybe I am just having bad luck with this one but I am more than a little disapponted with it. For a 24 thousand dollar trailer it should be holding up better. Like I wrote before I would buy another trailer from Hillwood or Flying A in a heartbeat they are both great dealers but I think if I cant kick this racing addiction I just buy another brand from them next time.