Been casually looking at open deck car haulers to take my M3 to track events. I have used the U-Haul auto transport in the past and liked the concealed ramps, light trailer weight, galvanized finish and low profile. U-Haul doesn't sell their old used trailers to the public, but in searching I found some old Penske trailers on Ironplanet auction sites...
https://www.ironplanet.com/Demco-Car+Carrier+Trailer
Past auctions show the typical sale price to be about $2500, which is $1500 to $2000 less than an open car hauler in my area (WNY) that has a bunch of surface rust and probably needs tires and general TLC (brakes and lights).
Any thoughts on these? I can't seem to find any other literature about them out there.
nsogiba said:
Been casually looking at open deck car haulers to take my M3 to track events. I have used the U-Haul auto transport in the past and liked the concealed ramps, light trailer weight, galvanized finish and low profile. U-Haul doesn't sell their old used trailers to the public, but in searching I found some old Penske trailers on Ironplanet auction sites...
https://www.ironplanet.com/Demco-Car+Carrier+Trailer
Past auctions show the typical sale price to be about $2500, which is $1500 to $2000 less than an open car hauler in my area (WNY) that has a bunch of surface rust and probably needs tires and general TLC (brakes and lights).
My opinion? Ew :)
For their size they're pretty heavy (2200 pounds for a 12 foot deck), surge brakes suck, and the design forces you to secure the car too far forwards to idiot proof the tongue weight. There's a reason that people who are buying their own race car trailer never buy that model.
If you're willing to drive down to GA, NC, TN then you could buy from these guys Maxbuilttrailers. Plenty of new trailers for under $3500. Some even under $3000 like this one.
Under $3000 is nuts for a new one. Around here anything that's decently nice is $4-5K.
You just have to be willing to travel to find deals.
In reply to yupididit :
I bought a Maxbuilt trailer in TN last year. I think the out the door cost was the advertised price, which for the model we bought I think was $3100. It has an 18' deck with a dovetail and 5' ramps that stow underneath. It's been good for us so far, it's not particularly heavy duty and the paint is thin, but it tows my Miata very well.
AMiataCalledSteve said:
In reply to yupididit :
I bought a Maxbuilt trailer in TN last year. I think the out the door cost was the advertised price, which for the model we bought I think was $3100. It has an 18' deck with a dovetail and 5' ramps that stow underneath. It's been good for us so far, it's not particularly heavy duty and the paint is thin, but it tows my Miata very well.
Do you know about how much it weighs?
In reply to BA5 :
I haven't weighed it but my guess is somewhere in the range of 1600-1900 lbs. That's just a guess though. Towing it unladen feels like it's almost not there, like I said before it's not super heavy duty.
I had a similar steel+wood deck trailer with a 16' foot deck, it weighed 1800. 18' is probably another 100 pounds or so.
http://www.econotrailer.com/Open.html
These are more expensive now than they used to be, but are a known quality. I have had one for about 5 years now, and it's been great.
