It doesn't bother me to cut the bumper cover. My Z is long past the beauty contestant phase. But, I don't weld so starting from scratch is out.

 

Still have my Roark hitch if you want to go that route. I also have welded bumper brackets that make it solid. Let me know if interested.

Have towed over 10K miles no problem. Just bought an F-150 so Z is going on the trailer or car dolly from now on.

 

To me, the trailer question comes down to a values query. How much do you like motorsports? Do you see a future for yourself in racing? The answer to these two questions will determine the best course of action in both the present and future.

-If the answers are you like motorsports, but are unsure about the future, maybe a trailer hitch with a small trailer is the answer. Or keep borrowing off somebody else for the immediate future.

-If the answers are you like motorsports and can see yourself racing time trials in the next few years, you should start by purchasing an open trailer (that can be stored) and possibly renting a truck until you can afford to buy one.

-If you seriously enjoy motorsports, are confident in your potential as a future racer and can see yourself racing W2W in the future, abandon all hope and start saving for an enclosed trailer and tow vehicle. You won't believe how good it is having a dedicated rig for racing!

 

Good points and spot on. I like motorsports and have been doing track days for about 3 years. I might do time trials in the future. I might take an instructor course. I do not see myself making it into wheel-to-wheel.

I have a truck. I have a place to store the trailer.

I need a trailer. No doubt about it. As mentioned, I have other needs that it would help with too (farm tractor).

My local track is only an hour away. I drive my car, my wife drives the truck with all the tools and tires. Its mostly the longer distance drives where a trailer is so nice.

It just never seems like the time is right to drop 3-4 grand on a trailer. Always something else emptying the track budget, just like everybody else. I'm hoping to get a 18' steel deck in the next year or so.

 

Sounds like you need a new thread: "Help me find my next open trailer", or something like that. Having owned an open trailer at one point, I can only say I'd look for one cheap and local. Documentation of recent work, like repacking wheel bearings, should be valuable. Having a lockable tire rack would also be a bonus, and is highly recommended. Check your local SCCA and NASA boards for some deals, as trailer deals for as low as $800 have come up if the timing is right.

 

Followup: Rental U-Haul trailer worked fine. Heavy but tows well. Hydraulic brakes work well. Three hour trip to VIR no problem.

My completely stock 2007 Enthusiast with 265/35/18 tires front and back will not clear the ramp or the wheel stops in the front. This was easy to solve. Back the rear wheels of the truck onto a small ramp to angle the trailer downward in the rear. I already had a homemade ramp made out of 2x10s. It was far easier to back the truck onto the ramps than to use them along with the trailer ramp. Once on the trailer a piece of 2x10 put just behind the wheel stops up front provides clearance. On and off very quick this way.

The front wheel straps are pretty ingenious. I used my own straps in the rear rather than using the recommended "safety chains" which looked useless.

So, in a pinch the standard U-Haul auto transport works and tows very well. But for three days the bill was $188 without insurance. For 10 more payments of about that much I could buy my own trailer.

 

Sounds like your tow was a success. Not only that, but you're gaining experience in what to look for in a trailer of your own. A beavertail ramp on an open trailer would make loading and unloading easier, would be an example. Plus, the economics of what it costs to rent vs. to own get clearer as you move on.

 

The front tire straps work great, I don't strap the rear of any car I haul, just safety chains at front and rear should the tire straps fail which is has never been an issue.

 

Finally not borrowing trailers




Now to figure out exactly how I will tie my car down on it.

 

That is a nice trailer. Love the box on the front. Looks like it has a winch too.

I ended up buying a 19" steel deck 9k pound trailer. I also put a winch on the front of it. Make loading much less....exciting.

I use axle straps looped through the wheels on all four corners to attach the tie down ratchet straps to. My trailer has folding d-ring attachment points. You can also get d-ring pocket stake attachment points if you need them. I don't need them for my car but I do use them for my tractor (6000 pounds with loader on).

https://www.valleyvet.com/group_images/40815_A.jpg

With the car, the straps on the front get ratcheted down very short, almost as short as they will go. On the back I cross them.

Looks like you could have some issues getting straps on up front.

I made up a set of chains for the front and attached them to the axle straps which I looped over the lower suspension arm. Once attached I let the car roll back to put tension on them and then tighten the rear straps as usual. I found this to be too tedious getting them around the suspension arm.

Edit: An issue that I have is that even though my deck slopes down in the rear, it is still too high with the length of the ramps so the car will scrape going up or down. So, I bought cheap plastic ramps to extend the trailer ramp and I put a pair under the rear tires of the truck. This allows enough clearance. I'd love to have a set of the foam RaceRamps but no way I'm spending that kind of money.

Another tip, I block the rear of my trailer with a piece of 4x4. This keeps the trailer from rising in the front and lifting the rear of the truck. Feels much more stable.

 

Congrats on that trailer! As for tow straps, I suggest getting some ratcheting 2" heavy duty ones rated to 10,000# like these:

https://www.racerpartswholesale.com/...railerTieDowns

Better to be on the safe side as far as capacity. N80 is correct in saying that rear wheel chocks help a lot in preventing a trailer from sliding around on an unstable surface. Let us know what you think of simply unloading the car and not having to unload the tools and gear from it- just drive!

Also, what are you guys towing with?

 

I started with a 2003 F150. It has been retired to the farm. Now towing with a 2015 Nissan Titan Pro-4x Crew Cab. Great tow vehicle.

I have the exact straps you linked to. Very happy with them.

As far as blocking the rear of the trailer;my trailer has a decal on there saying to block it for loads greater than 3000#.

I have seen videos of guys driving tractors onto unblocked trailers on a slight slope. The weight of the tractor on the back of the trailer takes the weight off the rear end of the truck. With the weight off the rear tires the truck and trailer begins to roll away since there is no parking brake or transmission to hold fronts in place. Super dangerous.

As far as making life easier: a trailer makes a world of difference. Plus, if the car is wrecked or disabled you can still get it home.....especially if you have a winch, which I added later.

 

Towing it with my Grand Cherokee. Still need to install a break away switch and redo some wiring. Going to add a couple marker lights , add lights inside the cabinets. Well tie points that will be perfect for the Z wheelbase. I have some work ahead.

 

Might as well get hubs checked and re-packed. Do a good job with the wiring. Ground it well. Trailer wiring always seems to be malfunctioning. I splurged and got the higher level of wiring on my trailer. All sealed with thick insulation.

Assuming you have a trailer brake in the Cherokee?

 

I'm going thru everything. Just a quick check to make sure it's good for many miles.

Yes, I have a brake controller. Got it a while back from Colombo when he upgraded trucks.

 

Here is a shot of my rig. On the trailer to take it to a shop for a custom roll bar.

 

Nice looking rig! I bet the Titan doesn't even know the trailer is there.

 

I do a lot of research before I buy a truck or a car but I have always been a Nissan/Infiniti guy. Got my first Nissan in 1984. Since then I have owned 8 (error-the number is 10) Nissan/Infiniti vehicles.

But, the 2015 Titan gets the worst reviews of all the available full sized pick-ups but most of that is because Nissan has not updated the truck much since it came out. I'm not a Chevy or Dodge guy so I looked at Ford and Toyota too. The Toyotas cost too much for what you get. My experience with my F150 was mixed. Sorting through the model variations of the Fords is mind numbing and no sales personnel could ever tell me what diff the Fords had in them which is crucial to their towing capacity.

At first it bugged me that all the other trucks had higher horsepower specs than the Titan but then I started looking at the torque/HP curves on the various trucks. All the extra HP on the competitors trucks comes at the high end of the RPM range. Torque too.

The Titan makes 80% of its torque at around 1000 RPM which is phenomenal. And you can feel it off the line and with towing.

But to answer your question, a 3500# car on a 2000# trailer does not slow it down much. It also brakes better, squats less and handles better than my 03 F150.

So for now, I'm very happy with the truck.

 

Like you, I looked at the options available to me in a tow vehicle. I watched with interest as the first gen Titan evolved over its lifespan. The HP/TQ increase with the VK56DE starting in the '07 model year, together with a host of mid model improvements, had me ready to replace my '96 Chevy Silverado C3500 Crewcab Dually. I'd towed to racetracks throughout the country with that one-ton truck for 17 years, but grew weary with the MPG from my 454 Vortec V8, poor build quality and substandard ergonomics.

When I finally decided to make the change, I looked for a used Titan to maximize towing potential. After a few years, I found what I was looking for: a well-used SE KC LWB 4X2. My enclosed 24' trailer with race Z, tools, spares and race tires weights in just under 9K#. That's probably too close to the tow limits of this particular Titan model, but adding Bilstein HD shocks, Firestone RideRite airbags, PML extended tranny pan, and other tow mods were worthwhile.

What's surprising is how well the Titan tows and how comfortable I've become with it. Sure, there are occasional times I get trailer sway--even an equalizer anti-sway hitch only goes so far--but that's what happens when you go from a dually to single rear wheels. The Titan has far better interior ergonomics and it's been a pleasure bringing it back and upgrading it. Mileage when towing is better than the Chevy, although to be fair, 5.5 MPG is not hard to beat!

 

My F150 (5.4 Triton Super Crew 4x4) got about 10mpg towing, at best. Haven't checked the Titan yet.

I've towed my tractor with loader and implements, probably about 5500# on a #2000 pound trailer and you can tell its back there. But, pulling a good sized 2 horse trailer seems the hardest even though it is only about 5500# total. I think it is the wind resistance of an enclosed trailer.