Enclosed car Hauler buying help
 

So I've been looking for a used 20' enclosed trailer with escape door for our 04 corvette. I thought this would be pretty straight forward but what I'm seeing is that most so far have inner fenders about 10-11" tall and then another 3" to the bottom lip of the escape door. Basically 14" above the platform or deck. This obviously won't work for the 04 so i checked our 70 GTO and it won't even work with that tall of a fender... and these are all name brand advertised as car haulers.

For reference here is my 20' trailer. It's inner fenders are only 5" tall and would work just fine with an escape door. I guess this is really what I am looking for, the problem is that their inner fenders are all just way too tall.

I'm not sure what I'm missing here so I'd really appreciate some advice or suggestions for what you all are using to mostly store and occasionally haul your cars. Thanks

Higher end trailer manufacturers are using a fender that folds down after you open your escape hatch. These days the stuff I am looking at Aluminum frame high end trailers are a thousand dollars a foot.

Generally a trailer with a dovetail/beavertail rear(depending on what part of the country you are from) will have the shorter fenders. Mine are only 4 inches high give or take because the racedeck flooring ads 1/2 an inch to the floor. I do not have or need an escape door, but I can tell you that I can open any & all doors & have never hit the fenderwell. Including a new '23 & a new '24 Vette from the Museum over the last couple of year. I drove them both in & got out with no issues. Honestly not sure i f there is a framing issue with the escape door that causes the manufacturers to not offer the lower fender.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/

No escape door needed
 

Today I am picking up a 1939 Chevy
for a repeat customer in Portland, OR.

It is a running and driving vehicle
that will be loaded and unloaded
using gravity and a wireless remote
controlled winch.

You don’t need an escape door.

2023 Beck Speedster

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1725536680

Watch this video I posted to my
YouTube channel:

@ https://youtu.be/FpRwH_9c7PA?feature=shared


Jim

I use a couple pieces of a 2 x10 where the tires of the car are. I have a 71 Lemans and a 2001 Corvette.

Temporary solution
 

I have used dimensional lumber
under tires to add clearance to
low profile vehicles - rollback
drivers use boards & skates to
help load low profile vehicles
on rollback decks - it is a temporary
solution - a vehicle sitting on boards
can shift unless the boards are secured
to the trailer floor.

Jim

That's all good advice guys and I appreciate it. I've used 2x10 or 12 in the past but for the trailers I've looked at it would take 3 on each side and I think that is too much. The corvette is about 9" from its door bottom to the floor, the GTO is much better at around 11" I think. Your thoughts on the amount of stacked lumber that would be safe to use?

For those that use a winch, what size winch and more important, when loading and especially unloading, how do you keep the steering centered? I assume that the automatic cars stay in neutral and the parking brake never gets set on any?

Winch selection
 

If you are signed into Facebook
watch my video on winch selection
for enclosed trailer vehicle transport:

@ https://www.facebook.com/share/v/P88mTfuZMiiN9kJk/?

I just uploaded another video to
my YouTube channel when I
picked up the 1939 Chevy Custom
about an hour ago:

@ https://youtu.be/4UbH0awey0g?feature=shared


http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1725556740


Jim

I have a 2019 Forest River Tailwind 26 ft trailer. I ordered through local dealer SAY Trailers. It has the Beaver tail and finished interior,with steel metal fastening bars( forget the proper name ,duh) in floor,they work really well. It has the escape door. I've hauled my stock 74 TA and my 73 TA race car with no problems. My inner fenders are approximately 4.5 " (4-1/2") high. To
bottom of escape door approximately 6.5". I just measured to be sure today. Hope this helps. It wasnt cheap but what I wanted for a long time. Now they are out of my range.