I recently ordered a 6.2 F250 and will order an enclosed trailer when my truck gets in to take my old race cars to the track. One of the trailer options is spread axles. It will be a 20' trailer. Is it a good idea to get this option? I read that it makes it hard on the tires? Any real world experience with spread axles on a car hauler? Thanks!

 

If you never put the trailer into a tight corner (forward or backwards) then the spread axle isn't an issue. I haven't owned a spread axle trailer myself, but I did research them when I saw them for the first time.

 

Yeah, looking at the specs of ATC car haulers that come with spread axles, the axle separation is only 42 inches. If the trailer tires are 30 inches in diameter, that means the tires are only about a foot apart. I would think that amount of spread probably won't have much effect on things.

 

 

I'm doubting you'll get much benefit from a spread axle trailer on a 20' trailer. That's a pretty short trailer to begin with. What are your concerns/issues with your current setup that you're looking at a spread axle trailer? Are you only hauling a car, or are you going to have a front workbench/storage/tool area in the front end of the trailer? Are these your typical front engine/rear wheel drive cars you're hauling? I'm thinking strictly of weight balance now. If you go with a spread axle design, you still need to be able to load whatever you're putting in the trailer so that you have appropriate tongue weight on your hitch. Most of the spread axle trailers I've seen have the rear axle in "about" the same place, and move the front axle forward. This will take some of the weight off of the trailer tongue. This isn't always a *good* thing. Now if you have front "work area" that prevents you from bringing your car all the way to the front wall, *and* you move your front trailer axle forward at the same time, you could have a trailer that gives you a constant "Wag The Dog" experience when you pull it down the road.

Not trying to talk you out of it, but trying to make sure you've thought all the way through your setup. I've seen some race trailers at the tracks that pulled like nightmares down the road.

 

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll be a real novice towing and I'm pretty concerned about sway so I thought that maybe having the axels spread more would decrease the incidence of sway? Since it looks like they only move the axles apart less than a foot and the potential problems for the already stressed tires it sounds line a not so great idea.

You brought up weight distribution which is why I'm thinking of a 20' trailer. At first I thought of getting an 18' trailer but figured that it won't give me much space front and back to move the cars. The cars are both under 16' long. I don't plan on anything in the front of the trailer other than a winch and will only put a couple of 5 gallon fuel jugs in the trailer along with the car. Stuff like a floor jack, small generator, and air compressor will go in the truck cab. Ordered the carpet delete for that reason.

This is one of the cars which weighs 3320 lbs and has 54% of the weight on the front tires:



This is the other one that weighs 3246 lbs with 50% on the front tires:

 

I just bought a 18+2 V-Nose ATC '"Quest" series cargo trailer. I recently hauled a 2000# piece of machinery in it from Jax to South Bend, In., about 1150 miles. It tows like a dream. No sway or bucking at all. I kept it around 75-78 MPH whenever possible. I got an extra height trailer for future AVT hauling, thus more drag & weight (3200#), so the fuel mileage sucked at that speed. It hovered around 10 mpg's. You shouldn't need spread axles on a 20'trailer. I think they come with 6k torsion axles standard. They make a really nice trailer. A comparable trailer is Intech. They are manufactured in the same town (Nappanee, In.) as ATC. I am on my way up there now to pick mine up to complete the trip I started 2 weeks ago. Long story. Good luck with your new truck and trailer. Post some pics when you get it.

 

I recently had a custom Cargo Trailer made. When I brought up the idea of Spread Axles I got an instant .. No. Apparently under 25 ft. they're more trouble than they're worth. I went with Torsion Axles and 15" G/Y Endurance Tires.

 

Thanks guys. Spread axles on a 20' trailer doesn't seem like a good idea. I'm not going to go that route. Thanks again.

 

Another vote for not getting the spread axle. I had a 28' previously that was a spread axle. I wasn't crazy about that setup. Everybody I talked to raved about how great they were and when I got one I realized its really not that different. Perhaps a little better on stability in cross winds and ride quality but its hardly a big difference. I can't see that as much of an issue on a 20 footer.

Bought a new 2018 24' enclosed earlier this year with a traditional tandem leaf spring setup. Tows great. Went back to a 24' because the 28' was to long to fit in my current driveway.

I would recommend going with a 24' instead of the 20'. My racecar is significantly shorter than yours and its cramped in a 20. I don't haul a lot of stuff but it the extra room is worth it. And if you haven't been using a trailer previously you will learn quickly that its much easier to put all of that extra equipment in the trailer. I have a tire rack down the right side for two extra sets of wheels/tires. In the nose I have a small bench and cabinets. I haul a floor jack, two fuel cans, tool box, two tubs with spare parts, jack stands, another tub with chemicals (oils, cleaners, etc...), a cooler and a pair of pit bikes. The extra 4' of room lets me store that stuff in the front of the trailer and still be able to access the car for loading and tie downs.

My current setup:

 

That's a very nice setup you have. My brother had a 24 footer and that seems to be a popular size for a lot of race cars. I just want one that is easy to tow and will fit in my attached garage that is 30' deep with 8' high doors. I'm going to order the trailer a foot shorter in height than the normal 100" so it will fit through the door. I know how much stuff I could end up taking to the track but I'm just going to only put a couple fuel jugs, floor jack, and maybe a bike in the trailer and everything else in the truck.
Do you use a weight distribution hitch towing your trailer?
Thank you for the good advice.

 

Thanks. Love the trailer. Its been great.

Wow, so storing the enclosed trailer indoors? Pretty sweet. If you ordered a new F250 with the 6.2 it should have no trouble towing a 24' trailer. You can see in the photo above I don't use a weight distribution hitch and the truck doesn't care. The F250 is a great tow beast. I have done two coast to coast tows with the above rig and it was utterly comfortable and stable and never gave me a moment's trouble. Mountains, deserts, big cities, empty Interstates, heavy traffic, cross-winds, it doesn't care. Always completely composed. Mine is a 6.7 so the extra power is nice but the 6.2 will pull a 24' enclosed just fine.

If you are new to enclosed trailers a few things to consider: My trailer is full height inside (6.5ft). I am 6.3" tall. Trailers with lower roofs are a PITA to walk around inside. Hunching over gets old really fast. We have a 12x12 pop-up we keep beside the trailer but we use the trailer itself to get out of the weather when at the track. The extra height and room is appreciated.

As I said, a 6.2 250 will pull a 24' enclose easily. So don't think you need to downsize to make it pull easier. I towed a friend's 32 footer recently with my truck and it was fine. His trailer, fully loaded, is about 12,000 lbs.

 

Thanks for the additional info. It would be nice not to have to stoop inside the trailer but from my experience, I really don't spend time in the trailer at the track. If I do, I can always just stick a chair inside and sit. I'm not a hardcore racer and if the weather turns bad, I'll just head home. Plus I'm short so I won't have to stoop much even if I have the height cut by a foot.

 

On the subject of spread axles - I was pricing out a custom trailer last year and went through the axle options. What I was going to do was a pair of 7,000lb axles. Going back and forth with the manufacturer on it they use torsion spring axles. The trailer was going to be mainly a boat trailer, but I had some ideas for multi-purposing (hence the heavy axles). The torsion axles were supposedly better than the leaf spring axles, however the one issue that came up that a torsion can't account for is the weight distribution between the axles - such as backing a boat down a steep launch where the rear axle hangs unloaded while the front axle takes all the weight backing down. All the torsion axle set ups, to my knowledge, will have the same limitation there whereas the way the tandem leaf springs are set up they will balance the load between the axles. That will also affect the ride quality as the trailer may not respond as much to bumps in this manner.

The longer the wheelbase/spread between the axles the more stable/less sway you should have. They will also have a wider range of loading the trailer to achieve a specific tongue weight range. Others have mentioned the wear on the tires. If it were me and I was bending the trailer around tight areas often I wouldn't want to go with a spread axle set up. The conventional tandem axle trailers I've had or pulled all skidded the tires sideways in tight bends. The tires may not be the issue - the ground you are rolling the trailer on may be. Gravel drives can get pulled up from the tires. I wouldn't think asphalt would do that, but if you had enough weight on the axles or hot/soft asphalt in the summer it could.