interested in a used 20' enclosed trailer for hauling the nsx etc around to track events. I don't know much about them. I've seen some really really nice ones around that look like rolling motel rooms with a car parked inside. budget sub 10k if possible.
thanks for the suggestions
Just went through this myself, I do not have my NEW trailer yet it is on order and should be here in the next few weeks. I looked at a bunch of trailers new and used and came to the conclusion that if you shop around and keep the option list on the need to have instead of want to have you can get a nice trailer for under 10k. The used trailer that I looked at that I liked were all about 5 yeays old and while nice were used and started at about $5k for a non-aluminum trailer. What I noticed was the aluminum trailers all carried a premium in price and all sold very fast when they were around for sale. Knowing this and the fact that a five year old used trailer was likely to need tires, brakes, and axle rebuilds I decided to look at new trailer prices. I paid just a little over $7K for a new all aluminum 22' enclosed trailer with the options I felt I needed. I wanted a lot more but this is what I decided to have built.
http://neotrailers.com/products_trailers_ncvf.php
1. 22' All aluminum Auto trailer from NEO Trailers, trailer weight is 3000lbs empty so it can be pulled by most SUV's when loaded, this allows for 4500 lbs of car and stuff. (helps with resale value if a 3/4 ton pickup is not needed to tow, also a 22' is a better fit for the NSX, due to our rear weight bias you will load the car further into the trailer than the typical front engine car to get some tounge weight on the tow vehicle, so the car is 15' long and you will need to pull it in more, want cabinets and the side door to be in front of the car when loaded and you need a 22' to make it work, the V-nose helps to have more room but it will still be tight in a 20')
2. Glued no screws smooth sides, all doors with hidden hardware NO locking bars on the ramp door or side entry door, and LED lighting (Big deal for resale as most highend trailers are using the RV style locks and makes the trailer look much more modern compared to the older style bar locks, white is the go to color for resale)
3. V-Nose no door in V, (this is a hard one to decide, cost is not much of an difference but I thought the V would help with fuel a little bit, no ramp door in the V-Nose may be a mistake for resale as with the ramp door the trailer can double as a snow mobile or toy hauler with the ability to exit the toys out the front, I chose no door because I want cabinets in the front and the door makes it almost impossible to have them. Also you may opt for a drivers side escape door to aid in getting out of the car after you load it, I have no issues getting out of the car after I pull it in so it is not a big deal for me not to have the door, I think I would opt for a winch instead if getting out of the car after it is loaded was a problem)
4. White interior with scuff boards and Advantec plywood floor (another hard choice, I wanted the rubber coin floor untill I talked to several people that have it and have had issues. I decided to order the trailer with exposed floor and 12" of plywood on the walls, I will have all this sprayed with spray in bedliner on all exposed plywood after I get the trailer here. Probably another $800 to $1,000 to have this done but still cheaper than the coin floor)
5. Torsion Axles vs spring axles (much better ride when loaded, cost only a little more to do the torsions Right now the biggest fad in new trailers is to do a spread axle setup. I think most are doing it for looks but there are other advantages to having the axles further apart from each other, but it really adds a lot to the cost of a new trailer and this trailer manufacturer does not offer it anyway)
6. Extended ramp door flap and electric tounge jack (both of these are a must to load a low car like a NSX and you will still likely need a long set of RaceRamps to get the car in. This is also an issue with this particular trailer manufacturer they do not build their trailer with a beavertail. They say it is not needed and makes the tail of the trailer weaker? They prefer a longer ramp and lower overal load height in their trailer design, we will see but I did the math and the car will load with my race ramps on level ground so we will have to see when it arrives)
7. Flat top (this is a preference has little to no effect on price, the round top trailers look dated to me and I like the looks of the flat top better)
8. Radial tires and aluminum wheels (all for resale and it just looks better than the steel wheels, if you are willing you can buy the aluminum wheels cheaper on line and put them on after you get your trailer then you have plenty of spare wheels and just need to buy a tire or two for a complete spare tire setup)
9. Cabinets I opted for none (I have a rolling tool cabinet with a work surface in my garage that fits nicely in the V-nose and I can remove all my tools and place them back in the garage in less than 5 min. so I did not need another set of tools for the trailer and I did not have to buy the trailer manufactures cabinet package, these can be $2k real quick. Just need to add a few extra tie downs to secure the tool chest)
http://www.lowes.com/pd_351991-5573...rentURL=?Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1&facetInfo=
When all is said and done I will have around $9-$9500 in this new trailer, of course if you are not carefull you can option your way into a $15,000 trailer real fast. Most trailer manufacturers that build both steel and aluminum trailers only charge about $2k more for the aluminum build, well worth it for resale and fuel cost savings as well as wear and tear on your tow vehicle. I figure I will get about 4-5 years of maintenance free towing, and should be able to sell the trailer for at least $6500 -$7500 or about $1K to $1500 more than you typical used steel trailer and it should sell real fast as long as it is good shape.
Hope this helps a little.
Dave
