Which trailer to transport a GT40?

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad!) of trailering their 40? How wide should the load bed be? Is it possible to get out of the car if you have an enclosed trailer? It seems that a tilt bed is desirable to overcome the ground clearance problems when loading forwards, or am I being a wuss? Finally, does anyone have any views on Brian James v Ifor Williams trailers?

I would be very grateful for any help or advice that you might be able to give me.

Thanks,

Neil
 

Tim Kay

Lifetime Supporter
As has been said before if you have an enclosed trailer then small children with a sack lunch are necessary.
 
It's not possible to get out of a 40 in an enclosed trailer. The only exception being a trailer with a custom side door and long enough to avoid the trailer wheel arches. I pull mine in backwards with an electric winch. Even with a beavertail I need long ramps to avoid scraping the nose. The car is a tight fit between wheel arches even with a wide axle option. An open trailer would load much easier, but isn't as secure.
 
Thank you guys for your replies. Tim, I could cope with small children and packed lunches 25 years ago, but definitely not now - so that rules out an enclosed trailer. In passing, they're incredibly expensive. From your comment Dave, it looks as if a tiltbed with long ramps is favourite. I've found a Brian James trailer with a 6'7" wide bed, open and so less secure as you say, but probably fits the bill as well as anything.

Cheers,

Neil
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
It's not possible to get out of a 40 in an enclosed trailer. The only exception being a trailer with a custom side door and long enough to avoid the trailer wheel arches. I pull mine in backwards with an electric winch. Even with a beavertail I need long ramps to avoid scraping the nose. The car is a tight fit between wheel arches even with a wide axle option. An open trailer would load much easier, but isn't as secure.

Have to disagree there. I have an enclosed and Paul at Olthoff showed me the trick. Open the door as far as you can with foam or whatever to protect the edge and then step forward and over the hinges. I'm 6'2 220 and can still do it.
 

Salina Bailey

Supporter
we just bought a sloan kwikload trailer for ours, the deck rolls off the frame and under the front of the car just like a rollback tow truck. they will custom make it for you with a longer frame and setup so that your GT40 will drive right up on it and not scrape, they have made some for GT40'S F4'S and a few other supercars with very low ground clearance. the fenders also unhinge and fold down so you can get your GT40 door open once its on the trailer deck. They are based in Texas, we had ours built and shipped to San Jose as that was the closest dealer for us that was willing to put in an order. we drove down from Washington to get it. It is one trick trailer and I have no problem recommending them.
 
I can't afford a trailer this year or any of the years I spent building the car. So I had to borrow from a good buddy of mine. Its a standard twin axel open trailer. It is 16 feet long and is perfect for the 40. The rear tires are within 3 inches of the side rail(wide body). The doors open OVER the trailer fenders by 1/2". I winch it from the back without any problems. My friend used to trailer a jeep to go hunting out west. So he has the short ramps. To accommodate my low ground clearance I use the floor jack to raise the front tongue at the trailer crank stand(still mounted to the hitch) about 12 inches or so. I carry 2 2x6s 5 feet long, 2 4x4s 2 feet long, and 2 2x4s 1 foot long. The 2x6 go just under the end of the ramps with the short 4x4s on top to support the ramps to the height of the long 4x4s. The long 4x4s go on top of the 2x6s at the end of the short ramps. This allows the car to clear the back of the trailer at the ramps and to transition to the ground without any problem. Have to work with what you got!! These are some old pis I had when going to local shops.
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Bill
 
The Guy that transported My GT40 to and from the inspection station for Me had one of these trailers, [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVoHTr-C9D4[/ame] If I were to trailer mine I would have to invest in one as getting out inside a trailer is tight and a real pain as I found out when the slave cylinder failed and We had to use a standard enclosed trailer. I just decided to stay in the car for the ride home as the door was within 2" of the fender. Wally
 

Michael Holmes

Lifetime Supporter
I've been transporting my GT in an open trailer for years without incident. Just back it on, strap it down and go.
 

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Salina Bailey

Supporter
the guy that transported my gt40 to and from the inspection station for me had one of these trailers, YouTube if i were to trailer mine i would have to invest in one as getting out inside a trailer is tight and a real pain as i found out when the slave cylinder failed and we had to use a standard enclosed trailer. I just decided to stay in the car for the ride home as the door was within 2" of the fender. Wally
kaching$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
Thank you all for your suggestions. There seem to be many more options in America than here in the UK. Ultimately it will be the £££s that decide. Sadly, I cant afford to build a GT40 and buy a trailer and keep a wife. I'll have to economise somewhere..........!
 

Larry L.

Lifetime Supporter
Thank you all for your suggestions. There seem to be many more options in America than here in the UK. Ultimately it will be the £££s that decide. Sadly, I cant afford to build a GT40 and buy a trailer and keep a wife. I'll have to economise somewhere..........!


For when you win the lotto, then ;):

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikzm_4Adz3U"]Airbagged Trailers Introduction Video - YouTube[/ame] (^ NZ company)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4htKC-oJY8"]Maxey Drop-N-Load Air Ride Car Hauler - YouTube[/ame] (^ Texas, USA)

But, one has to wonder what might happen when/if an air bag (or two) decided to die while the trailer is 'at speed' on the road(?). One would think these companies have both accounted for that.

(Edit: Like most, it appears these trailers would need to have removable or 'drop down' fenders to allow you to get in or out of your '40...OR clearance could be provided by simply screwing/bolting down 2x12s 'length-wise' next to the fenders for the car to drive up on. 'Same could be done with any other car trailer.)
 
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Hi Neil,
I recently took my car up to the rolling road in Norwich on a twin-axle tilt bed trailer with no problems (loading or towing). If you’re looking to buy one, the critical issue is the width, the one I used had a bed width of 73” which had a couple of inches to spare - a Brian James Clubman trailer isn’t wide enough and my car doesn’t have particularly wide rear tyres. I previously moved it on a non tilt-bed trailer and again there was no issues loading it.
Also, when loading you want to be putting it on backwards to get the centre of gravity towards the tow-bar
Hope this helps
Regards,
Andy
 

Salina Bailey

Supporter
Thank you all for your suggestions. There seem to be many more options in America than here in the UK. Ultimately it will be the £££s that decide. Sadly, I cant afford to build a GT40 and buy a trailer and keep a wife. I'll have to economise somewhere..........!
ah I did not realize you were in the UK. wonder if Sloan kwik loads exports... my guess is probably not. They really are nice trailers for the supercars. They have it figured out so your car doesnt scrape and you can get your doors open after loading. no long ramps or taking windows out. Very Happy with ours.
 
If you are having getting all the goodies you want and keeping the wife, I would suggest building one. There are several kits, at least in the U S, that cost half of a new one. Or better still get the measurements and pics of one you like and get the materials yourself. Most steel suppliers deal in bulk and they will cut you a deal on a few pieces of long stock. Probably throw in a few cuts so it is easier to haul.

Bill
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Everyone has their own thoughts on what works for them. I didn't get an open place and I looked at nice aluminum car hauler, because I wanted to be able to tow long distance and not worry about weather as well as overnight and be able to have it locked up and not visible to passerby's. You can find great deals on Craig's List. The other nice thing is being able to use it for other purposes and keep cargo dry. Buy what works for you. I can get in and out fine but if I couldn't I'd mount a winch in the front and truly make it a one man operation.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbp8ZP4yFIE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbp8ZP4yFIE[/ame]
 

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This.

My vote is go with enclosed simply for weather, out of sight out of mind theft prevention, and multifunction capabilities.

Through the years my friends and family have used my enclosed trailer more than I have. They've used if for moving everything from a bobcat, to heavy machinery, to 3 and 4 bedrooms houses especially in inclement weather. Although I never ask, they are my friends, If they insist on paying me I simply suggest," Buy it a tire". It's worked out pretty well in the past.
 
Neil, hi.

I agree with Andy's comments although I've been able to fit my Superformance Mk1 onto a BJ Clubman, bed 14ftx73inches wide and an Indespension CT27167 16ftx76inches. I bought the 16ft Indespension as you then have the option of loading the car facing forwards but still keeping the nose of the trailer slightly loaded (which I prefer as it avoids crud in rear facing vents, etc).

The other thing to bear in mind for the UK is weight. If your GT40 is >1000kg then you get pushed to look at the 2600-2700kg max gross weight trailers - like the CT27167, Ifor Williams equivalent or bigger BJs. This class of trailer is typically (in the UK) rated at 700kg ish empty with a payload of 1900-2000kg which is plenty for most cars this side of the Atlantic. If you are lucky enough to have a sub 1000kg car then the 1000kg payload BJ Clubman running 10inch wheels is perfect - mine's an older one, not sure if they still sell them new.

One thing to bear in mind in the UK though us that strictly legally I believe that you need a tow vehicle capable of towing the whole max permitted gross weight - e.g. the 2700kg for the larger trailers - even if you are not carrying the full weight. That makes vans (I usually use a VW Caravelle to tow rated at 2500kg) marginal with the larger trailers although most full sized 4x4s seem to be rated at 2800kg or above. If you are lucky to have the sub 1000kg car/lightweight BJ Clubman then you can be gross weighted at 1400kg, which makes life much more straightforward in terms of tow cars - a VWPassat will comfortably cope.

My experience has all been with twin axle open non tilt trailers with long self contained ramps and I've had zero problems with loading or towing.

FWIW. EOE.

Cheers, Mark
 
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