Trailer Stories By:

[Gary Kadrmas]

I would be willing to bet your next paycheck that many of us have experienced some unusual luck when towing our pride and joys from point "A" to point "B". Some are worth sharing, and some are best kept secret.

For those folks that have a story they would like to share, I would like to start out with mine:
********************************************************

This happened back in 1986 on my first trip from to Leguna Seca and the Vintages Races.

Tow rig was a 1972 Ford F-100 SWB with a 302 and a 3 on the tree w/OD, with a custom built tandem axle trailer with my Cobra inside. Trip to Leguna was great. Good gas mileage, but was slowed down a few times on the steep hills due to the 302. Otherwise, slick trip down.

Parked next to Dick Smith, and turned out Dick's best friend Rod Nash, grew up with my wifes cousin in Fresno. Great story in itself. Races were great, and I have many great pitures of the races.

So with a late start on the trip home, somewhere north of Sacto on I-5, the steering wheel starts to shake, and the trailer starts to bounce up and down(????). What the hell??? I pull over and park in a safe place,and with flashlight in hand, I head on back to check it out. No flat tires, nothing stuck under the trailer, and the coupler still hooked up like it should be. I check out the trailer frame mounted hitch, thinking some bolts came loose. Nothing loose, everything tight. What the.........

So I pull back out on I-5 and bring it back up to speed. And you guessed it....wump-wump-wump-wump. Back over to the shoulder, and heading back for a second look. This time, I shine the flashlight down on the left side trailer tires, and I am totally blown away......no tread on the left side front tire...just cords!!!! Turned out the first time I stopped, the part of the tire with tread still left of the tire was on the ground, and the damaged part of the tire was up out of sight above the trailer fender.

So I limped down the freeway to the next exit to buy a tire from a service station. What are the chances of that happening. I should have bought a lottery ticket on the spot!

*******************************************************

So lets hear your story!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Killgore]

Stories included with Purchase: Pondering this 1973 Winnebago Custom Car Hauler. Needed to haul "Lola one-off" to local and State Car Shows. Stories begin on Day-One.

[Garrett Clark]

OK, Gary, I'll bite, but this might take a while...

I used to share a race car with a friend, Jeff, and he had an unusual trailer--a Chinook 5th wheel camper with the back end cut into two big doors. The rear "living room" of the trailer was gutted to make room for a car. We were traveling from Oregon up to Seatte International Raceway (the old name) and the race went fine. The trip back got interesting.

We got a flat on the trailer and pulled over to the side of I-5 sometime around dusk, say 9:00pm on Sunday night. Jeff is an optimist, so we didn't have a spare, and this was before cell phones were popular. As we are standing beside the road, a cop pulled up behind us and noticed that we were standing around staring at the smoldering tire. He observed that the tire was flat (thanks for letting me know!) and asked if we had a spare. We said, "no" and he replied that it would be better if we had a spare, and then he left. Not even a, "can I call a tow truck?" from him. Nice guy.

So Jeff and I unhook the truck from the trailer and he goes off with the wheel to get a new tire mounted. We opened the big doors on the back of the trailer and turned on the race car flashers (they still worked!) so we didn't get run over in the dark. My future wife and I then waited for Jeff to return while the air rush from the trucks pushed and pulled on those big doors. It was not relaxing.

But Jeff didn't come back.

Sometime around dawn (~5:30am) Jeff's daughter drives up in her minivan (no Jeff) and demands the battery out of the trailer. With no explanation, she takes off again.

About 30 minutes later, Jeff drives up in the truck. Evidently, he had found a tire for us in the middle of the night, but the truck alternator had failed on his return trip. Jeff had driven back up the freeway to within a few miles of us before the truck battery gave up the ghost. He had walked to an exit and called his daughter (about an hour away) to help. But by the time he got back to the trailer, the second battery (running the truck) was also starting to get weak. So we did what McGyver would have done...

We had a gas-powered generator and the trailer, which still had it's inverter. So we reinstalled the trailer battery and powered up the generator. But we didn't want to sit around and wait all day to charge, so we cut the ends off of an extension cord and ran 12V from the trailer up under the truck hood to charge the truck battery and power the ignition and EFI. Put the running generator in the truck bed, and we were mobile again. It probably looked a little strange to have an extension cord duct-taped down the side of the truck but we were moving.

Long story long...When I bought my current race car trailer, I added a mount to hold a spare tire.

Garrett

[Jim c]

Yes I can add to this.

I was entered in a 6hr race some years ago ,the trailer I had organized had fallen through at the last minute.
My neighbours at work had a car trailer and offered it up, I had little choice.

As I hooked it up he said oh yeh the brakes are a bit average.
I said to myself, self I am not liking the sound of this.

He was not kidding it was not average it was non existent.
Anyway off we go cautiously to the track only an hour from my house.

Did my qualify on the Saturday but had to make some changes and as it was a home track I decided to take the car back to work as it was easier.

On the way home I came across an intersection with traffic lights that changed from green to amber I was to close to stop but I gave it a go anyway.
As I started to get on the brakes I could feel the rear of the tow car lifting and the rear end starting to move around ,This is when the trailer brakes would have been real handy.
I looked through the intersection (lights still amber) did a quick scan no one coming all good make your decision that 4 wheel drive sitting in the intersection waiting to turn across in front has stopped he has seen you he can see you are in trouble only a f-----g idiot would come across on you, know you can see the whites of his eyes he is looking back at you he is going to sit tight this is OK get of the brake yes the trailer has sorted its self out (lights still amber) all good heart rate dropping ,HANG ON what is the idiot in the 4 wheel drive doing , he is moving off and turning across the front of me YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME back on the brake rear comes up again do a quick scan no where to go wheels are starting to lock get of a bit get on a bit do some quick calculations in my head
1600kg+1050kg+trailer+not enough brakes= SHIT this is going to happen ,this 4 wheel drive would have to be the longest one I have ever seen it was all in slow motion ,It only had 2 doors but I am positive I counted 6 down the side I was looking at, by this time my passengers were blurting out lots off nasty words and WHAMO straight in at about the fuel cap area on the TOYOTA landcruiser and over she went, as I was trying to keep control I could see the cruiser rolling over several times in the corner off my eye.
All of the above was within about 4-5 sec.

As I got out of the car the cruiser was lying on its side and people had already run to the drivers rescue , he was standing upright in the overturned cabin and was kicking the window out from the inside.
I walked over to him and looked him in the eye he looked back not knowing what to expect I think
You ok I said
YES
I didn’t think you were going to turn across the front of me.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO STOP.
Im thinking to myself well so much for all that eye contact that was happening.

We waited for the police on their arrival it started to rain so I told the officer to get into my car and we can keep dry so we did.
While filling out the report it started to hail so a friend and I jumped out of the car to get blankets over the race car to save it from the hail.
By the time we had blankets out it was not good and I started thinking of the damage the hail would cause to my friend and myself GET IN THE CAR ,so we sat and watched it happen.
The officer looked across and said not a good day I looked back and said no a bit average then we all started laughing.

The lesson here never ever use a trailer without brakes.

Jim

[Ian Anderson]

No Trailer

But I raced Formula V for a while out in Zimbabwe.

So I used to A Frame it out to the track. And the track was only about 10 miles away so never had a problem.

Then the racing bug bit and I decided to go to Harare to race - borrowed a boat trailer light board and tied it to the roll bar - stick a red rag on the exhust as this was hanging 10 inch out the rear of the car hitch it up and set off.

Harare is 270 miles 440km away so a 1600Capri wih Formula V in tow on an A-Frame

No brake overrun on the V and the capri never had the best ones anyway.

About half way up there was a Vehicle Inspection Roadblock - bugger that's the weekend over or so I thought - duly got flagged in and manaded to stop where instructed.

Got out and showed drivers licence etc. checked lights - all OK, hooter OK so I thought I was going OK.

Then round the back and asked where the trailer number plate and licence was. I'm toast??

So I said no it is a race car and could not be licenced for the road - and the inspector bought it! He said no problem have a good weekend and waved me off.

I have never been so happy to be driving again.

So what did he miss
4 "open wheels" on the road - each should have had the car off the road
The red rag had fallen off the pipe so no extremity was marked
No reflectors on the V
20 litre drum pf fuel seatbelted into the V Seat had come lose and was leaking.
Trailers and all cars were separately licenced and insured - the Formula V had neither.

Came back very late the next evening and the roadblock was being packed up so I missed the second inquisition,

Next race at the home track I rolled the car so never tried that again!

Ian

[Gary Kadrmas]

Hey guys, all great stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Garrett: You need to change your avatar name to McGiver NorthWest Edition. PS: What is the progress on your ERA?

Jim c: I had a similar deal. Towing a car back home just bought from an auction, started to rain, lady in a Volvo hits the brakes to make a panic left turn. Gary hits the brakes to avoid hitting the Volvo in the rearend. Gary didn't hit the brakes soon enough, Gary hits the Volvo. Gary's Ford pickup suffers a cracked driving light lens. The Volvo needs a major sheetmetal graft at the rear.........to the tune of L/R & R/R fenders, trunk lid, bumper, tail lights on both sides...get the picture. I suggested to the lady that if she would have signaled her intensions in advance, we might have had a better chance to avoid this issue. Thank god for insurance companies. Now that I think of it, I should have hit the gas instead of the brakes to adjust the sheet metal all the way to the door jambs. I hate people that don't signal. It just causes time delays, ya know what I mean Vern?

Keep the stories coming. I know there are more out there!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DaveM]

Great stories guys. Mine's pretty simple. 30 years ago did a round trip tow with a Formula Atlantic from Chicago to Roebling Road, S.C. (2000mi). Pull the trailer into my driveway and the right side wheel/hub is ready to fall off due to a total bearing failure. Was definitely my lucky day!

[Phil]

Sounds like we've all been lucky..
About 5 years ago I went with a buddy to deliver some cars in an enclosed trailer...we had 3 vehicles, 2 Elvas and an open wheel formula junior car which was on the overhead rails, he decided to fit a golf cart into the rear, but we had to jockey it in sideways to get the ramp to close. About 2 1/2 hours into the ride it was decided that we would stop and pee near York PA., thats when we noticed the smoke coming out of the trailer. Pulling down the rear ramp we found the golf cart up against one wall of the trailer with the wheels spinning. It was one of those with a gas motor that only runs when you step on the throttle. Well his duffel bag with a bunch of clothes etc. in it had been placed on the seat of the cart, and rolled off, and you can guess where it landed. The smell of gas was terrible as the car overhead the cart had a full tank and was overflowing from the heat onto the cart. He ran...I reached in and shut off the cart and the worst of it was two gigantic divits in the trailer floor and a couple of smoked tires on the golf cart. We lucked out big time, had our pee, bought some coffee and the rest of the trip was un-eventful.
Cheers
Phil

[Gary Kadrmas]

Phil,

I would imagine a video of this event would be worth big bucks!!!

Sure glad you stopped when you did! Might have been toast later.

[Phil]

Gary...you aren't kidding about that, I looked in the mirror till we got to Virginia.
But here's another one.
Back in the 70's I drove a big rig for a while..mostly between N.J. and Balt/DC area. I had a friend who also drove about the same routes and when we would be on similar trips we would cruise in our little convoy. He drove a car carrier and one day in South Jersey almost at the end of the Turnpike the cops were taking radar from an overpass. Of course with the CB radios we knew all about it beforehand, but as we got about a mile past them we were chased down and stopped...or should I say he was stopped. I stopped also and was asked a lot of questions as to why I stopped, ID and all that stuff, and he was asked to exit his truck and after being questioned they proceeded to climb up on the trailer to extricate a homeless guy from one of the cars. Seems he had hitched a ride! The car was running with the heat on, radio playing etc., and he must have been there most of the weekend as the car was a mess inside. Well, they arrested the guy, and let us go, but we reminisced about that one many times since.
Cheers
Phil

[Gary Kadrmas]

Phil,

That is incredible. At least the homeless guy didn't try to drive the car off the trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are the chances someone else has two toster stories????????????

Roll the video..............................

Come on, we need more stories................

[Jim c]

A car I was in partnership with years ago went interstate with the other owner and a co driver.

At the race meeting the co driver blew the motor up then on the way home the trailer disconected itself off the coupling ( never put on properly I would say).
Anyway it broke away and ended up in a ditch upside down with the car still straped to the trailer (at least they got that part right).

They just left it there and went to the pub got stuck into the turps to help get over it.
Then went back the next day with a tow truck.
The roof on the car was down to the doors in one spot .

Lesson here always check the coupling is on.

Jiim

[speed220mph]

The first surprise when towing was we were when returning from Wendover, UT to Tucson after running at Bonneville in Sept 1980. We were merrily cruising the backroads of Utah when I noticed smoke and flames coming from the right side of the trailer. A wheel bearing on one of the trailer wheels had locked up and spun the outer race in the hub. A nice fellow who owned a gas station helped us get it back on the road. We found a bearing, but to take up the clerarance in the hub, we wrapped the outer race of the bearing with shim stock--a Coke can we carved up--and soaked it with Loctite. As far as I know, the trailer is still running that way.

The second was when pulling my newly purchased GT40 from Reading, PA back to North Carolina. We noticed some unusual swaying and bouncing at the rear. Upon inspection it turned out the bottom flange of the truck frame had broken away where the hitch was bolted and was allowing the hitch to moved up and down, so much so it was hitting the pavement. Two hours in the welding shop fixed this.

Lastly, when towing from North Carolin to VIR, we pulled over at a rest stop and did our typical walk-around just to find one of the trailer-tire treads was gone. The tire had deflated, which allowed the wheel to drop down and cut the tread at the sidewalls. Strange thing was there was little if any affect in how the trailer towed. This was an easy fix . . . we installed the spare.

[Howard Jones]

A buddy of mine owned a bunch of race bikes when I was in collage. The story on how he had all these bikes is a rather long one involving more or less too much money and a biker dad but anyway he asked me if I wanted to ride one of the road-race bikes, TZ350, for the summer. Most of the season costs had been paid and I had been running desert bikes with him in endurance races for about a year or so at that point so I jumped right in.

Well we waited for a AMA training weekend at PIR in Phoenix Arizona and took the bikes out to the track in the back of this days pickup.

Great fun was had and I was slowly getting up to speed in lead follow sessions all day. We loaded up the bikes at the end of the day and the frigging truck was inop. You can guess what happened next. Yap! ride em home!

Now PIR was WAY out on the north end of town in those days. Really it was way out of town in the desert. So we unload the bikes, a TZ250 and the 350 fill em with fuel and start off. I learned more about how to ride that bike trying to stay with my buddy on the way home and not get arrested at the same time than I had learned all day on the track! Jeesesssssssssss. Those things are really loud in the way that really gets peoples attention. We started out sorta taking it easy but by the time we got back to his dads house we were at about 10 10s for at least 30 mins.

So we roll into the driveway and guess who is standing there just shaking his head. Ya dad. He said he could hear us comming for the last five mins. The ONLY thing that saved the season was it was paid for and mom wasn't home.

Dumbest thing I ever did and didn't get hurt.

Kinda sorta a trailer story.

[Jac Mac]

I have a few of these so I will try this one for starters;

Was involved with HQ Holden Racing ( one make restricted series run in Aussie/NZ ) some years back and one guy from Ashburton used to tow his car on open trailer behind converted bus that was his camper/wshop.
Meeting was at Levels/Timaru and Daz was late for practice and decided to continue on to our favourite camp at Waimate. A tad thirsty after his late nite working on the car etc he demanded a stubbie as soon as he arrived.
Conversation got round to the race car and a few of us decided to go have a look at his handiwork. We went out - looked around- and came back to abuse and call him all sorts of names for being a slack ***** and not finishing it or bringing it down to the meeting.

He is looking back at us with a somewhat confused expression and asks what the hell we are on about, we reply where is the bloody car?
DAZ replies 'On the bloody trailer, are you ******* blind'.
US-- You have not brought the trailer or the car.

About now Daz's wife arrives in and states the obvious- Daz, the race car & trailer are not on the back of the bus- we have lost them somewhere.

I would hate to think how many mental pictures flew thru Daz's imagination in the next 30 seconds or so- His mouth was open but there was no sound!
That old bus was back on the road with a full load of non paying passengers real quick for the search party. About 5 miles up the road they found car & trailer sitting forlornly on the roadside, totally unharmed with a local farmer standing guard. He was starting to wonder if anyone was going to come back for it. He had been following when it came unhitched and reckoned it tracked straight down the road to a halt. Was not game to pass it in case it decided to change course & in the meantime the bus had dissapeared from sight. As is usual when these things happen to someone else there was no damage or any other cars folk involved, but the 'What If' list is endless.

Jac Mac

[Gary Kadrmas]

Jac Mac,

My luck is NEVER THAT GOOD! Let's hear your other stories!!!