Trailer Stories By:
- Thread starter Gary Kadrmas
- Start date
Ross Nicol
GT40s Supporter
Ok Not a trailer story but I still laugh when I think of it. After a night playing in Teanau we headed back to Invercargill in the 53 Hillman Minx. Wasn't long before the car came to a jerky stop with fuel blockages in the fuel lines. Eventually it got so bad we would only get a few miles before it would stop again and we were reduced to blowing in the tank etc etc. When the fun of stopping constantly wore off we decided we would have some fun with the passing traffic. We parked the car on an angle as if we had had an accident and then the 4 of us laid down with feet still in the car as if we had an accident. When a car stopped we got up and acted as if nothing had happened. Well we were teenagers and musos to boot.
Ross
Ross
How timely--I received this from a friend today. No GT40 content of course, but hilarious nonetheless.
People in England etc. wouldn't believe this to be real, but this sort of thing goes on in rural parts of the USA *all* the time!
Mike
=====
If you're towing a 5th wheel with an S-10 Blazer....you might be an idiot!
This lesson on how not to do things seems to totally escape some people. I'd love to see how the trip ended up but I feel confident he ended up in a ravine somewhere wondering why bad things seems to always happen to him.
He's hooked up and ready to fly!! It's amazing how the extra weight really smoothed out the ride in the truck. He did have to air up the rear tires a bit (around 160 psi)
He added some heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate (note that he used the "Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) He also paid-up for some BIG 5/16 sheetmetal screws to attach the frame to the tailgate. Yeah, he knows it's overkill, but he didn't want the possibility of having an accident.
Much of his time was spent on his front porch whittling down that MASSIVE 4x4 board to fit precisely into the ball mount receiver. Also note that he used a 14" piece of 1x4 to help distribute the load more evenly--"YOU CAN"T BE TOO SAFE, YOU KNOW!!". " It cost a little more, but you just can't be too safe when pulling a trailer of this magnitude!!".
Look out New Mexico, 'cause here he comes!
People in England etc. wouldn't believe this to be real, but this sort of thing goes on in rural parts of the USA *all* the time!
Mike
=====
If you're towing a 5th wheel with an S-10 Blazer....you might be an idiot!
This lesson on how not to do things seems to totally escape some people. I'd love to see how the trip ended up but I feel confident he ended up in a ravine somewhere wondering why bad things seems to always happen to him.
He's hooked up and ready to fly!! It's amazing how the extra weight really smoothed out the ride in the truck. He did have to air up the rear tires a bit (around 160 psi)
He added some heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate (note that he used the "Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) He also paid-up for some BIG 5/16 sheetmetal screws to attach the frame to the tailgate. Yeah, he knows it's overkill, but he didn't want the possibility of having an accident.
Much of his time was spent on his front porch whittling down that MASSIVE 4x4 board to fit precisely into the ball mount receiver. Also note that he used a 14" piece of 1x4 to help distribute the load more evenly--"YOU CAN"T BE TOO SAFE, YOU KNOW!!". " It cost a little more, but you just can't be too safe when pulling a trailer of this magnitude!!".
Look out New Mexico, 'cause here he comes!
Last edited by a moderator:
Pat Buckley
GT40s Supporter
After a National race (finished second to Jim Trueman) at Nelson Ledges we were returning to Milwaukee on Interstate 80 in Ohio one Sunday night in 1978 when a bearing in the trailer siezed causing the wheel to come off. According to the tow truck driver, the only way the trailer could get transported into the nearest town, Fremont, was if I took the race car out of the trailer to reduce trailer weight. That meant I would have to drive the FC (Lola T480) into town.- there was a Highway Patrol officer on the scene and he told me that I was cleared to do that - I think he thought there was a stock car in the trailer - not a Formula car! His jaw dropped when we opened the trailer and inside was this gleaming white Formula car with a wing!
Because of the low ride height on the race car the officer told me that I should turn the race car around and drive against traffic back to the the last crossoverwhich was fairly level and meet them there after they made the trip to the next exit and back. This meant that I would be driving a Formula car on the shoulder against the flow of traffic and when I reached the last crossover (break in the median) I would have to drive the car across Interstate traffic - remember that the clutches on these cars are three plate metallic jobs and stalling that little Cosworth BDJ was a real possibility! I could just see it stalling as I got about four or five feet into traffic......
In any case I made it to the median - and one of the crew took some pictures (thank god - otherwise this story would never be believed). One picture shows the Highway Patol car sitting on the other side of the race car.
Next step was to drive the car into town....I followed the convoy which consisted of the tow truck hauling the trailer and the race truck for about a mile or so down the Interstate, but thought it would be fun for them to see what it would be like to be passed by a race car - so I dropped a gear or two and hauled ass past them to the next exit....the sound of the engine reverbrating off the concrete walls of the exit ramp will stay with me forever...even with the helmet on.
As many know, in Ohio the Interstate doesn't have toll booths like most other states - they give you a ticket and when you get off you turn the ticket in and they tell you how much you owe - well, I didn't have a ticket. The Officer had told me that he had radio'ed ahead and that they were expecting me but when I pulled up to the toll booth the look on her face was one of pure amazement - I think she was expecting a stock car. She was speechless.
Next was to drive the car into the town of Fremont to Whitey's Towing ( I wonder if they are still there?) - you think driving a GT40 gets looks? Try it in a Formula car!
I resisted the uge to pull in to the A&W for a burger.
Because of the low ride height on the race car the officer told me that I should turn the race car around and drive against traffic back to the the last crossoverwhich was fairly level and meet them there after they made the trip to the next exit and back. This meant that I would be driving a Formula car on the shoulder against the flow of traffic and when I reached the last crossover (break in the median) I would have to drive the car across Interstate traffic - remember that the clutches on these cars are three plate metallic jobs and stalling that little Cosworth BDJ was a real possibility! I could just see it stalling as I got about four or five feet into traffic......
In any case I made it to the median - and one of the crew took some pictures (thank god - otherwise this story would never be believed). One picture shows the Highway Patol car sitting on the other side of the race car.
Next step was to drive the car into town....I followed the convoy which consisted of the tow truck hauling the trailer and the race truck for about a mile or so down the Interstate, but thought it would be fun for them to see what it would be like to be passed by a race car - so I dropped a gear or two and hauled ass past them to the next exit....the sound of the engine reverbrating off the concrete walls of the exit ramp will stay with me forever...even with the helmet on.
As many know, in Ohio the Interstate doesn't have toll booths like most other states - they give you a ticket and when you get off you turn the ticket in and they tell you how much you owe - well, I didn't have a ticket. The Officer had told me that he had radio'ed ahead and that they were expecting me but when I pulled up to the toll booth the look on her face was one of pure amazement - I think she was expecting a stock car. She was speechless.
Next was to drive the car into the town of Fremont to Whitey's Towing ( I wonder if they are still there?) - you think driving a GT40 gets looks? Try it in a Formula car!
I resisted the uge to pull in to the A&W for a burger.
A friend of mine, with whom I used to fish, would on occasion, drink a "few" on the boat ride home from the fishing grounds. On one particular afternoon, he had a few too many, and decided upon returning home that washing the boat would require too much effort, so he simply placed a garden sprinkler on the T-top, turned the hose on, and went to bed, fully expecting a clean boat by morning. He was awakened at 1AM by a very loud BANG, which turned out to be a trailer tire exploding, due to the boat filling up with a couple thousand gallons of water (scuppers were plugged up with trash). The tire wasn't the only casualty. The trailer frame looked like a pretzel! The boat WAS clean though!
Needless to say, this was the last time he used that particular method of boat washing.
Needless to say, this was the last time he used that particular method of boat washing.
Sometimes your friends are in the need of assistance. Sometimes they need assistance in the form of labor, and sometimes they need to borrow something from you.
Well, Kevin, and very good friend, was in the need of a tow vehicle. The engine in his went south, and he had already paid his entry fee for a conference race up in Washington. His race car was a Ford Maverick 302/toploader 4 speed, and running in a stock (ya right) class of G/Production.
I offered my pickup (78 Ford 4X4 with a built 460/C-6 and 35" tall tires), and eventually offered my open car trailer, jack stands, floor jack, spare tires/wheels, ect/ect. I helped him load the car on the trailer, and stuff in the back of the truck. It filled the back all the was up to the canopy.
He returned with a 2nd place tropjy in his class, but said he had a funny thing happen on the way up to the race. Just out of Centrailia, there is a short steep hill that opens to 3 lanes. It is not unusual to have big trucks take up the right and middle lanes. And in Kevins case, he just wipped out into the far left lane, and ran it up to 70 MPH going up the hill. He even said he was surprised it had that much poop to it. Then the trucks started to blow their air horns, and Kevin had no idea why......
I told Kevin.....sorry, I forgot to tell you the speedometer is 15 MPH slow due to the tall tires!!!! Kevin about sh*t his pants!
Well, Kevin, and very good friend, was in the need of a tow vehicle. The engine in his went south, and he had already paid his entry fee for a conference race up in Washington. His race car was a Ford Maverick 302/toploader 4 speed, and running in a stock (ya right) class of G/Production.
I offered my pickup (78 Ford 4X4 with a built 460/C-6 and 35" tall tires), and eventually offered my open car trailer, jack stands, floor jack, spare tires/wheels, ect/ect. I helped him load the car on the trailer, and stuff in the back of the truck. It filled the back all the was up to the canopy.
He returned with a 2nd place tropjy in his class, but said he had a funny thing happen on the way up to the race. Just out of Centrailia, there is a short steep hill that opens to 3 lanes. It is not unusual to have big trucks take up the right and middle lanes. And in Kevins case, he just wipped out into the far left lane, and ran it up to 70 MPH going up the hill. He even said he was surprised it had that much poop to it. Then the trucks started to blow their air horns, and Kevin had no idea why......
I told Kevin.....sorry, I forgot to tell you the speedometer is 15 MPH slow due to the tall tires!!!! Kevin about sh*t his pants!
