Need advice on trailering a GT40

[Rich E.]

I've got a 2001 20ft enclosed Haulmark trailer that is standart height and an SPF GT 40 that is standard height. Together that equals an issue. Problem is the GT's shallow approach angle won't allow me to just drive it up and in. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have experienced this. What have you guys used to fix the problem?

TIA
Rich.

 

[Mike Drew]

I got to watch the process at Road America, with two different trailers.

You're right--the approach angle has to be VERY flat to prevent the nose from scraping badly. Most trailers are designed very simply, with the back of the trailer folding down to form the ramp. That will never work for a GT40.

What Mike, Jack and Kirby did was to use some lengths of 2x12 to form additional ramps; one end was positioned about in the center of the trailer ramp, and the other end extended several feet behind the ramp--effectively creating a ramp for the ramp. Even that wasn't fully effective, and additional blocks of wood had to be strategically placed under the tires as the car was backed out of the trailer to raise the nose up sufficiently.

A long-term solution would be to construct permanent ramps which are hinged at the top, and mount to the inside of the trailer's ramp. In practice, the back of the trailer is opened, and blocks of wood etc. are placed under the bottom of the ramp to support it. Then the hinged ramps are unfolded (they are triangulated on the side for strength, and the side supports sit flat on the ground) and what you are left with is a ramp that is now effectively double the length of the stock ramp.

Provision for securing the ends of the folding ramps when the trailer is closed up is important--otherwise if you slam on the brakes while underway, the bottoms of the folding ramps will be carried forward by inertia and slam into the car--as a friend with such a setup found out the hard way. :furious:

I get to see all kinds of solutions like this in my job flying the C-5 Galaxy. The nose opens up, and the ramp drops down just like a car trailer. For many military vehicles, that is sufficient, but for certain low-profile things, a lot of creativity is called for.

Here's a photo showing just a couple of pieces of wood employed to ease the approach angle for an MH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, which I flew from Iceland to Sierra Leone, Africa:

That shows the basic idea; for our purposes we'd need more, longer bits of wood.

Speaking of that, a couple of months ago, another crew from my squadron had to fly a massive gravel crushing machine (used in roadbuilding) to Afghanistan. That sucker was LONG, on tracks like a bulldozer, and in order to get it out of the airplane, they had to build ramps using layer after layer of 24-inch wide pieces of plywood. The two ramps were about 60-80 feet long or so, and they weighed 44,000 pounds!!!!! :shocked:

I'll post a photo of that deal if I can get one of the crewmembers to send it to me.

(Edit)

Boy, that took about two seconds--he was online. Here's the first photo:

And another one:

This is an extreme example of what's required in your case of course. Then again, the rock crusher weighed 130,000 pounds!

 

[Mike Drew]

Another trick I saw in Road America that I would have never thought of myself:

The nature of the GT40 door makes it extremely difficult to get into and out of the car when it's inside an enclosed trailer because the door doesn't open far enough. Human nature is to try to escape from the car via the back of the door.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jack Houpe neatly exiting the car via the FRONT edge of the door! :idea:

He only had to open the door up a little bit to gain enough clearance. He could then stand up on the sill and simply step over the door hinge and onto the floor of the trailer. Brilliant! :thumbsup:

 

[Jack Houpe]

Another trick I saw in Road America that I would have never thought of myself:

The nature of the GT40 door makes it extremely difficult to get into and out of the car when it's inside an enclosed trailer because the door doesn't open far enough. Human nature is to try to escape from the car via the back of the door.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jack Houpe neatly exiting the car via the FRONT edge of the door! :idea:

He only had to open the door up a little bit to gain enough clearance. He could then stand up on the sill and simply step over the door hinge and onto the floor of the trailer. Brilliant! :thumbsup:

You fly the largest aircraft in the USA and your amazed my me?

I added 4 feet of 3/4 inch plywood attached by a piano henge with additional rubber stops in the center of that piece which added length to the door, I also had to put more rubber stops on the main door to make it higher and the angle flatter. We still had to use 2x12s as Mike explained.

 

[Bill Musarra]

There is always the winch solution. Line it up and pull it up. For minor adjustments attach the middle of a long length a small rope(polypropylene or such to the top of the steering wheel, remove the side plexi glass and extend the pieces of rope out the windows. Hold the rope like the reigns of a horse, and as the car moves into the trailer pull on the side that needs adjusting. A piece of bed sheet or similar slipery material can be put in the corner of the window to prevent abrasions to the paint,,, or,,,, you could make a tringulated piece of plastic to fit into the corner,with a flange that would screw into the window frame. That would just exert pressure and relieve the friction. Then you wouldn't hae to figure out how to get out of the car. Remember that when it comes time to unload the car, you gotta get back into the car to use Jack's method. I am getting to that stage in life where contorionist activity is kept to a minimum.

Bill

 

[Julian]

My solution is these Race Ramps, that Summit sells;

Race Ramps

They have a 4 degree angle, are light and easily stored when not in use. Work perfectly for lodaing the GT40 and even the Ultima which has less ground clearance.

Exiting the GT40 is also a breeze with a 48" side door on the trailer as I can fully open the drivers door once the car is trailered. An absolute must option for anyone in this community considering a trailer purchase in my opinion.

 

[DaveM]

I've got a 18' Haulmark and regularly transport the GT40 to track days. I use 2 wood ramps 8' x 10" with the edge placed about a foot onto the door. Prop under the door edge with 2x4's. Support under the ramps with 2x4' or 4x4's. I use a winch and load the car backwards. Steering adjustments can be made by moving the tires. I'm amazed someone can get out of the door once the car is in. Wider than standard trailer width?

 

[Ron Martel]

Another solution is to put a small ramp in front of the trailer's wheels (even a 2x12 may suffice, depending on the severity of the angle). Assuming the trailer has two axles, you can pull the trailer forward enough to get the front wheels on the ramp, but not the back ones. This will raise the front of the trailer, thus lowering the back, decreasing the angle of the ramp.

 

[Bill Musarra]

I currently am using a friends trailer that doesnot have the sloped back section. The ramps are about 4' long. To get the car off/on I have to raise the front of the trailer with a race jack to a point where the angle of the bed is close to that of the ramps.
I have knocked some of the undercoating off the car when I have misjudged. I then have to add a 2x4 the length of the ramps to make up for the drop in distance from trailer to ramp,and two at the bottom of the ramps to keep the nose from grounding. It is a PITA, but its what you have to put up with until you can get a trailer of your own.

Bill

 

[chuck smith]

I also found that finding a fairly steep incline to back into, thus lowering the angle of incline allowed me to drive my Daytona up into my trailer.

 

[Dutton]

Rich,

The solution I used, when dealing with having to load a Formula Ford way back when, was to roll the rear axle of the vehicle pulling the trailer up and onto a ramp made of three 2 x 8's, cut in to graduated lengths similar to that insane ramp used to load that heavy piece of gear into the airplane. The ~5 inch 'lift' at the front of the trailer created more than enough angle to allow for the 6' ramps at the tail end of the trailer.

Given that the ground clearance for the FF was less than 2 inches, I'd have to guess that you'd have similar success with a 40.

Best,

T.

 

[Gordo]

Chock the leading edge of the ramp door about 4 inches high. (Blocks, 4x4s etc. or rubber door chock) Use a good 4 to 5 foot aluminum ramp (Pit Pal) to lessen the approach angle - if still not enough...raise the front of the trailer up as high as you can (I use a powered leg). I do this with my Royale which has only 1.5 ins of ground clearance. It works fine. Good luck.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I raise the front of my 20ft trailer (crank)to slightly reduce the angle, then winch (harbor freight 5500lb) in backwards moving the front wheels by hand if needed (easy).

I can crack the door just enough to reach in to apply my ebrake after tiedown is complete.

Hope this helps!

 

[Rich E.]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Although I like the race ramp idea. It might be more $$$ than what I want to spend for ramps. I'll be doing a little experimentation this weekend and let you guys know. Hopefully with pics.