The Official 356Talk Forum

Hi all-

I’m researching lightweight trailers, ~1000# that can haul cars and parts. Tow vehicle has towing capacity of 4400#. A few questions for those of you who have gone down this road before:
- Is a 14ft trailer too short for 356’s and early 911’s? Should I consider 16ft trailers and will the longer trailer pull better than the shorter one?
- Tilt bed or ramps? Tilt beds are really great, especially when loading cars on body carts. I’ve used 16ft and 18ft tilt beds before and am wondering if the 14ft trailer incline will be too steep to load a 356?

As always, I appreciate the comments and help!

Ron - I have a 14 foot, Featherlight aluminum, open two axle trailer with electric brakes that I purchased in 2005. I put an aluminum box on the front to store straps etc. Have used it to tow to many west coast holiday's including Canada. It tows great behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited SUV. I figure with my 60 Cab the whole rig is around 3,500 lbs. It has loading ramps and is easy to load and secure with Mac's wheel nets for the front tires and straps to the rear suspension. I had to order the 14 foot rather than the more normal 17 foot but I like the shorter one and it handles the 356 fine, and it is easier to store and maneuver. Have put many miles on it and am quite happy with it. Hope that helps - Skid Hall

I borrow a friend of mine's single axle Aluma 14' trailer to haul my 356 on frequently. It fits very nicely and tows great. The trailer only weighs a little over 600 lbs so the car and trailer are about 2700 lbs together. I towed the 356 to Amelia Island on it once with a 4 cylinder diesel Land Rover Defender. I'm not sure a later 911 would fit on it though - we fetched a BMW 2002 back from St Simons on it once and had to ratchet strap the rear ramp up. The BMW was about three inches too long. Neil used to use it for hauling his 914 race car and now has a Radical that he races. That trailer is great but it would be nice to have one a little bigger with a better weight capacity and teh extra insurance of a double axle.

Ideally I'd like to have a twin axle 16' aluminum trailer with surge brakes - I think that size Aluma trailer weighs around 1000 lbs.

14' can be used but there isn't room for much else. I currently own two trailers, my preferred car trailer is a dual axle aluminum Featherlite 17', gives you some flexability. I also have a 20 foot utility trailer than I can load a car and parts on, it's more heavy duty, and heavy. I've had the Featherlite for years and it's been good, just don't overload it, ask me how I know...

Also pictured is my old 14' foot steel trailer with a wood floor, it ran out of room quickly, but you could fit a 356 or 911 on it.

Ron, I have had trailers with surge brakes and I would stay away from them, I would go with a 14ft trailer 2 axle with 1 axle electric brake but a 16ft would be a whole lot better and give you some extra room. nothing worse than having a trailer loaded to close or over its max limit and then having to make some emergency maneuver also most surge brake have to be turned off so you can backup. Good Luck on what ever you decide.

George

Ron, I have a 14' single axle trailer that I have used for VWs, 356s and other small cars. I had it built about 25 years ago, based on a snowmobile design, 14 x 7 tilt wood bed, steel frame, weighs in about 1225 empty. My experience is that 14' is good for towing most vars, but if you plan on loading a then it's too short, a 356 is 14+ feet long. I use the trailer for so much, hauling: ATVs and dirt bikes, the trencher, brush and trimmings, construction materials etc., I have sockets for side boards, and a bolt on cheap electric wench. A single axle trailer is less stable that a tandem, but it also is lighter and turns better in tight places. When loading single axle trailers tongue weight is very critical, so I normally place the engine to the front, which in the case of my A the rear bumper is actually in front of the bed by about 1 foot. I use 2x12x 6' ramps as the back is about 6-8 from the ground. I used a Ford Explorer to tow a VW to LA, but since then I have a F-150 PU. Important things brakes: I used surge hydraulic ones as in the day not all of the vehicles had electric controllers, would like to convert to electric some day, better control and backing up an incline the surge brakes stop you until getting out to lock them out. Axle rating, #6000 along with the HD bearings. Tires need at least C or better D rated 205 X 15 trailer minimum. Tongue jack needs to HD rated too, #5000+. Tie downs important as is a wench that will work with a tilted bed and allow the body of the car go over it.
Here's photo of it with sides from this morning.

Hey, Skid Hall send me your email as I only have the Stanford EDU one. Steve

I'm a firm believer in trailer brakes. A couple years ago a friend said he had a whole trailer full of parts he wanted me to buy, the bonus, I got the trailer for free! The free trailer needed $400 in new tires to make it home from PA. I then loaded it to the gills with a 73 911S and lots more parts. I picked it up on the way to Ski Roundtop and packed it to the gills. No working brakes. On the way home, way overloaded, traffic stopped on the highway, hit the truck brakes, they weren't enough, the trailer just kept pushing me. Luckily, I had enough room to stop, but it wasn't because I had enough brakes. It could have been a very bad day and it's a scary feeling to brace for impact. Trailer brakes are a must.
I got the trailer home, parked it in the back of the yard, built shelves in it, and vowed it would never see the road ever again! I did rob the new tires off it for my other two trailer, waste not want not and all that.

Love my Featherlite with a large scoop in the front to keep debris off the car. Enough room on the tongue for toolbox even. Hard to beat an aluminum trailer. Loading is easy if you can load on an incline. Has electric brakes and I tow with Toyota 4Runner with either a 6 or 8 cylinder. No problem. The 6 gets better gas mileage by far ....

+1 for the Featherlite 17'. Easy to tow, electric brakes, relatively light ramps. I use a Prodigy RF brake controller so I can switch between tow cars non of which need a hard wired brake controller. Hard wiring a brake controller in German SUVs is complicated - but not impossible - since they need a brake signal relay. The RF controller avoids the tow brake signal completely.
David

David Green wrote:+1 for the Featherlite 17'. Easy to tow, electric brakes, relatively light ramps. I use a Prodigy RF brake controller so I can switch between tow cars non of which need a hard wired brake controller. Hard wiring a brake controller in German SUVs is complicated - but not impossible - since they need a brake signal relay. The RF controller avoids the tow brake signal completely.
David

Just don't lose a ramp or one of the removable fenders.
I lost a ramp, the replacement was $450
I loaned it to a friend, he lost a fender, it was $750

Thank you all! Very helpful. I’m focusing on the Aluma Trailer 8214HS Tilt and Featherlite 3110 14’.

I would never tow with a single axle trailer unless I was bringing my lawn mower to the shop! I use a 2 axle steel trailer that is a roll back an you can drive the car or pull the car on the trailer. I will never tow (again) with a vehicle that is less than a 3/4 ton rating and a Big engine. Aluminum work hardens and the trailer begins to crack you cannot weld it back together. This advice I am giving you is from personal experience! It is an excellent teacher al zim The personal experience involved a heavy trailer that one of my employees did nor properly attach to the truck! It cam loose in a highway intersection and rolled rapidly across a parking lot. It Exploded into a dodge colt (suv) broke all 4 wheels against the curb and bent the dash (TOTALED) then it continued into an apartment. I am certainly glad the trailer was not loaded. I correctly attached the trailer booked it over NO DAMAGE TO IT! and put it back into use. Fired the employee. Always hitch up your trailer! al zim

Recommend a 2-axle. If you get a flat with a single axle, it might not end well. Electric brakes, too.

I had a single axle trailer years ago, it was 10 X 6, and you could just fit a 356. I don't think I would go back to a single axle.