towing a racecar

[gtvpete]

If you are just getting into the whole track thing, and only plan on running a few TT's a year, and particularly if you live in an urban setting and don't have lot's of yard/garage/shop space, then flat towing with a tow bar is completey do-able, assuming you are running a non-transaxle car.

I flat towed my TT GTV for over 6 years from Santa Cruz to most AROSC events during that time. My diff held up perfectly, with no noticeable wear, and it was a cheap and easy solution which allowed me to avoid having to get a trailer, or find parking for the trailer.

Yes, if you wad up your car at the track and make it un-towable, then that will suck, but it would suck even with a trailer, so don't wad up your car, and that problem is solved. Again, only TT'ing a few events, with some kind of dual purpose car, and the odd's are in your favor that it will tow back home.

OTOH, if you have a dedicated race car, then get a trailer and be done with it. Dollies not recommended.

Peter Kemos

[Alfapwr]

Hey Pete,

Why are dollies not recommended ? It would seem that if something did happen to one end of your car that the good end could be on the ground if you're using a dolly.

Dan

[PlaysWithCars]

Dan,
Tow dollys are for getting parts cars home, or when moving a non-op car, not for racecars. I tried this for one season, and quickly realized my mistake.

With a tow dolly, you will have to change at least one pair of tires when arriving at the track (presuming that you have race rubber). If you tow on your race tires, then you risk having road debris ruin your whole track experience. Additionally, if your car is lowered, it might hit either on the dolly cross-pieces, or have contact with the ramps in the stored position. Finally, you cannot back up while pulling a tow dolly, as they will pivot. If someone parks nearby and blocks you, you gotta unload the racecar, disconnect the dolly, back up, and then reconnect the dolly and reload the racecar. This sucks! Yes, it can be done, but it makes life miserable.

And you can't use a dolly even if only one end of the car has been "readjusted". My first racecar came into intimate contact with a hillside during a hillclimbing event. I swore that hillside jumped out in front of me without any warning whatsoever. The front left corner was so bent that the floor behind the passenger seat was buckled. It ended up going home on my racing buddy's trailer, while his car went home on my dolly. I spent three of the most miserable hours of my racing life following my buddy, staring at the twisted front of my racecar sitting backwards on his trailer, after having been loaded with a forklift. You can't do this with a tow dolly.

To make life simple, budget around $2500 for a lightweight dual axle trailer with trailer brakes, maybe even a tilt-bed. New or used, this will be one of the most important purchases when towing a racecar. And as long as you don't buy a new trailer with all the bells and whistles, you will always be able to get most of your money back when reselling the trailer, even if after only a few years.

Of course, the best option is to purchase an enclosed trailer with enough space for car and supplies. Everything remains secure inside, it can serve as a mobile repair shop, and you can serve meals inside when it rains outside. We run a 40-foot triple axle trailer for our cars, and it makes both our local and regional races an absolute dream. That way the team owner and driver can worry less about the car and gear, and concentrate on his driving. Our backup trailers are a 30-foot enclosed and two flatbeds. Only when we are running three cars do we have a problem with parking for all the tow vehicles. I suppose with a tow dolly, we could just throw it in the bed of one of the trucks, but that would be too much work. Ugh!

[Bruce Colby]

I kinda like the 18 wheelers, the ones with an elevator so you can store a couple cars on the upper deck and still have room for a decent workshop on the ground level.... But seriously, there simply isn't a single "best answer" to the question. Some people drive their cars to the track jammed full of tires and tools, others flat tow and some use trailers. However, I suspect most everyone would agree that, given the necessary resources (money & space), a nice tow vehicle pulling a trailer with the track car on/in it is the best way to go. It's just not the only way to go. Circumstances may dictate alternative solutions. Used, open trailers (car haulers) can often be found in the San Diego area for under $1000. New, open trailers with dual axles and electric brakes are available for around $1500 if you keep it simple. I've seen used tow dollys for sale but only rarely; I think new ones can be had for around $750 or so. In my book, the benefits of a trailer far out weigh the price savings and hassle associated with a tow dolly if space isn't an issue. Also, from what I've seen and heard, flat towing is at least as good, and may in fact be better than, a tow dolly for the reasons already mentioned by others.

I use a pickup with a slide-in camper in the back to sleep in, and tow an open trailer with the car on it. If I only used the camper for going to the track, I would probably tow a toy box with the car in it. However, I also use the camper in some fairly remote places in the desert, places where the toy box could never go. Like so much of life, it's all about compromise.

[Alfapwr]

Everyone,

Thanks a lot for all the input. Everyone had great things to say and it
brought up issues I've never thought of.

While I'd love an enclosed trailer, there is absolutely no way that'll happen in the next 20 years !!! I can't fit a trailer in my garage ( it's 3 cars wide but not that deep ) and the HOA won't let me park anything outside. There is a chance that the place where I store my travel trailer may allow me to store a flatbed trailer in the same spot if it can fit part of it under the back of my trailer to reduce the overall length of the two.

But, that's all seriously jumping the gun. I have to get the car ( beginning of May ) and then I have to finish it !!! ( year or so from now ). I'm going to run the car with street tires for a long time so I'll probably drive it to the track since my tow vehicle will be bringing the travel trailer. The great thing is that my travel trailer is HUGE, sleeps 8, and with the bunks folded up in back I can pack my scooter, probably 4 sets of wheels/tires, my compressor, plenty of tools, generator..... The really tough part will be convincing my wife and kids to come along !!!

Hopefully a friend of mine, who just his flat bed car hauler but wants another one, will maybe go halfs on one with me.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be seeing some of you at the track before long.

I'll post pics of the new toy in another thread.

Ciao,

Dan

[bshorey]

Hi all,

Before you write off an enclosed trailer as being overkill, try comparing it to the price of a single car garage. You might only 'use' the trailer a few times a year to go back and forth to the track, but you can also 'use' it on the other days as enclosed storage at your home.

The guy I bought my first enclosed trailer from told me the story about a woman who had bought an enclosed trailer from him, and had him deliver it and place it in a specific place on her lot. She didn't even have a tow vehicle, all she needed was a covered parking space, and it was less expensive to get an enclosed trailer (and no building permits involved!).

I've now got an enclosed Featherlite, and there is almost always a car sitting inside of it. Tow vehicle is a Dodge Ram 2500 diesel, works pretty well!

bs

[Pat Braden]

While we didn't tow race cars, we towed enough Alfas and other miscellaneous cars successfully with a 3/4 ton, 4-wheel drive Suburban and snowmobile trailer with ramp and electric winch. Overkill by some standards, but it made loading, unloading, and controlling the incremental rise and descent a lot easier from the trailer. While the Suburban ate gasoline by anyone's standards, it had a 40 gallon tank and ran on regular, allowed plenty of room in the back at waist level for the trailer dolly, stake, misc. parts and tools, as well as being able to put the kids in the middle back seat to play, snack, etc. comfortably while we drove across country.

The other way we towed was with towbars. We had an assortment of them, stepped down, to match specifically to an Alfa or Abarth frame, depending on whether we used the Suburban or rented a truck at whatever destination we flew into to retrieve the new acquisition. I imagine today, the airlines might question a towbar as stowed luggage.

Pat preferred being able to see what he was towing and to be able to watch for shifting, especially when backing, and other problems. Probably, because his kids were into horses and he was tired of towing and backing horse trailers and horses all over the Midwest.

At any rate, a lot of fond memories and adventures.....