I'm looking at two stacker trailers this weekend. Hydraulic full-floor lift, winch door. Anything specific I should look for? Problems common to the type? Any features I should particularly want or not want?
Rodney Vest picked one up not long ago that is a lot like your description. He had it at the MA Barber round. He may already have some pro's and con's of it. Give him a shout.
You could ask Chris Ulrich about some of the "Con's"..they had an all Aluminum one that the whole hitch separated from the frame, as in ALL the front A'frame. There is a bit of extra stress from the top weight..if you care to noodle on it.
I have a friend who had both an all aluminum air ride stacker with a bunkhose loft type thing in the top front and a steel framed aluminum interior one without the loft set-up. He sold the all aluminum one. Said it had too much flexing for his liking and the air ride was a pain because if your to vehicle did not have air suspension you had to use a compressor to air it up and carry it with you in case you had air needs. He sold it to another friend who uses it for drag racing, he put an onboard compressor on it etc. He likes it because of the loft/sleeping area. It was a big $$$ trailer, I moved it for him with my dually so he did not have to get his coach out and you definately knew it was back there. I think his other one is for sale now. He bought a place in Palm Springs and leaves a couple of vehicles there as well as at his other home so he no longer tows the trailer. He has a lift for his street bike on the back of the coach so he travels light now. Weight and height are a concern. Also access to things, the one he currently has loads upper and lower from the rear and also has a front side ramp door for golf cart, motorcycles etc. without having to unload out the rear door.
We had one for a few years. Couple of issues/complaints we had to deal with. I wish it was a foot taller. Make sure its tall enough for what you want in there. I had 2 CTS-Vs in mine and the one on the top had its roof dented by the cross bar frame in the trailer. Ours also had a sloped rear deck which was great for lower cars, but it also means the rear of the trailer is lower too. Ours had rollers to protect the rear of the trailer when going over bumps or uneven surfaces, but sometimes they would break off and need to be welded back on. What are you towing it with? We usually used our F750 Funmover to tow it, but occasionally I would use my F250 to move it around the lot or take it down the street for repairs, but never very far.
Good luck with the stacker. I see tons of them at the drag strip. But I dont have any other helpful info. Out of my paygrade.
Will do! I just met him at the Jersey round. Funny guy. Scary. The one I think I'm gonna get is steel, however. Does your buddy live in the San Bernadino area by any chance? Towing with a Cummins 400-powered RV, so shouldn't be much of a problem there. I am nervous about my ability to move it around the property; I have an F-150 but no heavy-duty pickup. The 150's tow rating is 11,200 however and the empty weight on the trailers I'm looking at is supposedly "11" - so I may end up going over the limit of the half-ton but only for moving it a few hundred yards. It'll be using some biiiig motherfuckin load-balancing arms however. Not excited about that part, but I also don't plan on ever actually taking the trailer anywhere with anything but the motorhome so not really worth getting a bigger truck. Yeah this one is definitely pushing the budget a bit. But, I need a bigger and more professional setup for MA next year if I want to start getting more serious about it - and having the stacker will enable me to haul some other riders around to offset the trailer investment and fuel costs.
Don't worry about it. Tow ratings are more about controlling the tow from a dead stop up to 40MPH on a 12% grade. SAE J2807 sets the standards for testing/certification.
The ones I know about are in Maine now. He has a place in Palm Springs but doesn't haul them out there anymore.
How big is the property? Do you own a tractor yet? I imagine a tractor bucket could get fit with something to move the trailer? We use a forklift with a ball on a fork to move my toy box and it is much easier to get in and out of tricky spots versus with a truck.
this place in TX ain't big enough to need a tractor. my old place in WA that'd have been a great idea. but, really the f-150 would only ever need to move it like 50yd max, and all over flat ground. only real concern would be overloading the springs or axles.. which i could pretty easily do at 15% tongue weight and a loaded trailer.. but honestly i'd probably have a pretty tough time loading the trailer up that heavy with bike stuff.
Yea and if you are really worried throw your roll around toolbox, motorcycles or large genset at the very back. I actually put the bikes across the very back of my toyhauler, small generators back in between if needed and then the tool box, to get less weight on the tongue and it still towed well. IN my experience of the trailer started wagging, move some of the load back towards the front of the trailer. I used a weight distribution hitch with the trailer, but quit using the anti sway stuff because we had the levels and placement dialed in for our setup. We had as many as five bikes in that trailer many times. Good Luck, hope the extra expense is rewarded with enough guys you can tow to make up for the extra work and wear and tear? I know within reason, I would rather pay someone to haul all my stuff and fly in, versus driving all across the country with $4-7 a gallon diesel.
Was hanging around Daytona over the weekend and came across this aluminum stacker and noticed the front hitch frame was flexed. Went up to take a closer look and seems they added some additional bracing. Hard to tell if this is a result of overloading, an accident, or just poor design, but either way not very confidence inspiring......
IMO, Both and Poor Design...if you look underneath and the A arms don't run back under the front of the frame and aren't tied (Welded) to other cross members, I wouldn't pull it across the parking lot.. Unless designed correctly, Aluminum comes with drawbacks, that Steel doesn't. The Center beam should run WAY back to mid frame, at the minimum.
Yeah, I agree with Britt. I used to be in the welding and trailer business, that is a piss poor design.
My little trailer is all aluminum. I wonder how long the frame will actually last. I don't take it fully loaded down unimproved washboard roads or other fatigue maximizing use, but aluminum has a lifespan that steel doesn't need to concern itself with.
