It went off to Florida someplace, with a guy who I'd rather never speak to again.

 

My math is fuzzy, as I don't know ITA min weight requirements, but I do now that this trailer only has 3500 lbs axles under it. If both cars weigh 2200 lbs, and the trailer only weighs 2000 lbs you are right at the capacity for the axles.

I am upgrading my enclosed trailer as I am right at 6600 lbs or so fully loaded for a race weekend.

 

And more than likely at the limit of that truck.

 

That pic was from a 9 year old thread on a Spec Miata forum... NMNA, just posted as an example of two Miatas on an open trailer.

Definitely not how I would do it...

 

I'm not a huge track junkie, which is why I was looking at 24 footers. Could be used to haul my truck around, off road things, pick up metal, etc. Not as easy to move around as a 16 footer, but not terrible to tow a single car with. And the added bonus of squeezing a second car on for longer weekends would be huge.

 

Maybe look at gooseneck equipment trailers? Much heavier duty, and you'd have to pull the cap off the truck, but probably cheaper and easier to re-sell...

 

Also more than I want to deal with. If a 24 or 26 ft bumper pull isn't feasible I'll just get a basic single car.

 

Miatas are 11ft from front of front wheel to rear bumper
and also 11ft from rear of rear wheel to front of bumper

 

If you can find a 24ft flatbed with two 5k axles, that would work, but it would be a tight squeeze.

 

Found a place up here that will build a 10k 24ft for me. $3800. Not terrible.

Still need to decide. 24ft is a lot of trailer for single car work, which I would do a lot of too.

 

Same length as my enclosed, it's very doable. A lot easier to back up with that much length, too.

If you want 10K weight on a custom trailer, I'd look at triple 3500s instead of dual 5200s. Triple tows better and gives you more redundancy in the face of tire failures.

--Ian

 

Big price jump there.

Tbh id probably be towing one car 75% of the time. But splitting fuel costs to cali a few track days a year would pay the difference to a longer trailer real quick.

 

That sounds like a pretty reasonable price for sure. Even if you'll be towing with a single car the majority of the time, I would still think it'd be worth it to have those few extra feet for the few times you do want to double up. I used to have a 20' open trailer before I moved up to an enclosed and with a Miata being so small it was nice that I could strap down totes of spare parts or spare wheels/tires. Yes, there was plenty of room in the truck for that stuff too, but it was nice to not have to constantly be climbing into the back of the truck for stuff.

My new 24' enclosed has so much room now that I almost don't know what to do with it all, but I think that's a good problem to have. It has 18" of V-nose and an extended tongue but really doesn't tow much different than my old trailer. I can still get it into the same places with no problem. So, I'd say that extra 4-6' between a standard open trailer and a 24' open is worth having for those few times you want to bring two cars.

 

With cabinets/tool box/winch, plus a set of spare wheels, EZ-up, chairs and other sundry stuff, even a 24' fills up pretty quick. I still thought I had lots of room until I loaded our Mustang...

I'm a fan of buying a little more trailer than you think you need, rather than ending up with less trailer than you really need. Trucks too, for that matter...

 

I'm not sure I would pay $1500 extra for a larger trailer, and deal with the hassle that larger trailer entails, on the off chance that a friend might occasionally want to split gas on the way to the track with me.

 

Added some air sprangs to my truck, to try to address some steering instability while towing the TPD.



(more pics in my nominally-Miata build thread)

--Ian

 

Re-decked my trailer, oiled it and installed new LED lights

 

I finally got a tow vehicle for the last event of the season - NCM. Which means I didn't have to drive the 5.5 hours down to Bowling Green in the Miata this year! I can like take a cooler and jack and stuff now.

I've been on the hunt for something that can double as a DD and tow vehicle. Requirements were that it can tow at least 6500lbs, get >20mpg highway unladen, and not be too dreary to drive (since I had to sell my WRX). I looked at trucks and didn't want to deal with their unnecessary size on a daily basis parallel parking and such. In the end I purchased a 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel, aka Milf Hunter.
Between the CPO and dieselgate warranties the powertrain is covered until 2023. So far it's been brilliant - quiet, comfortable, efficient, and enjoyable to drive. Brakes and steering feel (it's hydraulic assist), are far better than the WRX. And it handles like a WRX with an extra 1500lbs on stilts. It's rated to tow 7700lbs, which should tow a Miata with enclosed trailer nicely.


Here's me at the gas station... not filling up.
I followed my buddy down in his Cayenne GTS 6MT and 24ft enclosed aluminum trailer. He averaged about 10mpg. I'm hoping at least 18mpg if/when I get an enclosed trailer.
The uhaul trailer is not designed for a lowered Miata. It required race ramps to extend the ramps and I put 2x10's on the deck so I didn't scrape the underbody or damage the front bumper. The design of the trailer means most of the car is in front of the trailer axles, which heavily loads the tongue and causes the Cayenne to squat.



I got back to Columbus today and ended up at 22mpg with the cruise set on 73mph most of the time.
It was very confidence inspiring. I can't tell how temps are until the summer, but water temp never moved off 200F and oil temp never hit 240F (it normally runs around 220-225F on the highway).
If it gets to a steep grade it may downshift to 7th or 6th gears (Aisin 8 speed), but the speedo never moves.

Unladen I usually get about 32mpg hand calculated doing 90% highway driving, if I can keep the speed around 70mph.

 

God i hate uhaul trailers. They make balancing a load so difficult impossible.

 

How do you keep the weird metal channels on them that seem there intentionally to carve the **** out of miata frame rails from damaging your car? I went the overkill route and found a 20ft enclosed with Ac for 3500 and a v10 excursion for 5k for dedicated tow pigness. I think I still need some additional ramps as the bolts mounting the harnesses seem to catch sometimes. Are you all using race ramps under your ramp or is there a cheaper solution for that
Edit I see now
"I followed my buddy down in his Cayenne GTS 6MT and 24ft enclosed aluminum trailer. He averaged about 10mpg. I'm hoping at least 18mpg if/when I get an enclosed trailer.
The uhaul trailer is not designed for a lowered Miata. It required race ramps to extend the ramps and I put 2x10's on the deck so I didn't scrape the underbody or damage the front bumper. The design of the trailer means most of the car is in front of the trailer axles, which heavily loads the tongue and causes the Cayenne to squat."