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Ideal open car hauler length

I have had a H&H 20 ft tilting with dove tail for 12 years. I would buy another again. I did make some short ramps for loading low cars. I dont tilt the bed as far and the short ramps make loading low cars much easier. 6 bolt wheels.
 
Nothing less than 26 ft with 96 in deck and 10000 lb axles. 16 in. tires with 6 lug wheels.

LOL.. here's one of my deck trailers. Picture is from Spring 1990.
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I have an 18 foot solid deck, dove tail Bri Mar.
Over all length is 23 feet.
Mounted my winch on a custom built platform on the front arms so as not to interfere with the deck.
Works great for me.
 
I have an 18 foot solid deck, dove tail Bri Mar.
Over all length is 23 feet.
Mounted my winch on a custom built platform on the front arms so as not to interfere with the deck.
Works great for me.
Mind posting a pic of that winch mount?
 
Next time I go to my shop I will take some pics of it for you.

Ed
That would be great. I bought a trailer today so my next project is to buy a winch and rig up a mount for it. I think I want to make it removable.
 
I have a 20' Bri-Mar tilting dovetail and I love it. Cool thing is I opted for the remote control so I can stay in the car, tilt the trailer, drive up onto it and tilt it back down without getting out of the vehicle.
 
That would be great. I bought a trailer today so my next project is to buy a winch and rig up a mount for it. I think I want to make it removable.

Made this from scraps of new metal laying around my friends shop.
Piece of flat steel and three pieces of 3X6 welded together and to the trailer frame arms.
We used the winch mounting plate and welded it to the 3X6 pieces.
Using the winch mounting plate enables me to remove the winch if I choose by unbolting it from the mount plate.
Ed

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Here's a couple shots of my Parker 18', steel deck, dove tail trailer, with a '65 Galaxie wagon on it. I bought the trailer in 1999 and went with the 18' because I wanted to put any 50-60-70s vintage car on it. I went with steel deck because it was cleaner and I could mount hold-downs anywhere I liked. It has 2x 3500# axles and with a small block E-body on it, weighs in at 5600#s total, so the trailer is over 2000#s Biggest limfac (IMO) is keeping tires on it. They rot off long before the tread is worn. I have 15" wheels so the trailer sits lower, but that will lower your total available weight rating.



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If you are ever going to tow something really nice, I highly recommend a deflector for the front to protect from road debris...

Hawk

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I have had an 18' open since about 1995. Added dual axle brakes, battery, winch and side mounted tool boxes for the jack, axle straps, ratchet straps and tools etc. I would never go without a winch on a trailer. I now also have a 28' enclosed for bringing the golf cart along with the B Bodies.

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Thanks for all the ideas guys. Went with a 18' Road Warrior dovetail because it had all the features I wanted and it was in stock. I realize that if a guy was making a living hauling cars, you would want a bigger, heavier duty trailer. But for the limited time this will get used, it should work just fine. I took a different approach on the winch setup, basically because I wanted it to be easily removable. Made my own baseplate and welded a receiver tube with pin and bracing vertical on the tongue. The 2"x2" square tube going into the receiver is solid stock. Just have to get a battery mounted by it and it will be ready to roll. If it doesn't work, I will come up with plan "B".

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