Enclosed trailer purchase!

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wkroncke17

wkroncke17

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
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After about a year and a half of investigating, comparing and learning about enclosed trailers, I’ve finally decided to buy one.
Im going with Discovery Trailers built in Elkhart Indiana. My neighbor has a Discovery trailer he had built back in 2019 and has served him flawlessly and I have 2 other friends I know in drag racing and snowmobile racing that have nothing but good things to say bout them.
The trailer I’m having built is a 24’ Discovery SE spread axle with the 5200 pound Dexter torsion axles.
Discovery is running some free promotions at the moment.
One of the promotions is a free upgrade to the .080 Aluma-Tech exterior wall from the standard .030
Free upgrade to the white vinyl walls from the standard 3/8” plywood and free upgrade to the blackout exterior trim which I was going to order as I really like that look - the pic I’ve attached is about what it’ll look like.
Since some stuff I wanted was free, I’ve added a couple more options.
I added aluminum wheels, the rear spoiler with loading lights and the 110V electrical package which consists 2 48” 110 volt LED lights, 1 light switch, 3 110-volt interior receptacles, a 30 amp service panel with 25' lifeline and cable hatch.
I suppose I have a couple of questions…..
The floor is the 3/4” dry-max, I’d like to paint it gray. Anyone suggest a good paint for trailer floors?
It’s coming with a winch plate installed - I’ll need a good winch. Any suggestions?
What weight rating winch should I purchase?
I’m excited for spring and getting the car to the track!
Thanks everyone!

Wally.

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I have had several HF winches. I certainly wouldn't buy another. First little toy 2500 did well for several years, just wasn't big enough. The three since have been garbage. (I know, slow learner. )
If you can stomach the cost, hard to beat a Warn. I'd buy three times car weight (Two of my HF were 9 tons)
Nice trailer! I don't know where you are, but west coast would cost twice what it would back east.
 
I never liked the spread axles due to the issues backing them up on sharp turns with weight in the trailer. Its harder to get it to turn with a light truck. You'll see what I mean once you own it . I have several different trailers. Spread axles are good for Goose neck trailers. Not really any benefit with a 24 foot. You want tongue weight.
 
That is a sweet trailer!

I've been searching for over a year, but they are just outrageously priced here in the PNW. A basic 24' is going for $14k+. Same trailer on the east coast is $8k. Frustrating
 
A guy here a month or so ago had a beautiful 99% new 24 ft trailer for $8500. I would have happily paid 12,500 if it was here on the west coast. It was in Florida, a new York guy bought it, had it shipped
 
Just Send It said:
That is a sweet trailer!

I've been searching for over a year, but they are just outrageously priced here in the PNW. A basic 24' is going for $14k+. Same trailer on the east coast is $8k. Frustrating
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For a 6 grand difference, get a cheap flight to the right coast, rent a Ryder/SIVA/UHaul truck and pull it home- see if someone needs a car or two delivered along your route back and recoup even more money. Nice trip and maybe even meet a couple FABO members along the way!
 
Professor Fate said:
For a 6 grand difference, get a cheap flight to the right coast, rent a Ryder/SIVA/UHaul truck and pull it home- see if someone needs a car or two delivered along your route back and recoup even more money. Nice trip and maybe even meet a couple FABO members along the way!
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Exactly.
For 6k why in the world wouldn’t you do that instead of whining about the price difference
 
Congrats Wally!! I'm thrilled for you with this next step for that awesome Demon of yours. You'll be posting in the 10-second club thread soon!!

As for a winch, I have a 9500# Rough Country winch with the synthetic rope in the trailer I bought last year. It works very well and moves any of my cars in and out of my 24' trailer without issue. I went synthetic for its less stored energy properties. Other members here can likely chime in with their type of winch and experience. Good luck!!

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Good luck with your new trailer. I installed a 10K Warn in my trailer I bought last year. Your are correct, 95% are made in Indiana. I bought a Lighting all aluminum.

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Those are all nice trailers but a 24’ seem a little crowded once you get a car in there. I have a 26’ trailer and I have plenty of room in there for the car plus gear.
 
Congrats on your new trailer !!! I was going to buy a new trailer to replace my 2001 Haulmark but decided to just put some money in it ( needs a new axle , bearings and brakes ) . I paid $5200 for it in 2001 a new one is close to $14,000 and from doing some research I found the quality of a Haulmark isn't what it used to be . I found cheaper trailers but the reviews on them isn't good , the saying " you get what you pay for " is true . Any good trailer like I need is in the $12-15,000 range to much for me with my retirement / part time job income . I looked at one trailer the dealer was saying how good it was , I looked inside after a big rain storm and there were water stains on the floor already and it was $11,000. My trailer might be ugly but it has never leaked and has served me well.

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Thanks so much!
I’ve learned Haulmark and Pace aren’t the quality they once were.
I’m pretty much going off of others experience when I made my choice.
Aluminum was a bit out of my $$ range, fortunately I won’t be pulling it in the snow, so I won’t need to worry about salt on the roads.

I didn’t think anything more than a 5000 lb winch would be needed for a 3200 lb rolling car?
I know it’s better to have too much then not enough so I definitely appreciate the help guys.

I do like the thought of the synthetic rope instead of the wire cable.
Cordless I bet would be nice also?

BVoelzke said:
Congrats on your new trailer !!! I was going to buy a new trailer to replace my 2001 Haulmark but decided to just put some money in it ( needs a new axle , bearings and brakes ) . I paid $5200 for it in 2001 a new one is close to $14,000 and from doing some research I found the quality of a Haulmark isn't what it used to be . I found cheaper trailers but the reviews on them isn't good , the saying " you get what you pay for " is true . Any good trailer like I need is in the $12-15,999 range to much for me with my retirement / part time job income . I looked at one trailer the dealer was saying how good it was , I looked inside after a big rain storm and there were water stains on the floor already and it was $11,000. My trailer might be ugly but it has never leaked and has served me well.

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wkroncke17 said:
Thanks so much!
I’ve learned Haulmark and Pace aren’t the quality they once were.
I’m pretty much going off of others experience when I made my choice.
Aluminum was a bit out of my $$ range, fortunately I won’t be pulling it in the snow, so I won’t need to worry about salt on the roads.

I didn’t think anything more than a 5000 lb winch would be needed for a 3200 lb rolling car?
I know it’s better to have too much then not enough so I definitely appreciate the help guys.

I do like the thought of the synthetic rope instead of the wire cable.
Cordless I bet would be nice also?
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I'm going with a cordless winch. I figure it'll be easier if I'm loading the car myself. I can walk beside it and steer while working the controller.
 
mcodecuda said:
Those are all nice trailers but a 24’ seem a little crowded once you get a car in there. I have a 26’ trailer and I have plenty of room in there for the car plus gear.
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I have a 26 footer too but used a 24 foot trailer for over 10 years. 250 quad sideways in from of my duster and Daytona and a nice workbench. I love the extra two feet but a 24 will work just fine for him. Unless maybe he wants a golf cart then it get crowded.
 
Thanks guys!
At the most I’ll get a small 4 wheeler and I’ll bring my Generator - tool box and a couple of bins of spare parts.

I called and am having the upper cabinet added, that’ll help make some room on the floor.
I’ll end up building a bench with possibly a a chest of drawers and make access to the winch and electric panel.

I’ve been looking into floor paint, it seems this is good stuff and has a non slip texture.
A bit pricey, but if it lasts it’ll be worth it.

pittsburghracer said:
I have a 26 footer too but used a 24 foot trailer for over 10 years. 250 quad sideways in from of my duster and Daytona and a nice workbench. I love the extra two feet but a 24 will work just fine for him. Unless maybe he wants a golf cart then it get crowded.
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I ordered rubber coin flooring for mine and love it. I bought aluminum Diamond plate and had it sheared big enough for the rear slicks and front tires. I marked the floor where my duster sat and arrived at the drag strip early enough to get it all mounted after I pulled the car out. Epoxy paint holds up ok but ages quickly.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I ordered rubber coin flooring for mine and love it. I bought aluminum Diamond plate and had it sheared big enough for the rear slicks and front tires. I marked the floor where my duster sat and arrived at the drag strip early enough to get it all mounted after I pulled the car out. Epoxy paint holds up ok but ages quickly.
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Yes .. like John said :I have a piece of diamond plate under the front and rear tires , when I ordered my trailer I also added the front upper cabinet it really comes in handy .
 
I have a Covered Wagon 8.5 X 24 with polycore siding and drivers side escape door. Thought going with the escape door would prevent having to install a winch like I had in my previous trailer. Wrong! The Arrow sets so low that the tub covering the trailer wheels won't let me open the door wide enough. Guess I could build a set of ramps to lift the car up. Anyway, I installed a HF 12K winch which I also used in my previous trailer. Neither HF winch gave me any issues and they work great. Dropped off the trailer at the dealer I bought it from yesterday to get the rubber 'coin' flooring installed in it, and as soon as the weather warms up here in the frozen tundra of Maine I'm going to paint the interior walls white.
 
^^^ I use a simple thing in my trailer as my 71 Demon 340 sits low and would not allow the driver door to open without hitting that trailer inner fender. I simply screwed down about a 3' length of 2x12 where each front tire goes. Just drive onto the board and done. This provides (barely) clearance to be able to open the door and clear the fender. Since my trailer has to haul multiple cars, the length of the board allows each car to be set where it needs to be and provides clearance as needed. The avatar Demon doesn't need it but the 71 sure does!! And it was already installed when I put the Charger in it so clearance was not even checked. It just worked.
 
My wife and I are celebrating the arrival of our new family member!
Drove to Elkhart Indiana to the Discovery factory yesterday and picked up our new trailer!
Pretty much hassle free, gave them the balance in a cashiers check, a guy drove around with a fork truck and put it right on my hitch.
The .080 Aluma-tech exterior wall is a really nice upgrade and the white vinyl walls really brighten it up inside.
I’ll need to build some sort of bench/storage in the front, the upper cabinet would’ve been a pain so I’m glad I splurged a bit and ordered that.
I bought a good quality deck/porch textured light gray paint for the floor and I need to order a winch, I plan on using the synthetic rope and definitely want a cordless controller.
I’ve owned my Demon since 1983, drove it to the track when I raced it full time.
I never in my wildest dreams would’ve thought I’d be going to the track in an enclosed trailer!
It tows beautiful and I’m really happy with the quality.
Thanks everyone for the input!
Bring on spring!

Wally.

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I was going to suggest deck/porch paint, it tends to hold up pretty good.
 
For you more intelligent fellas, I want to add a winch to my new trailer. Someone else was talking about winch ratings. Say for a 3500# car, what rating of winch would suffice?
Also, should I install a battery and a little solar panel or just hook it up via the truck electric? I can’t ever see where I would be loading a car with the trailer unhooked so I don’t THINk I would need a battery. I do however think a remote would be really handy because it’s so often I have to do things solo.
 
go-fish said:
For you more intelligent fellas, I want to add a winch to my new trailer. Someone else was talking about winch ratings. Say for a 3500# car, what rating of winch would suffice?
Also, should I install a battery and a little solar panel or just hook it up via the truck electric? I can’t ever see where I would be loading a car with the trailer unhooked so I don’t THINk I would need a battery. I do however think a remote would be really handy because it’s so often I have to do things solo.
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I have had my trailer for 22 years now and just added winch a few years ago , ( my wife got tired of helping me push the car in and out when it broke so she bought it for me ) my trailer was in the shop for brakes and bearings recently and I had them hook the trailer plug to the winch battery so it " charges " while I am towing . The repair shop manager told me that wiring it that way only maintains the battery like a battery tender it won't charge it from dead even if you drive a lot of miles. So imo you will still need a battery for the winch since wiring the trailer plug to the winch won't have enough power. BTW: going for the top cabinets was a good idea , I have them and they really come in handy you will be surprised how much they hold .
 
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So instead of getting flooring installed in my trailer I pulled the trigger and traded for what I really wanted! 8.5 X 28 Covered Wagon with a fully finished interior, wired for generator/110, escape door that I can actually use to get in and out of the car. recessed E-Track, LED lighting inside and out and with dropped torsion axles. Rides so much smoother than my previous trailer. Now I just gotta put an electric jack on the tongue, and put my tool box and other stuff in it. Going to install a winch in it as well, for those oh crap times!

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wkroncke17 said:
My wife and I are celebrating the arrival of our new family member!
Drove to Elkhart Indiana to the Discovery factory yesterday and picked up our new trailer!
Pretty much hassle free, gave them the balance in a cashiers check, a guy drove around with a fork truck and put it right on my hitch.
The .080 Aluma-tech exterior wall is a really nice upgrade and the white vinyl walls really brighten it up inside.
I’ll need to build some sort of bench/storage in the front, the upper cabinet would’ve been a pain so I’m glad I splurged a bit and ordered that.
I bought a good quality deck/porch textured light gray paint for the floor and I need to order a winch, I plan on using the synthetic rope and definitely want a cordless controller.
I’ve owned my Demon since 1983, drove it to the track when I raced it full time.
I never in my wildest dreams would’ve thought I’d be going to the track in an enclosed trailer!
It tows beautiful and I’m really happy with the quality.
Thanks everyone for the input!
Bring on spring!

Wally.

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And with that fabulous Demon of yours, you've got one one top-notch outfit there! So happy for you in getting this!!
 
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