- Home
- About Us
- Join/Renew
- Member Benefits
- Member Pages
- Log In
- Help
- Museum Store
We’re in the process of getting a closed car trailer for transporting our P-As. Does anyone know the gross vehicle weight of:
1- 1934 8 Cyl 5 Pass sedan
2- 1934 12 Cyl Silver Arrow
Also thanks for any car trailering advice.
Regards, Walter and Mary McDaniel
Get a trailer with a 6000# load capacity. Most trailers with the 5300# axles will have an empty weight around 3700-4200#, and with two 5300# capacity axles/wheels/tires, the gross capacity of the trailer is ~10,000#, leaving a load capacity of ~6000#.
Get a V-nose trailer, they tow much nicer than the blunt front trailers, and thy don’t cost much extra. Make sure you don’t buy a ‘race’ trailer, they often have low ceiling height, and your cars are fairly tall, adding an extra 12″ to the standard height is not that expensive.
I’ve priced a 24′, 10,000# gross weight, V-nose trailer with 12″ extra height, and 12″ floor joist spacing at $7700,00 here in Michigan. http://www.interstate-1.com I think is their site.
And, very importantly: Buy a good Diesel truck to pull the trailer with, there aren’t any gasoline trucks I’d try towing with.. dual rear wheels is a good added safely factor for towing.
Greg Long
I agree with Greg, but would add that be sure your trailer has 16 inch wheels, and extra large brakes. If you want to carry extra stuff add a few feet… but be aware it gets long and hard to handle real fast over 24 feet. Ed
GREG/ED
Thank you for your quick responses and advice. We have a “99 Ford F250 Diesel bought from our mutual friend Paul Murray that is currently serving us well in our move to a new home on Camano Island WA. It used to have a 5th wheel hitch mounted in the Bed and has the trailer towing package installed by Ford. Now all we need is to get the “”sleeping”” Godfrey and Sterling (Origianal ’34 5 Pass Sedan and ex-Dave Coco Silver Arrow) back onto the lovely NW roads. Also started the resto on my “”26 80 Wilson coupe. Retirement is finally fun!!”
Hi Walt, glad to hear you still have custody of the Silver Arrow. You acquiring that car enabled me to acquire a 1937 Cord phaeton, which went back to Auburn last month for the first time in a long time! Sure liked the Silver Arrow, though.
Diesel is what I hear, particularly in newer trucks. GMC quit putting the big gas engine in 3/4 ton trucks in 2006, so after that date, diesel is your only choice. Still don’t understand a 3/4 ton truck with what is basically a small block engine that they’ve built since then, but federal regulations on mileage killed that concept….
Pat Mr. Sterling on the fender and say hi for me, like my Cord but miss the mechanical excellence of the V-12….and have a great memory of buying the SA from Moline while everyone else was at a Pierce meet back in the 1980’s!!! And driving it through the rolling hills of Texas, to Pate Museum, at a Pierce meet way back when…
Hello Walt,
I agree with what the guys said above. Your cars are going to be in the 5000 to 5500 lb range, so you are going to need every bit of the capacity that Greg and Ed talked about.
One thing that is nice to have in a trailer are adjustable tie down points, especially if you are going to be towing multiple different sizes and weights of cars. This is done with various slotted tracks built into the trailer floor and accompanying tie downs. If you just have 4 fixed tie down points in the floor of the trailer, you don’t have much flexibility for locating the cars front to back for proper load distribution.
A metal deck in the trailer is also nice feature. Plywood decking is noisy as the edges of the plywood rub together creaking…kind of like the floor in an old house. Metal floors are also easier to keep clean of oil and gasoline. If you do go with a wood deck, Epoxy paint applied to the floor will seal it and make it more user friendly.
A side door is a nice feature so that you can easily get into and out of the car for loading and unloading without having to inhale deeply to reduce one’s waistline or bang the car door against the inside wall of the trailer.
Perhaps the feature that I like the most is one that Ralph McKittrick told me about. I had an electric winch mounted to the frame on the floor of my trailer way at the front. It is a 12 Volt 12,000 lb winch. I run it off a deep discharge marine battery and it works great for loading and unloading by yourself. These cars are large and there is not much room on either side between your car and the wheel wells of the trailer. It is hard to see while you are driving, and unless you are an old pro at loading and unloading, it can be a little un-nerving. With the winch, you can stand in front of the car holding a remote switch, see your clearance on both sides, and move the car in (or out) 1 foot at a time. If you see a problem, you stop. Also, if the car has quit running for some reason (not that your cars would do that) you can still get it into the trailer and get it home.
Happy Motoring,
Chris
Thanks Chris and Dave for the added info. Knew I could count on P-A Friends to help me get through this expensive decision. Regards, to ALL
Hello Walter,
Regarding the trailer, any good trailer builder will want specific dimensions of the vehicles you will carry. They should get so specific as to want a ton of dimensions, as in, the distance from the bumper to the front edge of the front door, from the rear bumper to the back of the front door, etc. This is so they can make the trailer and position the tie downs and jump door exactly where you need them. I had an extra set of tie down hooks placed forward of what I needed for my Series 80. Extra dome light sets (three sets of two) are good as is a second spare tire and an extra roof vent. The winch should run off of the battery that connects to the electric jack to raise and lower the tongue (no hand cranking). The winch can be installed after the fact at a good savings. Flooring as Chris mentioned is a big deal, but most reputable trailers will give you at least a 5-year warranty on the wood floor. As usual, everything depends on how much you want to spend. $10k should get your a nice 24-ft enclosed trailer with a 7-1/2-foot interior height + extras, which is necessary for a Series 80 or three. If you want more, then you will spend more. You are out west, so you need to hunt there. I have a United Trailer, UTX, but they are an Indiana group and that is a long way, freight wise, from Washington state. Good luck, Peter
Proper trailers are just part of the battle.While checking out the
Tahoe version of Hot August Nites,I visited the Mac’s Tie Down booth.
The owner showed me why the tie downs that I have taken for granted
as safe,are accidents waiting to happen.Most trailer manufacturers
equip new trailers with D-rings that take care of their bottom line.
Then we go out and buy any old straps.
Mac’s over engineer’s their D-rings and tie-downs and will give you
personal attention.Our fine,heavy weight cars deserve to remain secured
to the trailer in case of an accident.Mac’s Tie Downs will design a
system and provide U.S. made components to get you there safely.
Tony Costa
Thanking all who have responded. This is great info for many of us in the PAS, especially some of the safty bits for towing. We spend so much time on our PA’s then forget about the potential hazards of transpoting them to an event. Last ime we had Godfrey on the road, my Wife was driving and had to avoid a railroad tie that fell off a truck in front on i-5. It slalomed quite well!
A word to the wise if you ever have to get a tow while in your car. A member lost his car two years ago when the tow truck driver of a roll back did not properly secure the 1936 1601 sedan. It fell off and rolled down a mountain road till it stopped when it hit a house. It wasn’t pretty. Be careful when trailering or towing. Ed
PS. Yes, the car was so damaged it was totaled and parted out. A sad end to a very nice California Pierce.
Walter, glad to hear you are moving to Camano Island and retiring. Maybe now we will get you and the Pierce’s on the road on some tours. The nice thing about living north of the city is we can just drive from home and not need to trailer on many of the events. The NW Pierce club went to Penticton BC a few weeks ago over the North Cascades and we had a great trip.
Once you are moved and settled I’d love to come by and see your cars.
Rich Anderson – Whidbey Island