Enclosed Car Hauler recommendations with 21 F150 3.5 eco

[cturboaddict]

I've got a 21 3.5 Supercrew lariat with the max tow package.
Currently my race car is pulled on a MAXXD 20' open trailer. (I think its empty weight is 3500#s, GVWR of 7500)
I've got a few local tracks around me, one 8 min from home. And the others are about an hour and a half away. I don't plan to travel far, and if I do it would be infrequently.

Anyone have any success with a 24' for my type of use? Or should I look at a 22' enclosed?
I most likely will add a WDH when I get the trailer.

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[Jmet8]

Featherlite makes some top notch enclosed trailers. You could all ways just get a notch back to save some weight.. just kidding like the wheels.

 

[Pedaldude]

Weight and length shouldn’t be a concern for your application; however frontal area is often overlooked when choosing trailers.

The F-150 has a decent limit but only when you have the towing packages, otherwise it’s 36sqft. Which is kind of lame.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/conten...eneral/pdf/guides/21Towing_Ford_F150_Dec3.pdf

From the information provided, it looks like you’re limited to 55sqft. If you wanted to remain within the limits prescribed by Ford.

 

[DK4]

First of all, sweet car OP. Looks similar to McFlurry

I have an 8.5x20 Alcom Stealth that I absolutely love.

I don’t haul a race car, but I do haul a 2k# UTV and some stuff. Based on that, I went 7k on the trailer.

I added lots of custom options to mine like a man door on each side, extra tie downs inside etc.

The trailer weighs ~2,200 lbs dry and has a payload of over 4,700 lbs. Both numbers are pretty amazing all things considered.

If I was hauling a race car, there would be a few things I would do different. Biggest one being probably just go with a 10k rating and a few other options.

Let me know if you want to hear more on what I would do if hauling a race car OP.

 

[cturboaddict]

Weight and length shouldn’t be a concern for your application; however frontal area is often overlooked when choosing trailers.

The F-150 has a decent limit but only when you have the towing packages, otherwise it’s 36sqft. Which is kind of lame.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/conten...eneral/pdf/guides/21Towing_Ford_F150_Dec3.pdf

From the information provided, it looks like you’re limited to 55sqft. If you wanted to remain within the limits prescribed by Ford.

How does this apply to a V nose? Been looking at a 22' V nose.

 

[cturboaddict]

First of all, sweet car OP. Looks similar to McFlurry

I have an 8.5x20 Alcom Stealth that I absolutely love.

I don’t haul a race car, but I do haul a 2k# UTV and some stuff. Based on that, I went 7k on the trailer.

I added lots of custom options to mine like a man door on each side, extra tie downs inside etc.

The trailer weighs ~2,200 lbs dry and has a payload of over 4,700 lbs. Both numbers are pretty amazing all things considered.

If I was hauling a race car, there would be a few things I would do different. Biggest one being probably just go with a 10k rating and a few other options.

Let me know if you want to hear more on what I would do if hauling a race car OP.

Yes I would love to hear it.

 

[DK4]

Yes I would love to hear it.

The long and short of it is I wouldn’t consider anything that wasn’t all aluminum and 10k rated.

From there is just depends on how much you can spend.

Something like this would be awesome.

 

[jalexbell]

I've got a 21 3.5 Supercrew lariat with the max tow package.
Currently my race car is pulled on a MAXXD 20' open trailer. (I think its empty weight is 3500#s, GVWR of 7500)
I've got a few local tracks around me, one 8 min from home. And the others are about an hour and a half away. I don't plan to travel far, and if I do it would be infrequently.

Anyone have any success with a 24' for my type of use? Or should I look at a 22' enclosed?
I most likely will add a WDH when I get the trailer.

https://www.bre2.net/aerovault.info/

 

[J17GT]

Following along as I’m debating the same exact situation. 23 Supercrew Lariat, 3.5, max tow. Currently towing my mustang with a 20’ open trailer and wanting to move up to a 24’ enclosed. I’ve done the math and would have ~8500lbs of trailer weight fully loaded. With a nice WDH setup, I’m hopeful it’s doable.

I do go more distance than the OP though. I attend 3 to 4 drag race events a summer with the longest one 8 hours away.

My payload rating: 1721lbs
Tongue weight: 1105lbs (13% of 8500lb trailer)
Payload left: 616lbs
Misc weight in truck: 180lb driver, 200lb of misc gear (majority is in the trailer)
Remaining payload: 236lbs

So I could still have one additional passenger. I‘m typically alone in the truck, but at times have a buddy riding with me. Not familiar with the frontal load details posted above, will need to look into that.

Cruising down the highway with the open trailer, you hardly know it’s back there. I’m hopeful if the WDH setup is on point, not be in a hurry and take it easy in the right lane, that this won‘t turn into a white knuckle ride. I’m open to feedback that says otherwise.

Let us know what you decide @cturboaddict

 

[Rinn69]

Weight and length shouldn’t be a concern for your application; however frontal area is often overlooked when choosing trailers.

I know it's a little off topic, but cargo trailers PULL a lot of air too ! I had a 7x14 x 6.5' inside height trailer for about 10 years. After making a few trips between Wichita Falls TX and a small town south of Dallas, I got tired of my Ram 1500 constantly hunting for gears. I ordered, painted and installed some Air Tabs...the little vortex generators that go near the trailing edge of the trailer. I installed them at the recommended intervals and tried it out. The constant gear changes were greatly reduced, it pulled easier, less swaying from cross winds, and barely moved when meeting semi's on 2 lane roads. I was a skeptic, but seeing and feeling firsthand how effective they are, I was sold. I never did check what I saved on fuel, but with different weight loads, stop and go traffic in DFW on I-35W, it would have been pointless.

 

[cturboaddict]

Following along as I’m debating the same exact situation. 23 Supercrew Lariat, 3.5, max tow. Currently towing my mustang with a 20’ open trailer and wanting to move up to a 24’ enclosed. I’ve done the math and would have ~8500lbs of trailer weight fully loaded. With a nice WDH setup, I’m hopeful it’s doable.

I do go more distance than the OP though. I attend 3 to 4 drag race events a summer with the longest one 8 hours away.

My payload rating: 1721lbs
Tongue weight: 1105lbs (13% of 8500lb trailer)
Payload left: 615lbs
Misc weight in truck: 180lb driver, 200lb of misc gear (majority is in the trailer)
Remaining payload: 235lbs

So I could still have one additional passenger. I‘m typically alone in the truck, but at times have a buddy riding with me. Not familiar with the frontal load details posted above, will need to look into that.

Cruising down the highway with the open trailer, you hardly know it’s back there. I’m hopeful if the WDH setup is on point, not be in a hurry and take it easy in the right lane, that this won‘t turn into a white knuckle ride. I’m open to feedback that says otherwise.

Let us know what you decide @cturboaddict

I spoke with a fellow racer last year, he's pulling a 2019 8'6"x24' enclosed (v nose) Sure Track Pro Series (9900lb GVWR) with the same truck as mine. He's running a WDH, but says he pulls it cross country frequently. Had a new edge mustang drag car and enough room for a cart and all his "stuff". Said the 24' was a little tight with the cart, but no big deal.

 

[J17GT]

I spoke with a fellow racer last year, he's pulling a 2019 8'6"x24' enclosed (v nose) Sure Track Pro Series (9900lb GVWR) with the same truck as mine. He's running a WDH, but says he pulls it cross country frequently. Had a new edge mustang drag car and enough room for a cart and all his "stuff". Said the 24' was a little tight with the cart, but no big deal.

Nice! I sometimes haul my buddies ATV, but it's smaller than a golf cart. I really think 24' is the way to go over a 20' or 22'. It's really not that much heavier. I'm thinking no lower cabinets, just uppers to give me plenty of room in front of the car for stuff. My s550 is not a small car. Heavy too!

 

[Polo08816]

Following along as I’m debating the same exact situation. 23 Supercrew Lariat, 3.5, max tow. Currently towing my mustang with a 20’ open trailer and wanting to move up to a 24’ enclosed. I’ve done the math and would have ~8500lbs of trailer weight fully loaded. With a nice WDH setup, I’m hopeful it’s doable.

I do go more distance than the OP though. I attend 3 to 4 drag race events a summer with the longest one 8 hours away.

My payload rating: 1721lbs
Tongue weight: 1105lbs (13% of 8500lb trailer)
Payload left: 616lbs
Misc weight in truck: 180lb driver, 200lb of misc gear (majority is in the trailer)
Remaining payload: 236lbs

So I could still have one additional passenger. I‘m typically alone in the truck, but at times have a buddy riding with me. Not familiar with the frontal load details posted above, will need to look into that.

Cruising down the highway with the open trailer, you hardly know it’s back there. I’m hopeful if the WDH setup is on point, not be in a hurry and take it easy in the right lane, that this won‘t turn into a white knuckle ride. I’m open to feedback that says otherwise.

Let us know what you decide @cturboaddict

Tongue weight is not necessarily a 1:1 with payload.

Tongue weight for a bumper pull trailer has a lever effect on the rear axle. Therefore, 1105lbs of downward force on the hitch receiver could potentially equate to ~1200lbs of downward force on the rear axle.

The only way to know for sure is to get the vehicle weighed on a certified scale and know the weights of your steer, drive, and trailer axles.

Or you could get a F250/F350 and know you'll probably never exceed your rear axle weight rating.

 

[J17GT]

Tongue weight is not necessarily a 1:1 with payload.

Tongue weight for a bumper pull trailer has a lever effect on the rear axle. Therefore, 1105lbs of downward force on the hitch receiver could potentially equate to ~1200lbs of downward force on the rear axle.

The only way to know for sure is to get the vehicle weighed on a certified scale and know the weights of your steer, drive, and trailer axles.

Or you could get a F250/F350 and know you'll probably never exceed your rear axle weight rating.

Agree the scales is the only way to really know. I’m curious how much a dialed-in WDH setup distributes the weight. Some to the front axle and some to the trailer as well.

I did re-read Ford’s towing guide. If I’m interpreting it correctly, their payload rating assumes a 150lb driver. So you get a little weight back there!

Ideally I’d find the trailer I want, load it up as I typically would, then off to the scales before I buy it. Yes, super duty would be ideal, but driving that thing unloaded as a daily would get old fast. Plus it would not fit in my garage and parking where I live is awful. I only tow like 6x a year.

 

[TurboF150]

I've been hauling race cars and enclosed trailers around with a 3.5 F150 SCREW since they came out in 2011! I just towed a new 28' enclosed with my new 23 F150 to Florida from Ohio for Sick Week and it did really well. Here is me experience.

There are zero downsides to towing a 24' enclosed but the 28' I have is considerably larger with more frontal area and murdered my gas mileage. F150 towed it fine but gas mileage was abysmal at 6-6.5mpg. With a 24' on my last 3 F150s I typically got 8-8.5.

Airbags with a WDH leveling kit up front, 45psi in stock tires, 40psi in the bags. Trailer loaded was 12k

Some of my previous set ups.

One issue I have with the 23 is the mirrors are smaller than the 16, 14 and 11 I owned previously. I think I am going to break down and order the Boost towing mirrors, plus this trailer is black and grey and hard to see at night to begin with.

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