Track Day Car transporter?

[Charlie]

-Charlie

[Brian D]

LOL @ "M go blow" sticker. It's been a lonnng time.

I drive, it's around 500 miles to Willow. I do have a back up though (airline employee).

[lostbeachbum]

Well what I did was create a tow bar to kfit where the front bumper shocks went and I flat tow the car... I tow it using a 95 Chevy 1500. The longest trip was 400 miles and average speed was about 70. it wasnt bad at all.

[DaN]

I did a track event from VA beach to VIR, my first one and I lost most of the oil pressure on the m20.
Something you would never think would go wrong, I use full syn castrol or Mobil 1. I guess all that time near redline got the pressure control valve stuck near open, dumping all the pressure.

So 200 miles from home, didn't know anyone at the event really.
I had the s50 at home waiting to go in, I drove it 200 miles with I'm guessing 2-7 psi of oil pressure at 2500 rpms, towing a trailer and with 3 people in the car. I never thought I was gonna make it.

So a tow rig is definitely a good idea.

[Scott///M]

One way of looking at this is that if you drive the car to the track you have a greater incentive not to break/bend it...

+1

I drove my double duty cars to the track for years without any issues.

If you are just starting out. I suggest you drive to the track. If you start to get more serious about things—you will want to start towing? There's no need to tow until you reach the point where you are changing pads and tires.

[xLibelle]

you tow with a mini-van??

towing capacity is rated at 2k... 3.5k wont kill the van. i didnt keep the first one longer than 35k, worked fine, this one im at 15k and still no issues. but i dont care when it dies either beacuse i dont pay for this shit.

i'm looking into an e46 320i as my next tow vehicle. something like 320 ftlb.

[Charlie]

towing capacity is rated at 2k... 3.5k wont kill the van. i didnt keep the first one longer than 35k, worked fine, this one im at 15k and still no issues. but i dont care when it dies either beacuse i dont pay for this shit.

Not so much the van I'd worry about but the poor sucker in front of you when you try and do a panic stop.

-Charlie

[xLibelle]

actually, THAT is my biggest concern. Ive been an old fart behind the wheel with a loaded trailer, keeping my distance and all. havent had to do any big time stops but from what i have done, its shown pretty well.

[dreeves]

i bought an Anderson trailer, single 3,500lb axle under 14x7 wood planks for about $1200.
i cut the railings lower and welded some added support, cut off the rear gate and made it into ramps, as well as made the fenders removable in seconds.
the trailer is extremely light weight and will tow 3000 lbs without a doubt!
i have had no trouble with it behind a town&country over the past year.

I wouldn't ever want to tow a car with a single axle trailer. It would turn a flat tire from an inconvenience into a major problem and potential accident.

I drove my E30 M3 to/from the track for three years; when I bought a stiffer car with a cage, I went the tow vehicle route. Both are doable and totally acceptable, and to be honest, I sometimes wish my M3 was still registered so I could just hop in and drive it to the track.

To answer the original poster's question, though, this is my setup:

The Expedition is high mileage, bought used. Wasn't that expensive, and has a ridiculous tow capacity.

[lux]

(bumping a couple months old thread.)

has any one rented a tow vehicle and trailer for an event?

i remember back in the day i saw all these same model and color suburban looking vehicles with u-haul flat bed trailers.

i'm just looking at a price average.

and where to look and where to not look.

[Massive Lee]

Even racers will rent a U-Haul van and a trailer to go racing for the weekend. In many cases, it is people who only have needs a couple of times per year, which makes renting and not owning better sense.

[Tom944]

Even in Europe we've got the American Van's :D

[etxxz]

huh, i never considered renting. i could just borrow my brother's Liberty and rent a car dolly. or pay another $40/day to rent a pickup. Makes a hell of a lot of sense.

in my experience, bad things tend to happen when you are not ready for them becuase life likes to bit people in the arse! so always be ready and nothing will happend.:mrgreen:

[lux]

i have no idea on the rates of u-haul (the only company i know of in my area of virginia beach that rents flat bed trailers).

i know they rent trucks and vans as well.

does anyone have experience with prices?

[Massive Lee]

I googled and got that:

"U-Haul trucks - $40 per day; U-Haul trailers - $20 per day; U-Haul towing devices - $20 per day."

If you rent a truck and a trailer, even if it costs $100 per day with insurances, it will still be cheaper than buying a truck and trailer... And foremost, you won't have to park the truck and trailer during the week, or insure and maintain them over the year.

Lee