Trailer Packing/ Storage

I am picking up an 8.5' x 20' enclosed trailer this weekend. What options are there for storing/transporting spare race wheels. I have seen racks hung high on walls, tires stacked in a corner, and just laid flat on the floor, none of which seem safe or easy to deal with. Along with transporting 8 wheels/tires I will want to pack properly; floor jack, many milk crates (w/ cleaning supplies, oils and spare parts, etc), fuel jugs, and all the the other junk you need at the track. What are the GRM Tricks for outfitting a trailer? Show me what you got

imgon wrote: I am picking up an 8.5' x 20' enclosed trailer this weekend. What options are there for storing/transporting spare races wheels. I have seen racks hung high on walls, tires stacked in a corner, and just laid flat on the floor, none of which seem safe or easy to deal with. Along with transporting 8 wheels/tires I will want to pack properly; floor jack, many milk crates (w/ cleaning supplies, oils and spare parts, etc), fuel jugs, and all the the other junk you need at the track. What are the GRM Tricks for outfitting a trailer? Show me what you got

IMHO, a rack on the wall with appropriate tie-downs to keep the tires in the rack is far and away the best option. A Tire Rack Tire Rack seems like it would probably work OK in a trailer (or DIY equivalent), assuming you have some solid structure to attach it to. Run a motorcycle tiedown ratchet strap through the spokes, etc.

As far as miscellaneous storage, some screw-in eyes and more ratchet straps should help. Fancier would be some cabinets attached in the front.

Pit Posse

They have lots of cool stuff for trailers.

I have an 8ft pit posse rack like the one linked mounted on the right hand trailer wall and it works great. I also have a cheap handtruck that I stack 4-6 tires on with a piece of PVC pipe run through the wheel centers. I strap that down to the D rings in front of the car for transit, and I can quickly move it outside at the track (I camp in my trailer).

I have seen lots of people mount e-track on the walls and span a pair of 2X4's for tires across the width of the trailer higher than the roof of the car so you can drive under it to load/unload. Works well, but I really like being able to just walk in and out of the ramp door without ducking.

For other stuff, since I have one set of tools/spares for shop and track, I have 3 main storage items all on wheels: a steel utility cart that is my work bench and storage, a wire shelf rack on wheels for totes, plus a tool chest on wheels. Pretty fast and easy to roll everything out of the garage into the trailer for race weekends - way better than when I used to move stacks of totes/toolboxes in and out with a handtruck. I mounted small D rings and brackets to the wall studs to strap them in place.

I haven't found a tire rack solution that I like. I stick 'em inthe back of the truck.

I put e-track above the wheel well, positioned the tires on the wheel well, then strapped them where they stood. I could get 4 13" tires on either side.

A friend welded a short piece of pipe sticking out at an upward angle from a base then bolted that to the wall. He did as many of these as he needed tires and just hung the tires on them. Made loading and unloading tires easy.

Thanks for the ideas. I have been trying to figure out ways to keep things low but not in the way. I have seen wheel racks mounted high on the walls and thought that having that much weight up high might effect how the trailer handles. In thinking about it, I suspect the weight of the trailer and the car is enough to more than offset the extra weight of stored items up high. With everything stored up high they don't need to be moved frequently. Basil, how did you strap the wheels down? I was trying to figure out something with etrack on the walls but it looked like it would get complicated to secure them to the wall. Many straps and trying to wrestle all the wheels at once. Keep the tricks coming.

Good thread, and relevant for me, as I'm in the planning stages of 'fitting out' my trailer. I spec'd the trailer with overhead cabinets in the front, and will be building a lower cabinet with toolbox and winch mount, but am still looking at solutions for a second set of wheels/tires.

I've been leaning toward mobile solutions like sevenracer mentioned above. Something like this:

It doesn't have to be the total NASCAR baller setup, I think it would be pretty simple to DIY a cart that could carry four tires, jack and some tools. It also gives you some options for placement in the trailer for weight distribution if you're hauling different vehicles.

I know lots of folks have used racks without any problems, but having 100+lbs of tires on a rack hanging over the car going down the road just makes me nervous...

Dumb question, but what does having all those tires mounted up front do to the tongue weight of the trailer? Or is it a simple matter of just having enough decking to push the car farther back to counterbalance?

wae wrote: Dumb question, but what does having all those tires mounted up front do to the tongue weight of the trailer? Or is it a simple matter of just having enough decking to push the car farther back to counterbalance?

It's just a matter of balancing your load, so yeah, moving the car, or moving other weight around. You can get a tongue scale for ~$100 or GRM it with a bathroom scale and lever arm, and play with your setup to get the tongue weight correct.

imgon wrote: Thanks for the ideas. I have been trying to figure out ways to keep things low but not in the way. I have seen wheel racks mounted high on the walls and thought that having that much weight up high might effect how the trailer handles. In thinking about it, I suspect the weight of the trailer and the car is enough to more than offset the extra weight of stored items up high. With everything stored up high they don't need to be moved frequently. Basil, how did you strap the wheels down? I was trying to figure out something with etrack on the walls but it looked like it would get complicated to secure them to the wall. Many straps and trying to wrestle all the wheels at once. Keep the tricks coming.

Sorry, no pictures. I ran the e-track horizontally above the wheel well (actually, on one side just put a short piece on either side where the strap was to connect). I placed the tires on top of the wheel well and connected the ratchet strap on one end of the track and pulled it across the face of the tires to the other end. Obviously, the ratchet strap had e-track clips on either end. It did take some balancing and use of the knees to keep the tires in place as the tires wanted to roll and fall over until I got the strap on them. Again, this was 13" tires. I could get four of them on one wheel well, but barely. Anything larger you might get just two or three.

I've also used two 2x4's across the width of the trailer with e-track clips at either end, but that's a lot of tire lifting and head-banging. You really need to put a cross-piece between the 2x4's to keep them from spreading, too, so you've got to engineer that so it can be removed.

Annotated trailer pics

http://carpron.com/multisite/v/Upload/PDoane/Slide2_004.JPG.html?g2_navId=x5de927b4&g2_GALLERYSID=d70ea2ef4fa7d0606b13c9ee300552a9

Stuff that is moveable I pack last i try to load the trailer so i get the proper weight distribution with out having to use a WD hitch when possible. Once i find the sweet spot that how i always pack it

I did build a trailer once and put tires up front under the bench 2 on each side and a trailer spare on each side (i like to mave extra trailer spares) this allowed me to just sit the car closer to the door and keep the tongue weight in line with the hitch rating.