Suggestions for an open wheel trailer tire rack

G

gran racing

Super Moderator
My wife has been bugging me about getting a different tow vehicle which can accommodate two pups and a baby. With that change, I’ll no longer be able to put all of my tires & wheels in the tow vehicle. I’m planning on having a tire rack built onto my open wheel trailer and am looking for some design suggestions. My trailer fits my car great, but there’s not room in the front for floor boxes or for the rack to sit very low.

What have you found that works nicely? Should I have someone build one out of steel and weld it or are there better alternatives? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Dave, I'm sure you've seen plenty of examples; basically it's a square- or round-tube structure over the nose of the race car that keeps your precious "investments" from flying away...Matt can most certainly design and fabricate something for you.

However, the BIGGEST problem I have with such an idea is that you'll be leaving the rubber part of your investments in the sun, rain, wind, etc. Unless you're driving 2-3 weekends a month, the sun will absolutely destroy your tires, and quickly. If you have no other choice for wheel/tire transportation, I would find a design that protects them from UV light during the weekend, and I would remove them from the trailer and store them properly inside when not at the track...
 
Dave,
Go talk to Mike at New England Welding in Portland. He'll take care of it. And it'll be real safe, which should be a primary concern.

R
 
Dave,
To give you some ideas, go look at my post in the classifieds. I built the tire rack on my trailer out of aluminum extrusion. Certainly not the cheapest as the extrusion is expensive but I had it on hand from another job so my $$$ out of pocket was not much.

You should be able to weld one up out of square tube pretty easily but steel has gone up as well. Look around at some of the different designs. I looked a long time at every open trailer I could find on www.racingjunk.com. I saved several of the pictures I found for reference
 
Actually, Paul brings up a good point: just like buying a built race car, you're actually better off buying a trailer with the rack already on it. Steel and aluminum are expensive, as is welder's time; I'd be really surprised if you could get something suitable built for the cost difference between just buying what you want...
 
Rob, you know Mike? I got to know him through Melissa and her work (she used to run the BankNorth branch in Portland). How's his rottie doing? He also did some cage work on my previous Prelude. Mike kept talking about coming out to some races but it just never happened.

I'm going to keep my existing trailer. I originally wanted to buy one with a tire rack on it, but when it was offered to me for only $500 there was no way I could resist. I also have no issue with bringing them inside for each event as I already do that with my truck. I'll have to take a look at racingjunk's site to get some better ideas. This doesn't help for transit, but would putting a white blanket over the tires prevent uv damage while at the track?
 
However, the BIGGEST problem I have with such an idea is that you'll be leaving the rubber part of your investments in the sun, rain, wind, etc. Unless you're driving 2-3 weekends a month, the sun will absolutely destroy your tires, and quickly. If you have no other choice for wheel/tire transportation, I would find a design that protects them from UV light during the weekend, and I would remove them from the trailer and store them properly inside when not at the track... [/b]
Click to expand...

+1

I would rather fill the interior and trunk of the racecar with tires than leave them in the sun.
 
A simple solution to the UV problem is to buy a piece of canvas tarp wide enough to cover the tires on the rack, put some grommets on the corners and bungee it over the tires while the trailer sits.

Simple cheap and effective, plus you don't have the tire smell in the truck, and you always know where the spares are.
 
Dave, I do know Mike, he's a great guy. His rottie is getting a little long in the tooth. He has aspirations of going to upstate NY near the Canadian border.

For the UV thing you could buy tire totes for 20/ea that would allow you to carry them and store them on the trailer if need be. Would also protect them during transport.

R
 
You also need to be aware of all the additional tongue weight you are putting on the trailer. If you tow vehicle is marginal this could be a big factor.
 
Not so sure about that.
he's not taking anything he didn't take in the past. It's all about balance. In the past, he had them in the bed of the truck. Now, he will have them on the trailer...but...he should adjust his car position to rebalance the tongue weight.
 
In actuality, I think this will help with my car's positioning on the trailer. I had to pull the car waaaay up to the front of the trailer before, now I'll be able to have it more towards the middle of the trailer.

I like the canvas tarp idea Tom mentioned.

To secure the tires (safety and otherwise), it appears most people put a pole in the center opening of the wheels. Are there any other methods that would work without making a full box?

Thanks for the help guys! That racingjunk site is dangerous for me to look at.
 
Dave,
I will try to get a picture of my trailer with the tire rack on it. It is made so that it can be unbolted and lifted off the trailer by two people. It sits fairly low over the cars hood and is very sturdy. One of the handy welders at Motorsport Ranch built it and came up with the removable idea (he borrows the trailer some for hauling none auto stuff.) I am taliking to a guy about a trade but I will get a picture before it goes (if it goes.)
Mac
 
Dave: PM me your email so I can send you some pics of the tire rack I designed for my open trailer. I used square tubing and a portable band saw with a metal-cutting blade. Also fabricated an adjustable locking bar so it can accomodate several sizes of wheels and tires (not at the same time, however :( ).

Some thoughts:

Using square tubing, I rotated the tubes that the tires rest on 45degrees so that the tires rest against a flat side of the tube, rather than a corner.

Instead of resting square against the floor of the trailer, I raised the vertical bars 1/8in off the floor and did not weld all the way around. This lets any condensation drain out the bottom instead of lying at the bottom of the tube.
 
Hmm, good ideas!

I received this message when I tried to send you my home e-mail Bill: "This message can not be sent because the recipient has their personal messenger disabled or their personal messenger inbox is full."

It's GranRacing At symbol SBCGlobal dot net
 
hey, this sounds like a fun project for the IT Festival.

dave, you bring some structural steel.

i can bring my Miller 120V welder, portaband and grinder.

someone have a generator?

someone else have some welding skills?

my welding buddy at work says i couldn't get a job in china as a welder.

_41886906_chinaap220.jpg
 
Dave, I went through this earlier this year when I added a tire rack to my open trailer as well. It ended up running about $400, designed and installed. I keep a tarp over them when parked at the track, and the tires live indoors the rest of the time.

You will need some method of securing the tires to the trailer - the pole through the center you mentioned will work fine. Just make sure it is adjustable for height to accommodate tires of varying diameters. Mine is drilled and I have padlocks on both ends to keep the curious from helping themselves to my rims and tires. I also used the frame as a mounting point for an additional set of high mounted brake/turn lights, because I am continually amazed at how invisible 24 feet of trailer seems to be when it is empty.

As you noted, you will have to adjust the position of the car on the trailer to compensate for the additional tongue weight. On my 18 ft bed Econotrailer the Miata ended up moving back about a foot to keep the weight about the same, as a point of reference.

PM me with an address and I'll add to the clutter in your mailbox with trailer p0rn.

EDIT - found one bad picture of the trailer, sadly with the car on it right after I rolled it at LRP. You can see the tire rack, which is basic, nothing fancy, and the lights. The milk crate at the bottom is a handy place to transport fuel jugs (I have a van and don't want those things inside with us) and to keep the straps when the car is at the track. (The car looks much better now.)

2559816_64_full.jpg
 
I'm in the process of making one for my trailer. I plan on using an old truck bed tonneau cover and utilize the snaps in some way.
 
18' Trailer - I picked up the 3' deep box direct from a trailer manufacturer, good investment. Added the tire rack (holds 9) , paid some kid from Craigslists $100 to cut and weld it up per my drawing, $50 in material. It even secures the tires from theft when at the motel parking lot. Fits my 14' car and nothing more.

apict0108cv6.jpg
 
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