Anyone have any recommendations for an enclosed trailer for a Speedster? What manufacturers build decent trailers, size best suited for our cars, type and any necessary features, etc.
We may be going south to escape Michigan winters, returning in the spring. (known as "snowbirds" around here). It's not going to happen this year, but I'd like to start researching trailers when I have the time.
Thanks,
Bill
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You clearly get what you pay for when buying an enclosed trailer, less expensive is not the best deal as many trailers are junk and actually fall apart....those super eBay deals will bite you. Torsion axle is better that a spring axle, you should be able to get a 2,900 single axle as a double axle is overkill . Be sure to have name brand radial tires and not bias Chinese tires they WILL fail. (do buy a spare wheel & tie for the extra $100 ) 7 x 14' minimum w/ 8 x 16 giving you more interior room. 8 1/2" will be an issue with pick up truck mirrors unless to you have the factory extend mirror arms. A V nose is worth the cost for the extra upfront room and easier towing ( gas mileage) into a head wind. Get a spring assisted ramp door with the extra fold up rear flap this extends the rood ramp area to make loading a speedster easier. Barn doors and ramps would be a pita. A side access door is a plus for daylight and air on a hot day. Get the LED lighting upgrade too. Electric over hydraulic brakes are a much better system then the electric magnet brakes. Discs are the ultimate but not necessary if the trailer is used now and then. Be sure to have flow vents so that when hauling the trailer some air passes through the trailer and DO get a manual roof vent too. A set of good floor mount D' rings. Haulmark & Cargo Mate are good brands.
Wow - thanks for all of the information. I'm in the Detroit area of Michigan. Do you know if a double axle setup gives a better ride for the Speedster, which would, in turn, make for a better ride for the tow vehicle? I only have experience with single axle trailers (for towing small boats).
Pulling it South with a trailer will add the problem of where to store the trailer once you get there. Majority of rental places around me in NW FL do not allow storage of trailers (RVs and boats too) for more than 48 hours. It gets towed off after that. There are trailer storage places that charge $80/ month but most are filled with boats in the winter.
I've flat towed mine 1k miles at a clip with a 4 cyl AT Toyota Camry with no issues. This is using a slightly modified VW tow bar. I added extra safety chains and cheap Harbor Freight clip on trailer lights. The VW tow bar is handy should you have difficulties near home too - call wife and in 15 minutes your being safely towed back home or to a repair shop.
WOLFGANG posted:Pulling it South with a trailer will add the problem of where to store the trailer once you get there. Majority of rental places around me in NW FL do not allow storage of trailers (RVs and boats too) for more than 48 hours. It gets towed off after that. There are trailer storage places that charge $80/ month but most are filled with boats in the winter.
I've flat towed mine 1k miles at a clip with a 4 cyl AT Toyota Camry with no issues. This is using a slightly modified VW tow bar. I added extra safety chains and cheap Harbor Freight clip on trailer lights. The VW tow bar is handy should you have difficulties near home too - call wife and in 15 minutes your being safely towed back home or to a repair shop.
Wolfgang, have you ever had any issues with chafe with the tarp and lines? How about rock chips? It's painful to think that the pristine front end of my car is eventually going to get rock chips - maybe I should have bought a real one and let it sit in the garage!
Will a tow bar work ok with a pickup - I have a Chevy Silverado.
My Speedie is a CMC with the thick gel coat finish. The tarp and duct tape (blue tape ok) was not a good idea BUT I was moving and Speedie was full of stuff for move. I had to use goo gone on duct tape and polishing compound to remove chaff marks - it would have been worse on a painted surface. If the tonneau had been mounted with snaps I would have gone that route instead of a tarp.
I've pulled with a Toyota 4 RNR too. I used an adjustable drop hitch receiver to keep the tow bar parallel with the ground --- same when pulling with Camry where it had to be raised a bit. You should not back towing with a VW tow bar. My 4 RNR has extended OEM mud guards. You could add mud flaps, add a removeable vinyl bra or an invisible 3M/XPEL bra. Avoid towing with snow on ground or even when raining as that kicks up grit.
Let me know if you head to my neck of the woods or need tourist info. Lots of IN, MI and WI expats here.
Others on here have towed their Speedsters with a tow bar dozens of time and others have towed dozens of Speedsters with a tow bar. I reckon most don't cover their cars at all nor do they use the tonneau cover. Just tow it with the bar.
Wolfgang, you mentioned a slightly modified tow bar - what is it that needed modification?
On most Speedsters the bumper brackets are at the ends of the front H beam - that's where the stock tow bar wants to connect. So I cut all the marginal welds and pulled the bars in maybe 3". This also raised the ball coupler up a little and made the length a tad longer. I drilled and bolted it together to check and then had a friend weld it. It is much stronger than original. (Photos are before having it welded). Do SEARCH there are some good threads here - some add more than a foot to bars and others had added a more forward round bar replicating the lower H bar. Paid $60-75 for tow bar years ago.
I never can quite follow Greg and all his machinations. Typical VW hook up is at the torsion tubes. Usually the stock tow bars are long enough, but is some cases, mine in particular, the stock is too wide, and needs to be narrowed. Easy for a guy who knows welding. Sorta depends on how the builder fastened this or that to the torsion tubes. I have a thread here somewhere w pics and so on. Much discussion, many designs, wide array of solutions/opinions.
The H beam (H shaped laid on its side) are where the torsion bars are located. Here's photo of VW bug H beam. The red marks are where the stock tow bar attaches but that is where my front bumper brackets are attache (per build manual) - so I narrowed the tow bar so it mounts where the green marks are just missing the grease zerk fittings but fitting securely up to the bumper brackets.
Attaboy, Wolfy, a pic is worth 1,000 words. Or several pages of a SOC thread.
The bolt-on beam stiffeners that a lot of guys run also block the normal tow bar attachment point. Tow bars are pretty easy to narrow and work just as well that way.
Wolfgang's placement is the ideal placement for the tow bar, The grease zerk helps keep the bar in a centered position and not slide around sideways.(which is scary to watch in your mirror if you don't do this).....bruce
It's a shame Wolfgangs speedster will never see the road under its own power...
Bill, you are sadly correct, but that horse has been beaten dead several times over the years here. So we just let it be, and use Wolfgang's encyclopedic memory of all things VW, and his willingness to share, to good advantage. Some of us even have our fingerprints on his car.
Yup, got mine too.
Appreciate the great help by Dale (Shu), Ed, Cory, Kelly, and Bill. In my case it takes a big village. Was hoping I could entice the NE crew to NW FL - Beer, warm weather in winter (we don't mention July and August in tourist brochures), emerald seas and sugar white sand.
I seem to recall a few offers for just that sort of help, Greg. 
Hmmmmmm
Maybe then wasn't the time, now seems to be the time!! Get 'er done!!!
Uh oh, here we go again . . .
... or not . . .
