When is it ok to trailer your hot rod

I've never trailered a rod but have friends that have. Trailer it, just don't hog the motel parking lot with your tow vehicle and trailer.

 

thats hilarious! - in reference to "when your dragging it home after you first purchase it"

 

This was the 3rd week in Jan 09 , 4 degrees and I was glad to be towing a trailer..........Z.

 

T Buckets in general have 2 problem areas.
1. Uncomfortable seating.
Solved by correcting suspension problems and by using original style seat spring assemblies available from Car-Line Mfg in Beaumont TX or Snyder's in New Springfield OH. rather than foam blocks or jellybean sacks or wheelbarrow inner tubes.
The seat cushion is the one we use, but you can also buy the back rest spring.

2. Poor suspension.
Not as easy to solve and difficulty depends on suspension used. No shock absorbers, or friction shocks, which is NO shock absorbers.
Coil-overs usually require a new set of springs in a lighter spring, front or rear.
Transverse springs generally need leaves removed, front from stock 10 or 12 to 5 or 6 depending on engine load, rear from stock 12 to 14 to 5-7 depending on spring and passenger load.
Coil springs can be the most difficult since there are so many ODs spring cups and all must be adapted or remade. Stock Corvair front springs were the old-time favorites.

Seat belts are a must to keep you in the driver's seat so you can drive out of your problem if possible.

A trip of 250-275 miles each way is an easy ride in a well-built T-Bucket.
A trip of 600-1500 miles each way should be too.

BUT, trailering only makes sense when you have a 2-passenger vehicle and a wife and kids to entertain and share your trip. Let's face it, THEY are why we are here, car stuff is just gravy on that steak dinner.

 

Trailer whenever you want, or when it makes most sense. Happy wife = better trip. I'd put that baby on a trailer in a heartbeat.

 

trailer??! c'mon!

man up and drive that thing. i drove in 30 degree weather in a roadster in the January for over 3 hours....and i'm a chick.

i think the only time to trailer a car is when there are no brakes or it's not running.
live a little dude....

 

dig...

 

Tell your wife to pop a couple MOTRIN for the back and lets roll. I understand the back pain; I have had part of a lumbar disc removed and my wife has 3 fussed vertebra in her neck. If my back is hurting me I use Motrin and pain is gone.

Driving you car to an event is half of the fun!

Marty McFly

 

Trailer it and have fun. Hell, maybe you will get to drive it home when one of your "I never trailer my car" buddies has to bum a ride home on the stretcher for his car.

Going and having a good time with your wife along trumps the bs put out by some of these guys and it sure beats a wife with a sore back or a guilt trip because either you didn't take her along or because you didn't go because you were affraid someone would give you a hard time.

Trailered cars get their bad name because of guys (and we all know them) who trailer because of:
They don't want to get rock chips or road grime on the car because they just spent way too much time detailing it or having it detailed so that it can win a trophy.
Trophy hunters in general who trailer.
The " I don't want to put miles on it because it might loose resale value" brigade. I could never understand that concept unless they are a car dealer.
The "it's too valuable to drive on public roads" guys. Hell it's a car drive it. I have an internet bud who put snow tires on his 250K Lambo last winter so he could drive it in the snow.
I don't buy the it might break on the road away from home theory. I've seen just as many broken down tow rigs as rods in the past 40 years.

Go, trailer it and have fun and show us the photos from the run when you get back.

 

20 years ago I would have said your all a bunch of woosies. My '48 Pu has been in 22 states, BC & Alberta. Went to Louisville with no wipers, no heater.but thank god the air worked. Us west coast boys can't handle the humidity. One year coming home from Pleasanton we stopped for gas in Williams & didn't even make a pee stop for 450 mi. And by we I mean my wife & me. She's a trooper. We did 740 miles on the Motorcycle from Akron Oh to Rochester Mn in one day. But as some have stated, now that we're older we take our camper ( which is a '57 Ford bread truck, with a 413 Mopar, torkflite & a 3sp Brownie) and pull the '40 Merc on a trailer.

 

My wife and I drove the roadster with no top in near freezing temps plenty of times. She never complained. If she would have told me to trailer it I would have though. Whatever keeps the peace at home is what I say. Then again, she wants a sissy bar on my bike and I haven't made one yet. So, I guess I'm a hypocrite...

 

Bobwop is right, The wife wants to be a part of hot rodding so do what you need to, to keep her interest there.
I always trailered my car to the drag strip, only reason I got home a couple of times!
Doc

 

Bingo! I agree that this is probably the primary reason why trailered cars get the boos, the indoor show crowd mentality / trophy hounds (and the elite pro builders who feed them the stuff). "Mr. Rodder" pulls in with a pristine car, takes the cash / trophy and photo ops in the big rags, and then loads up for home with nothing but a little dust to worry about. If you are vying for the brass ring, trailer your car. If you don't give a shit and want to enjoy your ride as many people do, drive it, take care of best you can, and rebuild it / modifiy it / or re-invent it every so many years. You wil NEVER be competitive with the gold chainers.

And that's why it's SO much fun to blast down the road passing as many trailered cars and RVs as you can! YOU are having the fun!!! Gary

 

trailer it only if it breaks down, otherwise drive it. your wife can ride with friends. my wife will always ride in the '41, 90+ degree days, no problem. she's got a little collector convertible, never drives it, "it's too cold, too hot, too windy." go figure.

 

If you don't trailer it now and then, you got no excuse for owning a trailer....

 

I don't have a trailer and have never towed a hot rod to a show,but I have friends that own them and they have hauled my projects more than once.

I have driven my topless roadster when it was so hot the trees were following dogs around and rainin' so hard I thought it was part II the return of Noahs Flood!

I drive my Hot Rods but I don't begrudge anyone the use of a trailer anytime they feel the need to use it,,,HRP

 

WOW! these threads asking for advice are like asking Ann Landers for sexual advice!
Completely hilarious!! I had a T Bucket and drove it several hunderd miles at a time; when I was in my twenties!!! Now? no way that far as my old ass couldn't stand to be cramped up that long! By the way, one of our Humor T-shirts we are making for this season sold in our store or swap meet booth says " Support Your Local T.U.R.D.!(Trailered and Undriven Rod Division)

 

You have to pick that project up with something, am I right? Go ahead, push that project 250 miles home, tough up!

I proudly own a trailer that a friend and I built, and it is far superior to any store-bought unit. I sold trailers for nearly eight years, so I know.

Sometimes I feel like towing to a show. Sometimes I feel like driving. If the event is within 400 miles or so, I'll probably drive. If not, the trailer gets hooked up and off we go. I make no apologies to anyone at anytime about it, either way.

BTW, in the 30 years I've owned my '66 Coronet, I've driven it in nearly all of the Lower 48, plus western Canada (BC) and Baja. Not a trailer anywhere near it.

 

I'd never drag a running, driving car to a show, period.

I wonder how many guys would still trailer their cars to shows if it was mandatory to mark the car in some way - maybe a big red 'T' on the windshield - so everyone would know the car wasn't driven.

Kinda "The scarlet letter" for cars.

 

Its always more fun to drive, but like some of the other replies I say "a happy wife is a happy life"! Getting there half crippled and miserable because a bunch of guys you don't know or may never meet say you should drive it, will make both you and your missus miserable. Might as well stay home. I'm fortunate that my 58 is a smooth ride and my ol lady loves a long road trip.

 

I'm guessing that race car, Bonneville lakester, or rail job gets there over the road, right?

So, obviously, there are a few exceptions to this hard-and-fast rule. Yeah, I know, common sense says we are talking street-driven cars here. Couldn't pass that one up.

I am all for a trailered class at shows! It's like Sturgis at Bike Week. I've seen shirts there that say: "I rode my bike to Sturgis Trailer Week!"

I'd love to sell a shirt at NSRA events that says: "I drove my car to the NSRA Trailer Nationals!", but, you know, unauthorized use of logos and such kinda keeps THAT from happening!

Trailering is like anything in life - a choice. You do it, or not. So what, either way.

 

It's kind of funny that the "no trailer" stand is EXACTLY what the dreaded and despised NSRA was founded on.
Larry T

 

I have always driven my hot rods to car shows. When and if they broke I rented a trailer and a truck to get them home if I could not fix them on the spot. To me, it is fantastic to be driving down the road in your hot rod and get the thumbs up or whatever.
Having said that, if I had a T roadster I would probably trailer it if I had a long drive. I totally understand the back thing as I have had several back surgeries.
The most important thing is going to the show by whatever means. Go and ENJOY!
Later,
Dick

 

If it was me I would drive the t bucket. Have her follow you in a truck. I'm not into trailers unless its broke and it still kills me then. But please take into mind I am 24 awith no serious woman in my life so I dont give the best advice for married people lol.

Do whatever works best for you though. Who cares what people think. Being cool is doing your own thing not what everyone else thinks.

 

When your lady says she doesn't want to drive that far in a hot rod.

 

HMMMM...A lot of comments for and against..However. should the Mrs. say "If I'm not Happy, You're not going to be Happy", will pretty much say it all.

Something here that caught my eye that seems to have been missed, and that is, how many times have we all seen in various posts, "The Family Comes First"?

Is not the first premise of our hot rodding, "For the For the Fun of It? Then if a person can derive more fun from trailering it part way, for what ever reason, then would it not be reasonable that person is deriving fun that suits him and not us?


HellRaiser

 

Our Model A modified is functionally the same as a T bucket. We drive it everywhere locally. (And it has the paint chips and dead bugs to prove it.) But we load it up in our mobile garage (trailer) any time the destination requires an overnight stay because with two of us on board there's no room for even an overnight bag.

I've driven it in the rain enough times to know that I don't like it and won't go looking for chances to do it again. So if the weather is questionable, it goes in the box.

As for driving on the Interstates; not with the idiots that are out there these days! A T bucket is no match for an Escalade being driven by some idiot who is on the phone or screwin' with the stereo or doing anything but paying attention to his driving. He changes lanes without looking and you're screwed. Being able to brag that you drove it all the way sometimes just ain't worth the risk to life and limb.

And really, trailering is a pain in the ass. It's more work, more gas/diesel expense, and it can be tough sometimes to find a hotel/motel that has enough parking room. You usually need to find one that caters to truckers and they aren't always the best quality or in the best part of town.

I'm in the over 60 crowd too and even though our modified is a little more comfortable than the typical T bucket, it's still no picnic. It has leaf springs, friction shocks, and bias plys, and only goes a little more than 80 miles between gas stops. It really is very impractical for long drives.

We'll be taking our mobile garage to the Goodguys in Nashville this year, staying at the campground. We'll drive the modified back and forth to the venue every day, park in the "garage" at night, and be able to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Call us what you will, look down your elitest non-trailer noses at us. I couldn't care less. I challenge any one of you to have more fun than we will!

 

I" d rather see a piece of Billet on a car than a car on a trailer !
Where does trailer come into Traditional !
The 70"s era Street Rodders used to have buttons saying "Trailered Cars Suck "
All your reasons make sense !
If you do it At least be "honest " about it
Two options
Drive your bucket have wife follow in the SUV.
Trade the Bucket for a sedan and go together .

 

Good answer, I concur.

 

Last thread on which I posted about this got deleted, but here goes:
When I was 18 I drove an "A" roadster, stock except for torched springs to lower it, from Odessa, TX to Griffin, GA in Nov. with no heater and no top. That's 1500 miles, and the ride with those torched springs made it seem like 15,000 miles!
Now I'm 71 and the "A" roadster I'm building will have lots more creature comfort devices and power to get there a lot quicker.
But I also own a trailer left from dirt oval days and a diesel Silverado bought to pull my Travel Trailer.
So guess what I'll do when it's further than an hour or two, especially if it's only my car? And if you wanta rag me and call my car a "Trailer Queen" because I no longer care to have to find a way to get the hot rod home if it breaks, then have at it!
Dave