Just wondering if anyone has used a mirror inside their car trailer. Until I get almost inside the trailer, I can't see where I'm at. I was looking at convex mirrors, so I can see on the ramp. Any input, or help would be appreciated. My 36 ford pickup has about 10" of clearance on each side of the wheel wells. It lives in there all winter, and in and out in summer. Thanks Ron
10", Hell, you are living the good life. My '62 Merc Monterey Wagon has about 2" of clearance on each side between the cars rocker panels and trailer wheel wells. I can see were a mirror would help, but ultimately it is about becoming a good driver and knowing exactly where the corners and wheel tracks of the vehicle you are driving are, even if you can't see them directly. Something, something, spatial awareness, etc.
I picked up my 41 from the alignment shop last week and loaded it into my trailer. I got the truck too far over to the left to get my fender back on (escape door trailer). It was a short hop home so I through the fender in the bed of my daily and hauled it home. I have been thinking ever since of adding a convex mirror for when I am loading cars by myself. Fenderless cars are easy but a little help loading the fat fender rigs would be a plus.
I meant because you can sight the front tires on the floor. Those steam roller rears of your is another issue. I think a plastic, convex mirror like on a ski boat would fine. Epoxy it to the ceiling near the front.
My dad had a mirror in front of his 4-post lift in his shop to make it easier to see when driving customer cars on. It was simply a wardrobe mirror turned sideways and mounted at an angle on the wall directly in front of the lift so you could see the tire position on the lift. Maybe something similar could work in your trailer?
I park my off topic S10 in my trailer and go in and out during the summer. here is what I do, I roll the drivers window down and stick my head out and watch the drivers side wheel box. I drive in and leave about 1 inch on that side, once in I slide out and get out the passenger door
For seeing objects etc, those convex mirrors work great, but judging distance might be a challenge. Maybe a few marks on the deck for a “gauge” and a wireless backup camera? I’d bet they’d work with a small garden tractor battery and clip ons when ready to use. No reason to mount the screen, just be clipping on the leads to the camera and carry the screen into the car when needed.
Hang a tennis ball on a string inline with the centre of the hood and just above it so that it touches the 'screen when you're far enough forward.
I got a mirror about a foot wide and 4 feet tall mounted to the shelf on the wall at front of my left lift rail hanging down on hinges with a chain at bottom to adjust angle. Adjusted so I can see the left front tire at the lift ramp and forward till about the last two feet. If I haven't got the car in the right place by then I should give up. What I have in plan for the future is a laser. 12v laser can be found in dot or line, stick it to the wall [if line mount it vertically] at front of trailer or front of lift and adjust so the beam is centered. Adjust car so beam is centered to windshield when you start in/on and keep it centered as you drive in. Nothing saying you can't offset it to one side or the other for better driver seat visibility. In the garage for power a 9 or 12v power supply of 500 milliamps is enough. Battery powered ones for home construction will work too with a little mounting ingenuity, just got to remember to turn them off...
Or a flexible pole with a flag [and wrapped in foam tubing] I use a piece of fibreglass rod that farmers use for electric fences to park my O/T car. As soon as the front touches the flag wiggles. On my old trailer , I welded 2 pieces of inverted angle to the deck [these can be bolted on] I would place a piece of 2 x 2" wood against them, so when I drove the Corvette on , it would come up against the wood. This allowed the car to be far enough back to shackle chains to the tie-down points. I then removed the wood and winched the car forward to get the chains tight.
A couple lengths of pipe mounted with brackets on the deck (like at a carwash) would keep you on the right path. Not so "off topic"......
On my enclosed trailer i have 2 driveway markers attached to the edges of the fenderwells,if im going in too far over they will move,i only go slow till im past them.the fenderwells are hard to see from the drivers seat. harvey
Well that woke up the bullshit artists. Remembering in the 70's when I worked in the Firestone tire store in down town Waco the front end rack had a convex mirror centered in front of the rack above the John Bean Visulainer and that thing made getting on the rack that was over a pit easy and simple. HELL yes put a mirror in it and don't listen to the bullshit brigade.
Load and unload your vehicle(s) by remote control electric winch and your problem disappears … I dropped off this rolling Model A Chassis early this morning in Sunnyslope, AZ. Every vehicle I transport is loaded and unloaded by a remote control electric winch. Jim
A mirror makes sense to me, but I would use a standard mirror instead of a fisheye. Too much distortion for me. YMMV
I have a mirror on the front wall of my trailer & have for years! You cannot winch many of the high dollar exotics I transport, they must be driven into & out of the trailer. That is when being a lifelong car guy comes into play..... I have NO problem driving any of them! Using the mirror I can see both inner wheel wells of the trailer, so I don't scuff anything. God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
I've got an open trailer and have hauled all sorts of things, almost always with a second pair of eyes. When I repaint the thing, I plan on painting a center stripe, and color coded with lines on each side. That second set of eyes doesn't always understand the rear must be aligned too! A mirror is a good idea, but I'd set it up so it is removable and slightly adjustable if you plan on different cars being hauled.
I sold my Hodges Steel Deck Low Profile Open Trailer last year as I used it less and less. The UHAUL Aluminum rentals are a bargain to rent and has the front wheel dip / stop wedge to drive it right on ez-pz with tie down wheel nets to ratchet tight right there. Though UHAUL doesn't require it, I do bring a couple rear back ratchet tie downs just a little extra safety. Just to clarify - open trailer not enclosed. I can see both winching on/ off be beneficial and driving those you can not winch being so low and using a mirror beneficial. I had a buddy years ago that a Service station was closing and auctioning shit off and he bought one of those loud ding ding bells and hose when you drove into a station. He rigged it up so when he loaded the car in the enclosed trailer the front tire went over the hose and rang the bell. Pretty cool set up I thought.. And those bells were loud too it you fellas remember. Many times I've stopped to buy a enclosed ( a want vs need) and reality of how little I use one, stops me every time.
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