Help picking a tow vehicle and trailer for my Caterham

[panamericano]

Congrats on a successful first outing.  One more small suggestion.  When not towing, remove the hitch from the receiver.  The difference in damage in a minor incident is huge.  If the pickup is rear ended, the impact may be spread over the bumper and 4 " x 4 '.  or with the hitch it's 2" x 2".  Same if you back into something, which may be your something.  "No damage" vs. a 2x2" hole in whatever.  I've seen examples and it's just silly.  Just keep the hitch and ball with the trailer or your tie down equipment.

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[savagete2860]

 

21 hours ago, Jesse D said:

And it starts . . . . . Congratulations on your trip. To my trailer I added a tool chest in the V. Just a metal something from Home Depot for clothing, very limited tools, helmet and shoes. A mirror is nice for sunscreen etc. I mostly autocross so air pressure etc, is my issue. Keep thinking of an EZ Up but have never done it. The Snap-On metal tool chests have gotten cheap as Harbor Freight drove the market and now you can find almost every size and shape imaginable.

Yeah these trailers seem to be a whole hobby within a hobby. At the track, I got more people talking about trailers and stuff they want to do to theirs than they would talk about their cars . Mirror is a great idea!

 

 

16 hours ago, CBuff said:

Just came across this option for rear coverage.  Haven’t tried it myself so caveat emptor 

 

 

 

This is super cool and now on my radar. Seems like that would be easier to deal with than setting up a tent.

 

 

26 minutes ago, panamericano said:

Congrats on a successful first outing.  One more small suggestion.  When not towing, remove the hitch from the receiver.  The difference in damage in a minor incident is huge.  If the pickup is rear ended, the impact may be spread over the bumper and 4 " x 4 '.  or with the hitch it's 2" x 2".  Same if you back into something, which may be your something.  "No damage" vs. a 2x2" hole in whatever.  I've seen examples and it's just silly.  Just keep the hitch and ball with the trailer or your tie down equipment.

 

That is a really good tip I didn't really think about.

 

[7Westfield]

1 hour ago, panamericano said:

When not towing, remove the hitch from the receiver.

if for no other reason...they are a great shin buster !

[SENC]

For awnings, check out Kammok.  More expensive, but their's doesn't require poles and setup and takedown time is seconds.  I have one on my LR3 and use it frequently because it is so easy/quick to use - whereas a traditional awning would only be used for long stops and times that absolutely demand it.  Would be a great solution mounted on the back and/or side of a trailer.

[Vovchandr]

Personal advice as somebody who's been towing casually for years cars and bikes in enclosed trailers is to setup some cameras to keep an eye on the cargo and/or behind you for back up reasons or otherwise. 

 

I HATE the "box of unknown" behind you being towed for hours. If something goes wrong, the feeling that I let it go for hours will eat up at me forever as damage could have been prevented if spotted early. I've had that happen with bikes that come loose and lay against the trailer wall so I would end up stopping frequently and checking on things out of worry.

 

Since then I've set up a "nanny cam" - wireless trailer camera set. Put one inside and one at the rear of the trailer so I can either watch the cargo to see if something is loose/shifting, watch behind me or both. Its not free (a few hundred) and sort of annoying to install but I can't imagine towing without this comfort.

 

As far as brand they are all generic copies of each other and I bought mine years ago, so I'm not upto date on whats currently good. 

 

These aren't black and white, they switch to night vision at night. Full color during the day. 

 

 

Edited May 31 by Vovchandr

[Vovchandr]

@JohnCh Can we sticky this thread? Trailer question is pretty important to lots of 7 owners and this thread has information that covers pretty much all the basis across the board. 

[JohnCh]

54 minutes ago, Vovchandr said:

@JohnCh Can we sticky this thread? Trailer question is pretty important to lots of 7 owners and this thread has information that covers pretty much all the basis across the board. 

 

Sticky posts are intended to keep important topics that I want everyone to see at the top of a sub forum. They are not intended to aid discoverability for non-critical or non-time sensitive topics. As soon as you do that, you open the door for a metric shitload of pinned topics in a forum that negatively impacts usability. A simple search for "trailers" returns this as the first topic. Granted it's new, but search works for simple subjects like this. If someone wants to invest the time to turn this thread's information into an article and include links to any relevant threads, I think that would make a great addition to that section of the site. Any volunteers? 

[pethier]

On 5/30/2026 at 9:05 AM, 7Westfield said:

if for no other reason...they are a great shin buster !

Well said.  Trailer hitches are a hazard to pedestrian navigation in paddocks and car parks.

 

Sidebar: I'm pretty sure my F-150 won't fit in my garage if the trailer hitch is installed.

[savagete2860]

On 5/31/2026 at 11:43 AM, Vovchandr said:

Personal advice as somebody who's been towing casually for years cars and bikes in enclosed trailers is to setup some cameras to keep an eye on the cargo and/or behind you for back up reasons or otherwise. 

 

I HATE the "box of unknown" behind you being towed for hours. If something goes wrong, the feeling that I let it go for hours will eat up at me forever as damage could have been prevented if spotted early. I've had that happen with bikes that come loose and lay against the trailer wall so I would end up stopping frequently and checking on things out of worry.

 

Since then I've set up a "nanny cam" - wireless trailer camera set. Put one inside and one at the rear of the trailer so I can either watch the cargo to see if something is loose/shifting, watch behind me or both. Its not free (a few hundred) and sort of annoying to install but I can't imagine towing without this comfort.

 

As far as brand they are all generic copies of each other and I bought mine years ago, so I'm not upto date on whats currently good. 

 

These aren't black and white, they switch to night vision at night. Full color during the day. 

 

 

Thats a great idea. I already want a camera setup for the back of the trailer because I cant see anything behind. People love to get really close (I can see their vehicle's shadows) for some reason. Maybe they're hyper-miling while I get 12 mpg lol. Having a camera inside the trailer would be nice too. Did you mount the monitor in your tow vehicle?

 

On 5/31/2026 at 1:11 PM, pethier said:

Sidebar: I'm pretty sure my F-150 won't fit in my garage if the trailer hitch is installed.

Funny you say that, I am almost in the same boat, although I can juuuust squeeze in with the hitch.

[pethier]

Yeah, the Suburban fit easily, but the F-150 with the big cab and short box JUST fits.  The front camera makes it a lot easier.

 

Other trailer-related news:  After a whirlwind trip to California and back, I am more-motivated to get the terrain tires off the F-150.  The tread squirm when towing an enclosed trailer in wind drove me nuts.  

 

I have identified some Toyo all-weather tires that may be "the new Michelin" as the model changes in the Michelin LT tires apparently have ruined them.

 

Toyo apparently have a 500-mile trial window, so Tuesday I am having new Toyo tires put on.  Hoping to get on the road with the trailer empty in high winds during that window.  If the Toyos handle that as well as the dearly-departed Michelins did on the Suburban, I will be happy indeed.  

 

2021 Ford
F-150 Limited Crew Cab 4WD
Toyo Tire

Open Country H/T II

LT275 /60 R20 123R E1 BSW

Load Range E - 80 psi max

 

 

[11Budlite]

I just wanted to update this thread for another option that might work well for our little cars. My son recently sold his 16' box trailer and picked up a SnoPro Hybrid Lowpro snowmobile trailer. We just came back from a long weekend at Club in NH and it looks like an interesting option in the 7.5 x 16' size. It's a dual #2200 axle enclosed trailer that's lighter than their 7 x 16' single axle trailer (#3500 axle). He outfitted it with e-track, a fold-down cot, and was able to load and fit his Exocet without issue. A Seven would fit even easier and my Lola would fit as well. It does have a lower roof so you have to take that into account. He did say it was much easier to tow behind his Lexus SUV although I don't know what the MPG improvement was. He really liked the front hatch opening for utility/usability, and he had no leaks after having rain on Thursday night and during Friday's track sessions. I'm going to let him get a little more experience with his to see if there are any drawbacks that I haven't considered, but I could see myself getting one in addition to my open trailer. 

 

Here are some of the important specs of the 7.5 x 16' version:

 

GVWR: 4400#

Curb Weight: 1390#

Payload: 3010#

Axles: (2) - 2200# with brakes

Rear Door Opening: 82" W x 62" H

Rear Door Capacity: 1500# (I'm assuming this could be improved with a little bit of work)

 

https://www.cargoprotrailers.com/snopro/enclosed-hybrid-lowpro-snow-trailers

Edited July 4 by 11Budlite

[11Budlite]

I wanted to update my previous post after a test drive with my son's SnoPro trailer. First thing I noticed is the shorter door makes it a little more difficult to load so some race ramps are definitely helpful, and would be essential for a car like the Lola. Total weight of trailer and Caterham is in the #2600 range, and adding spare wheels/tools/cooler/etc for a track day will still be comfortably under #3000. It was the first time I had towed with a covered trailer and it was a little weird not being able to see the car on the trailer. I think I would get a camera to monitor the car inside as @Vovchandr suggested in a previous post. As far as towing, it went really well. This trailer is about #550 heavier than my open Mission trailer so I did notice the weight difference but it really wasn't too bad. I didn't spend much time at highway speeds, but again it seemed to pull the trailer without issue. Braking seemed to be the same as my open trailer, I'm assuming that both axles have brakes but I didn't verify that. My Ridgeline has a #5000 towing capacity and keeping it in the #2500-3000 really makes for relatively stress-free towing. As we get more experience with this setup I'll give updates with any negatives (or positives) that we haven't experienced as of yet.

  

[pethier]

One advantage of the skinnier trailers is that you don't need camper mirrors.

 

One problem I have had with my 2021 F-150 is that I can't find proper camper mirrors.  You could get them if you ordered a new truck that way.  Every time I have seen them on a 2021+ F-150 and was able to buttonhole the driver (s)he said they came on the truck, whether new on the lot or they ordered it that way.

 

The aftermarket is happy to supply you with camper mirrors for an F-150 through 2020.

 

All I have found for 2021+ is these slide-on convex mirrors.  They have some deficiencies:  They are not quite as wide as true camper mirrors.  Seeing anything in your own lane on a straight road is not happening.  They can not be telescoped for deadheading.  Popping them on and off looks like it won't work forever, especially in colder temps. 

 

The added wide mirror should be a flat mirror, not convex.  If they sold these with a flat mirror on the outside and provided a wedge mirror with each one to be stuck on the stock mirror, it would be better.  I was able do the wedge mirrors myself, but more-distant traffic coming up from the rear are very tiny in the convex wide mirror.  At least they don't prevent manually folding them back when parallel-parked.