Stacker trailer 101 help

DuneRDR · Dec 10, 2021

Dockmaster said:
This is the same for all of us . For me, nobody wants to be a passenger, everyone wants their own toy to drive. I bought the SxS for my when one of my daughter's comes along. But now I find I like having it and the Rail so I can choose what I want to drive if they are not there. Also nice to have a back-up toy just in case but fortunately not needed it yet.

I bought a 20' open deck featherlite for when I only need something small. It's very convenient and lite enough for my son to tow behind his Rubicon if he wants to take his Raptor with some buddies. When and if the market normalizes I'll look for a 16' (ish) enclosed for doing small things out to our weekend place so I don't have to tow the 32' The 32' tows nice behind my srw F350 but you do have to make sure to put ample tongue weight or it can get a little squirrely.

For securing your sandcar up top, can you not use some wheel chocks or even over the tires, basket straps to make securing it easier? When I had my open stacker I used the tire basket straps and they worked great. You can even get adjustable ones for different tire sizes.

I have a belly lift so tires are just hanging.

URCLEVER · Dec 10, 2021

Dockmaster said:
I will take some photos next time I load it. It’s pretty straightforward. I put E track on the walls then bought one of the load beams for the E track. I use two aluminum channels that are just wider than the tires on the Raptor and they span from the load beam to the work bench up front. So the front tires end up on the work bench and rear tires on the load beam. You. could do similar anywhere in a trailer by using two beams but was easier for me to just use the existing work bench. The load beam is one of these:

https://www.uscargocontrol.com/products/92-steel-shoring-beam-extends-to-103-new-low-price?utm_term=&utm_campaign=~USCC+Shopping+-+Van+Trailer+Products+-+Load+%26+Cargo+Bars&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=5185776341&hsa_cam=643753381&hsa_grp=26884072020&hsa_ad=102609194220&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-184708643580&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj8PMh5vY9AIVYw6tBh3zNQROEAQYAiABEgJMbvD_BwE

HMMMMM.... I need pictures please when you have time.

matt86m · Dec 10, 2021

tjZ06 said:
That's a fair point. I towed my 20' stacker behind my 2500 many times. Power wasn't an issue since the trailer was only 7700lbs empty and I've towed as much as 16k+ lbs w/ my truck (tow police, please save it for another day) and neither was stopping, or really even stability. But as soon as you hit say 55-60 MPH it was just a huge parachute behind me. I could see my boost levels to maintain each additional MPH go WAY up. I've towed it the length of CA behind my truck with just 1 toy in it... and it was "okay" but not something I'd like to do on a regular basis.

Right now I have two (non-stacker) box trailers...

Trailer #1 is an all-AL 24' that will fit our 2 seat XPT and the Speed "El Diablo" (if/when we ever get that ) but will not fit my Funco without changing all the tires etc, and it'd be pointless anyway since it wouldn't fit the Funco + either SxS. No fuel or water onboard, but I do have it rigged up really nice with a big toolbox (loaded with tools), lots of E-track to make tying down the SxSs with tire-baskets easy, e-track on the wall that makes securing gas jugs and tables easy, etc. I have a couple big cabinets to go in it too, I just haven't mounted them.

Trailer #2 is a 20' box steel trailer, and this thing is a tank. It has overhead cabinets up front and down both sides, workbench with toolboxes and cabinets up front, goucho (sp?) couch/beds over both fenders, a 4k generator, an air compressor with hose reel, 120gal of fuel (in two separate tanks), 80ish (maybe 100) gallons of water with pump/hose bib, etc. etc. The best part about it is my Funco drives right in on the paddles.

These two trailer are easy to load and fit all of our stuff. With just one SxS right now the 24' tends to accumulate junk over the course of a trip, so the longest part of loading up is always going through all the crap in there and reorganizing. If the weather turns, it's quick 'n easy to pull the toys inside (though, I need to get quick-release whip mounts). Overall, it's a great setup but has two huge drawbacks: requires second tow vehicle, and requires a lot of space at camp.

When I had my last stacker one really nice thing was just pulling up with 1 rig, parking, and that's that. With the 2 trailers I'm almost always shuffling them around to make room for people or whatever, and end up with some stuff I need in one trailer on one side of camp, some stuff I need in the other trailer on the other side, and if the 20' with water isn't near my coach I have to run a ton of water line to transfer water over.

Complicating things further, I have a weird work/life situation where our home is in Vegas, but I work in Palo Alto (CA). I ended up bringing my D'max out to Palo Alto since I put a Fourwheel Camper in it and do Broverland chit with the weekends I can't make it home to Vegas. So, right now that kind of leaves us without a tow vehicle (besides the RV) in Vegas. We just ordered a TRX and are going to sell our Trackhawk so we have a slightly more suitable 2nd tow vehicle... but it still means taking two complete rigs if I want the sand rail with us AND the SxSs. First world problems, I know... boo-hoo... but it has me thinking about going Stacker again.

Still, if I got a stacker I'd keep the 24' enclosed for the SxSs for day trips or other situations where we're not taking the coach. That works fine 'n well, but it means not recouping the cost of that trailer to put towards the stacker. I don't want a stacker big 'nough to fit all 3 toys. To fit them all, I'd need absolute min 24', but that would mean no lower front cabinets (the XPT and El Diablo will need all of the 24' space on the bottom). That means I'd need a 26' or more if we wanted to take all 3 toys somewhere. I don't really want to have a train that long (that'd bring me close to 70'... with a 20' I'm right around 65') plus weight becomes an issue. A 26' stacker, even all AL, is going to be 8k lbs, the 3 toys add up to ~7k lbs - that's already the 15k lbs my rig and hitch are rated for without fuel, water, tools, spares, etc.

So, I kind of think I'm just sticking with the two regular box trailers unless a smoking deal on "the right" stacker come along - which isn't going to happen in this market...

-TJ

Does Melissa know about this? :lol:

tjZ06 · Dec 10, 2021

matt86m said:
Does Melissa know about this? :lol:

Yeah, she does. She's a truck girl really, though we've talked about keeping the TH too but we both know there's no reason... AND I'd turn it into a 1k HP 9-second SUV that I can't actually legally run at any dragstrip. So I'm really, really trying to stick with "we're selling it" and don't you talk me out of it!

When we met she had an '06 RAM (5.7 HEMI) of course. Then we had the '16 JGC 5.7 Hemi for her, then the '19 RAM 5.7 Hemi, and right now the Trackhawk (6.2 Supercharged Hemi). She loves the Trackhawk, but I'm the only one that really beats on it and launches it 'n stuff. So, I think she's stoked to be going back to a truck. You can't get "her red" (her '06 was close, and the '16 JGC, '19 RAM and '18 Trackhawk have all been the exact same color) on the TRX, but we're going all black (I swore I'd NEVER own a black truck... but I guess this is different... I guess?).

Totally off topic, but hey I'm bored at work...

And what the TRX should look like:

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming..

-TJ

Kraut_n_Rice · Dec 10, 2021

tjZ06 said:
.. AND I'd turn it into a 1k HP 9-second SUV that I can't actually legally run at any dragstrip.

You could run it once....before they kick you out.

It's not "legal" stock. They are low 11 second rides from the factory.

NHRA rules.

tjZ06 · Dec 10, 2021

Kraut_n_Rice said:
You could run it once....before they kick you out.

It's not "legal" stock. They are low 11 second rides from the factory.

NHRA rules.

View attachment 20675

They're not low 11s factory, at least not without negative DA, 100+ octane, a tailwind, and a 80lbs driver. This is the best I've done with ours, right on 11.5 (so not 11.49

) and I don't consider 11.5s "low 11s" but it's oh-so-close. Ours is stock other than being lowered and a catback.

But that's my point exactly: if I make it one one-hundredth faster it needs a 6-point.

-TJ

URCLEVER · Dec 10, 2021

see you told me you were so busy at work! blah blah.

FYI there has been a few stackers popping up for reasonable prices, but they are older and heavy. still waiting on a few quotes but 45K for loaded one is the best price so far.

tjZ06 · Dec 10, 2021

URCLEVER said:
see you told me you were so busy at work! blah blah.

FYI there has been a few stackers popping up for reasonable prices, but they are older and heavy. still waiting on a few quotes but 45K for loaded one is the best price so far.

I can be busy, and bored at the same time! Multitasking.

-TJ

URCLEVER · Dec 10, 2021

tjZ06 · Dec 12, 2021

Kraut_n_Rice said:
You could run it once....before they kick you out.

It's not "legal" stock. They are low 11 second rides from the factory.

NHRA rules.

View attachment 20675

tjZ06 said:
View attachment 20677

I'm looking for confirmation, but @Kraut_n_Rice did you see the NHRA changed the roll bar rule for late models with all stock safety equipment to 9.0? I guess I could keep the Trackhawk and put it in the 9s!

-TJ

Kraut_n_Rice · Dec 13, 2021

I didn't get that deep into the rules last week.

EmpirE231 · Dec 13, 2021

DuneRDR said:
It's not that I dislike the stacker it is just a pain in the ass sometimes. Only way to make everything fit is to put the sand car up top and 1 quad. Not the end of the world but to make sure the car doesn't move you have to crisscross straps front and rear and then a couple more so it doesn't rock back and forth. Mean while all my buddies pull there cars in and throw 4 straps and are on there way. Maybe the problem is I have to much sh&$. lol. I will say that it's really nice to have a workshop in the dunes. I have pulled multiple engines out there using the lift. Other thing that kinda sucks is that let's say I wanted to just take my trailer to the desert. Is it doable yes. Does it suck to tow behind anything other than a dually yes. I've even towed the split axle stackers and they don't tow much better than mine behind a normal truck.

Does your belly lift have rubber flooring across the center section? I've only had my car up top once in a buddies stacker, and it was just two straps in the rear, two in the front... not crossed, and it didn't go anywhere... but he does have rubber that the car sits on.

In my stacker, the kids toys go up top... and buggy goes down below. Keeps things simple, but sometimes the kids are in a hurry to ride when we pull up, and of course I gotta unload everything to get to their toys, all while I'm still trying to set up camp.

If I could do it over, I'd go 22' w/ a V nose and belly lift. Car up top, and a 2 seat can am with 2 quads below.

DuneRDR · Dec 13, 2021

EmpirE231 said:
Does your belly lift have rubber flooring across the center section? I've only had my car up top once in a buddies stacker, and it was just two straps in the rear, two in the front... not crossed, and it didn't go anywhere... but he does have rubber that the car sits on.

In my stacker, the kids toys go up top... and buggy goes down below. Keeps things simple, but sometimes the kids are in a hurry to ride when we pull up, and of course I gotta unload everything to get to their toys, all while I'm still trying to set up camp.

If I could do it over, I'd go 22' w/ a V nose and belly lift. Car up top, and a 2 seat can am with 2 quads below.

It doesn't but i put some rubber mud flaps on there so its not metal to metal. Maybe i over strap it but i would rather that then have it move while going down the road.

Punisher · Dec 14, 2021

the problem is when you have an issue you will be in a situation where your stacker weighs as much as your motorhome... little sketchy, and most 40footers have a tow rating of 10-15k, my stacker loaded is 17k

tjZ06 · Dec 14, 2021

Punisher said:
the problem is when you have an issue you will be in a situation where your stacker weighs as much as your motorhome... little sketchy, and most 40footers have a tow rating of 10-15k, my stacker loaded is 17k

Yup. Even my 40' is rated at only 15k and it's one of the highest I've seen. It does weigh 43k lbs itself though, so no problem out-weighing the stacker, lol. It does have a GCWR of 69k too. I'd be comfortable with a 17k stacker with it as long as I had the hitch beefed up accordingly.

-TJ

Punisher · Dec 14, 2021

tjZ06 said:
Yup. Even my 40' is rated at only 15k and it's one of the highest I've seen. It does weigh 43k lbs itself though, so no problem out-weighing the stacker, lol. It does have a GCWR of 69k too. I'd be comfortable with a 17k stacker with it as long as I had the hitch beefed up accordingly.

-TJ

the 40 footers that are single wheel rear and 22k curb is mostly what im referring too.

EmpirE231 · Dec 14, 2021

URCLEVER said:
see you told me you were so busy at work! blah blah.

FYI there has been a few stackers popping up for reasonable prices, but they are older and heavy. still waiting on a few quotes but 45K for loaded one is the best price so far.

who's quoting 45k for a loaded stacker? what length?

tjZ06 · Dec 14, 2021

Punisher said:
the 40 footers that are single wheel rear and 22k curb is mostly what im referring too.

Word.

-TJ

Dockmaster · Dec 24, 2021

URCLEVER said:
I need inside pictures of how you play tetris!

Here’s how I put a quad over the top of my other quad. This allows me to get a big Sportsman quad, a 2 seat Can Am, a Revo sand rail and a Raptor quad in my trailer. I have a little room to spare so stuff is not rubbing and I can even tuck my electric dolly in the back so I can pull the trailer in head first at the campground and unload and load and put stuff in at night. The main campground I go to are wide spaces (not pull-thru) so you put your trailer next to the Moho but are fenced along the back of the spaces.