Hot Rods Ideas to transport home a partial rolling chassis

Looking for some 'creative' ideas to transport home a partial A rolling chassis. It's about 5 hours away. Full rolling chassis + motor/trans, minus the rear axle. I cannot for the life of me find a trailer to rent that will fit it without having to disassemble it in the guys yard when I get there. All the uhaul trailers have a 5ft opening and tall side walls. They don't have an available car trailer for a one way trip - pick up 5hrs away and drop it off in my area. Trying to find a landscape trailer for rent but all the local places have closed up over the past few years. I have a pickup truck and am leaning towards just taking it all apart and loading in there and re-assembling when I get home. Sounds like a lot of extra work but running out of options.

Any ideas? If not, guess this is just a rant of my frustrations ha! Maybe I should just buy my own trailer?

 

Bring an engine hoist, all your wrenches, a bunch of cutoff 2x6's, a hundred strong straps, and maybe an old tire or two. It should all fit in a pickup bed. It's gonna get scratched up though.

 

Hire a car trailer where you are and drag it there empty?

Chris

 

How do you not know someone who you can borrow a trailer from?

I can have anything from a car dolly to a 48ft step deck with a phone call.....the idea of not having friends you can borrow from is so odd.

 

bingo!

 

What about a dolly from UHaul,,,,,strap the rear of the chassis to the dolly,,and let the front tires roll on the road ?

Tommy

 

On my last trip to Tractor Supply I saw that they rent trailers. Maybe they would have one that would work? For what you describe, a single axle should suffice. I have a 12 ft single axle that I moved my “A” chassis on.

 

All those parts will fit in a pickup bed. Bring a cutoff wheel and a friend or two to put that engine in there. Load the front end in, then the engine, ratchet strap and pad everything as needed, then put the frame in, close the tailgate, and strap it down over the load and flag the end (I usually go down the road looking like an old towtruck with the frame at an upward angle). That's how I'd go at it anyway (I'd actually use my hitch crane though).

 

Not to D rail the thread here,,
but how do you wash a barn find?

 

Thanks all - kind of what I figured. Going to look at tractor supply for a rental and a few other local places. May also look around craigslist to see if I can buy one for a decent price. Worst case I'll tear it apart and haul it home in the pickup.

 

I thought about this but having second thoughts on it being too sketchy for a 5hr drive

 

Just tear it down and put it in the back of your pick up. There's not much to it. It doesn't really pay to buy a used trailer unless you get it for next to nothing as a new 18'0 tandem cost me around $2,000.00 about 5 years ago.

 

Good for you rejecting this idea....You are not the only one on the road.

 

I mean, if you have a full size truck just plunk it in the bed and go.
Ass first and strap it generously.
Maybe pull the motor and place it in the bed?

Its not rocket surgery

 

A bit overkill, but you could rent a 15' truck for the day, and load the whole thing inside.

 

I would think an A chassis would fit on an 8' snowmobile trailer with the front axle near the front of the trailer. There have to be a bunch of trailers like that around, not much use for snowmobiles so far this year.

 

rent the car trailer local and return it to the next town over.
Thats what i have had to do.

 

Remove the front axle, wishbone, spring assembly from the chassis. Put the chassis, with engine and trans in place and at front of bed. Put the axle longitudinally alongside the chassis, wishbone ‘up’. Tie it all down and cover it as you wish.....done. Book for home.

Ray

 

I've had so many Model A's that i made a tow bar to bolt to the front frame horns. Just jack it up and sit it on the hitch, take the front tires off and hit the road. Don't guess that would help in your case. Might have to take an axle with you and put it in.

 

Vehicle haulers like BenD (here on the H.A.M.B.).

He/they can probably deliver it right to your door for less than it will cost you to rent a trailer and buy gas.

 

To quote an old hamb member
"i hate trailer so much,I drag my boat to the lake with a chain"

 

I've loaded 40 ford chassis with axles onto and kinda into an 8' bed pick up on more than one occasion and a 36 chassis with my buddies 6' bed. Its not pretty but its doable and with straps it'll stay put A few guys can muscle it in with no engine and tranny. How careful you are will depend in how nice your besides are.

Full disclosure ive also managed to acquire 4 hernias.

 

This 50.00 boat trailer (with clear title) has hauled the Model A home and hauled a chevy chassis with rear axle home.


I took my cherry picker and picked the frame up on the guys cement driveway and basically backed the trailer under it as he held the front up.

Lots of time you can find a boat trailer for about a 16 ft boat on FB market place or Craigslist for cheaper than what that trailer would rent for.
I've got another one with a clear title that I paid 100 for that is going to get a flatbed on it.That one hauled a 18 ft tri hull inboard and would haul car stuff easily. The boat stuff comes off pretty easily and there is a nice frame left to haul stuff. That might be a low buck possibility depending on what they sell for locally or

 

Do you have any friends that have racecars, or does yard-work with equipment ? See if one of them will either "loan" or "go with" on a road trip with their trailer for a case (or two?) of "adult beverage", or possibly a "C-note"? Another way : Do you know anyone with a 14' to 20' flatbed who might do the trip for "Gas Money"? CREATIVE THINKING IS YOUR FRIEND!! Forgot about boat trailers : A VERY good idea Mr48Chev!!

 

I'm not sure how close this one is to you https://cnj.craigslist.org/bpo/d/piscataway-16-boat-trailer/7034793023.html But it would haul a chassis easily and you could turn around sell it if it was close enough.

NO TITLE on that one, my bad for posting it. That might be too big of an issue unless trip permits are cheap in NJ

 

not sitting on the tailgate, its blocked at the back of the bed. A's are the same wheelbase, and if you remove the wheels i bet it would fit. i hate trailers on long hauls

 

Back in high school my buddies and I used several methods of dragging rolling/semi rolling chassis home. We always made it home, but the methods were usually stupid and/or unsafe...on second thought, I probably shouldn't recommend any of them....

 

All these suggestions about buying a cheap trailer seem to think a cheap trailer is roadworthy. I disagree with that being the likely outcome. Wheel bearings .....remember boat trailers back into water, frequently, and not so frequently get wheel bearings inspected, greased and/or replaced, and are a major contributor to those boat trailers you see along side the Interstate with no wheel on one of it’s spindles.

Then, there is the subject of tires. Show me a cheap boat trailer and I will show you rotten tires. And lights.......notorious for not working on cheap shit box trailers. By the time you buy the cheap trailer, fix the wheel bearings, put decent tires on it (almost impossible to find quality boat trailer tires) and rewire and replace the taillights, you could opt for several other methods to have it transported. And then there is the time factor for all of the above.

The upside is, the weather will be better because it will be Spring before your cheap o trailer is road ready. Actually, all the above would apply to almost any used trailer that is more than a few years old and/or homemade.

Ray

 

Borrow a rear axle with wheels on it and put it on a rented car trailer. Set the axle under rear of 'A' chassis with ratcheting straps both sides, solid-mounting frame to axle housing. Comealong attach to trailer front, roll it aboard. Secure chassis at 4 corners with ratcheting straps. Now..."Come along home, Boy."

 

Tapia Bros. Collection

Tapia Bros. Collection

Hello,
Sometimes it just takes some ingenuity and perseverance. After all, it is 1957-60. With the newish big 4x4 trucks, a frame and motor should fit. Watch out for the width clearance of pulling trailers vs. the local CHP / DMV rules.

We recently saw a "dually" pulled over on the side of a road with the CHP pointing to the width of the trailer vs the width of the truck with the owner. It was definitely wider and would cause undue hardship for all of us in the neighboring lanes.

Jnaki
Hot rod guys/girls come up with interesting ways to get stuff done. Call and have the owner measure to get your solution ready. Driving a truck by itself for 10 hours is better than towing for ten hours.