Hot Rods Luggage racks- -yes or no

Yes. There are separate signs for "All vehicles towing," 55 mph max.

Many drive quite a bit faster.

 

So a dual speed limit like Ohio used to have for tractor trailers 55 MPH, all others 65 MPH. Caused alot of accidents in Ohio and NHTSA finally forced them to change. Slower trucks with non forgiving FCC rear bumpers being rear ended by passenger cars was downright dangerous.

 

We have a 48 business coupe. My wife can put a bunch of stuff in that trunk.
In this day and age, I'd be worried anything that sat on a luggage rack would be gone after a food stop. If I needed more space, I'd have to do the trailer, but I don't foresee us having any thing small enough we can't haul enough stuff to get by for 4-5 days. Then a couple hours at a laundry mat (hotel or otherwise) gets us another 4-5 days.

As far as a hotel is concerned, I don't intend to sleep in a camper again. That was OK when I was younger but I'm not younger any more. There are precautions you can take regarding the bed bugs and the virus to keep safe. Gene

 

I am seriously considering a teardrop sleeping trailer for my hot rods if we go very far away. For my long distance trips now we use an OT F-250 and 33' travel trailer with all the comforts of home. Queen sized bed, full kitchen, dining room table and chairs, couch, and two recliners. 44" flat screen TV, cable, satellite, or local broadcast. All of the comforts of home on the road Gene.

 

55 mph for all vehicles towing and three or more axle trucks. Some freeways are 70 mph. Some big rigs are driving 70 mph and tailgating.

I believe the *ICC trailer bumper is there to keep other vehicles from going further under the trailer. The tandem axles have to be forward (to the 40-foot location on a 53-footer) in California, which means there's about ten feet of space (under the trailer) between the bumper and the rearmost axle.

 

This was a good read of one mans travels with a Model A pulling a tear drop trailer on a long trip. Did a quick search to locate the write up. He had an enjoyable adventure that may give you some insight travelling with a small trailer enjoying civilization and no civilization.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...f-make-the-most-of-it-solo-road-trip.1020556/

 

Hello,

You seem to be set on getting a trailer to tow behind your hot rod. Yes, it will solve your storage space, which is a premium on a coupe. But, the trunk can be filled with the necessary suitcases for your trip. The need for stuff always plays a good game, but one must be creative when dealing with small spaces.

If my wife and I can stuff our clothes and shoes in two small suitcases for 40 days all over Europe, it can be done and done well. Think about the convenience of only handling two small suitcases versus a huge rolling suitcases? Actually, they did not have rolling suitcases back then.

We also had to travel in a 1965 El Camino with one large suitcase behind the seat, so that worked out, too. Small spaces can and will make you think about the clothes and accessories necessary for any trip, long or short. There are things called laundromats for weekly washings. Even in a small town in the Utah Badlands, there is/was a laundry ready to get your week’s worth of clothes clean for the next week.


Jnaki

Towing anything a short distance or long distances is a game we do not want to do then and now. Handling and driving with a trailer is always a hassle of some kind and it is not worth it to have worries about theft or storage when sightseeing.

We had a short drive towing our small 1940 Willys Coupe to the dragstrips and shops when in the building stages. It was securely attached to the 58 Impala, but the odd handling during the towing trips was not worth it. Just the worry of leaving something attached to a car sitting in the restaurant parking lot would give us the shivers. Let alone leaving it outside of a motel room. Parking in a lot or on the street, plus backing up just accentuates the problems of a trailer.

In the El Camino, before we re-thought what we were taking on a long coastal trip, we had tied down two suitcases in the back of the bed. They were secured so no movement was going to happen. But, at every gas stop or restaurant stop, security was out in the open for all to see. No, we did not want a locking bed cover, but had thought about it if we had kept the El Camino in the later years.
VNAK PHOTO
Work it out, save some money not buying a trailer and feel secure driving your hot rod in short or long distances. That seems like a thing to do. If you get a luggage rack, the need to NOT make a huge pile is mandatory. They have to be able to disconnect and be stored inside of your coupe when out of sight. So, it just seems easier to get two/three small suitcases that will fit into the trunk area and be safe/secure.

Our friend with the 39 Ford Sedan never took his hot rod on a long distance road trip, because of lack of storage space for suitcases necessary for them. They were not efficient packers of small suitcases. We on the other hand had plenty of storage in the back of our 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery hot rods.

 

Exactly why they are required to be there by the ICC to prevent decapitation with the vehicle travelling underneath the trailer. The problem is when a movable force (smaller vehicle, car travelling at 65+ MPH) meets an immovable object (ICC Bumper 55MPH, 45- MPH pulling a hill).

 

When my wife feels well enough to go along,I have too bring along her wheelchair an a cooler. ModelA folding rear racks are being repoped. So I got one an did some mods. I added it as a temp rack,that is held with two big wingnuts an I designed the brackets so they lock into part of rear frame cross by the two big wingnuts. It works well,but still remove it most of the time. I have a few times just folded it up,an run with it that way,when she is not going after all. On my station wagons I had temp rack that strapped on an had rubber cups to roof,that worked well when just too much stuff to take along camping. But few of my wagons had factory racks,I liked also.

 

They do state cars with trailers speed limit

 

Oh my - - -how things get interesting! Just for the record, I can get 2 suitcases, 2 foldable chairs (slightly altered in length) the tool bag, oil, anti-freeze, jumper cables, fix a flat w/ air compressor (no spare of course) , first aid kit, shop towels, extra R-134 or whatever they call it today, oh yeah- - the UMBRELLA and the severely altered car cover. Yup all that in the trunk of my highboy! Some things are stuffed into small crevices, (like the Smothers brothers and Puma's) The survival kit and blanket is behind the seat along with the fire extinguisher.
As for getting reservations, being a retired federal agent does have its perks. And just for kicks- - - I pack!!
I just recently had my license changed, I dropped the CDL portion off of it. Yup, drove the big guys a while. Had that endorsement since they were called chauffeur licenses.
Did many miles off road camping in a "72 CJ-5 (hot rodded of course!) but at a young 74 now, camping is called ROOM SERVICE! Hahaha! Hey, I remember when one could just pull off the road, throw out a sleeping bag and hit it. Those days are long gone aren't they?
As for the spring perch mounted receiver I'm building, the tow hitch tongue rating would be like a max of 70 pounds.
so yes, I could pull a teardrop trailer but I'd rather not. The hot rod weights in at 2840 pounds. So that precludes towing not much of anything. The hitch basically would be for when its really needed to assist someone else? Hmmm- - - - - - life is nothing but a bowl of cherries -- - -So guys -- again -- thanks for the conversations. Oh yeah, if ya ever see it (the car of course) at one of the NSRA meets, I'm one of the NSRA safety guys.
Stay safe!

 

Your T-Bucket looks "Bitchin!"

 

When we had our "40 Sedan, we had so much room we just didn't know what to do with it all. I took a 3500 mile trip last year with the Highboy and its little trunk! Nary a problem. The little chest sat up front with me so I could get a cold one when needed. Had all my oldies on a flash drive and it fits the radio so I was on cloud 9! Rocking and rolling on old Highway 1! Funny, never seen a CHP unit the whole time on that highway.

 

Boy howdy I'm with you on that one!

 

Clothes, food, camping gear, sleeping bag and a tent:

 

Wife and I used to travel alot like that, just add a propane camp stove coffee pot and frying pan. Cooked on open fire when and where allowed and the propane camp stove when not. Alot of sore bones followed and now nothing but the 33 footer self contained for her. She paid her dues and I have alot more time under the stars than her so I guess I have too. We like to pack up hitch up and load Suzzy the Golden Retriever and go. Really in this day and age I feel safer in the contained unit and would be very hesitant today to stop and throw out a sleeping bag. Yes I pack, always have and always will.

 

My car in front has much the same as the copper one, except he's got the tent, I've got a Weber barbeque and chairs.

 

No.
Ive just been putting things into perspective for myself with the events of this year.
Make things simpler, Dont delay, Seize the day, that kind of outlook.

Remember taking road trips in your 20's. Little pocket cash and maybe a map, take off in a clapped out car for a state or 2 away.
We can plan better than that, but keep it light, simple, and go with the flow. We didnt had smart phones then, we do now - in the event of an issue.

 

Man do I remember those days, driving a thousand miles in a old car we were nuts!

A folding map, little to no money, no credit cards, a box of tools and a Styrofoam ice chest and we were good to go, a lot of spur of the moment trips.

We broke down occasionally but that was just a part of having fun. HRP

 

My wife & I drove our '37 Chevy coupe from Rochester, NY to Rapid City, SD and on to Devil's Tower in Wyo., in 2006. We were both 60 and had a great time. Covered 2700 miles in 2-1/2 weeks. I had taken the seat out of the rumble seat and filled it with tools & parts I thought we might need. Turned out we never needed any tools or parts. Only place we had
for clothes & personal items was the narrow space behind the seat. No luggage rack required on that or any other trip we ever made in an old car. One of our best vacations ever.

 

Oh yea, we did those trips too, add a couple of suitcases and a couple of kids in the back seat for us. We did family trips, covered 26 different states with our kids when they were between 5 and 15.
Remember those roadside Historical Markers? I think we stopped at every one we saw! I figured if someone went through all the trouble of getting one set up. the least I could do was stop and read about the location. There are some really interesting Historical things out there. My wife and I still stop at Historical Markers that we haven't seen before.

This didn't have much to do with luggage racks or trailers (we didn't use either), but it did cover road trips... Gene

 

With 13 year old son riding in the rumble seat, had to modify an old Buick rack. Took out 5 inches from middle & rewelded & made my own brackets & arms for the trip to Tulsa in 1976

 

Several guys in the PNW use those hitch mounted racks for the cooler and lawn chairs or other bulky items and as soon as they get to the motel or camp ground and unload they pull it off and stash it.
A lot of business coupes have more trunk space than I have space under a tonneau cover without lumps showing in my 48. I've got the frame for a tear drop trailer stashed away or one from a 15 ft camper that I have been thinking about using for an oversize tear drop/small canned ham trailer. Wife isn't too excited about sleeping in a small trailer but it may make some long road trips more affordable.

 

With all that gear, I had to make the luggage rack a priority!

 

I’m not a big fan of luggage racks, or maybe I should say I’m not a fan of the way most people use them. I see stuff all the time that has fell off of a rack, a lot of coolers, the occasional suitcase, even bbq grills. Most people either don’t know how to tie stuff down or just get in too big of a hurry and go. One of the best things I’ve ever seen used on a rack was one of those stretch nets that some cars have in the trunk. One of those with some ratchet straps will usually secure the load pretty well.

If you use a rack, please make sure your stuff is tied down good! I hate to see a exploded suitcase full of clothes scattered on the road, and the owner most times never knew when or where they lost it! And bbq grilles are no fun to dodge at freeway speeds!