cockeyedMFer
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 264
- Tractor
- 1959 MF 35 deluxe, gas
Stumbled into a trailer project that may fill a lot of my needs, plus its vintage which adds a neat twist. Some Ohio folks may be familiar with Ron Hilen, who was a local collector car dealer from the 70's through early 2000's He began buying used cars and parts in the late 50's and built it into a lifetime of work. He's best known for building the 49 Buicks featured in the movie Rain Man. A real character if there ever was one.
Growing up, we lived near the dealership and it was one of the things that made me into such a big car enthusiast.
Well, Ron retired and had several big auctions to clear out his treasure trove of parts. One of the last items to go was this custom built trailer that he used to pull up to Hershey for the annual swap meet. Its circa 1976, fabricated by a local truck body builder, with a 20' long box and storage area inside the tongue. The body is aluminum with an ironwood floor and I-beam frame. 5200lb axles with 4 wheel brakes. The doors at each end were designed so that Ron could load 2 cars - the first was driven through the box trailer onto a ramp truck, and the second rode inside the trailer. Pretty ingenious!
Unfortunately its pretty weathered. The doors rotted out and were left partially open, which damaged the floor. Surprisingly the roof is dry. I was apprehensive about dragging it from Dayton to Cincinnati where I live now, but after pulling it out of the storage lot, all the tires aired up but one, and since the tread wasn't heavily cracked, I replaced the bad tire and went for it. Even the lights worked (sort of LoL).
This rig tows like butter! I expected it to be a heavy pig, but it feels lighter than my 3600lb open deck trailer. And it helps to have both doors open for lower wind resistance.
The trailer did fine all the way home, but my dually had a blowout...so that's the kind of luck I have lately.
At this point, we're thinking about replacing the floor and doors, going through the electricals, brakes, etc and putting it back on the road. Polish up the unpainted aluminum siding. At this point I'm in it $400 bucks including fuel, so even a couple grand would be worth it for a unique, useful trailer.
My only complaint is that the rear portion of the body is a little short compared to the tongue, and 20' is a little short for a car trailer. But it worked for Ron all those years so...
Growing up, we lived near the dealership and it was one of the things that made me into such a big car enthusiast.
Well, Ron retired and had several big auctions to clear out his treasure trove of parts. One of the last items to go was this custom built trailer that he used to pull up to Hershey for the annual swap meet. Its circa 1976, fabricated by a local truck body builder, with a 20' long box and storage area inside the tongue. The body is aluminum with an ironwood floor and I-beam frame. 5200lb axles with 4 wheel brakes. The doors at each end were designed so that Ron could load 2 cars - the first was driven through the box trailer onto a ramp truck, and the second rode inside the trailer. Pretty ingenious!
Unfortunately its pretty weathered. The doors rotted out and were left partially open, which damaged the floor. Surprisingly the roof is dry. I was apprehensive about dragging it from Dayton to Cincinnati where I live now, but after pulling it out of the storage lot, all the tires aired up but one, and since the tread wasn't heavily cracked, I replaced the bad tire and went for it. Even the lights worked (sort of LoL).
This rig tows like butter! I expected it to be a heavy pig, but it feels lighter than my 3600lb open deck trailer. And it helps to have both doors open for lower wind resistance.
The trailer did fine all the way home, but my dually had a blowout...so that's the kind of luck I have lately.
At this point, we're thinking about replacing the floor and doors, going through the electricals, brakes, etc and putting it back on the road. Polish up the unpainted aluminum siding. At this point I'm in it $400 bucks including fuel, so even a couple grand would be worth it for a unique, useful trailer.
My only complaint is that the rear portion of the body is a little short compared to the tongue, and 20' is a little short for a car trailer. But it worked for Ron all those years so...
