Modified my trailer to work with my 00R

[Goose17]

I finished a many, many day mod to my trailer. I bought a 20’ V-nose trailer with a driver’s side escape door, which allows you to open the door to exit the vehicle once inside the trailer and not have to crawl out the window. The problem is my Mustangs are all too low and the driver’s door hits the fender. The solution was to build raised “ramp overs” to get the vehicles higher in the trailer. The lowest Mustang door I have is my stock ride height 2011 GT500. The door is roughly 10” up to the bottom at its lowest point. I also had to map out the wheel bases and width of my tires on all of the cars to formulate a plan that would work for all of them. I was also concerned with the 13/14 splitter on the Shelby as well as the side exhaust on the 2000 Cobra R. More on both of those in a bit.

Measuring all of the cars:

Got me some wood and broke out the tools!

Figured out a 4x6 under a plank (2x12) was a good working height:

Screwed the 4x6s to the floor and then the 2x12s to the 4x6s:

Cut the 4x6s to support not only the 2x12s, but also an added 2x4 for a wider track:

Although the ramps are firmly secured to the floor, they won’t be utilized to secure the vehicle. The D-rings will be used for that. More on that later:

This is where I had to do some “ciphering.” The D-rings that are bolted to the trailer metal structure are RIGHT where I needed to place the ramps!

I weighed options like cutting a hole in the ramp and simply passing the straps through them, but in the end, went a different direction. I decided to make a removable section that would come out after the vehicle was loaded to gain access to the D-ring:

 

[Goose17]

I added a vertical 2x4 to the inside only to keep the vehicles from falling off the ramps and be a wheel guide entering/exiting the trailer. This needed tweaking later.

The removable section that mechanically locks into place. I also used an electric planer to ease the grade at the beginning and crest of the ramps:

Next was 4” wide grip tape applied where the rear tires might slip:

It was time to test! First on deck was the Shelby. This car has the lowest front of all of my Stangs (the 00R has a removable splitter). I was concerned about the splitter hitting, but only testing would reveal for certain:

I was happy to see the initial approach cleared!

This was my contact point... the vertical 2x4 wheel guides would need some trimming:

The door height worked!

I moved the trailer to the house and used some lights to work on it at night for the final tweaks:

Two tweaks were needed after testing the Shelby... one was to trim down the beginning of the vertical 2x4 guides and the other was to move the guides inwards just a bit. Since I can’t see the guides from the driver’s seat, they had insufficient clearance and needed a little more tolerance for getting into the trailer. I used a 2x2 to space the vertical guides inward. These were glued and screwed.

This shot shows the final configuration with the guide spacers in and with the guides shaved down at the beginning to clear the Shelby splitter.

Next up for testing was my 2000 Cobra R. I had 2 spotters on this test. One to guide me in and the other to watch the side exhaust.

The nose without the splitter had no problem clearing:

I was quite concerned with the side exhaust hitting the crest... it was close, but cleared!!!

Success!

 

[Skitzerman]

Necessity is the mother of invention. Great job, Goose.

 

[2011 gtcs]

Now that's a badass trailer.

 

[TK1299]

I approve. Question for you Goose: I will be purchasing another mustang in about six months or so. I'm getting permits to build my shop now to make room. I want a '13-'14 GT500, but also want a Cobra R. Which one would you buy first, and why?

 

[Goose17]

I approve. Question for you Goose: I will be purchasing another mustang in about six months or so. I'm getting permits to build my shop now to make room. I want a '13-'14 GT500, but also want a Cobra R. Which one would you buy first, and why?

If I had to sell all of my cars and keep only one, the 00R would be the last one standing. It is a special car. 13/14 GT500s are fantastic and I’ve driven some with insane power mods, but the R is just different. The R is pure. I am a pilot, so I would describe it as a “stick and rudder airplane” meaning it’s just man and machine... you are connected and feel everything. My 750 hp Shelby is much faster, but I get more joy/excitement out of my R. I like that it has no traction or stability control and that the suspension makes you feel and hear every little nuance. I like that the motor shakes the car... it’s unlike anything I have ever driven... it’s totally raw!

Another thing to consider is depreciation: the 13/14 GT500 will continue to depreciate for quite awhile. Too many GT500s were made from 07-14. The 2000 Cobra R still commands a strong price and it’s only going upward in my opinion. One collector car article basically said don’t say we didn’t warn you when the 00R hits $250k.

It’s a rare, awesome car that doesn’t pull any punches. Most have never seen one in person. I took mine to a huge Mustang show back in June and I figured an 18 year old car wouldn’t generate much interest since the latest offerings from Ford and Shelby were plentiful. The Cobra R was a HUGE hit. Most were just shocked to finally see one in person.

So, buy the 00R as soon as you can. If you have extra play money and want a refined fast ride, grab a GT500 as well.

 

[TK1299]

Thank you. I kinda had a feeling you would vote that way

 

[P49Y-CY]

good job!

 

[specracer]

A suggestion, stop using d rings, Install E track from front to back. This will allow you to use over the tire tie downs. These over the tire straps clip in at 3 points. This is by far the bast (for me). Only challenge I see, is that I made sure the E track was through bolted to the frame of the trailer.

Vulcan Silver Series Rolling Idler Single Strap E-Track Tie Downs

 

[Goose17]

A suggestion, stop using d rings, Install E track from front to back. This will allow you to use over the tire tie downs. These over the tire straps clip in at 3 points. This is by far the bast (for me). Only challenge I see, is that I made sure the E track was through bolted to the frame of the trailer.

Vulcan Silver Series Rolling Idler Single Strap E-Track Tie Downs

I agree E track is a better setup, but it wouldn’t work too well with my ramp overs that I built. Having a usable escape door was more important to me than having E track. I just use a towel to protect the wheels and run the straps from the D rings through the wheels on top of the towel.

I rented a trailer before buying mine and was forced to crawl out the window of my R. It made me put the escape door as a required option.

 

[98 svt]

Have you tested them on a ride yet? What did you use to attach the ramps to the trailer? I'd be worried about them shifting while moving, specially with the extra downward force of the straps.

 

[Zemedici]

Looks great, Goose. Well done sir!

 

[Goose17]

Have you tested them on a ride yet? What did you use to attach the ramps to the trailer? I'd be worried about them shifting while moving, specially with the extra downward force of the straps.

I have not tested them on a drive with a car in the trailer. The ramps are screwed to the floor with a bunch of screws... they aren’t going anywhere.

 

[98 svt]

I have not tested them on a drive with a car in the trailer. The ramps are screwed to the floor with a bunch of screws... they aren’t going anywhere.

What kind of screws? Drywall screws? How long are they? What are they screwed into in the floor?

Just want to make sure all that precious cargo is safe!

 

[PaxtonShelby]

Nice job. Only thing I would have done differently would have been to layer 2x12’s instead of using the blocks underneath.

I only needed one 2x12 in each side to raise the floor of my open trailer so my doors would clear the trailer fender.

 

[SID297]

Neat upgrade.

 

[Goose17]

What kind of screws? Drywall screws? How long are they? What are they screwed into in the floor?

Just want to make sure all that precious cargo is safe!

Construction screws, 4 per 4x6 block screwed into the floor. The ramps are rock solid and not going anywhere. The load of the car fore/aft will be on the D rings, which are bolted to the metal floor structure. The load on the ramps is downward, only to support the weight of the car.

Nice job. Only thing I would have done differently would have been to layer 2x12’s instead of using the blocks underneath.

I only needed one 2x12 in each side to raise the floor of my open trailer so my doors would clear the trailer fender.

I needed to raise the parking level quite a bit. Layered wood would have added quite a bit of weight. My approach raised the cars about 7 inches and didn’t add too much weight for my F-150 tow package truck.

Neat upgrade.

Thank you sir!

 

[specracer]

I did the "through the wheel" I think once, maybe twice. Was far too much of a pain to stay that course. With the car elevated you can physically get under it which makes it even possible on low cars, so that helps. I still dont like the strap through the wheel, even with lots of microfibers. Last comment on etrack and over the wheel, you can even have a strap fall off, and the car will not shift around, its planted.

 

[Jason95R]

You always have the best posts Goose! Awesome job on this project.

 

[Goose17]

You always have the best posts Goose! Awesome job on this project.

Thank you sir! I appreciate that.