Anyone who has watched a lowered car crawl onto a U-Haul auto transport knows the sound: the scrape of a lip spoiler giving its life on a ramp. Standard car hauler ramps meet the deck at 10 to 15 degrees, and anything with less than about 5 inches of clearance will touch. There's a better way to do this, and it's the entire reason our trailer exists.
Why low cars scrape, in one paragraph
Loading is a geometry problem with three failure points: the approach angle where the ramp meets the ground, the break-over where the ramp meets the deck, and the departure angle for long front overhangs. Short, steep ramps fail all three at once. The fixes are equally geometric: make the angle shallower (a tilt deck), lengthen the transition (race ramps), and remove the need for throttle and clutch control entirely (a winch).
The setup that loads a 3-inch car
- Full tilt deck. Our 20-foot Eagle's entire bed tilts, so there is no break-over point at all, just one continuous shallow plane from asphalt to deck.
- Race ramps. Lightweight foam ramps extend the approach, cutting the effective angle roughly in half. The combination loads cars with as little as 3 inches of clearance.
- 12,000 lb wireless winch. Synthetic rope, handheld remote. The car loads in neutral at walking pace while you stand beside it watching clearances, no clutch smoke, no throttle blips on a slick deck. It also loads cars that don't run, which is half of project-car life.
Step-by-step loading
- Stage on flat ground. Hitch the trailer to the truck before loading, verify the 2-5/16 ball is latched, and chock the trailer. Never load an unhitched trailer.
- Tilt the deck and set the race ramps at the deck's edge, aligned with your tire track width.
- Attach the winch line to the factory tow hook or screw-in tow eye. Give the line a tug test before committing.
- Winch on in neutral, steering wheel centered, one person on the remote walking alongside, watching the lip and rockers the whole way.
- Position for tongue weight. Park the car so roughly 10 to 15 percent of the combined weight sits on the hitch, usually with the car's engine forward of the axles. Too little tongue weight causes sway; too much squats the truck.
- Lower the deck and strap all four wheels with over-tire straps to the D-rings, suspension free to move. Leave the winch line attached as a backup.
- Re-check at 10 miles. Straps stretch and settle on the first leg. Pull over once, re-tension, and drive on.
Where North County cars go on this trailer
Our tilt trailer hauls track cars to Willow Springs and Chuckwalla, classics to shows around Escondido and San Marcos, auction wins home from Barrett-Jackson, and a steady stream of non-running project cars between garages. At $125 per day with the winch, ramps, straps, and a storage box included, it's a fraction of a single enclosed-transport booking, and you're the one driving, on your schedule.
Questions about your specific car? Text a photo and your clearance measurement to 760-454-7943. We've loaded enough low cars to give you a straight yes or no in minutes.