My Custom Trailer Rig

Growing up I never liked the fact that Hot Wheels did not have a truck and trailer combo that you could use to tow your Hot Wheels race cars. Of course my dad being a stock car driver made me realize that race cars did not just drive to the track. They were towed on all manner of trailer and hauler. So, I began tearing the bodies and front wheels of my older Hot Wheels and using them as trailers for my race cars. Many years later, about 10 years ago, I got into R/C Cars, and after owning a Tamiya Midnight Pumkpin and an RC-10 Gold Tub chasis car, which I converted into a stock car with an Andy's custom painted Camaro body, I again decided that every race car must have a trailer.

I happened into a hobby store in the San Fernando Valley here in California and was pleased to find a premolded hard plastic trailer chassis. The kit was VERY basic and included only the chassis, 4 premounted foam tires, and the axle hardware. I painted the trailer to match my Midnight Pumpkin and after making a hitch I was ready to go. Several years later I was again bored with this trailer and decided to jazz it up a little. I added a front ferring, running lights and ramps to it. Along with the lights on my Midnight Pumpkin the rig made the kids and many adults in my neighborhood react delightfully as I ran it down the street. The trailer sat for a few years as I had been away from racing for a few years. A few years ago, I got back into racing and decided to clean up the trailer. I changed the lights around and added some sponsor decals.

The last time I updated the trailer I was running RS4s and found the the RS4 had 2 threaded holes in the rear bulkhead that were perfect for recieving a trailer hitch. RC Car is going to be doing a photo shoot at our track in the next few weeks, so I decided to paint up a new HPI F150 truck body and add a set of matching stripes to the trailer. I then added lights to the truck body and connected them to the trailer with a plug that could be considered a trailer plug.

Trailer Rig
Custom Trailer Rig Custom Trailer Rig

The power for the lights is supplied by a 6 cell sport pack held in place by a set of HPI RS4 battery cups. This makes changing the battery a snap. The lights are turned on by a switch under the ferring. The lights in the truck are Tamiya lights that were designed for the Midnight Pumpkin and other cars that used that type of light buckets. I cut the light buckets from a Pumpkin grill and placed them in some home-made lexan brackets that are servo taped to the inside of the truck body. The rear brake lights are the same lights but with Novak brake light holders used to hold them in place.
Custom Trailer Lights
Custom Trailer Lights Custom Trailer Lights Custom Trailer Lights Custom Trailer Lights

Here are some close ups of the hitch area. The hitch is made up of pieces that I had lying in my parts boxes. I threaded 2 long T2 turnbuckles into the rear bulkhead of my RS4. I then placed 2 90º servo horns over them and locked them in place with some nuts. I then threaded a ball end into the screw hole of an HPI body post and slid it into the holes of the servo horn. Some of the fitting required some hole enlarging but you get the idea. I use a small body pin that makes the hitch a working reciever hitch. On the trailer end I used a ball cup threaded onto a medium T2 turnbuckle with a 90º bend that comes out the top of the tognue and has a ball end nut used to secure it. It's also supprted by an old Tamiya Midnight Pumkpin shock mount that runs under the hitch and has a screw that goes above the turnbuckle to lock it in place. Again, all these were scrap parts and I could have designed it several different ways, but I found this to work the best and look closer to real(at least in concept).
Custom Trailer Hitch Custom Trailer Hitch




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