If you haven't seen my recommendations for trailer safety on other drag racing sites, here are some things I have learned and suggest regarding security and towing of your trailer:

 

1. Take some masking tape and paper and a can of bright spray paint and get on the top of your trailer and paint a number such as your IHRA or NHRA car number on top of your trailer!  How many thieves do you think will take the time to climb on top of your trailer to see if there is a number there!  There are a lot of trailers on the road now that are unmarked and may look a lot like yours.  There are also a lot more helicopters and other traffic in the air now that can spot your number on top of your trailer!  Ever notice that most all cop cars have numbers on the roof?  There is a reason for that!

 

2. Never, ever, tow your trailer locked!  If you stop somewhere and want to secure the contents, lock it up when you stop but when on the road leave it unlocked.  You have no idea what may be going on in your trailer, especially when traveling on roads where there is not a lot of traffic and no one to tell you smoke may be coming out of the back of your trailer!  This has happened a number of times here in Arizona and folks have lost trailers, race cars and, in one case, the tow vehicle!  That was because the gooseneck trailer was locked onto the ball in the tow vehicle and the key was in the toolbox in the trailer which was on fire!

 

3. Common causes of a trailer fire generally begins with a battery in a scooter or golf cart that goes bad and shorts out and catches a seat on fire! My neighbor across the street is a fireman and made me aware of the fact that you don't want to store synthetic oil and brake fluid next to each other as the two could result in spontaneous combustion if one contaminates the other!  I have never tried it to see if it does but I will take his word for it.  You might also check other products you carry in your trailer that can result in spontaneous combustion.

 

4. There are a lot of alarm systems for trailers available for theft but I have not seen any available for detecting smoke in a trailer while in tow so I made my own!  I found

a 12 volt smoke alarm and connected it to the battery in my trailer that I use to power my trailer jack and my winch.  The battery is stored in a marine box and I charge it any time my tongue mounted generator is operating.  (Battery also came in handy as a

spare for race car at ET Finals last year also!)  Then I added a siren with a red light on top of it on the front of my trailer than is visible in the rear view mirror in the cab of my 3/4 ton Silverado and it is connected to the smoke alarm!  Thus, if the smoke alarm goes off while I am towing, the external siren and red light will also come on and I can

get in my trailer fast and try and bring the problem under control.  I keep a fire extinguiisher just inside the door of the trailer and one in the back of my bed on my pickup also which is quickly accessible so when I open the trailer door I am already prepared to fight fire!  I am sure some of you guys are smarter than me and can rig

up a device to set this sire and light off should someone break into your trailer also!

 

Although I am a dealer for Hoosier Tires and Turbo Start 16 volt batteries here in Arizona I do not sell or distribute any of the products to make the above alarm system.   I just did a search for these products on line by looking for alarms for blind and deaf folks!  If this information helps save one trailer it has been worth the time it has taken me to post this!  Hope it helps you all!

Great tips. When I start this year I will be doing some of the same.

I like the idea of painting number on top.......thanks

Thanks for the exellent ideas. I just bought my 1st enclosed trailer about 10 days ago. It is a 34 ft. It is old but in awesome shape.  I have prettied it up a bit since I got it with a bunch of pit pal stuff, a nice big tool box and a roof air conditioner (yes, it gets hot up here in Canada). I am a little worried about the genset exaust. Any ideas on how to divert it up and away from the people in the pits next to me?

 

Those are great ideas!

Being that your generator is a slide out you do not have to have a roof top exhaust as required by NHRA,  however, you might talk to Honda and another good source of information is Camping World if they have one in your area as they sell a lot of

generators and do handle Honda generators.  I have an is3000eu mounted on the tongue of my 24' Haulmark and it is great because it is so quiet!  I know what you mean about getting hot, it gets over a 110 a lot down here and we race in it! Must

be related to "Rednecks"!  And in the winter at night it can get colder than hell here in the desert!  Don't know if you ever heard of Ira Hayes but he was one of the guys who put the flag up on Iwo Jima--he was Indian!  They made him out as

a hero which he didn't care for but he did like all the free beer they gave him.  He was walking home from someplace where he was able to get beer south of where I live about 30 miles, fell in an irrigation ditch and froze to death!  This happened in the 50's sometime!  Good luck with your new trailer! 

I had a Honda EU3000 on my last RV and loved it, very quiet. I have an Onan Quiet diesel in my RV and you can bearly hear the thing run, it is just as quiet if not quieter than the eu3000, and it burns nothing for fuel. I wish we had a Camping world any where in Canada. I live on the prarries about 70 miles north of the Montana border. In the height of the summer we get 110 to 115 deg during the day and at night plummet down to 40-50 deg sometimes. If there is no racing going on and I am not working we jump into the RV and head out to the mountains. 3 hrs away we have the Rockies. We do alot of quading out there just north of Glacier/Waterton peace park. Here are a few picks of us in the mountains and the RV.