My “Class Act” Trailer's Structural Integrity Failure

[OldCarGuy]

Nice job looks good.

What was the plywood for??

I think I would get there name off the back. Someone following you may not see the signs on the side and I wouldn't want to offer ANY free advertising to them at this point.

I covered the inside of the entire ramp door with 5/8" plywood. The door was originally made of a foam core covered with two pieces of 1/4” plywood. The plywood added the strength needed to distribute the weight of the tires from my cars.

I also laminated two 3/4” pieces of plywood using glue and screws. To make the ramp door extension. That I attached to the end of the door using a piano hinge. The first one I made from a 2” X 12” yellow pine board. That cracked nearly in half from repeatedly driving my 3/4 ton Avalanche over it.

 

[Defender Chassis]

No better words have spoken! Sure makes me wonder what Defender Chassis agenda is? With over 10% (36) of his posts in this thread. And yet to see pictures of his garage or related items.. Then to question my integrity!

Even disregarding any of the dealer's or my input when I custom ordered the trailer. The bottom line is that ClassAct clearly manufactured what they represent as a car hauler with a ram door not suited to drive cars over! That alone is misrepresenting their product!

I think I have been doing a poor job of explaining my point on this issue. I had decided to leave this issue alone but since the OP has decided to make insinuations with respect to my agenda I feel the need to try one more time to explain my point of view.

1. I do not feel that OCG did anything wrong. I think he described accurately to JTI what his application was. What happened after that I am not sure of and nobody, including OCG, has provided information otherwise. Is it possible that ClassAct is a dastardly and diabolical company that is out to cheat trailer buyers across the states? I guess it is possible but considering the exposure this thread has gotten combined with the lack of people lining up to tell their story about how they got screwed by ClassAct, I feel it is unlikely. What I think is likely is that there was a communication issue between JTI and ClassAct. I am not sure who is at fault. I find it suspect that if this is 100% ClassAct’s fault that JTI would continue to sell their trailers. I have no connection to ClassAct and am only interested in seeing that they are judged on the facts.
2. With respect to the trailer/ramp that OCG bought not being a “car hauler,” I have to disagree. Will it haul any car ever built? Indeed it will not. Will it haul the average new car that is sold today? From what has been detailed about the specs I would say that it is questionable. Will it haul the average car that is routinely hauled in an enclosed trailer? I believe that it will. Although my application (rear engine dragster) is on the light end for an enclosed trailer, I also have three buddies that race full body cars and the ClassAct trailer that OCG bought would serve all of them without issue. I will agree that the ramp is on the lower end of the scale for cars but to say you can not use it for a car is unfair. It is definitely the wrong piece for OCG’s application and should not have been sold to him.
3. I am confused about how I have questioned OCG’s integrity. I did mistype in one of my posts and I can assure you that it was not intentional. Just as I am sure that OCG leaving the p out of ramp in post 437 was a simple mistake. I quickly and maturely apologized for my mistake when I became aware that I had done so. To use this as fuel to try and discredit me is exactly why someone like NewCarGuy may have chosen to leave rather that try to explain himself. In addition, why is it that since I have not posted pictures of my shop that I have some kind of nefarious agenda? I may have posted 36 times (now 37) in this thread but I have been a member of this board long before this issue was raised. In fact, I was around when OCG bought this trailer and remember his delight when he took delivery. I don’t have anything to hide and all you have to do is ask if you want to know anything about me or what I do. If it’s too personal I will let you know and it is unlikely I will be offended. 1320stang has questioned how I can be a chassis guy AND an engineer. I am not sure, other than my screen name, what insinuates I am a “chassis guy.” The fact is that I have a side business that I named Defender Chassis. I am definitely not on par with the likes of Jerry Bickel or Rick Jones but I do have a shop in which I do custom tubing fabrication, tinwork and custom wiring. I do not make anything close to resembling a living from it. This year so far I have grossed a little over $4500. This is my third year with a business license and will be the best yet with respect to earnings. In fact, all of the $4500 was made doing some repairs to an antique airplane that is being restored by a local enthusiast. Most of the work was done last fall but did not get completed until this year so it goes toward this years earnings. Want to know anything else? Just ask. You do not have to insinuate anything.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Lots of words there, BUT a picture, still (in this day and age) tells a thousand words.

Credibility is a great asset.

By the way.. Not sure of your intentions with this post.

"BTW, is your screen name complimentary or a slam to "OldCarGuy"?"
.

 

[Defender Chassis]

Lots of words there, BUT a picture, still (in this day and age) tells a thousand words.

Credibility is a great asset.

By the way.. Not sure of your intentions with this post.

"BTW, is your screen name complimentary or a slam to "OldCarGuy"?"
.

Someone before me insinuated that "NewCarGuy" chose his screen name to taunt OCG. I was trying to make the point that if you look for reasons to judge someone you will likely find them. It had nothing to do with you. You just happened to have a related screen name.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Someone before me insinuated that "NewCarGuy" chose his screen name to taunt OCG. I was trying to make the point that if you look for reasons to judge someone you will likely find them. It had nothing to do with you. You just happened to have a related screen name.

Guy comes on here and registers about two weeks after OCG started his thread, calls himself "NewCarGuy", makes one post, which is a derogatory post about OCG, and you see nothing coincidental about that.

You see nothing unusual about a company that manufactures car hauling trailers that can't build a ramp door that won't buckle when OCG is hauling his cars. You think that company wouldn't have forseen that when they sold a car hauler that it was going to be used to haul cars. You think their car hauling trailers only refers to light weight race cars.

I come home after a vacation, find the back door kicked in, and several valuables missing from my house. The first thing that comes into my mind is that someone broke in my house and robbed me. I don't know what the hell is going through yours based on the logic you've demonstrated in this thread.


Thankfully, you didn't go into policework.

 

[thomask]

All I can say is I am glad Old Car Guy fixed his trailer door/ramp the right way.

It shows you how talented his skills are.

He was been done in just like millions have by sales people that will tell you "cows jump over the moon" if it will help them make a sale.

I don't know any good member of The Garage Journal who would not like to have his knowledge, tools or shops.

 

[Defender Chassis]

Guy comes on here and registers about two weeks after OCG started his thread, calls himself "NewCarGuy", makes one post, which is a derogatory post about OCG, and you see nothing coincidental about that.

I see your point but I also do not think the guy was given a fair shake before he was accused of being an agent of ClassAct. OCG's intent with this thread was likely to detail his story to a wide audience. When you do that you can get two types of outside attention. One being people who are like you and have a similar experience. The other being peolple who have dealt with this company and are completely satisfied. Since this is a public forum I feel we should invite both types of people to join in and share their experience. NewCarGuy did not get that oportunity. He was given the same treatment as I simply because he did not go along with the crowd. I mean holy **** I have been accused of being dishonest because of my screen name. Its almost like politics when you can't win on merit you start to use character assasination. Why can't we just debate the facts?

For the record and to save you from searching, NewCarGuys post was as follows:

I read the whole thread. I can't believe you owned the trailer for two years and never seen the 2500 lb. capacity label.

(OCY,you have had the trailer for almost two years, is this the first time you attempted to load the 6000 lb. object?)

OCY, I don't think you are telling the whole story, things just don't add up, no complaints for two years, until now.

I would have a hard time calling that derogatory. I'm not saying I agree with him but "derogatory" is not accurate.

You see nothing unusual about a company that manufactures car hauling trailers that can't build a ramp door that won't buckle when OCG is hauling his cars. You think that company wouldn't have forseen that when they sold a car hauler that it was going to be used to haul cars. You think their car hauling trailers only refers to light weight race cars.

As I said before, OCG's application is at the heavy end of the scale. Most cars hauled in enclosed trailers are well below 6k lbs. I would say ClassAct can build a ramp door that will support said car though. I do not think they can do it and use torsion springs to raise the door though.

Lets look at this objectively. ClassAct has rated the door at 2k lb. If we assume that only one end of the car is on the ramp at a time and the car has a 60/40 weight split then a car that weighed 3,333lb would be a safe bet? Are you arguing that no car ever built weighed less than 3,333lb? The curb weight on my old 95 Neon was 2,495 lb. Thats not a lightened race car but an off the lot street driven automobile that is only 75% of the ramps rated weight capacity. With respect to not including race cars in the potential market for this kind of trailer, who do you think buys these trailers?

I come home after a vacation, find the back door kicked in, and several valuables missing from my house. The first thing that comes into my mind is that someone broke in my house and robbed me. I don't know what the hell is going through yours based on the logic you've demonstrated in this thread.


Thankfully, you didn't go into policework.

Im thankful also. Those guys dont get enough credit.

All I can say is I am glad Old Car Guy fixed his trailer door/ramp the right way.

It shows you how talented his skills are.

He was been done in just like millions have by sales people that will tell you "cows jump over the moon" if it will help them make a sale.

I don't know any good member of The Garage Journal who would not like to have his knowledge, tools or shops.

Agree 100%

 

[OldCarGuy]

Defender Chassis,, Just what part of, “This ramp door wasn't designed for cars!” don't you understand?

The actual company that manufactured the ramp door for ClassAct was Nappanee Window. That has since gone out of business. I had a very informative talk with the owner and CEO of Nappanee Window who developed and owned the patent for the composite door. And still owns a company that builds high end car hauler yet today. He told me that the Nappanee Window composite door that was installed on my car hauler was NOT designed nor intended to be installed on a car hauler and have cars driven over.

If you actually examined the ramp door on my trailer before I rebuilt it, I'm sure you wouldn't consider purchasing one to haul one of your race cars...

I also had a talk with the good people at my dealer,, JTI this morning. He doesn't know who you talked with; but they don't represent ClassAct any longer. And thought that they may even be out of business. They do have a used car hauler in stock. And ask that I evaluate its' door since it has cables and doesn't resemble the Nappanee design.

 

[Defender Chassis]

The actual company that manufactured the ramp door for ClassAct was Nappanee Window. That has since gone out of business. I had a very informative talk with the owner and CEO of Nappanee Window who developed and owned the patent for the composite door. And still owns a company that builds high end car hauler yet today. He told me that the Nappanee Window composite door that was installed on my car hauler was NOT designed nor intended to be installed on a car hauler and have cars driven over.

Please explain to me why calling a vehicle a car instead of an ATV changes the way in which it loads the ramp? That is like saying I only build steel beams to accept loads from green weight and not brown weight. I once had a project in which I used and Enerpac rebar shear and a stationary air over hydraulic booster to cut BX cable. The Enerpac rep I was dealing with said he had never used that power source to actuate that device as they were from two different sides of their business. Guess what? It worked. The laws of physics work the same for everything here on earth.

Are you contending that the ramp would have failed even if it were loaded under its 2000 lb rated capacity?

 

[bmwpower]

Please explain to me why calling a vehicle a car instead of an ATV changes the way in which it loads the ramp? That is like saying I only build steel beams to accept loads from green weight and not brown weight. I once had a project in which I used and Enerpac rebar shear and a stationary air over hydraulic booster to cut BX cable. The Enerpac rep I was dealing with said he had never used that power source to actuate that device as they were from two different sides of their business. Guess what? It worked. The laws of physics work the same for everything here on earth.

Are you contending that the ramp would have failed even if it were loaded under its 2000 lb rated capacity?

So are you saying the ATVs and cars weigh the same?

 

[Defender Chassis]

So are you saying the ATVs and cars weigh the same?

No, not at all. Im saying if you have a device designed to support a load of 2000lbs that said device has no idea if that load is from a car or an ATV or a cow or a motorcycle or whatever. If I were to combine the previously mentioned Enerpac products into a single product that I marketed and sold, it is likely that Enerpac would say that the cutter used was not designed to cut BX cable, just as Napanee says about its door. That does not mean it does not do a beautiful job of doing so. Now if there are underlying issues with using that cutter for shearing BX cable then Enerpac would not take responsibilty but I would have to. Sure Napanee can say that to use there door on a car hauler is a misapplication but as long as the loading is within the paramaters of the initial design there should not be any problem. Obviously that did not happen in OCG's case. In addition, that ramp can not be considered a "universal" ramp door and was a misapplication for a 6k lb Buick but there are a large number of cars that do fit into the application.

Once again I would like to make clear that I am not saying CA is not responsible for this issue. What I am contending is that the dealer is the one that owes OCG a resolution. It is up to JTI to go back to CA and make themselves whole.

 

[jake00]

Awesome new door, the only disappointing part is that you originally bought the trailer because the door didn't use cables

 

[Ray_Thms]

Good engineering job to fix their inferior door design into a strong and useable ramp door.

I have been very pleased with my 24' Haulmark trailer that you helped me make the right decision of not purchasing the Class Act. I asked my dealer when I picked my trailer up to confirm the ramps capacity. He had me fold in the mirrors on my F250 diesel crew cab and drive it into my new trailer. When I drove it out and closed the door. I was convinced the door could handle any car driven into it. And that I made the right decision! Thanks again.

 

[NUTTSGT]

New door modification looks good.

Where are you going to mount the license plate now? Vertically between the brace?

 

[OldCarGuy]

New door modification looks good.

Where are you going to mount the license plate now? Vertically between the brace?

My first thoughts was that I have to mount the license plate vertically between the two angles or in the center of the ramp door. Then I would have to run wires to a light to illuminate the plate at night. Ohio law requires it.

Luckily there was just enough room to mount the license plate bracket between the edge of the door and the aluminum reinforcement angle that I added. And would be illuminated with the existing light fixture. I had to make clearance for the bolt that I added to the edge of the license plate bracket. And simply fastened the bracket using four self tapping screws.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Nice job. After I posted my question, I thought about the license plate light and knew you would think about it.

Being in Ohio myself, I know about the lights, I was pulled over once by OSP for both lights being out on my F150. He saw the IAFF sticker and license plate and gave me a nice professional courtesy warning.

 

[Ironcrow]

Fix the door! That's what I said 4 months ago in post #52

 

[HOTFR8]

Fix the door! That's what I said 4 months ago in post #52

But I do not buy things expecting to have to improve them or repair them like OCG has had to do....Still as OCG has pointed out to us all 'Caveat Emptor' and for those who do not know latin - 'Buyer beware'.

 

[Ironcrow]

But I do not buy things expecting to have to improve them or repair them like OCG has had to do....

Of course. It's not fair. OCG got the short end of this deal. But, whether it is accompanied by lots of complaining and negative publicity or none - in the end the solution has turned out to be the same - the owner fixes the door.

Personally, in my case, I would buy a trailer with the expectation of 'fixing' it myself. Maybe I'd just make one myself from scratch. I do not think the entire industry provides much in the way of creative and solid engineering. Adequate? Yes, usually. Innovative? No. They've been making the same trailers for a few decades.

 

[HOTFR8]

Of course. It's not fair. OCG got the short end of this deal. But, whether it is accompanied by lots of complaining and negative publicity or none - in the end the solution has turned out to be the same - the owner fixes the door.

But it should not have come to that. He should have got what he expected he was paying for. Yes OCG did get the short end of the deal. If it was me and I was Class Act I would have stepped up to make it right.

Personally, in my case, I would buy a trailer with the expectation of 'fixing' it myself. Maybe I'd just make one myself from scratch. I do not think the entire industry provides much in the way of creative and solid engineering. Adequate? Yes, usually. Innovative? No. They've been making the same trailers for a few decades.

Now I can agree with that except change the word fixing to improving But then that would be as you could see the problem. In OCG's case the problem was not seen until to late.

 

[6768rogues]

I bought a Triple crown open car hauler that was supposed to carry 7000 lbs less its weight of 1500 lbs for a total load weight of 5500 lbs. Loading a 4800 lb vehicle bent the loading ramps and I got no satisfaction. I removed the ramps and drove over the back of them with my Bobcat to straighten them out. Then I welded on extra steel to box them in so they would not bend again. The wiring is also garbage and I will be wiring it in the future.

 

[TripleE]

OCG, very unfortunate for certain. My main concern is that you are still using this hauler. Sounds very much that material and production were varied at the time of your purchase. It is not hard to make the jump and question what else on the hauler could be compromised. You may very well not be able to confirm until it is too late, unfortunately for your cars and/or people involved. Your signage for instance, while great, basically says they have structural issues - yet you're knowingly using them on public roads? It appears known that you are very well off; I'm sure all of us could love nothing more than if you parked that junk and got something else.

 

[what have i done]

WOW just finished reading the whole thread. Good thing its not busy at work tonight

I think everyone is missing the point! It is OK this happened to the old car guy. Its just not fair that he has all those awesome cars and shop. SHEESH some $hit has to fall his way once in awhile. this couldnt of happened to a more deserving person!


Of course I am joking. the whole ramp thing was a raw deal on an otherwise sweet looking trailer! very unfortunate ordeal.

Good solution to your problem. You will never have a problem driving anything in or out of there now!

Just wanted to say Nice job on the thread. Nice job on the repairs, beautiful cars, awesome shop............. Ok I got to get to work!

 

[NUTTSGT]

WOW just finished reading the whole thread. Good thing its not busy at work tonight

Must have been really slow to read the whole thread at work.

 

[nissan_crawler]

sad to see there's no real resolution. Such is life. I'm surprised to hear of other ramp failures, also. WHat in the hell is wrong with these people?

I'm glad my trailer came from a farm implement manufacturer, none of that underrated ****.

I'm not proud of it, but I've had 4 tons on the trailer that's rated for 5500 (7500-2000# trailer), no issues at all. The ramps have had a 7500 pound vehicle on them without flinching. I see zero excuse for a trailer and it's components not holding up to it's weight rating.

 

[walrus]

Nice solution to the problem, looks good but I'd cover their decal on the top of the door. No way would I drive around advertising for them

 

[Beefalumpalo]

Just checked their website to find:

classacttrailers.com expired on 11/03/2009 and is pending renewal or deletion.


The failure to stand behind their products seems to have had real consequences, as it should!

 

[OldCarGuy]

The ClassAct Website has been suspended for a while now. Recently it has been pending renewal and the domain will be up for grabs soon. That tells me that they are either slow at finding out their Website is down or paying the bill. They are going out of business. Or just discontinuing selling under the ClassAct name and will market trailers under a new name.

When you call their regular or 800 phone lines, you only get a recording. Announcing that you’ve reached “ACT purchasing.” The old voice mail had a directory of personnel, that sometimes allowed to reach an operator. One can only wonder if they’re throttling down their business or changing the name they market their trailers under. ACT stands for “Aluminum Cargo Trailer”, the name ClassAct is incorporated under. So they may just be dropping the "Class" in the name. At least they have proven to me that they have no Class.

 

[HOTFR8]

That is all very interesting. Perhaps the down turn has caught up with them and that is why they never came good to fix what was wrong.

 

[Costner]

Nice solution to the problem, looks good but I'd cover their decal on the top of the door. No way would I drive around advertising for them

True. Also, if it is true that Class Act is no longer in business (or if ACT is no longer marketing trailers under the Class Act name) I'd remove the signs from the side of the trailer that warn people about them. I guess I see no reason to advertise against a product which is no longer available... that is sort of like putting up a sign warning people against flying TWA Airlines isn't it?

Maybe it is time OGC put his own logo on the trailer. He has probably spent more time engineering that ramp than Class ACT ever did anyway so he might as well take full credit for it.

 

[buening]

Sounds like a fly-by-night company that changes it's name every few years due to bad publicity, such as this thread.

 

[STORMEASTON]

After reading this thread I have to say that OCG got a raw deal and the manufacturer should have fixed the door for free. What kinda idiot builds 8.5x24 trailer/car hauler with a 2500 lbs ramp???? How many 2500 lbs vehicles are out there???? Not many. Hats off to you OCG for taking the bull by the horns and fixing it yourself, not only have you fixed it but given yourself piece of mind that the ramp wouldn't blow up had the manufacturer fixed it.

 

[bazzateer]

If it had been me I would have expected the dealer to put it right. Having paid them the money 'my' contract is with them. They supplied unsuitable goods so should put it right. It is then up to them to claim back their costs from the manufacturer who supplied them with unsuitable goods. Either way, OCG was sold a pup. Glad you now have a usable trailer.

 

[WinFred]

is this english?

polijive-ese... she's practicing for a seat in DC....

 

[Amos Ives Root]

How does one relate to the other? I am a licensed Mechanical Engineer.

You're also an idiot for bringing that up when you are not expressing yourself professionally.

Do you remember the engineering ethics portion of your exam? Those weren't just words.

Here's ASME's ethic statement.

"Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties."

For instance, rating a product according to its weakest component, ESPECIALLY IF THAT COMPONENT IS NECESSARY TO EVEN USE THE PRODUCT. The customer shouldn't have to hunt for caveats in the product manual if the forbidden actions are fundamental to the design. If there is this type of misuse it is due to a rating driven by marketing rather than engineering. This product is unsafe and bad design and should be reported to the FTC for a recall if the company won't do it themselves.

Whoever specified this trailer should have grabbed their sack and stood their ground against the beancounters and marketers. Unless, of course, they were completely incompetent, which seems to be the case here.

 

[cartotem]

I live just outside Nappanee, IN (Omish meca!), and most of my family members, including myself at times, work in the trailer/RV industry (Elkhart & Nappanee). I will say that 80% of the companies are seedy, sort cutting, conniving, half as*'rs that should be put out of business. Luckily, the recent downturn in the economy took care of some of them. There are very few companies that take any real pride in there product, and even fewer that want to hear from anyone that might not be satisfied with the product. The guys & gals putting these together are paid on piece rate. A large percentage of them are cranked up on meth among other things, to keep up with the grueling pace of production. The companies are concerned very little with quality, it's all about how many they can get out the door in a day. Parts falling off (sides, roofs, axles, wheels, molding, decals, windows) in transit to the dealerships is a very common occurrence. Once the product arrives at the dealerships, it is also common for there to be a page (8 1/2" x 11" handwritten) or more of issues wrong with the unit that the dealer notes upon receiving. So a little more double stick tape, caulk, and wood putty are added so that the dealer can keep the "repair" credit from the mfg, without "really" spending any of that extra margin they have just created. Then you arrive at the "dealership" with your hard earned money, and a quest for a nice new trailer, completely unsuspecting that your about to get screwed from so many angles that you don't know where it all went wrong. Hard to say that you ever stood a chance.
With that insight into the industry itself, I will say that there are a few mfg's that are better than most. They are in no way exempt form the above mentioned issues, but at least put forth a bit more effort in trying to make a decent product (in my opinion).
Haulmark
Atlas
HartLand RV's
Travel Supreme (now out of business)

 

[GregPGH]

I shopped around quite a bit for trailers before purchasing a Haulmark this past fall. The first thing I thought when I saw that trailer / door was "boy that looks like a toy hauler." Sorry to hear about your debacle, glad to see you were able to re-engineer it to fit your needs.

I did have an issue with my trailer concerning cosmetic items upon delivery, but the dealer corrected it in one afternoon - the right way - and showed me exactly how the repair was made while I waited to ensure my satisfaction. That stand up act of the dealer along with the follow up call I received from Haulmark upon them learning of the problem with my trailer made me much happier that I didn't go with some of the cheaper trailers I saw polluting the market from little known names that I almost considered. In addition to personally liking my trailer based off how it tows / its features / construction / etc, after reading this I'm glad I went with a trusted name. Now that Class Act seems to have vanished off the radar I'd do some research on that "new to the market" brand and put a little faith in reviews of owners - not saying you need to buy a Haulmark, but after reading this I would at least go with one that has a long and solid reputation.

BTW - I cannot stress enough that I do not work for or represent any trailer company (been lurking for a long time, believe this is my first post)... I'm just a guy with a little canvas & upholstery shop who bought a trailer to make a remote shop out of to make working on the big boats that can't come out of the water easier!

 

[ctbuilder]

Nice looking trailer, I cant believe they would Skimp on the door like that. I bet it wouldn't even cost them $50.00 to beef it up.That's a really good way to lose a lot of business.

 

[BCRacing7469]

Looks nice, but the minute I seen that they didn't use a beefy piano hinge for the ramp door would of made up my mind. I'll stick w/ my Pace.

 

[51rider]

Wow! OCG, That is some serious **** you've has to put up with.
Glad you have ended up with something usable even if you had to do it yourself. I admire your restraint in dealing with the problem and keeping faith in your dealer.
I personally think that CA did not tell the window firm that the door was to be used for a car hauler & just asked them to make a door the required size and the window boys assumed it was for a Motorcycle/ATV hauler.

As we all know, assumption is the mother of all F*%k ups!