My “Class Act” Trailer's Structural Integrity Failure

[Defender Chassis]

Repeated use weakened the integrity of the door until it could no longer handle a load and failed.

You have no basis for this comment. Your original post states that the door did not fail until you loaded a heavier car. Just because it flexed before with the "4,500 pound 1914 Cadillac" does not mean it was causing damage. Especially since it evidently returned to its original position or else I am sure you would have complained 2 years ago about a warped door and not waited until you loaded the 6000 lb car and had the door fail completely.

You state you ordered a "custom built trailer" but you dont have anything detailing the specs you desired. I do construction administration for a living. The rule of thumb is that if it is not on paper then it did not happen. Look at this from the trailer companies side. They build a fine product (per your original thread about this trailer) that has some limitations as does all products. One day some guy wants a new door or all his money back because he says he did not know about those limitations and overloaded the original door. The guy says the dealer told him it would be ok. There is no record that the dealer stated this nor confered with the trailer company about it.

That trailer would have not had any issues with anything I haul. My heaviest race car is in the neighborhood of 3k lbs. I am sure that one end is under the 2k lb capacity of that door with the two contact patches. You stated you hauled a 4500 lb car and the door flexed but did not fail. If you account for only half the weight of that car on each end (2250lb), which is obviously not realistic, then the door performed as intended. You are right that this is a car hauler but you do not haul typical cars. My Dodge Dually only weighs slightly more than your Packard. In fact, I would bet that if you load up that 6k lb beauty and take into account the cabinets, winch, tools, bike etc.... you are actually overloading that piece of equpment. I would never run that closse to the trailers capacity. My trailer has twin 7k lb axles and my usual race car weighs 1500 lb.

OCG, I think you are a fine fella and I admire your shop and cars but I think you MAY be on the wrong track. I think it may be that a dealer told you what you wanted to hear. My $0.02

 

[OldCarGuy]

No matter what. No trailer manufacturer should put a flimsy ATV / Motorcycle ramp door on any trailer that they call a Car Hauler. Particularly when they knew that I transport 6,000 pounds cars in it.

With Class Acts' misrepresentation, I had better check the tire ratings. After all I didn't spec out the tires. Just the Dexter 5,200 pound axle ratings.


The warning label states a maximum 1,000 pounds per wheel contact. Each of my 4,500 pound car wheels exceeds that!

I'm not a structural engineer. But with my Life's worth of experience, and seeing how this door was constructed, I stated that the door was weakened with repeated use.

I have a call into my dealer to see just what documentation of the specifications that was passed onto Class Act.

 

[HOTFR8]

Once a company looses its credibility, they can't get it back by correcting at a later date, what they should have corrected immediately. We have seen this time and again, where only pressure from the public makes a company reverse previously made incorrect decisions. It might save them some additional grief, but in the end run, it lessens peoples overall image of the company.

Yes, point taken. Still if they fix the problem and OCG then posts how they look after him it would give something back to the fact they did try to right a wrong.

At this point it looks like they will not help OCG and again I have to say Good luck.

 

[must8657]

Again, this is just my $0.02 but I have not seen any proof that ClassAct even knew what OCG actually wanted. In fact, I believe it would be unlikely for them to ok his use for one sale since they obviously knew the capacityof the door was 2500lb. On the other hand, it is likely the salesman may have fudged it a bit for one sale. Fact is that I really do not know what actually went down and since there is only one side posted in this thread nobody else does either. If in fact OCG is taking a beating, I hope this gets resolved to his satisfaction.

"Maybe you do not have clue about engineering. I am a licensed Mechanical Engineer and have no idea why if loaded the same way every time that if a bridge can support a 20k# truck that it should not do the same for the 100th truck. Fatigue failure does not play a part until well over 100k cycles. I supose that there are a variety of other issues like environmental that play a part. The fact that the gate was composite also leads me to more questions but none the less your argument is weak."

I am not sure who made this statement, but this can't be from an actual Mechanical Engineer. How can you make a blanket statement that fatigue doesn't play a factor until well after 100k cycles?
jason

 

[38Chevy454]

Well I am a metallurgical engineer, and all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

Fatigue in metal is a cyclic cracking while loaded under the material's yield strength. For most metals the normal fatigue limit is 100,000 plus cycles. This is called high cycle low stress fatigue. There is also low cycle high stress fatigue where you can get cracking as low as 100 cycles. But the main point is that any fatigue will show up as cracks that initiate and propagate. OCG's ramp door did not crack, it simply yielded. Or in technical terms, it has permanent plastic deformation, caused by the applied stress exceeding the yield strength of the door material. It does not have fatigue. Metal fatigue is not like your muscles where the material is weaker. You all need to understand the proper terminology.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Well I am a metallurgical engineer, and all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

"All of you" ??

I don't think so.
The word fatigue has been hardly mentioned and certainly not by "all of you"..

Pendantic? maybe...

 

[sirswank]

Well I am a metallurgical engineer, and all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

Fatigue in metal is a cyclic cracking while loaded under the material's yield strength. For most metals the normal fatigue limit is 100,000 plus cycles. This is called high cycle low stress fatigue. There is also low cycle high stress fatigue where you can get cracking as low as 100 cycles. But the main point is that any fatigue will show up as cracks that initiate and propagate. OCG's ramp door did not crack, it simply yielded. Or in technical terms, it has permanent plastic deformation, caused by the applied stress exceeding the yield strength of the door material. It does not have fatigue. Metal fatigue is not like your muscles where the material is weaker. You all need to understand the proper terminology.

regardless of this, the issue is that the door was never built for the rating it was requested for.

this is defender chassi's argument, whether there is actual documentation that the door was requested to hold a larger load rating than "stock", regardless of OCG's requests to the dealer.

altho, as a "metallurgical engineer", you should know that aluminum can "fatigue" and fail over time even if a load below it's rating is applied constantly over a period of time. so yes, the metal does get weaker.
as far as a composite door, have you ever streched a rubber band a few times? is it looser then when new afterwards? repeated use causes failure. always. the only variable factor is the time it takes.

 

[OldCarGuy]

"Maybe you do not have clue about engineering. I am a licensed Mechanical Engineer and have no idea why if loaded the same way every time that if a bridge can support a 20k# truck that it should not do the same for the 100th truck. Fatigue failure does not play a part until well over 100k cycles. I supose that there are a variety of other issues like environmental that play a part. The fact that the gate was composite also leads me to more questions but none the less your argument is weak."

I am not sure who made this statement, but this can't be from an actual Mechanical Engineer. How can you make a blanket statement that fatigue doesn't play a factor until well after 100k cycles?
jason

I believe that that Defender Chassis added that red paragraph to Nissan_Crawler's quote. I'm not going to challenge who is or isn't a Mechanical Engineer around here. But I can say I have an older brother that is a practicing Professional Engineer. That cannot design his way out of a wet paper bag!

Anyhow we are not talking about bridges built out of steel. But when building out of steel. There is always a safety factor involved. Somewhere between two to five fold its' rated capacity. Just ask Jeff at BendPak.. So this door should hold not fail until at least 5,000 pounds was applied. Or maybe even 12,500 pounds. This door never experienced that kind of weight!

Again, I don't pretend to be a Structural Engineer. But I do have a life long experience of what works and what doesn't work. Plus my background has been in and around plastics. The door is nothing more than a center foam plastic core sandwiched between two pieces of 1/4” plywood. That has two outside edges of aluminum extrusions for strength. And like I mentioned earlier, it is my belief that the door's integrity was severely weaken after repeated use. That flexing caused cellular core to break down. More so than a rubber band losing its' elasticity with repeated use.

Again,, Class Act advertises my trailer as a Flat Front Car Hauler. And the ramp door they provided should handle cars driving over it! And not put an ATV/Motorcycle rated door!

 

[OldCarGuy]

I stopped off at JTI this morning with my Class Act Car hauler just before opening time. It was a few minutes before opening time. And I parked my rig in front and sat down on the comfortable seat next to the door. And watched all that that passed by stopping to read the signs on my trailer..

Just happens that they had a trailer on the lot that was made a month after mine was. Someone purchased it, and when the city came down on the owner for parking it next to his home. He sold it back to JTI.

Comparing my car hauler to this one. Mind you this trailer was made a month after mine. And the ramp door doesn't resemble my door. On one of the few times I was able to reach Class Act, they told me they quit using Nappanee Door for what ever reason. But it must have been in that one month time period. One must wonder why they switched? Still trying to get in touch with engineers or owner of Nappanee...

Take a look at the differences. First off it seems a lot stiffer than mine ever was when you walk on it. And they went back to the cables! Have to wonder why? Yet today, by their Website, they claim their ramp doors do not use them. And there are NO warning labels on the door that I could find..

 

[tyrell2004]

Just a thought;

Are the specs as discussed written on your contract between yourself and the dealer?, if yes, great. if not written, your bad.

Ask to see your dealer's purchase order given to Class Act. If it does not include a written description of all the specs as discussed by all parties then the fault lies with the dealer for not putting everything in writing and to you for not verifying that.
Without the specs written on the " contract" between your dealer and Class Act, it comes down to a "he said /I said".

If the PO does not have all your specs, then lesson learned, offer to split the cost of the upgraded door three ways.
Get some sleep at night, avoid the ulcer and show off that Beautiful car.

1.Dealer did not write it down or mislead you (oops). 33%

2.You did not verify the written specs, (trusted Verbal agreement) oops. 33%

3.Class act didn't think about how other changes(if written) might affect ramp/door requirements or just screwed up and should save face. (oops) 33%.

If the specs are written down on the P.O.and sales contract take it to small claims name both the Dealer and Class Act in the suit.

However, if I was a business owner, if I was Class act I would have upgraded your door long ago. Stated my case as the manufacturer here and try to get cust satisfaction.
And then offer GJ members discounts on car haulers with extra strong ramps.

And if I, Class Act knew specs were not on the Purchase Order, gone after your dealer for half of the cost.

Mistakes are made; we are all human, our character is determined by what we do when we admit those mistakes.
My two cents.
Good Luck.

 

[Mike83]

altho, as a "metallurgical engineer", you should know that aluminum can "fatigue" and fail over time even if a load below it's rating is applied constantly over a period of time. so yes, the metal does get weaker. QUOTE]

A constant stress applied to a material can cause *creep* or gradual strain. A constant strain applied to a material can cause *relaxation* or a gradual reduction in stress. Fatigue is not synonomous with either of those phenonmena.

 

[rwhite692]

I think that Napanee is just the manufacturer of the extruded aluminum raw stock channel material, that Class Act uses to build up the door assembly.

 

[must8657]

Well I am a metallurgical engineer, and all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

Fatigue in metal is a cyclic cracking while loaded under the material's yield strength. For most metals the normal fatigue limit is 100,000 plus cycles. This is called high cycle low stress fatigue. There is also low cycle high stress fatigue where you can get cracking as low as 100 cycles. But the main point is that any fatigue will show up as cracks that initiate and propagate. OCG's ramp door did not crack, it simply yielded. Or in technical terms, it has permanent plastic deformation, caused by the applied stress exceeding the yield strength of the door material. It does not have fatigue. Metal fatigue is not like your muscles where the material is weaker. You all need to understand the proper terminology.

aren't we talking about a composite door here, not metal? can you explain the definition of fatigue for composites so we can all use the term correctly? I guess i am correct though in that it is incorrect to use a blanket statement that fatigue isn't a factor until after 100k cycles. even your explanation states only "most metals". also, merriam-webster defines fatigue as : the tendency of a material to break under repeated stress
jason

 

[T56 Impala]

Well I am a metallurgical engineer, and all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

Fatigue in metal is a cyclic cracking while loaded under the material's yield strength. For most metals the normal fatigue limit is 100,000 plus cycles. This is called high cycle low stress fatigue. There is also low cycle high stress fatigue where you can get cracking as low as 100 cycles. But the main point is that any fatigue will show up as cracks that initiate and propagate. OCG's ramp door did not crack, it simply yielded. Or in technical terms, it has permanent plastic deformation, caused by the applied stress exceeding the yield strength of the door material. It does not have fatigue. Metal fatigue is not like your muscles where the material is weaker. You all need to understand the proper terminology.

Now why didn't the spell it out for me like that in school!

 

[HOTFR8]

all of you are not using the term "fatigue" properly.

I am now suffering from fatigue reading all of this knowing that the trailer manufacturer is not looking after his customer.
I am not an English teacher but I think that is using the word correctly

Why has this not been resolved

 

[38Chevy454]

altho, as a "metallurgical engineer", you should know that aluminum can "fatigue" and fail over time even if a load below it's rating is applied constantly over a period of time. so yes, the metal does get weaker.
as far as a composite door, have you ever streched a rubber band a few times? is it looser then when new afterwards? repeated use causes failure. always. the only variable factor is the time it takes.

You are wrong. The metal does not get weaker. You are one of those that deos not understand what fatigue in metal means.

If you want to get real technical, when the door permanently deformed the metal actually got a tiny bit stronger due to work hardening when in the plastic deformation range. The it got an additional tiny bit stronger when OCG overbent it back so he could latch the door.

But I repeat, the metal does not get weaker in fatigue. Assuming you have enough cycles that a crack is formed, the total load the metal can support does go down because of the reduced area remaining uncracked, but the metal that is uncracked has just exactly the same strength as when new.

Rubber bands are not metal. Big differences in the properties, no comparisons are accurate. A true stress analysis of the composite door would show what portions are under tension vs compression and where the high stress locations are. I wonder if Class Act has ever done a real stress analysis?

 

[rwhite692]

OCG:

SOooooo.......

How did the visit to the dealer go?

 

[HOTFR8]

You are wrong. The metal does not get weaker. You are one of those that deos not understand what fatigue in metal means.

If you want to get real technical, when the door permanently deformed the metal actually got a tiny bit stronger due to work hardening when in the plastic deformation range. The it got an additional tiny bit stronger when OCG overbent it back so he could latch the door.

But I repeat, the metal does not get weaker in fatigue. Assuming you have enough cycles that a crack is formed, the total load the metal can support does go down because of the reduced area remaining uncracked, but the metal that is uncracked has just exactly the same strength as when new.

Rubber bands are not metal. Big differences in the properties, no comparisons are accurate. A true stress analysis of the composite door would show what portions are under tension vs compression and where the high stress locations are. I wonder if Class Act has ever done a real stress analysis?

OK, So what does that say about OCG's trailer ? Was it built to his requirements ?

 

[OldCarGuy]

OCG:

SOooooo.......

How did the visit to the dealer go?

The people at JTI have been very cooperative with me. By no means are they ignoring me like Class Act. In fact yesterday they returned my call long after their store closed. While Class Act has yet to return my calls. JTI spent a lot of their time going over the ramp door failure. And comparing the model on their lot with mine. They concur with my thoughts that Class Act had no business shipping a door meant for Motorcycles on a model they call a car hauler. Then took a number of photo’s and sending them to Class Act to argue our case.

It was pointed out to me that Class Act installs the same capacity rated ramp door on their small cargo hauler. Imagine a 2,500 pound capacity ramp door on a 5' by 8' trailer with a payload of only 985 pounds. That’s 2 1/ 2 times the strength than the capacity of the trailer. While they put the same capacity ramp door on my car hauler with 7,000 pound capacity. If they were true to form, my car hauler’s ramp door should have an 18,000 pound capacity rather than 2,500... Where’s the logic here?


.

 

[Defender Chassis]

With respect to the phenomenon known as fatigue, I yield the floor to those more highly educated and much more experienced than I. The limit of my experience with fatigue was while in school and I know that composite materials act much differently than steel.

I do however have many years experience in contract administration and unfortunately if OCG did not put his requirements in writing he is likely out of luck. I hope it is not true but there is nothing that he really can do. I do like the 1/3 split idea though. It does not solve the long term problem but it does give OCG a trailer he can sell and use the money to get the trailer he needs.

As a side note, that trailer would not have been a problem for any of the racers at the track with me this weekend. I would not hesitate to say that door would be fine for over 95% of those that need an enclosed car hauler.

 

[nissan_crawler]

That door wouldn't work for 95% of the people that I know with enclosed trailers.

I can see it now..."Here's your new pickup sir, the frame and suspension are rated for 4,000#'s of payload...but the bed is only good for 500#'s.

 

[Frank Elson]

+1 on the 95 per cent.
Most of my friends would have been outside the Class Act factory gates by now... as would I.

 

[Defender Chassis]

What kind of car are you guys hauling that weighs more than 4500 lb?

 

[OldCarGuy]

What kind of car are you guys hauling that weighs more than 4500 lb?

All the antique car enthusiasts that I know have cars that exceed my Class Act Car Hauler's ramp door rated capacity.

One point you seem to pass over. That's maybe all doors that Nappanee Window produced were not created equal. Seeing that the material that they used was most likely recycled. My ramp door could very well be defective. And since it looked like Class Act changed ramp door manufacturers on trailers made the month after mine. Tells me they had some kind of problems with Nappanee Window.

Again, why would Class Act put a 2,500 pound ramp door on their 5' by 8' “Cargo Hauler” with a payload of only 985 pounds? And put the same capacity ramp door on a 7,000 pound “Car Hauler “Car Hauler”.

I welcome,,, in fact I challenge you to look at my door first hand. To see how poorly this ramp door is made. I'm sure that will have you whistling another tune!

 

[Defender Chassis]

OCG,

This will be my last post on this topic. I wish you the best of luck in getting your issue resolved and hope that in the end that those responsible for causing the confusion are the ones who actually suffer monetarily.

Regards,
Scott

 

[OldCarGuy]

OCG,

This will be my last post on this topic. I wish you the best of luck in getting your issue resolved and hope that in the end that those responsible for causing the confusion are the ones who actually suffer monetarily.

Regards,
Scott

Believe it or not, I appreciate your input,, along with NewCarGuy's. Whomever he may be. Your opinions have been helpful to me and taken in earnest. And have given me insight just how I'm going to proceed taking on Class Act.

In my opinion, Class Act will not survive in any business world. Let alone today's environment. Knowing that their product failed, any good manufacturer would take it seriously. And find a solution that makes their product functional and safe. But they are totally shrugging off their responsibility and ignoring the problem. The President of Class Act received a letter from me eight days ago June 10th at 10:10 in the morning. As of today, there was no response. Can they be hoping that the problem disappears?

Again thanks,
OCG

 

[boiler7904]

Now that you mention safety, does it make sense to send a letter to the Ohio or US Dept of Transportation notifying them of a failure to a major component to your trailer? Don't know what it would really do for you but you're probably not the only one in this situation with Class Act.

 

[ptschram]

What kind of car are you guys hauling that weighs more than 4500 lb?

Any stock coil-sprung Land Rover would easily exceed that weight. The "Race" truck in the shop tipped the scales at nearly 8K# loaded for expeditions.

Take a 5300# truck, add a roll cage, fuel, water, recovery gear, on-board fire-suppression, etc. it's easy to add more weight than one would ever expect.

OCG-good luck. One suggestion-contact the Indiana Attorney General's office, they don't take well to such things happening. With the current state of Elkhart county's economy, this does not bode well. According to local news reports, Elkhart County has the highest unemployment rate in the country right now at 18%+.

Good luck!

PT

 

[boiler7904]

According to local news reports, Elkhart County has the highest unemployment rate in the country right now at 18%+.

Not that any place wants to win that race, but I think Detroit has them beat. I saw something this morning about Detroit's Economy. I want to say that they are hovering at 22% unemployment now that GM and Chrysler have declared bankruptcy and dealers have started to close.

Elkhart is definitely leading the state of Indiana in Unemployment. My wife's uncle and cousin worked in the RV industry up until late last summer / early fall when the bottom fell out of that business.

Get ready for unemployment numbers to start artificially coming down as more and more people exhaust their benefits. Since they can't collect, they aren't counted as unemployed yet they don't have a job. At least that's how it works in Indiana. Other states are probably similar.

 

[jake00]

Nappanee Window isn't the problem'

It's CA that decides how to apply NW's product,

I still think the dealer should be swapping doors or somehow making it right.

My father and I own a hardwood flooring production facility and distributor. If a customer orders Product X from us, and for whatever reason, Product Y comes in, We make it right, and Then after the end user is happy, we deal with the vendor on our time, not the customers...


EDIT: I'd like everyone to read this page on CA's site
http://www.classacttrailers.com/HTML/services.php

 

[foxx_good]

Nappanee Window isn't the problem'

It's CA that decides how to apply NW's product,

I still think the dealer should be swapping doors or somehow making it right.

My father and I own a hardwood flooring production facility and distributor. If a customer orders Product X from us, and for whatever reason, Product Y comes in, We make it right, and Then after the end user is happy, we deal with the vendor on our time, not the customers...


EDIT: I'd like everyone to read this page on CA's site
http://www.classacttrailers.com/HTML/services.php

Wow i just sifted through this thread good to know if i ever need a car hauler I like this line on that page
# Classic Car Enthusiast
# Race Car Hauler

It should come with an asterisk saying that the above statements only apply to lotus, MG and Ariel atom enthusiasts or people that race honda crx's otherwise the door will fall to pieces

 

[bmwpower]

Almost 15k reads and counting. How many customers lost so far?

 

[OldCarGuy]

Almost 15k reads and counting. How many customers lost so far?

Out of over 7,000 threads in this section over the past four years. Only Three had more replies and only 10 had more hits than this thread. If you Google search “Class Act car hauler” or “Class Act trailers” this thread comes up on the fist page first! I would say we’re getting the word out about Class Act...

If anything, my poor experience with Class Act will keep others from making the same mistake as I made.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Well at least Class Act have a sense of humour.
Read this joke and laugh...........

.

 

[jgira12]

Re: My “Class Act” Trailer's Structural Integrity Failure

and the reason this thread gets a sticky is...????

 

[nissan_crawler]

What kind of car are you guys hauling that weighs more than 4500 lb?

My race car was around 4200#'s, it would get over 4500#'s if the track was sloppy.

My crawler is 5k #'s.

My mom's minivan was over 4k.

Our ranger was over 4k.

My '57 was around 6k #'s.

The only vehicle I think I've ever hauled under 4k #'s, was my sister's old rabbit.

 

[bmwpower]

and the reason this thread gets a sticky is...????

So morons like you don't get screwed.

 

[Defender Chassis]

Im going to go back on my word and once again respond in this thread.

That door wouldn't work for 95% of the people that I know with enclosed trailers.

I can see it now..."Here's your new pickup sir, the frame and suspension are rated for 4,000#'s of payload...but the bed is only good for 500#'s.

Wouldnt a better analogy be:

"Yes sir the truck is rated for 4k lb but no sir you can not put all of it on the tailgate at one time."

 

[Defender Chassis]

My race car was around 4200#'s, it would get over 4500#'s if the track was sloppy.

My crawler is 5k #'s.

My mom's minivan was over 4k.

Our ranger was over 4k.

My '57 was around 6k #'s.

The only vehicle I think I've ever hauled under 4k #'s, was my sister's old rabbit.

What is your point? I said 4500 lb. Do many rock crawler enthusiasts use enclosed trailers? If so, what percentage of enclosed trailers are used by these people? Do you own an enclosed trailer for the expressed purpose of hauling your Mom's minivan? Your Ranger? I did not say there werent cars that do not weigh more than 4500 lb.

I will be going to the drag strip this weekend. I can not think of a single car that will participate outsdide of the street class that would comew close to 4500 lb. Let alone the ones that get towed in with enclosed trailers.

You guys are jumping on the bandwagon here and have no idea what the manufacturer actually did or did not do during the sale. This trailer obviously has a lite duty gate that some are suggesting should never be put on any trailer. This trailer is obviously made to fill a niche market (elimnation of cables on the ramp door) and with any design benefit there are compromises. For all anyone here knows the manufacturer could have warned the dealer and the dealer went forth with the sale. Some here would like ClasAct to come on here and defend themselves but nobody in there right mind would voluntarily take part in this lynch mob mentality. The fact is there is only one side of the story being portrayed here. I have nothing against OCG and have no connection to ClassAct.

BTW, I reserve the right to respond to any further antilogic.

Why dont we start a poll of people with enclosed car trailers? Lets list the trailer size and capacity and then list the cars you regularly haul in your trailer. I will go 1st.

2001 Exiss Mach10 40' Gooseneck w/ twin 7k lb axles (5700lb empty)
#1: 225" Dragster, 1500lb
#2: 2000 EzGo Golf Cart, 650lb.
#3: 1995 Spitzer Jr. Dragster, 350lb.
1, 2 & 3 are currently hauled at the same time but not loaded simulltaneously.
#4: 1973 Plymouth Duster, 3000lb. (not raced for the last three seasons)

 

[IDASHO]

SO, when did this enclosed CAR hauler turn into an enclosed RACE CAR hauler?

Obviously, most race cars are going to be lighter.

That said, the vast majority of full size 4-door CARS these days tip the scales at more than 4k lbs.


Not like it really matters. The trailer is rated to haul a vehicle of said weight, and the only way to get it in there is to drive up the door. Unlike your tailgate analogy, whereas any truck can be loaded without the use of the tailgate.