The last PSCA race in Vegas convinced me that I needed a better way to get my stuff to and from the track, and lock it up while I’m there. I can fit my jack, toolbox, drag radials, helmet, jacket, and spare nitrous bottle in the trunk and back seat, but there’s not much room left for anything else, and once I’m there, a long chain threaded through everything and wrapped around a light pole is the best I can do for security while I’m actually racing. When KJ brings his rig out to Fontana, I can throw my junk in his trailer, but I’d rather not have to mooch a chair and cooler space.

With a 20% off coupon in hand, I went down to my local Harbor Freight and bought one of their mini trailer kits. I stepped up to the 12-inch wheel version, not because I needed the extra weight capacity, but because it will pull better on the freeway than the one with the dinky 8-inch wheels.

$200 and a couple of hours of work putting it together later, and I was ready to build it out into something practical. My main goals were to have some locking storage for loose stuff like my jack and tools, and slots for my drag radials on the road, and my street tires in the pits. As a side note, it’s surprisingly hard to find big locking poly storage bins around here - I finally ended up with a 50-gallon Contico Pro Tuff bin from Lowe’s.

The bin is screwed down to the plywood deck, so it doesn’t need to be strapped, and it’s got a built in key lock, plus padlock hasps. Realistically, it’s not very secure - anybody with a hand saw, crowbar, or even a claw hammer would be able to get into it pretty quickly, but as my dad says, it will keep the honest people honest. About the worst-case scenario for it will be sitting empty in a motel parking lot overnight.

Up front, I left slots open in the deck for the tires to sit in, and there are plenty of eye bolts to use as tiedown points. I also have a cable lock going through holes in the trailer frame to keep my Mickeys from walking off. Now, all I need to do is find a cooler the right size to fit between the tires, and I’m off to the races…