At the 2004 SEMA show in Las Vegas we ran into a lot of manufacturers that are recognizing the new toyhauler market as the wave of the future in the RV community. One of those companies is Race Trailer Products (RTP), owned by Ron Mistak, a guy not new to the RV industry. Ron has been into auto racing for 29 years and was tired of not being able to do things in his trailers easily, hence his company motto, "Products to Make Trailer Life Easy". The company has only been in business for about a year, but the products have been in development for five.
RTP makes several different products to make loading and unloading trailers easy, starting with his patent-pending Door Razzor, which opens and closes your ramp door with an electric motor and two 12,500 lb. straps that can be removed from the ramp when not in use. Anyone who has ever run into one of those ramp cables when you walk around the trailer knows the benefit of getting them out of the way! The other great thing about having the ramp door on an electric motor is that if you have something that is low and it gets high-sided when you bring it in the trailer, this product lets you level out the car once you get the rear tires on the ramp.
Much to my surprise, we had to pay the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to get into the Dunes. We never had to pay before, but now they are charging $20.00 ($18.00 if purchased in advance from BLM or online at ThePermitStore.com) per primary vehicle and/or camp site. This is only for President 's Day and Easter weekends this season, with the possibility of implementing the fee demo program for next season starting in October. I don't mind paying the fees as long as the money stays at the Dunes to keep everything in good condition and running properly.
Also available from RTP is what they call a "Schizophrenic Wireless Remote" which allows you to work the door by remote control. They have an electric winch system that easily installs on the inside of the trailer in a removable receiver. This product can also be used with the wireless remote.
Think about it...you're putting your car in the trailer so you hook up the winch and start pulling the car in using the remote. When you get the rear tires on the ramp you use a different button on the remote to lift up the ramp door so the car goes in without hitting the frame. EASY! And you can do it all by yourself.
Some of the big manufacturers have been testing these new products to offer them as options on new trailers too. We even heard that the front winch systems had been tested through 4000 cycles by one of the manufacturers with no problems.
Another product that RTP offers is a Cargo/Bed lift, which is a dual purpose electric lift in the rear that you can put a roll up mattress on and/or use as a storage bay when the bed is not needed. It will safely lift up 500 lbs. of gear, tires or anything else and winch them to the ceiling, out of the way. A lot of us have seen those double queen-size beds in the rear of the new trailers. Here is the way to add that to your older toyhauler! They also offer a light bar for the rear of your trailer to help with loading or working on your toys at night, along with different kinds of LED marker and stop lights for that polished look at night.
Ron is continuing to develop more products to help make trailer life easier. We even saw a watercraft trailer that he was developing to fit inside a toyhauler. Hopefully he will have that done before next summer.
To check out the RPT's equipment yourself visit their website at www.racetrailerproducts.com or call them at 951-781-3066. The website will soon have a help section on it to answer questions you may have about trailers.
